Map

I got a map. And then I hung it on the wall. My intention is to put pins in it to represent the schools Sarah has applied to and then the ones I want to apply to. I am hoping that this visual will get me motivated. It doesn't seem quite real yet. I have told everyone that I am moving, I have signed the resignation papers at work and I have started cleaning things out to limit the items to move.

But it still didn't seem real. Thus the map. Los Angeles is big. I mean really BIG. So applying for a job has to be very strategic. I have to make sure I don't have to commute because of all the traffic problems that plague the city, I don't think I could handle that. But we also have to be close to the school that Sarah will attend and since that is still a mystery... I am plotting points on the map.

So far it is making me feel better to make little flags for my push pins. I am pretty close to having my California teaching certificate and I joined a teaching network that is advertising over one hundred jobs in the LA area. For this early in the hiring season that is tremendous. I am pretty excited to see the salary ranges too, I will be moving up quite a bit which will compensate the rent increase.

There is still plenty to be done before moving can even be discussed. I will have my final formal evaluation this week and then next Monday our school will have the last walk throughs of the year. Spring break is coming up with a trip to Texas in the works! Then the AIMS tests for the kids - a very stressful for them and us. And then a few weeks of panicked apartment hunting and job interviews before we fly home for a quick visit and say farewell to Yuma.

Right now it is off to bed, Monday is coming to soon.

The Dome

As you drive into Yuma you will see, just off the highway, this dome. At first glance it appears to be just an odd shaped building but as Sarah and I learned when we took the annual Dome House tour it is so much more.

It is a monolithic dome (which are fairly well know around the world) and is huge inside. It is incredibly eco-friendly and just plain fun. There are 8 suites, one full sized kitchen, a three story atrium and a gym/computer room. Each suite has a living area, a bedroom, a kitchenette, washer and dryer, bathroom with shower and jacuzzi tub and the two lower floors have outside entrances. The third floor has a fire escape only.

In this particular dome lives a family. A big family. There is a grandma, two sisters, their husbands, two granddaughters, one great - grandson, one fiancee and one adopted family member. The family members that we spoke to said it is almost like living in a big apartment building. They don't see each other much during the week because everyone is so busy with work and school and such. On the weekend they have one big family meal together to catch everyone up with all that's gone on. They seemed like one big happy family.

all three stories

the atrium

the ponds put moisture back into the air that the dome takes out

it's very tall!

hard to clean windows :-)

What a Week!

Last week was a week! I hope this week goes better. Part of my job is to be a child advocate. I take that very seriously, sometimes a little too seriously. The last few months one of my kids has been bullying some of the other kids. He is good friends with one of Sarah's kids. There are three of them all together who form this little gang and go around trying to start fights, picking on kids who don't fight back and generally making my life difficult.

Long story short I have spent a lot of time writing referrals, calling parents, talking to kids and administration and trying to stop these kids from making mistakes. It finally came to a head this week and we sent the two biggest bullies to our alternative placement program. They go for a minimum of 30 days, a maximum of 60 and usually 45. When the decision was made I was relieved to know that the problems would end. That my kids being bullied would no longer have to walk down the halls in fear or be constantly called horrible names.

After school I went to the office and my student who was being sent to the alternative program was waiting for his mom so my boss told me to go in and talk with him. I tried to get through to him about his choices. I was desperately trying to get him to see that he was making bad choices and that he was better than that. I was okay until he teared up. Then I teared up and then I had to leave the room.

That always happens. I get so angry at the kids who make the bad choices and work so hard to get them the consequences they deserve which I see is in their best interest and then when it actually happens I am filled with remorse and guilt. I think when it comes right down too it I feel like a failure. I couldn't fix this child. I had 6 1/2 months with him and I couldn't make it right. Now, realistically I know you can't undo 12 years in a few months but it still feels like failure.

I know that tomorrow I will go to work, see that empty desk and feel sadness. But I know that I am still a child advocate and I couldn't change those circumstances but there are still 57 kids and many more months to go. So I choose to be optimistic.