I'm a Hero

This school year has been extremely stressful. Not only am I teaching a whole new curriculum that I've never taught (11th Grade World Literature), but my juniors actually care about school this year, so they are constantly coming in for assistance with their work. While I, of course, encourage that, it also means that I don't get any time during the school day. Every off period and even my lunch time is filled with kiddos asking for help.

I am also teaching a high risk 10th grade class, which means 10 of the 20 kids in that class have 0 credits, have failed every single class since entering high school, and are at a risk of dropping out of high school. The purpose of the class is to be small so I can work individually with these kids and hopefully get them involved and interested in school. Out of those 10 kids, only two are failing English right now, which is a huge success! This class, however, is also very stressful, as you can imagine. All eyes are on me to see if I can turn these kids around.

On top of all that, at least half of my students are going through a bunch of crap at home, and I often feel like I carry their burdens on my shoulders. I have kids who can't afford lunch, so I sometimes offer my snacks to them so they aren't hungry. I have kids who are addicted to drugs. Kids who come to school wasted. Kids who have children. Kids who come from divorced home. Kids who are in jail. Kids who are in car accidents. They have no idea how much I worry for them all the time.

Not that I look for words of encouragement from my students, but they have no idea what I put up with and go through on a daily basis. That's why the other day when a kid did praise me, I was almost brought to tears. My students, Ryan, was working beside me on his grammar while I tutored a freshman boy on his essay. This freshman was a bit slow, so it took extra patience to deal with him. His essay was atrocious, so it took over 30 minutes to edit and help this boy write a presentable paper to turn in. I had to repeat myself about 3 times for each thing I said, and I had to write word for word what this kid needed to do to improve his paper. It was like watching a car accident.

After this freshman left, Ryan looked at me and said, "Holy cow, Ms. Nichols. I had no idea what you put up with on a daily basis. You are my hero. I have a whole new respect for you right now. I don't know how you do it."

My reply: "Now you know why I'm cranky sometimes."

He said, "Now I know why you're cranky sometimes."

It meant a lot to hear those words, though. I told some ladies in my office, and one of them told me to make sure I documented it so when I was having a bad day, I could go back and look at it. That's what I'm doing right now. Thanks, Ryan, for your kind words.

A Game of Mimics

As Holly and I headed to Vegas last month, Holly thought of a game to play during our trip. It was to mimic as many people as we could and document in on camera. As you'll see from our pictures, we had a blast doing this. Not only that, but it's not as easy as you might think. Some pictures were foiled because a few people figured out what we were doing. Some pictures are taken from the back, which, of course, were easier to take. Some, however, are directly in front of the person, and this proved to be challenging. Holly and I were having so much fun that Shan and Jeff soon joined in the fun. As you'll also notice, we also had fun mimicking objects. Our first attempt on the plane. The flash of the camera woke this dude up.

If only I was bald!

This is by far our favorite picture. This was NOT easy to take.

This guy was also suspicious of what we were doing. He had been talking on his phone (like Holly), but he ended his call right as the picture was taken.

They are even dressed the same!

This is also one of my favorites, and this one was hard to take, too.

This girl was crying, so I kind of felt bad for sneaking up behind her and mimicking her.

He turned around right as I was leaving the scene. He felt my presence.

Shan even mimicked Jeff.

Then Jeff got involved.

Thank you, thank you very much.

This one cracks me up! I was beside this guy for about five minutes, and he kept changing positions. Without being obvious, I then would change positions to match. Holly was pretending to take pictures of the Coke store when really she was taking pictures of me and this man. So funny!

Even Nathan tried his hand.

As you can tell, we had a blast in Vegas. I'll post more pictures of our trip, but I dare you to try this game if you're ever bored. It's fun, challenging and will for sure make you laugh!

Wedding Weekend

Lindsey and Ben were married this weekend. Ben is Collin's best friend from Kearney. We've known Ben since Collin and Ben were five, so he's almost like a part of the family. He was always hanging out at our house, so it was exciting when he moved to Denver a few years ago. Collin and Ben were able to continue their friendship while living in the same city. When Ben and Lindsey started dating, Lindsey and I became friends. She asked me to be a bridesmaid, and I was honored to be a part of their wedding. Here's a glimpse into their wedding weekend in Estes Park. The Bachelorette Party was Saturday evening. We went to Canvas and Cocktails: you can drink while you paint a picture directed by an artist who stands up front. From there we went to dinner at Kona Grill.

The rehearsal dinner was Sunday evening in Estes Park at Mama Rose's. It was a fabulous evening full of great conversation, good Italian food, and yummy wine.

Lindsey and me

Collin and me

The rehearsal was Monday morning at Della Terra Chateau.

It was a gorgeous place that I have saved away for a future date :)

Ben and Lindsey

Lindsey all dressed up and ready for pictures.

Dez and me after the ceremony.

Mom and dad came out from Nebraska.

Katie and me

Ben showing off his mad dance skills.

I have a ton more pictures from the weekend, but this gives you a nice picture of the fabulous weekend. The elk were out in Estes, so that was cool to see, too. We all stayed in cabins and were nice and cozy. Congrats, Ben and Lindsey! May God bless your marriage with many happy times and fun memories.