Gratitudes, in no particular order

1. Rob and Coconut
2. My health, and the health of my loved ones.
3. Food and shelter and all of the bare essentials.
4. Sunrises, sunsets.
5. Swimming.
6. Beaches.
7. Surfing.
8. Friends.
9. Happiness and joy.
10. Writing.
11. Celebrations.
12. San Francisco.
13. My family, even though sometimes they drive me crazy.
14. Travel.
15. Learning foreign languages, currencies, and trying out new foods.
16. New and novel experiences.
17. Good books.
18. Islands magazine.
19. The Hawaiian Islands.
20. A good laugh.
21. Teaching, for many reasons. But everyday I learn at least as much as I teach, if not more.
22. Photographs, photography.
23. Good memories.
24. Hula hoops, and hula hooping.
25. My nieces, Abby and Maya.
26. Baby Camden.
27. Cooking, and learning to cook new things.
28. Good conversations.
29. Coziness.
30. A nice walk. A walk on the beach, even better.
31. The color turquoise.
32. Black tea with milk and honey.
33. Learning.
34. A good nap.
35. A good night's sleep.
36. The magic in life.
37. Adventures.
38. Surprises.
39. Sea life.
40. Dogs.
41. The dreams we have in life, and looking forward to having them come true.
42. Fires in the fireplace to keep warm in the winter.
43. My purple pen.
44. Good films.
45. Thai food.
46. Getting to speak French with my grandmother, Mimi.
47. Almost being done with school!
48. Trips to look forward to, like San Francisco, Baja, and Kauai!
49. Art projects, collage, etc.
50. Seeing old friends.
51. Hibiscus flowers.
52. Tropical beauty: the flowers, the scent of the air, the colors, the sea, the shells.
53. Hula.
54. Meeting new people and hearing their stories.
55. Creativity.
56. Hanalei, Kauai.
57. Encinitas, CA.
58. My cruiser bike!
59. Seeing the glass half full.
60. The joys of the past, the present, and those yet to come!
61. Frida Kahlo.
62. Mexico.
63. Cuba.
64. Brea finally coming back after being gone for so long.
65. Saskia in Holland, who I still miss all the time.
66. The San Francisco Chronicle.
67. My dreams to go to Valparaiso, Chile with Rob.
68. Google Reader.
69. Having fun!
70. Enjoying life.

Teaching, like life, has its ups and downs. Teaching can be the most wonderful and amazing job on the planet, and at the very same time the most sanity inducing job on the planet. The duality in itself is a little bit of a crazy maker, but it's also part of what keeps it interesting.
There's nothing like the feeling of teaching a lesson on something really interesting that I'm excited about, the kids are excited about, and everything goes as planned. I have a creative lesson plan and all sorts of ideas, and I can't wait to teach it. When everything goes smoothly, and you see the wonder and excitement light up their faces at the joy of a new discovery. These are the great days and the days that make the tougher days more bearable. But as much as I've complained about my bad days, as the old saying goes, sometimes there's a lot more to learn from your failures than from your successes. I've had some rock bottom low days teaching, and trust me, I have no desire to relive them. But I've learned a lot from those days, and what went wrong, and how I might do better with those situations next time. I think I want things to go well all the time, but the truth is, that will probably never happen. Also, the bad days make the just ok days that much better by comparison. but most importantly, those bad days should not be considered lost or wasted days. It seems as if (for me at least) it is only through great struggle that I really grow, and as much as I love those dreamy teaching days, I can appreciate the bad days too, and everything in between. I think that only in thinking that everyday has to be great or perfect will I suffer. My goal is to let go of always wanting things to go the way I want them to go, and just let things go the way they go. I mean, doing my best to do my part to do the best I can of course. But there is a lot of freedom to letting things happen the way they happen and being ok with it. Because all that any of us can do is do the best we can, right? And then let it go, and be ok with what happens because it is what it is. And whatever it is is ok.