Home at last

I got home from Philadelphia late Saturday night. I slept until 9 on Sunday, which is very late for me. I even took a short nap later in the day. I am still exhausted! Leaving your normal routine is hard. It is fun for a vacation - when you are going with family or friends to see new things - but when going by oneself - well it is difficult, at least for me. I don't know how people travel all the time for work. That certainly would not be a job I would enjoy.

Anyway, I am glad I went. I attended the Journalism Education Association conference and I learned so much. I went to classes all morning on Friday, then took the afternoon off and walked around the historic area. I got to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall - although they were out of tickets and I couldn't see inside, and the National Constitution Center. I am really glad I sucked up my fear of doing things alone and went to see all those things. I don't know if I will ever get back, so it was a great opportunity. The National Constitution Center was awesome. The presentation brought tears to my eyes and once again made me glad to be an American and to live in this awesome country. On Friday night, I helped to judge the write off contest. I was specifically judging yearbook theme pages. It was really fun and I learned so much. On Saturday, I went to more classes and then a luncheon, where I received my Certified Journalism Educator Certificate and pin. That was awesome. It was cool to be recognized for all of my hard work over the last 3 1/2 years. Then it was off to the airport to head home.

All in all, it was a good trip and I am very glad I got the opportunity to go. Now I have to plan for the Spring convention in Anaheim - but this time with kids. I am thinking about teaching a class while there. I think it would be fun. And I am definitely going to put my kids into the write-off contest now that I know what it is all about. I will be going over the things I learned for the next several weeks and incorporating them into my classes. Sometimes I think the kids hate when I go to convention because they like the status quo. But I like mixing it up.

On another note, yesterday was a my first really stressful day at work this year. Seeing as it is already the middle of November, that was pretty good. It is all because I have been giving every day to God. I don't work for my district anymore. I work for God, and to quote Frost, that has made all the difference.