Posted in Me

New Year, Same Me.

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello from snowy Kentucky!

Well, I feel with the start of the year, I usually “reintroduce” myself via a blog post whether it’s a link up topic or just a post I plan on writing.

Anyway, every year, I seem to have a few more readers which I appreciate so much. If you’ve read ten posts or one hundred, there still might be some gaps in what you know about me, and I always feel like I should re-explain the blog title for new readers.

My Share Our Lives post from last year is a quick way to get to know me with a few other posts linked as well.

So…here are a few things about me:

Missouri to Kentucky:

I was born and raised in a suburb of Kansas City and then attended the University of Missouri in Columbia for college. So, I’m a loyal Chiefs and Royals fan. In my senior year of college, I met Trav, who was working in the same athletic office as me. Working in college athletics was Trav’s real job while I was just working part time to earn money before and during student teaching.

Anyway, he eventually decided that he wanted to get in the horse business. He’s from Louisville, but went to school at UK, so he settled back in Lexington and started his work in the horse business. I moved to Lexington a year later. We got engaged right before I left KC, and then I found a teaching job just outside of Lexington.

So, my blog title is mesh of the “Show Me” state Missouri where I’m from and the “sweet tea” reference of the south.

Family:

We’re in the stage of life where life is centered around the kids and their activities. We’re typically shuttling them to and from whatever sport they need to go to. It’s nice when we are all home. Teenagers –they like their rooms –haha…sometimes, we’re all home and in our separate areas, but it’s nice to spend time together when we can.

Travis:

It’s hard to believe but Trav and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this summer. Where has the time gone?

I joke that he’s stayed the same, and I’m the one who’s changed a bit throughout our years together. He’s just the steady, hard-working, likable guy that I met 23 years ago. I know I have good qualities too (haha)—but I was just younger when we started dating and I’ve certainly changed a bit from my 20’s to 30’s to now mid (wow!) 40’s.

I never would have imagined that I would have moved away from Missouri, but that “risk” has paid off. We have a blessed life.

4. Reading:

I’d say my #1 hobby (besides watching my kids’ activities and this blog) is reading. I love to read, and will take my Kindle anywhere. For years, I would usually read one actual book and then have one book on my Kindle, but in the past year, my Kindle has become my go to. On vacations this past year, I’ve only taken my Kindle to read.

Anyway, I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t read at least a few pages. There’s nothing better than starting and/or finishing a great book.

5. Teaching:

This year is my 23rd year in high school education. I taught for a year outside of Columbia Missouri, and then I taught a year at a school in KC when I decided to move back home. Then, I moved to Kentucky and taught for 12 years at a more rural school outside of Lexington. This is my 9th year at my current school, and I assume it’s where I will finish my career.

When I moved to my current school, my kids were in 1st grade. I remember thinking that this will be the school they’d go to one day, and this year we’re there together. Seeing them and their friends at school has been surprisingly meaningful for me. I do have some of their friends in my advanced class which was more of an adjustment for me than the students. haha

After this year, I have seven to ten years left just depending on my retirement. I have two Missouri years and then I was .7 for three years when the kids were little to spend more time with them. So, I get paid for my 23 years experience, but to get full retirement, I may have to stick it out closer to the ten years than the seven years, if that makes sense. It’s still quite a ways off, but wow!…it is crazy to at least even have retirement on my radar.

So, that’s a bit about me. I hope I didn’t bore you! haha

We’re off again today thanks to the snow/ice we got Sunday/Monday. My street is a bus stop street, and it’s still snow covered, so who knows if we will go tomorrow or Friday. So far, we’ve had “traditional” snow days as it’s at the start of the semester, and I’m afraid many elementary teachers hadn’t seen Chromebooks home yet. Also, we still have quite a few areas without power.

I have no clue what this means for us in regards to making these days up. We’ve relied on NTI (non-traditional instruction) the past five years without many traditional snow days. Anyway, there’s nothing I can do about the weather, and we have more snow on the way this weekend! I do love a snow day, but I also feel ready to get back to school. I like to space the snow days out if possible. But, I’ll enjoy the time off while I have it.

Thanks for reading,

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18 thoughts on “New Year, Same Me.”

  2. Yep, there really is nothing you can do about the weather so you might as well just enjoy it I guess! I was really surprised that our schools up here went right back to traditional snow days as soon as the considered the pandemic over and have never relied on remote learning again. You’d think it would be a great way to cut down on all those summer make up days they seem to end up with every year.

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  3. It’s nice to know more about you! I was the school counselor at our local elementary school and my sons both attended. It was wonderful to take the boys to school with me and know their friends so well. At the same time it was kinda weird too! Like when they’d have friends over for birthday parties and stuff, lol.

    xo,

    Kellyann

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    1. That’s so neat. The elementary years are so sweet. Yes – I know what you mean. A couple of kids in my class, the kids have known since elementary so they’ve been to the house many times through the years. Haha

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  4. I didn’t realize you were .7 for a few years. I really liked reading your re-introduction and I did know most of it.

    I feel the same about the snow days – there is nothing I can do so I might as well embrace it. The school year ends when it ends.

    I am thinking I would have had to take at least one day off with my cold so the timing is maybe a fortunate thing for me.

    I often think about getting a kindle paperwhite but then I would have to buy the ebooks if I can’t get them at the library.

    Our road is still so bad! We have an elementary school behind us and a middle school in front of us and with the temps dipping so low tomorrow – I really don’t know!

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    1. Yes- it was a good option when the kids little – I had classes 11-3:30 or something like that.
      I think I’ve only purchased books when they are $2 or less – Amazon had the first reads email that I get but otherwise I do get them from library. But there are definitely ones that aren’t on kindle . At least not immediately
      It’s snowing here now. My road continues to stay snowy. I’d be surprised if we go at all this week. It has been weird that even the teachers have had snow days 😂

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  5. I loved learning more about you! I guess 0.7 is part time? I don’t think we have that term in Texas and it is pretty unusual for teachers to get a part time assignment. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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    1. Yes but with .7, I still kept my benefits and got 70% of my salary and same number of sick days . Instead of teaching 5 classes, I think I had 3 with a planning period. I asked my principals about it and they let me do it which was so generous of them. .5 employees don’t get benefits .

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  7. While I’ve been reading your blog for about 3 years now, I learned a lot about you from this post. I, too, taught in the same school (an elementary one) that my own children attended and it was so wonderful. I knew all of their teachers and had deep connections with many of their friends and their families. An added bonus was riding to and from school together when they got a bit older (one of my former parents provided daycare for them during the early elementary years). Thanks so much for sharing this post!

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  8. I have to say, your title of “new year, same me” really got me thinking! I’m sitting here thinking about my resolutions while waiting for my dumpster rental to get picked up and I resonate a lot with how you feel. I’d love to make awesome plans and resolutions this year but realistically, that’s not really how I do things. I’m new to your blog, but I’ll be coming back! Happy new year!

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  9. Catching up on blog reading and I thought I had commented on this one! I loved reading this post! It’s been fun getting to know you through blog land, and even more fun to know we both named our daughters Hadley! The meaning behind the blog name is really creative, I love that! Might do a similar blog post (and give you credit of course), this is a fun one!

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