Diane

I had spoken of you

Just the other day.

Passing the past

On to the present.

Spoke of sleepovers,

Of doing our nails,

Of listening to music,

Of giggling together.

A recent picture had shown

How much like Grandma

You'd grown to be.

Memories linger,

Black hair, just touched with silver.

Not grey, never grey.

Memories taunt,

Sunlit backyards,

Watermelon spitting,

Horseshoe and wiffleball days.

Picking red roses,

Climbing in the front.

Sitting under grapes vines,

Climbing in the back.

Memories we share

As we say goodbye.

 

Middle Age

 
In youth each day dawns new.

A clean slate, a new race to run.

Begin what was forgotten,             

Finish what was yesterday begun.

But now I see the truth.

Each day is one lap in a long race.

I am nearer the end,

Playing an impossible catch up.

Each lap brought hard lessons. 

Every mistake is replayed.

But my eyes are on dusk, a clear view,

Still hoping to fall no further behind.

Pain Sucks

Pain sucks.

It sucks ambition.

It sucks patience.

It sucks vitality.

It sucks nights of sleep.

It sucks days of work.

It sucks the fun out of play

Out of life.

It sucks until you are a dry husk

Of yourself.

Substituting

    Imagine a job where you can choose when, where and how often you will work. Imagine walking into a completely strange place every day and having to pick up on the people and schedule and find your way around within the first few minutes. That is substituting. I have been subbing in the public schools off and on for the past five months. Mainly it's just to carry me over until a better paying job comes around. It's not a bad way to earn money. You have complete control over your schedule. If you're a student as I am that is helpful. The hours are easy as a full day is just below 8 hours. Not many people though could support a family on $65 a day. My school system uses a temp agency. Here in Indiana if you have 60 college credits and can pass both a criminal records check and a drug test you are good to go.

    The classroom experience varies. My first assignment was a first grade class and I wasn't quite prepared for what it would be like, chaotic. The day couldn't go fast enough. After that I stuck to Middle and High School and for the most part had good experiences. Basically teachers leave work for them to do and I let the students know that if they do the work they are free to talk quietly. It usually works well. Recently I ventured back into the elementary level and found I was enjoying myself.

    Classes, especially in elementary, have their own personalities; there are the calm, studious ones, the loud ones, the chaotic ones and of course the ones with attitude. The last are generally found in the lower high school grades. My favorites are the higher grades especially college track classes. The students are so involved with their work they barely notice subs. While I have not chosen teaching as a career path I have found subbing to be an eye opening experience. I would recommend it to anyone considering teaching as a career as it allows you a peek into the educational system.