They say that life is one giant balancing act
Each day and each task makes this a truer and truer fact
It’s easy to see the hard in each day
Ignoring the good things that come your way

But these past few weeks that hasn’t been so
As moments with students have made my heart grow
We’ve had COVID on campus which has been a big pain
And the season has shifted, it’s started to rain

As I put on my boots and don my cute mask
I’ve been delighted to face each and every task…

Before term began I moved to a new house
Kicked out the old inhabitants, an orange gecko and a mouse.
I painted the walls and admired my new lawn
With the sun streaming through at sunset and dawn

On a last minute hike to paradise falls
I spent time with some friends without ceilings or walls
We found stunning views and scaled a cliff face
To splash in a pond or take in the open space

The first weekend back I used my yard well
Hosting yard games and a bonfire where marshmallows fell
The next day more kids came with textbooks in tow
To study for the AP Exam as they felt trapped on death-row

Freedom came soon as the exam was now done
All their studying and hard work paying off a ton
We celebrated that night burning chem notes in the grass
And the next day flipping pancakes instead of holding class

I discovered a new favorite, a cute coffee shop
Not far down the hill, a jump-skip and a hop
I’ve visited twice now, with wonderful friends
A continued adventure I hope never ends

Classes are laid back as I pull out the “fun” labs
Like making ice-cream together in zip lock bags

Sports are happening again in full swing
Volleyball and Rugby both happen in the ‘spring’

I enjoyed joining a friend for her class poetry slam
As students shared their poems about slippers, flowers, or cafo ham

Pinewood derby happened for the first time in years
With a new track and kids once again carving out gears

An afternoon in the sun with some ladies for tea
Was fun for us staff to come enjoy and see

Ice-cream sundaes and scattegories made a fun night
On my friends back porch with students under her twinkle lights

I spent the night in “Propst” our student COVID dorm
To relieve student health workers from our COVID onslaught storm
We’ve had a lot on campus and going around
Despite efforts to stay healthy and keep our feet on the ground

I watched an all day tournament learning a new game
“That’s like American Football” but nothing’s actually the same.
I learned new terms and words like tri, scrum, and ruk
As tackles happen and students go down like they’ve been hit by a truck

The sophomores coordinated serving us food
With an 80’s theme and live music setting the mood
It was fun for a reason to get all dressed up
And eat steak and potatoes with iced tea in my cup

I got to try something new with my student to teach
“Put the knot here, and with your foot make this reach!”

Today with juniors gone we had fun again
Trying to light fire kites with a small class of 10
We didn’t succeed but we had fun trying
With paper burning on the ground instead of flying

I’ve been enjoying every minute of this crazy life
Living in joy and not so much strife
After the last couple of terms were so very tricky
It’s nice for some time that isn’t so icky

The Lord has been good in being patient with me
Even when it’s not always clear for me to see

These aren’t even close to all the stories I could tell
But things have been going really quite well.
Teaching is a joy as so many moments are fun
And I’ve been getting up early each morning, to walk or to run

As I watch the dawn break over Mt. Loganot
I ponder over how blessed I am in this spot
I teach the best students and have the best task:
To love on these kids, or swirl an erlenmeyer flask 😉

Prayer Points

• Please pray for stability on campus- we seem to be moving in the right direction, but COVID has been very present on campus this term and there are many that this has been wearying to.
• Praise the Lord for this season of good. Having had my kids take the AP Test the second week of the term, there is a lot less academic stress which has made a world of difference in feeling able to juggle everything.
• Please pray for continued moments to connect with my students and have real & genuine conversations.
• Praise the Lord for the moments I have been having as trust has been growing and building with time.