Thoughts on School [3]

People are unbelievable.  Really.  Some are unbelievably rude, arrogant, etc.  But lately, I have been reminded of how unbelievably kind, encouraging, and uplifting people can be.  It's a great thing to remember.

The start of this school year has been hard.  I think I knew it would be, but knowledge doesn't always prepare you for the future.  The other day, my mom asked me if I've thought of a way to explain to people why special ed is so crazy, and after thinking about it for a minute, I answered, "I think because nothing ever goes the way you think it will."  This has been my story since the start of school, but I'm convinced that crazy does not necessarily means bad. I think I'm starting to become satisfied with crazy because:
1.  I'm realizing how much people care.  Some of the teachers at my school have really gone out of their way to encourage me and tell me I'm doing a great job (whether I am or not!).  These little words mean so much to me and help keep me going.  
2.  I'm becoming more flexible.  A personality test at inservice this week confirmed what I've always known about myself- that I am highly organized, obsessive, structured, and often controlling or unbending.  It's good for me to be stretched.
3.  I'm learning to let people help me.  (Yikes!)  I am discovering that I will literally drown and/or have a meltdown every day if I do not ask for help. 
4.  I'm realizing that I cannot be perfect- and it's okay not to be!

I'm finding it easier to have a positive attitude about school.  Despite the meltdowns of students, projectile vomiting, and quitting of one of my aides this week, I have been so much happier than I was at the beginning of the year.  All of this can only be attributed to Christ, who is the reason I know I will be okay.  :-) 

Other news, briefly:
-Andrew is at a church conference in North Carolina this weekend.  I'll miss him, but he has been looking forward to this thing for weeks now.  Matt Chandler, John Piper, and others will be there.  I'm a little jealous!
-Andrew starts a new job on Tuesday.  After starting the bus driver thing, another opportunity randomly landed upon his lap.  Andrew interviewed for the position and got it!  He'll be working about 27 hours each week for a company called QuiBids.  It's an online company, and Andrew will be doing product research.  He is much more excited to have this job than to be driving buses, and I'm excited about the fact that he could possibly end up working from home one day!
-We got to spend Labor Day weekend with my parents.  It is always so refreshing to be at their house!  We also saw Andrew's family on Monday.  A weekend of basically nothing was exactly what we needed.
-Last night, I started leading a bible study with two other girls from church.  We're studying Tim Keller's Counterfeit Gods.  I think it will be a good one!

In Christ alone,
Mary Rachel