Weekly Wrap-up for September 11, 2011: School, Remembrance, BBAW, and Books (of course).

I am so grateful for weekends. They just happen to come along at the right moment and give you a breather from everything else going on.

I started school this past week, and it has definitely been difficult to get back into a teaching mindset. I am slowly finding my groove again, but it is taking a little longer. I also realized that I need to revamp some lessons and make them my own-I am hoping that will make this coming week a little easier on myself and my students.

One of the highlights in my current courses is that I am teaching Government. I have never taught the class before, so I am excited to explore the opportunities it provides. We have already had great discussions in that class about citizenship, my cynicism towards government, and forming educated opinions. I think it will be a great class for me to really grow as a teacher.

In that class on Friday, we watched one of the many documentaries on 9/11. I loved that I was able to share with my juniors my own experiences from that day, since I was sitting in their seats as a junior. I was shocked to realize that many of them were only 4 or 5 when it happened. We had a great discussion on that day's impact, and they asked wonderful questions about what things were like before it all happened.

That set in motion my thoughts for this whole weekend, and late last night/early this morning, I tried my best to compose my thoughts into another post. But I find it difficult to acknowledge those kinds of emotions in words. It is hard to capture that kind of feeling.

Anyway, my post is on the blog for anyone who chooses to read it. I know, looking at my own reader, that there are many similar posts, experiences that we are all sharing. My husband and I lay in bed this morning to watch the reading of the names and see the new memorial. And as we lay there, I just felt very grateful for what I have and how far I have come since that September day. It is only fitting that we all acknowledge it in some way...



Moving on to unimportant items (in comparison), I do want to touch on the rest of the week.

As pretty much all of you know, this week is BBAW. I was honored to make the short list in the category I was nominated for-Best Classics Book Blog. I see what I try to do here as very personal. When I began, a handful of supporters read my blog, including my mom and sister. It wasn't until a month or two into the process that I realized I was a small piece in a very large and welcoming community. Since then, I have tried my best to remain true to my own voice-by capturing how these books are changing and teaching me. I hope that I have done that. So for all of you who nominated me or even voted for me, thank you.

I am looking forward to participating in the week's activities, as I hope you are. It is a great week full of respect and fun, so I hope you all enjoy it. I know that I discovered many wonderful new blogs last year, so explore and have a great time!


I am still in the middle of Moby-Dick. I am quite enjoying it, but with school starting, exhaustion setting in, and the like, I haven't made much time for reading. I am hoping to finish it this week so I can move on to some other titles, but we'll see what happens. I really want to get into some of my RIP reads, but I don't know how that'll pan out with school.

In any case, I am spending the rest of my Sunday either reading or working on a couple of things I brought home. I twisted my left ankle last night and it is a touch swollen, so I think staying off of it would be a great idea. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Happy Reading!