Category: Corona Virus

Finally!!! After 26 Months- A Teacher Potluck

~ jesusluvsall ~ 20 Comments

Today at school we did something we have not done since the shutdown. We finally had a potluck lunch for the teachers/staff at the school where I teach in the mornings. We have not had one since February 2020. It may sound like a simple thing to you, but it was like breathing fresh air again. The picture below is not of the actual potluck today. 🙂

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

We had lunch with no plastic dividers, each person brought something to share for a taco bar, and sat down at tables together. We used to have them once a month.

Everyone was so relaxed, smiling, laughing, and just having a good time over lunch. It is one of those simple things in life that I have missed so much since COVID came. It was also a wonderful way to end a short school week, We have a teacher planning day tomorrow and Friday off.

Hoping more little blessings are to come.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Looking Forward to Summer Break

~ jesusluvsall ~ 23 Comments

As much as I love teaching, I must admit I am looking forward to summer break. This has been the third school year that COVID has had an effect on school. It has also been a transition year for both sites I teach at transitioning to a new person as part of the team with me. This morning I counted the teaching days left and I have 28 after today.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

There is another reason I am looking forward to summer break. The USA will receive 100,000 refugees from Ukraine and I am certain my city will receive many. During summer break, I will have a lot of free time to help them. I have already talked with one of the pastors at a Ukrainian church in my city about ideas for helping refugees.

I also have writing projects to work on. That means many days in the coffee shop with my laptop and coffee. 🙂

I realize spring just started but that also means about nine weeks of tree pollen my worst allergy. Another reason to look forward to summer break because by then tree pollen is finished.

But it is helping Ukrainian refugees that I look forward to the most. God has led me to a place in life that summers mean more free time. Jesus has led me in life to the point that I have a lot of experience with the practical things for helping refugees.

I wish we could fast forward to summer 🙂

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

A Tired but Grateful Teacher

~ jesusluvsall ~ 11 Comments

My crazy schedule of teaching Monday through Friday morning and afternoon, and teaching in Zoom Monday through Thursday evening came to an end. My evening class finished Thursday evening. It was a good but exhausting month as illustrated by my photo yesterday. lol

To celebrate, I came home and took a two hour nap. Yes, a two hour power nap. 🙂 I think I look better wearing the mask. lol

One strange thing about ending a Zoom class is saying goodbye to students I have never met in person. I wonder if I will ever meet them out in public someday.

This is the second school year during COVID. While my morning and afternoon classes are in the building, we still wear masks, still follow protocols, and still receive updates if anyone in the building has been diagnosed though not named. The general vibe is different than last year though. Last year at this time so much was unknown. there was no vaccine yet, and it felt much more urgent. This year it is more of a vibe of when will this be over.

It continues to be paramount in my mind for me to start my day by praying for my students and asking Jesus to help me be a blessing to my students, the children at the school., the teachers and staff. I am grateful for the opportunities Jesus has blessed me with.

This weekend will probably include a few more naps. Next week will only bring my morning and afternoon classes. My evenings will be freed up. I wonder what adventures I will find myself in. 🙂

From one tired teacher- God Bless and Thank you for reading.

Wellness Wednesdays- In The Green!!! and 2 more weeks

~ jesusluvsall ~ 23 Comments

It FINALLY happened. My city went down to green on the COVID risk dial. Our mandatory mask wearing is going away. It is time to celebrate. Life is getting back to normal but what the new normal will look like will be an adventure to explore.

Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV on Pexels.com

When we went from red to orange, I bought oranges to share with the teachers at my school. When we went from orange to yellow, I bought bananas. I am not sure what to buy for going from yellow to green, but I will buy something. I will go to the school this morning to close out my room for the school year. Maybe I will just buy chocolate and candy.

Two weeks from today I will finally have my appointment with a specialist at the University Medical Center in a city one hour from my city. My hope is that there can be a definitive diagnosis now that there is proof I have psoriasis. I am not sure if I will start a treatment program that day but I sure hope so. I am tired of waking up at night with pain in my left hand.

Hopefully the city where my appointment will be will also do away with their mask mandate so I don’t have to wear one to the appointment. I am not opposed to wearing a mask it is just that it wrecks havoc with my asthma.

So we are in the green here-FINALLY and my appointment is only two weeks away. Such thoughts lift my spirits.

Thank you for reading, God Bless.

End of this COVID School Year

~ jesusluvsall ~ 23 Comments

It’s a wrap. This morning is the final class for the school year for my morning class. This crazy COVID year is coming to an end. This morning we will have a celebration with all of the students being in the classroom and there is so much to celebrate.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I am so proud of the moms in my class. They began the year feeling uncertain about many things but they stayed with it. They learned a lot of new tech programs such as using Zoom, Google Quizzes etc. There English levels improved noticeably. They helped each other and the sense of community actually got stronger among them.

My assistant was awesome. We had an adventure together and she handled all of the unexpected things well and even tolerated me. 🙂

This school year has been unlike anything I have experienced in my over 20 years of teaching. I am so proud of my students and my assistant for not only making the best of a difficult situation, but for excelling during it too.

I am so thankful for Jesus helping me through this year, for my morning times with him, for how he helped me through his people, and for everything.

It’s a wrap. Looking forward to a better 2021/2022 school year.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

A Surprise During A Baby Shower

~ jesusluvsall ~ 13 Comments

In my morning Family Literacy class, when one of the moms is expecting a baby, we have a baby shower for her. We have been doing so every year. This year one of the moms will have a baby in July and since tomorrow is the last day for our class, we had a baby shower for her yesterday.

Photo by William Fortunato on Pexels.com

The other moms brought gifts and one of the moms took them to the expectant mom. She opened the gifts while we watched via Zoom. She was about half way through the gifts when those of us in the classroom had a surprise. It was fire drill time. The fire alarms went off and we had to leave the room for about ten minutes.

Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.com

I laughed inwardly thinking it was a fitting end to a crazy year. Having class during this past year of COVID has meant having many moments of needing to be flexible. No harm done. We came back after the fire drill and finished the baby shower.

Tomorrow we will have an ice cream celebration in class. All of the students will be in class. Hopefully no fire drill tomorrow. 🙂

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Thoughts on Shopping from me?

~ jesusluvsall ~ 29 Comments

In my English class, we have conversation time using questions I write that relate to every day life. One of the questions is-where do you like to go shopping? We take turns asking each other. The students always laugh when I say, “I don’t like to go shopping anywhere.”

Photo by Tim on Pexels.com

So why am I writing about shopping? Certainly not to offer advice because I have none. My purpose is to share a conclusion and conviction I have reached.

During the pandemic, I have to admit to buying from a certain GIANT online company. It is so convenient with deliveries right to my door and cheaper too. However, several months ago I realized something. The same shampoo I bought from aforementioned GIANT online company only cost me $2 more at a locally owned natural food store.

So I purposed to pay more attention to shopping locally. Why? 2 excellent reasons in my mind.

1- By shopping locally I can interact with people who live in my city. If I interact with them, perhaps I can share the love of Jesus with them someday. I can certainly share a joke and at least brighten their day.

2- I would much rather help my local economy than some huge corporate giant. Buying locally means my money helps my community which means it helps local people keep jobs.

So my decision was to only buy from the GIANT online company items that I would perhaps only find at another huge company that builds super centers and squeezes out smaller stores.

What are your thoughts?

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Still Wearing Masks

~ jesusluvsall ~ 29 Comments

We are 13 months into this pandemic and the whole mask wearing thing. This week has been a good example of why wearing a mask is a mixed bag for me. Tree pollen is my main allergy and normally by now I would be taking two allergy meds each day. By wearing a mask when I walk around outside, my allergies have not been so severe.

However, yesterday while sitting in a celebration of life, the flip side of wearing a mask occurred. Breathing my own recycled air through a mask can set off my asthma and sure enough in the middle of the service my asthma cough kicked in.

Teaching a language while wearing a mask has certainly had its drawbacks. I cannot model pronunciation for my students. It makes it more difficult to hear my students while they wear masks.

But overall, the main benefit to wearing a mask that outweighs everything is not what the CDC says. I am not convinced they stop the spread of anything. The biggest benefit in my mind is others feel comfortable around me. I realize people are living in fear and if I want to be able to share the love of Jesus with them, they need to feel comfortable being around me.

So I will continue to wear one until such time as it is deemed no longer necessary more for the comfort of others than anything else. By doing so I can show kindness to others.

What are your thoughts?

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

BACK! In! The! Building!

~ jesusluvsall ~ 19 Comments

Last night my U.S. Citizenship classes started our new quarter. After ONE YEAR of classes only in Zoom, we were BACK IN THE BUILDING!!!

It was interesting to note that the room my class was in last night, was the very same room the staff had a meeting to talk about what the shutdown due to COVID would mean. What it meant for my classes was being out of the building for one year.

My class will be a hybrid class with half in person in the classroom and half joining in Zoom. It is the same thing I have been doing with my morning class. This was the last piece to come back to somewhat normal for me.

I also spent some time looking through my work station that I had not sat at for one year. There was the container of candy that I kept to give students candy for doing well. All of the candy was stale. It will all be thrown away. 🙂

Life is slowly getting back on track in my city and state. The governor of my state has now set vaccinations to be available for anyone. About half of the people in my city have been vaccinated already.

I am thankful God has seen me through this past year.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Wellness Wednesday- 2nd Dose of Vaccine Today

~ jesusluvsall ~ 27 Comments

It has been one year since I have been able to visit my refugee and immigrant friends in their homes. That has been a huge part of my ministry for 20 years. I have missed that so much this past year.

In two more weeks, I will be able to resume visiting my refugee and immigrant friends in their homes. That is because I had my second dose of the Moderna COVID Vaccine this afternoon.

In my city we are doing them at the Arena where concerts are held and the university men’s and women’s basketball teams play. So now I can say I was on the floor of the arena and leave it to the imagination of my friends. 🙂

The first dose did not cause me any problems, though I secretly hoped to gain some mutant powers like super strength, so here is hoping no side effects with the second dose either.

If I have any side effects, I will share them in a future post. Please research and decide for yourself about having the vaccine.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.