Misses:

Living in the country...
Burning brush...
Roasting marshmallows in that brush fire...
The smell of hay...
The smell of horses...
Burning a fire in the fireplace...
Having a garden...
My mom...
My brother...
You...

Loves:

That I only have two more days until the weekend...
The sunrise in my rear-view mirror this morning...
The crisp, cool air...
Sweater weather...
The yellow leaves on the tree outside my window at work...


Hates:

Being sick...
That the sunrise reminded me of one more thing we didn't do together...
Getting into my truck after work, and immediately hearing one of  "those" songs...
Hearing the text alert on my phone, then, looking at it...
The silence...
Being the last choice...again.

Loves:
You.

Hates:
This.

Loves when:

I make it through a Monday...
Sound sleep keeps the nightmares away...
Words match actions...

Hates when:

I go through another day with a sick stomach....
I go through another day lost and alone...
Words don't match actions...

Loves:

That I am able to listen to most music now, and NOT cry...
I am on Fall Break...

Hates:

That I am having HORRIBLE nightmares...
That I wake up screaming and crying because of those nightmares...
That said nightmares make me want to vomit...


Dear Lord,
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE take these nightmares away....

Loves when:                                                                

People tell me the truth the FIRST time, when given the opportunity....
People do the right thing....
Life makes me smile...
God sends me a "Te amo" when I need it the most....
God has a sense of humor...
I get my hair washed, by someone else...
I paint, I write, I finish something...
It rains...
The leaves are turning colors...
I sleep ALL night long, without waking up crying...
I find a song that I can relate to...
I can spend time with my kids...
I try something new...


Hates when:

People repeatedly refuse to tell the truth, when given the opportunity...
People do the selfish thing, myself included...
Life makes me cry...
I feel like God forgot about me...
I feel all alone...
I wake up at 1:00 a.m., not able to go back to sleep...
I wake up at 3:00, crying...
I wake up at 4:30, after having a nightmare, and I cry again...
I hear a song that makes me cry...
I have to listen to silence...
I have to wait...
I constantly feel sick at my stomach....
I feel like I'm in limbo...
I can't look forward, only backward...

Loves:

Spending a Sunday morning with my grandson...
Spending a Sunday afternoon with my daughter, home from college...
An unexpected call...
Being able to listen to music again without crying, at least for today..
Hope...
The comfort of being at home...
That my daughter STILL needs me...


Hates:

That my daughter is having such a hard time adjusting to college...
That I can't do much to help her with this adjustment, except listen...
That I can't "fix" it...
Uncertainty...
Waiting...
Distance...

Loves:

When sleep finally comes...
When sleep stays....
When an old friend calls...
A short road trip to clear  the mind...
That I'm losing weight...
That God has a sense of humor, that I'll never understand...
Hugs from my kids....
The safety of my home...

Hates:

Being sick at my stomach for over a week...
Distance...
Being such a whiney baby...
Feeling this way...
The circumstances that are killing me right now...
Isolation...
Loneliness...

Love it when:

A team works together, to help a kiddo...

Friday FINALLY cooperates and rescues me...

I get my toes all prettied up...

My offspring calls me on the phone WITHOUT being prompted...

My house is pretty close to being all clean!!

A kiddo smiles because you just helped him finish four assignments...


Hate it when:

A kiddo is hurting inside, but, can't tell you why...

Full moons and drastic changes in weather make my students do weird things...

Fridays take SOOooooo long to get here to rescue me...

The road is too long...

The day is not long enough, and

The weekend is WAY too short...

Thursday's thoughts...

Lovin':

The slow, sweet rain, and the oh, so welcome, cloudy, cool day it brings...

James Taylor's tunes playing in the background of my classroom all day long...
and in my truck, on the way to and from school...I missed you James, where have you been man, and by the way, you have aged well.  I've loved you since junior high.

A wonderful, much needed massage...
Can I say it again?  MY MASSAGE DAY - THURSDAY!!!!!

Acrostics written by my students...

That moment when I get through to THAT student...

Good friends, who also have good shoulders...

My guy...


Hatin':

Picture day at school...ugh...I always, I mean ALWAYS skip out on the first day of pictures (not school, just the pictures!), then, I am always, I mean ALWAYS forced to have my picture taken on "re-take" day....(my most un-favorite day of the year at school)....in the hopes that I will lose another 10-50 pounds between now and then....ha!! Not one, but, maybe a dozen or so of my students asked, "Did you get your picture taken?"  I answered with, "No, not yet."  Of course, they all said, "Well, you better get it done now!!",  to which I always replied, "I will, later."  Boy, will I be in trouble when the secretary finds out!!

That I'm truly feelin' the proverbial "empty nest syndrome" BIG TIME!!!

Distance, again...

That I am so DANG emotional about the whole empty nest thing!!  

When I NEED to get through to that OTHER student, but can't seem to...


"Just call out my name, and you know, wherever I am, I'll come runnin'..."