Phenomenon

The furball in question... Cami

Now for the lighter side of life. This post goes more for any animal owners, specifically those with dogs, cats, or anyone who sleeps with a pet on their bed. I have to speak from the experience as a dog person and our girl Cami, though it does go for our past dogs Nutmeg, Triscuit, and Coby.

There is an amazing phenomenon that happens at night. You walk upstairs, do your nightly routine, and flick on the lights as you walk into your bedroom. You spot a breathing mass of fur on you bed cuddled up into a ball fast asleep. You have a few options for the "furball" (lovingly nicknamed).

• Option One: Kick the furball off the bed and claim it for your own.
• Option Two: Let them sleep there and maneuver around the fur-ball.
• Option Three: Pull said furball to the top of the bed to snuggling up with.
• Option Four: Grudgingly return furball to your sister, and rightful owner, so they may sleep better that night.

Most nights I choose Option Three with a slight rule addition. I get to cuddle for a while until my door opens, my sister snaps, and the furball leaps off my bed and into hers. I, in turn, immediately roll into the vacated furball's spot and the warmth found there. This is the phenomenon that I like to call "Puppy Warmth", or "Kitty Warmth" if that is your preference of furball. Do to their higher body temperature and way of sleeping, furballs create this beautiful pocked of warmth that instantly makes you cozier. You can get a preview of this phenomenon by lying next to them or cuddling on the couch, often that cuddling results in a higher temperature, but it is so nice to slide into that spot and fall asleep all cozy. The only problem is that puppy warmth phenomenon cools quickly unless occupied with a warmish body. This was my dilemma last night.

After watching one of Conan O'Brien's last few episodes of the Tonight Show, I closed up the house and started up the stairs. Nancy, my sister and rightful owner of our furball (lovingly named) Cami, called out from her room and bed to ask if the dog was with me. I replied no, and she aksed me to send Cami into her room once I found her. I quickly go through my nightly activities, head into my room, and find said furball asleep on my bed.

At this point I was contemplating keeping the furball for the night. Two nights before, Nancy was already asleep when I came to bed, and Cami was half awake waiting for me. Both bedroom doors were open that night, and I had assumed that the furball would get up at some point during the night, leave my room and join Nancy in her's. There may have been a little night wandering, reported by Nancy and Mom the next day, but the majority of the night Cami spent in my room. I woke up the next morning just as Nancy was getting ready to leave for school. I nudged the furball off the bed to go out with Nancy, only to have the dog race back upstairs and jump into bed once Nancy left for the day. We napped until I had to get ready for work, with Cami still sleeping up near the pillows.

My memory of the night before was very tempting. I really just wanted to close my door with the furball closed in. Then I remembered my sister's complaint the next day. After three years with the dog, she had become used to sleeping with Cami, and a night without her was restless. Also, the old offer to let furball sleep with me on the condition that I would be woken up at 7:30 to take the dog out. So that night I chose Option Four. I brought Cami to Nancy's room, then jumped into my own. Thankfully, my Puppy Warmth was still there and I was able to also have a good night sleep.

I hope everyone has the chance to experience Puppy Warmth. It is a wonderful thing to slide into that warm spot, but even better to cuddle with the furball that was the creater.

Thank you to our furball (lovingly nicknamed) Cami and Nancy, sister and rightful owner, for sharing the Puppy Warmth with me.

It is the Tree of Life to those who hold fast to it and all of it's supporters are happy

Tree of Life that my 5th grade students painted.

Each year my students create a Tree of Jewish Life to explore what it means to be Jewish. We discuss the people in our community, traditions, and how the Jewish culture has an influence on their lives. We then have a debate about the list of what each value is; a root in the community, a branch out into everyday life, or the trunk that supports us and makes us stronger.

While looking at the student values, I began to think about what makes my life worth living. Just as people do around Thanksgiving and the holidays, I looked at what I'm thankful for. My family plays a very large role in my life. My mother is a strong woman who seems to be able to live through tough times and come out wiser and a better person. My sister can always make me laugh, even when I'm upset about something or I just want to be mad at the world. I hate when she does this but secretly love it. My friends help support me, and I them, and I admire them for their lust for life. I feel like a better person whenever I interact with them.

The Temple community has always been wonderful to me. I grew up in the Temple, learning the religion and making friends. Music became an important part of my life there, joining the Adult Choir with Dad and continued to sing up until present. I helped to pass on my education as a TA and now am in my third year of teaching 5th grade. My students have been amazing, sharing their new ideas and making me think differently about everything I had learned in the past. Many share the same spark I had while in school, wanting to find out more and see different ways of exploring our religion. I met them as students but I can see them as young teachers and friends. In a way I have turned into their Miss K., a person that they can talk to as a friend and trust as an adult. We can joke around and still respect each other.

A few years ago we had to write an essay of self discovery, a portrait of who we are. I wrote how I was a product of my education, family, religion, and cultural influences. I wrote how I wanting to be the rescued girl from a love story who could also take charge and save the world like a super hero. I wanted to live in the world that you would never grow old in, a world where magic existed and that with training I could use "the force". (Please hold the eye roll here) Someday I will post the essay on here for more giggles reading into my past picture of myself, and the new things I can add in today.

I guess where I'm trying to go with this is every year my students recreate a Tree of Life, and every year I add something new to mine. It's interesting to see that I can always add another branch into my life, another root to stabilize who I am and want to become.

Learning from TV

While watching TV tonight, I saw an ad for Mercy and it made me think. This weeks episode will feature a patient who fell asleep one night and woke up ten years later. A character on the show asked another "If you fell asleep and woke up ten years later, what do you think you would remember? Would you remember me?"

It is interesting how many things can change in ten years. Looking back on fifteen, I keep thinking how simple life was, yet complicated at the same time. At that age I was looking forward to getting my first boyfriend, going to Disney and to that year's Junior Prom. I was worried about the next test that I would take, what problems were happening between friends, and medical worries for Dad and Grandpa. I had to start thinking about where I wanted to go to school and what I could offer to a larger community. How could I look more interesting to the people at the Admissions Office at the University so they would accept me into their school.

Ten years later I'm still looking for a guy in my life so I can have some of the same happiness that my friends have already experienced. I've been to Disney twice since turning 15 but I want to travel to more mature destinations. Proms have passed and made way to a few weddings and nights out with friends. Test worries have made way for work troubles, friends still have issues but not so petty as before.

What has stayed the same is the notion of what I have to offer in life. I am back at the crossroads of what I need to say and do to get back into school to do my masters program. I have to look again at what I have accomplished and how to make sure I can offer my best self to my education. I have become a teacher "lite" at Hebrew School and have learned a little about classroom management, preparation, and teacher/student relationships. I am in charge of a wonderful program to donate food to local shelters, teaching the students how to be responsible to their community and how to make a change in the world. I want to show that I am interested in Education and how I feels that I can make an impact on student lives to help shape their futures as my teachers had in the past. I just need to get over the nerves and apply to school so I can start my education again.

So what is in store for the next ten years? Will I still be close with the same friends that I have depended on the last few years? Will my high school friends still be a large part of my life or will new co-workers take their place? Will I be married with kids and a few dogs? Will I be happy with who I am and what I have accomplished in the last ten years? I hope so. The only person who can make the change in my life is me. The only way I can make a change is if I keep motivated to put out my best possible self.

One thing that I know for sure is that I will still be thinking about the past, the future, and how often I write just a little too much information off of one quick thought.

Good night.

In the beginning there was...

Nancy...

I made a blog and you are going to be the first word in chapters about my life. Rightfully so since you are the person who convinced me to start one to get back into writing again. I hope this won't be too boring for you. Don't worry, future posts won't be so cheesy, boring or short.