Grateful

So the wedding of the Spring (no, not Will & Kate) came.  And went (boo).  And we survived.  It was an amazing few days with the Campbells and their celebrations.  More on that in a bit (and pics below).

Life is great currently.  I mean I-could-maybe-sing-a-song-on-the-escalator-at-the-mall-great.  I have many reasons to be happy today, probably more than I can list in a blog post, but I am thankful for the moment or two to reflect on how blessed I am.  First of all, teaching is going fabulously.  I only have two days left with my high schoolers, and I will MISS them.  Seriously.  One boy, who doesn't speak up much in class, has long dyed yellow hair, and is basically an awkward, gangly 14 year old, came up to me at the end of one class and said, "Miss Larson, what kind of cake do you like?  I'm going to make you a cake."  Which of course led me to smile from ear to ear before saying "Connor, you really don't need to bring me a cake!" (or, in reality, I was trying to say..."please don't make me anything", because the unspoken rule of teachers is to never eat something made by a student... these kids don't really have a handle on hygeine :))  Either way, the moans and groans I heard when I announced that I'll be leaving next week reminded me just how right this decision was to up and change careers.

Don't get me wrong... as I was putting together a slideshow of "DC things" for my kids in government class, I teared up seeing old faces and places that I spent so much time with and amongst in what now feels almost like my former life.  Do I miss walking the halls of the Senate?  Catching the train from the Dirksen Building into the Capitol?  Attending fun events and talking about politics?  Living in a city so rich with history?  Wow.  I sure do.  But having spent the last 8 months learning about the true value of education and how I can impact the future of the children in our city who are far too often doomed to failure or marginalization, I have a new passion.  Will I make money being a teacher?  Most certainly not.  Heck, will I even be able to find a job?  Probably not for awhile.  But will I feel like I am making a difference in a world full of injustice?  I sure believe so.  And ultimately, I am grateful for that.  Wow, sorry for the rambling!  All of this was to say that I now know where I'll be spending a majority of my student teaching (goodbye Arvada West High!)... this Fall I will most likely be interning at Denver Center for International Studies (DCIS).  Though this isn't a traditional "urban" school (it's actually a magnet school), it is in the Denver Public School District, and I couldn't be more excited.  Nevermind the bonus fact that it is literally four blocks north of our house!  I'm so excited.

Anyway - life is also great because I have been finally taking some much needed time to focus on my health.  I have always been jealous of the people in my life who seem to be able to live life as they please and slip into a size 6.  That just isn't my life, and it never has been.  But, making some small changes, I have finally lost about 21lbs and am hopefully on the path to even more.  As I was jogging today (an activity I absolutely loathe), I set a goal for myself to run around Washington Park.  In the past, I have only been able to run for 5-7 minutes before needing a walk break.  (In reality, I judge the time by song... how many songs can I make it before needing a walk... at that point, I could barely make it more than two full songs).  Well, today, despite my extremely painful (and I mean painful) planters faciatis and sore knees, I actually made it around the entire inner loop without stopping (the inner loop is about 2.3 miles).  Let's ignore the fact that I jog at the pace of a swift walk for most.  And let's pretend that 2.3 miles is more like 9 for most of you.  And while I was sweating and being cheered on by my trusty sidekick Lincoln, I turned on Kanye West's "Stronger" (my favorite song to play when I feel like I need to give up), finished the loop, and let a few tears of joy fall happily down my face.  Baby steps.  Baby steps.

And the last (well, not really last) reason that I am a happy lady is that I (we) have some pretty amazing friends.  This past weekend was a wonderful celebration (combined with a little manual labor on behalf of me and Rachel) for our dear friends Andrew and Kristyn.  They were kind enough to include Matt and I in their big day, and everything was wonderful.  The ceremony was beautiful, and the reception was a blast.  I honestly couldn't ask for better friends to scream sing "Firework" to, and I don't know of a better group to dance to "DJ's Got Us Fallin In Love" with.  Many more fun times to come.

For now, I have only started editing a handful of my many, many pictures from the weekend.  Here's just a taste:

A video I made from the nail salon visit:

Matt playing during the ceremony:

Matt leading the end of the reception attenders in "Lean on Me":