Well, because my life is about balance*, here are things I'm not worried about:

- My classroom...I've decided that it's going to be a lesson in humility and gratitude for me, and if I'm lucky, for my students. I'm going to acknowledge how small it is on the first day (which is Friday!) but show children learning in different environments around the world. There are many children who could never imagine the luxuries I have in my classroom and could benefit so much from the resources that I have. So, in the absence of other options, I'm going for "it'll be an adventure!" and "I can make this work!" attitudes. We'll see how long that lasts, with 9 non-English speaking students in a room smaller than any of my college dorm rooms, first thing every morning :)

-Teaching. I'm so excited to see my students!! Apparently, from the chatter I hear in the staff lounge, a bunch of my students did a "yes!" arm pump when they heard that ESL starts this week :) And they keep stopping me and asking why I'm not coming to get them yet. I think the trip around United States content material is going to be so interesting! We're going to analyze a mural by Diego Rivera ("Detroit Industry"), dissect the National Anthem for using descriptive adjectives and verbs without stating the subject (it never says "flag" in the song), and comparing and contrasting a Minnesotan folktale (Paul Bunyan) with an Ojibwe folktale about giants. This year is going to be so much fun!

-My friends. They seem to understand that I'm not always a chatty kathy, which is comforting.

-My family. Although our family is somewhat fractured, I've found a way to be in communication with everyone without offending anyone (at least that I know), which is so important to me.

*"My life...is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next" ~Gilda Radner