Week 12 Day 3

I drove myself to work today. What a good feeling! I still got up at the regular time, but had so much more time to get things done and still get to work on time. I actually enjoy not feeling rushed in the morning!

The school day went well. I kept in all of my students during morning recess to write lines about how important it is to be quiet in class. I also had some boys scrub a few cupboard doors with toothbrushes (I have a cleaning stash under my sink) from throwing snow outside (an absolute no-no).

Now, the crazy part about this, is I was filling out a graduate survey for my university, and one of the questions it asked was: How would your students describe you? I’m the type of teacher that talks straight to my students. We work together and we figure things out together. Then, if necessary, I will step in to solve problems that they are not solving on their own. And because I’m very straight-up with them, I told them what I was doing and asked them to be completely honest about their answers. Keep in mind the trouble they were just in. They completely poured out these amazing descriptions, one being, “a good disciplinarian”. I wasn’t sure how to take that at first until they told me that my punishments were good and fair. Wow. I love my class!

After school, I had to leave right away because I was getting my next size of trays for Invisalign at the dentist. The roads were terribly icy, but I managed to make it there safely. I then proceeded to sit for an hour because of how behind they were. However, I couldn’t leave and come back the next day because my dentist only works on Tuesdays. So I waited, and then got my new bottom plate, as well as a maintenance top plate. It hasn’t started hurting yet, but I fear it’s coming.

I went home, got ready, and my husband and I went to the gym. I had a very good back and biceps workout. I was stronger, felt solid, and took a little more of a leisurely approach by slightly longer breaks since my workout was a little shorter today (7 exercises). I even was able to complete 25 minutes of steady state cardio on the stationary bike! It was just a good time at the gym.

I noticed something at the gym tonight though. Standing in front of the mirrors, I realized that my back shape is nice (from a side view). But it’s almost like my stomach is somehow getting flatter and yet sticking out more. I guess I can best describe it like a thick, smooth curve. I haven’t quite settled on how I feel about this. But I chose to leave it as a realization that I am stronger, I feel better, and regardless of the fat percentage, my muscles are showing more than they ever have before, and that’s a feat in itself. So I’m going to keep waiting and see how my body continues to take shape.

Week 9 Day 5: The Crash

So I slept maybe 1/2 hour last night. And the results: I’m much closer to being done, but I’m still not done! This is taking so much longer than I ever planned, but regardless, off to work I go.

I actually went to work earlier this morning so that I could stop and get a coffee on the way. I knew I was going to need it badly today. Throughout the day, I managed to get more grading done (still not done) and my classes went well.

After school, we had a staff meeting that was very informative, and our Home and School group provided us with supper which was incredibly nice! But I could tell my body was getting antsy and my eyes were starting to hurt from being focussed and open so long.

I was almost scared for my 2 minute drive home. I knew my brain was probably not at the functioning it should be. But I made it home safely, and took a nap. The problem was, I took a longer nap than normal, thinking it would help. But instead my body started to release it’s tension, and it turned into a 12 hour sleep. My body literally crashed, with good reason. I must have gone through at least 6-12 dreams, the result of my brain on overdrive for 3 days in a sleepless row. My body has certainly had enough.

Truck Respect

So as I’ve already mentioned, my husband’s truck is a beast of a truck. It has a 3-inch lift kit, and is a Dodge Ram 3500. It’s a big truck.

A dark picture, but you can see how little it makes the Charger look.

Last night as we were driving home from the restaurant (my sister’s birthday and my dad was in town), we were on a road where I had to move across four lanes, merging as I went (nothing immediately causing me to cross all four at once).

Of course some lanes were empty, some were not. I was consistently checking my mirrors and shoulder checking to see when it would be clear. But to my surprise, as I was merging into one lane, a car had sped up and either merged right behind me or simply just came up quickly behind me. Either way, it honestly looked like a close call.

I was already in an emotional state after saying good-bye to Jewel, and then already having survived a few accidents myself, something that looked so close put me in a bit of alarm. But it was at that moment that I noticed something.

My husband, who was following me in his truck, immediately put on his signal to turn into my lane. He was up beside the car that had almost rear-ended me. And you know what happened? The car backed off and let him in.

Wow!

There were a couple other incidents on my drive that I just watched and noticed how if I did something, the other vehicles didn’t notice and/or didn’t care. But if my husband did it in his big truck right behind me, they all of a sudden seemed to care and get out of his way. Amazing how that works!

And so I have termed this incidence: truck respect. Seriously, the city people are either afraid of the big trucks or something. But without a doubt, there is some major road respect which I admit was pretty awesome. I felt safer knowing I had my guardian husband and his guardian truck at my back the whole way. And as God was with the both of us, we travelled safely.

What do you think? Have you noticed any “truck respect” on the roads? What are your thoughts about big trucks in the city? (Hint: I used to not like them, they do seem to take up too much room. But when it comes to safety, I have an all new respect!)