Successes, stress relief and Pollyannas

This post probably won't have any real organized form. It is more of an "I haven't posted in a few and have some bright spots to share" kind of thing. So please forgive the collection of odds and ends. Sometimes life is just like that...a jumble of different things. (g)

College classes started for me yesterday. While I love to learn, yesterday somewhat stressful. The stress comes from my working full time and the classes require me to take some time off from my job to meet those needs. I hope my principal will support me in this as she did last year but things have changed at my school and so it still needs her approval. Knowing she has a school to run which will of course be her first priority, I also know that she won't be ignorant of the effect her decision will have on my furthering my career in education. Hopefully we will be able to work things out to where this won't cause any hardships for either of us or those it might also affect.

My weeks now are busy. My "duckling" is doing well in her classes. This is the student I follow from class to class providing any needed support. She was in a much more restrictive classroom last year and is really proud of being in regular education classes this year. It shows in her efforts and decisions. Earlier this week she asked to skip her much loved choir class to get help on her homework. She is showing maturity in other ways too. I am really proud of her and have hopes of her being successful this year in spite of the challenges. I also expect she will be successful in high school when she moves on.

My friend, Susan, has started a blogcarnival this week entitled carnival of hope. I like the idea. It is important when dealing with a stress filled world to keep our eyes on a bright spot lest we lose hope. When I was a child the Disney movie, Pollyanna came out and I liked the idea so much that my mother chose that as the name for being optomistic and hopeful. So I became a Pollyanna in my efforts to see joy in the world.

Speaking of stress, one of the activities in my Saturday classes was to list ways we dealt with stress. Lots of people did shopping. Some admitted to eating. Others claimed cleaning, having a couple of glasses of wine, or reading a book. The teacher admitted to gardening and holding conversations with the air while she did. I too am a fan of air conversations. It is a really good way to vent without hurting anyone's feelings. Some people call it empty chair therapy. Whatever you call it, it works. Other ways of dealing with stress that were mentioned were playing computer games, hanging out with friends, reading a good book, or going on a small trip. Vacations aren't always practical for me. Lots of time I just don't have the resources to go on one or the time. So I use fiction to escape. I've done this since I was a teenager. One really awful summer I read 120 books just to escape the anguish of growing up. My sister meditates or runs. If you have a way of handling stress I hope you will post it here.