So much, so much...

I don't even know where to begin; I just feel like getting a million and one thoughts out on a computer screen. I love the way my thoughts flow into words against my kooky polka dotted background. I love to hear the sound of my fingertips tapping on my laptop keys. That sound is just so satisfying. That sound should drive me to write my first piece of Young Adult fiction.

I'm sitting at the dining room table in my house-which-no-longer-feels-quite-like-home, and the puppies are finally asleep. I can hear my grandmother complaining about her stomach from her room. I can feel my elbows digging into the arms of one of the many mismatched chairs that exist around the table. On the table next to me, two pieces of opened mail confirm that I am destined for bigger and better things than this blog, the Great Wolf Lodge, and my own lowered and lazy expectations for myself.

In the midst of a terribly funny moment featuring my mother on speaker phone explaining to my Michael the reasoning behind her putting me on one of those kiddie leashes when I was younger, my mother told me that my child abuse clearance and a letter in a Wilkes envelope had arrived in the mail. I couldn't be happier. These are the two things, the two positive signs, that I needed to prove to myself and the world that I am ready to be a teacher again. The child abuse clearance is standard, but the letter of recommendation that I received from one of my Ed professors is probably the nicest and truest description of myself that I have ever read. I need to include some of this letter here, due in part to the fact that I am under the impression that this woman knows me better than I know myself:

"...Furthermore, Ms. Ferrantino demonstrated, through all her work and interpersonal interactions, a unique sense of humor that was always appropriate and highly creative, but never derogatory or negative. Her humor lifts morale and engages those around her, whether students or colleagues. She has a joyful approach to education that will flourish in the proper environment and will benefit her students greatly. As a young professional, she shows much promise."

For those of you who know me as someone other than a faceless blog, you know that this is me. I can't think of a better way to verbalize my aspirations for and attitudes towards teaching. Reading the way I am presented on this piece of paper makes me more determined than I have ever been to succeed at this career choice, this life-calling.

A bunch of other stuff happened recently, but it was so not that important. Tee-hee.