A new school year is underway

Well, the second full week of school is over...I made it. Barely. Yesterday afternoon I left school with no voice and zero pep in my step and headed straight to the doctor's office to confirm my suspicions: sinus and ear infection with a fever. I went home, put on my pajamas, took some meds, choked down some soup, and slept from 7 until 7 this morning. I'm still feeling crappy (but not as crappy as I did yesterday) and couldn't run with the XC team this morning (which makes me sad). Here's to hoping this is the only bout of sickness I encounter this school year!

Sickness aside, this was a pretty good week. I have some new challenges this year: one student who speaks very little English (in a small district without ELL services), a higher number of SPED students than I've ever had before, and a few classes with through-the-roof energy. So it's been interesting, but...I did notice a few breakthroughs this week, and I'm starting to make deeper connections with students, so I'm feeling encouraged.

This week we had our first XC meet of the season. On Thursday we made the long drive to Goodland, Kansas in a bus with no AC on a day where the temperature climbed to a steamy 102 degrees. On the drive up, I looked back at the team a few times and when I saw their red cheeks, I felt awful for them. It seemed their energy was being zapped before we even arrived at the course. But I've learned over the past year that runners are troopers---they're some of the strongest people I've met. The hot bus ride and even warmer running conditions didn't stop our team from trying their best. Our girls team won the meet for the first time in five years! I was ecstatic for them as most of them are new to the team; it was incredible to see their hard work pay off. Our boys team came in 2nd place, breaking their 12 year winning streak at Goodland. But, I truly believe they ran their best, so I am proud of their efforts. I think the older boys especially were disappointed with their 2nd place finish, but I'm praying that God would use this to teach them humility and more about what it means to work for God's glory, to use their talents to glorify Him and not for man's recognition. It's a tough lesson to learn for sure, one I'm still learning myself.

We were supposed to go hiking with friends of ours today, but my sickness is keeping us in Ogallala. And we're missing our godson's birthday party today as well, so I'm a little bummed. But...I'm hoping to sleep and relax enough today so that I can maybe sneak in an easy run later tonight. The Market to Market relay is only four weeks away and I've already missed three training days this week. I don't want to lose the progress I've made in the last four weeks!