Not that I have too much time. So this blog will also be about the time I have.

I am a first-year teacher now. I am sure that you've met one of us before. We have no lives. I teach 6 different classes: 

1. 6th grade language arts

2. 6th grade social studies

3. 7th grade language arts

4. 7th grade social studies

5. 8th grade language arts

6. 8th grade social studies

I am also highly qualified in Spanish. I could almost run a one-room schoolhouse with all of the classes that I could teach. People also tell me that I am special for working with middle school. Sometimes I see what they mean and other times I think I'm the luckiest teacher in the world.

Middle school is great for many reasons. The students are still excited to learn, yet they're innocent...well, most of them. I find that I can teach them the same materials as they might encounter at high school, just slightly slower. On the other hand, hormones are something else. It's always awkward when a parent tells me that his/her daughter got her first period. How should I respond? Congratulations? That's nice? That sucks? Those conversations throw me for a loop. 

Lastly, I much prefer teaching middle school to being in middle school. I definitely had the roller coaster hormones. I recall learning a lot and liking my teachers, but when I reflect on my overall mood, my feelings are in black and white; they are dismal and fill me with a low and dreary ache. I hope my students don't feel that way when they reflect...

Still, I have time for a life. I have a boyfriend and I actually see him and spend time with him! I have a few very close friends that I keep in touch with, I sing in a choir and direct another one, and I knit daily.

Ah, knitting. As I tell my students, I'm an old woman stuck in a young woman's body. I knit so much that I sometimes get cramps in my hands, but I love it. Knitting takes away stress. So if I'm knitting constantly and I am still stressed...you get the picture.

Still, I love to knit. It's one of the oldest crafts in the world. I feel more of a connection with the history of humanity when I knit. I am doing the same thing people have been doing thousands of years before. Now I am part of that tradition. Also, when I'm knitting, I can create beautiful things for other people. Instead of being idle (which I never am, anyway), I make pieces for people and they are happy because of it. There are always more challenges with knitting, which I also love because I'm always pushing myself to improve. 

So, in the spirit of self-betterment, I will challenge myself to make my first sweater in January. I will write brief, daily updates about the challenges and triumphs. I will also post my work-in-progress. It shall be interesting. Then, since I always look ahead, I would like to do a new pattern a week in March. Again, I will blog about triumphs and hardships, but I think it will improve my craft considerably.

Here's to time! and to knitting!