It's Been a Month...

It's been one of those incredibly busy months, and I'm behind in my blogging. So, if you'll indulge me, I'll follow this post with several photo posts. (Because pictures are fun, and I still have to make it to ten posts this month!)

May 1: Sweet Dayna's birthday. Six years old! You know, birthdays are really exciting for little girls, but I confess, I find Dayna's birthday to be a difficult day. There's always a bittersweet feeling that her birthday belongs to another woman. Somewhere across the ocean, there's a woman whose heart is bruised and breaking at the memory of giving birth to a child she wouldn't get to raise. Memories of a 2-day-old face that she will more than likely never see again (this side of heaven...we're praying about that!) A birthday is a very intimate time where biology is very strong, and this isn't something I can give my daughter. I have other days with Dayna that are "mine", but the birthday...it just doesn't belong to me.

But for Dayna, the birthday was quite exciting! This is a "non-party" year (we've chosen certain years for parties) and so we let Dayna choose a friend, an activity and a restaurant. She chose a school friend to paint pottery with, followed by lunch at China Wall (a local restaurant we've discovered where all the employees are from Fujian Province.) She really wanted a Silvermist cake, so I *gasp* purchased a small cake at Wal-Mart for this celebration.

The next day, Dan's parents came down from Norfolk and we had a family celebration. I did make a cake for this one (from a box...I am slipping now that I'm working full-time outside the home). However, it was pretty and tasty, so everyone was happy. Dayna wanted a lemon cake with lemon frosting. Yum!

May 5: Farewell...

I had the privilege of having the most amazing student teacher for the last quarter of the year. Angelina was beyond competent, and not only did she relieve a lot of the stress I've experienced this year, but she also became a friend. There just really aren't words for the positive experience that this was, but May 5th was a bittersweet day as I had to say goodbye to a young woman who had pretty much become my right arm. However, I'm happy to report that she was offered a job for next year that was exactly what she wanted.

May 6-8: The world started spinning.

During my afternoon classes on Friday afternoon, I noticed bright spots in my peripheral vision. Within about a half hour, I had no peripheral vision at all and I was very sensitive to light. So, with the lights off in my classroom, I made it through the afternoon. After school, I was helping set up for the school carnival. It was warm, and the gym was very stuffy. I had a raging headache, and suddenly everything went black. I grabbed a table, and it kept me from going down. My principal saw it, fed me some Excedrin Migraine, and sent me home about 30 minutes later. We had company for the weekend, but I still managed about a 4 hour nap on Saturday. I was figuring I had a migraine on Friday, and just needed to sleep it off. Sunday after church, we all went out to lunch for Mother's Day. After lunch, in the parking lot, I missed the curb and lost my balance. I'm finally getting over some lower back problems that have plagued me for 5 months, and the last thing I wanted to do was fall and throw it out again. So I looked down, planted both feet firmly, and looked back up. When I moved my head up, everything went black again and I collapsed in the middle of the parking lot.

At this point, I was getting pretty scared. So I made an appointment early in the week. The doctor decided to treat me for vertigo (even though I wasn't presenting the "typical" symptoms) for several days to see if my dizziness would clear. If not, we were looking at an MRI. Well, the vertigo meds pretty much left me feeling like I was teaching underwater. I wouldn't take them before I drove, but once I'd get home after school, I'd go straight to bed. So...I don't remember much of that week, other than I was dizzy and had a splitting headache. The good news is that it seems to have all cleared up at this point, and I'm doing okay. No need for an MRI!!!

May 16-20: The school year wound down with some interesting wrinkles. There was yet another unusual student situation (thank goodness for a principal who supports me!) And we found out on the last day of school that one of my principals (quite possibly the best boss I have EVER had) got transferred. We are all stunned and devastated at that school. I am truly happy for her, as this new school is a great opportunity for her; but selfishly, I just want her to stay.

And in the meantime: Dayna has lost her first two teeth, Bible Study Fellowship has ended for another year, Birth Mother's Day has come and gone, and now we're getting ready to go on vacation.

No wonder I'm tired! Enjoy the pictures in the next few posts.