Every year has its ups and downs, fantastic moments and those moments that you wish were over the second they began. I am not overly sentimental but this was personally a big year for my husband and I, so I figured now would be a good time to reminisce.
Favorite Teaching Moment
At the end of last school year I got two incredibly heartfelt letters from a pair of students that made me completely bawl my eyes out. I was sobbing like a baby, alone in my classroom reading them over and over again at my desk. I had one of the students for two years and never realized the apparent impact I had on her. Those letters mean so much to me because they serve as a reminder of why I am a teacher, especially on those hard days.
Read more: Teaching the Egyptian Book of the Dead
Not so Favorite Teaching Moment
Having to leave my school was a really hard and emotional change for me; my husband works at my old school and I have a ton of great teacher-friends there. However, I am so thankful every day I step on to my new campus. Lots of changes for sure, but my workload and peace of mind have been so balanced this year. And plus, I get to teach some new subjects and grow as an educator.
Read more: 2017-2018 School Year
Favorite Travel Moment
Although one of the trips closer to home, my favorite experiences has got to be spending three-weeks in New York City this summer as part of the Religious World of New York Summer Institute. Not only did I get to run around the city for 3 weeks, I also got to spend a lot of time recharging and connecting with educators, and seeing my family. That’s a triple win in my book!
Read more: 10 Reason to Choose Religious Worlds of NYC Summer Institute
Not so Favorite Travel Moment
Knock on wood, nothing really terrible has happened to us while traveling so I can’t really bring much to mind. However, if I had to pick something it would be our Frontier flight to and from San Diego. Frontier was super cheap so we knew what we were getting into, I just won’t go with that option again for a 5-hour flight. I can deal with no padding or food tray for a few hours but not that long of a flight.
Read more: 2017 Thanksgiving SoCal Itinerary
Favorite Art Moment
Wow, well there is a lot that was fantastic this past year, however seeing the Ishtar Gates in Berlin has got to be one of the most break taking art pieces I have seen, maybe ever! The gates were literally taken apart piece by piece and relocated to the Pergamon Museum. I’ve seen pictures of its immense size but there was nothing like turning the corner to be faced with that gorgeous blue tiling filling the room.
Read more: Top 8 Berlin Museums
Not so Favorite Art Moment
That time I #missedthemilkmaid…again. So long story short, I travel to Amsterdam to see my favorite Vermeer painting and she wasn’t there, she was in the Louvre. So then I traveled to Washington, D.C. so see her as part of the Vermeer show…and I’ll be damned she never traveled over with the rest of the show and was back in Amsterdam. Well that was both infuriating and just too unreal to be mad at for long!
Read more: Weekend in D.C.: Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting
P.S. that is a different Vermeer in the photo
Favorite Family Moment
Getting to kick off 2017 in Munich with my family is probably my favorite family memory of the year (although there are many to choose from). New Year’s Eve last year was over the top and kinda scary but it meant a lot that my parents, husband and I could travel to spend the holidays with my sister in Germany.
Read more: New Year’s Eve in Munich
Not so Favorite Family Moment
I think the hardest family moment for us this year was the passing of my father-in-law. I know we are still working on adjusting and the first year of holidays are always extra difficult. However, blessed family moments can also be had during difficult times as people gather together for comfort.
JMF
