My husband called me today at school. You have to understand that he NEVER calls me at school. We just don't bother each other at work unless it is REALLY important! He told me that I was not going to believe his news....he had found Sam. Oh. My. Gosh! Sam. You don't know what that means to me!

Sam was (is?) our pet cockatiel who flew out the door LAST SUMMER. We ran into the back yard and watched him swoop from north to south, back and forth...until he was totally out of sight. I called my daughter, Jenni, that night and told her I had good news and bad news (don't you hate it when people do that to you?). She asked for the bad news first..."Jenni, Sam flew away today." (This really was bad news because Sam was HER bird before he adopted ME.) "But," I told Jenni, "the good news is that he was really happy up there in the sky!"

Of all of our pets, Sam had been one that had adopted me...totally. He would fly around the house, and even from time to time ride my shoulder out into the back yard...and never ONCE had he attempted to fly away. Sam loved me. He would sit on my shoulder and lean against my cheek (his way of hugging), then give me a pecking kiss.

Best yet, he would sit on top of his cage, admiring himself in the mirror telling himself over and over, "Sam's a pretty bird!" or "What 'cha doin' cutie?"

So you can understand how heartbroken I was when he flew away. We put his cage into the back yard and hoped he would find his way home. It didn't happen. Winter came. I lost all hope of him surviving. And yet, here was my husband calling to tell me Sam was alive???!!!

My husband is friends with the owner of a Wild Bird Center store. When he went in for seed today to fill our bird feeders, there was Sam. Sitting on a custom-made perch. Someone had apparently found him, and the store had adopted him. The owner graciously offered to let us have Sam back...but I am content that Sam is alive and around if I need any more pecky kisses.

Isn't it wonderful? Sam's new name is Skipper...and I'm going to visit with him sometime this weekend.

Teachers study, too. This concepts really blows the minds of my students. I am working on National Teacher Certification this year, and will be taking the exam in a couple of weeks. So, of course, I am reading everything I can put my hands on! Collection development, technology, ethics...The kids ask, "How was your weekend?" I respond, "Pretty good...I studied for a test all weekend..." Silence. Dead silence. "Why do YOU have to take a test?" "Hmmmm...so I can pass my national teacher exam." (And here's the best question of all!) "But I thought you already WERE a teacher!" Aren't kids great?

And everyone knows just how important this exam is for me. My daughter has tickets to see the Houston Symphony Orchestra perform "The Planets" - this is on the day of my exam. As much as I wanted to travel to Houston to join her for this awesome opportunity, the only thing I could do was stick out my lower lip and pout.

Building my portfolio for certification has really been a challenge. But if you are a teacher...DO IT! Consider what your day is like now....then think about adding a full-time job on top of that...and you have a small idea of what this entails. But it has really changed me. How I think about teaching. How I think about the kids.

So when are the results in? Would you believe NOVEMBER???!!! That's right! They make us all wait for our scores until November. And there's only a 40% passing rate! Actually, my odds of passing are better than my friend's - she is pursuing national certification in Art, and that only has a 15% passing rate! So why go through all the hassle? Pride, perhaps. Wanting to be the best of the best...

So it's time to go back to studying...some more...

Ahhhh....Spring Break! Every teacher's (and student's) dream! I spent my Spring Break in Houston where we celebrated my husband's birthday by surprising him with a paramotor tandem ride. I tell you what...that will build up a lot of "wife credit"! He was SO happy and excited...but I have to tell you that this is a man who has told me for years that before he dies he wants to jump out of an airplane (with a parachute). During the five hour drive home paramotoring was all he talked about. Then he called his mom and talked to her for three hours about it. Then he called his brother, and talked for another TWO hours about it...See what I mean about "wife credit"????


A second joy during Spring Break was spending time with my daughter, her husband, and the two grandchildren. My sweet granddaughter (3 1/2 yrs) found a pair of scissors a few weeks ago and cut her own hair...down to the scalp. So when I saw her at Spring Break she had a "boy" cut and looked like a little pixie! And my grandson (1 1/12 yrs) has grown a foot and is really learning to communicate. No sentences yet...but he can say enough words to get his meaning across.

Isn't life great?

I am the Library Goddess. How do I know this? Why...I have a shirt embroidered with "Library Goddess" that I wear to school that TELLS me so! My middle school principal just laughs at me...but the kids smile, and that's what's most important.

How did I get this job? Luck. And a friend who looked at me one day and said, "You know what? You'd LOVE being a school librarian!" It was an epiphany! It took me all of 3 seconds to realize that my friend was right! So I went back to school (what, again?) to get my certification in library, completed my MLIS...and my dream job fell into my lap.

Picture this...new middle school, 950 students (6-8 grade), huge library facility...and BOOKS! Well...the book selection needed improvement, but the rest was GREAT!

So here I am...a middle school Library Goddess. As a high school English teacher I worked my tail off. As a middle school librarian I have just discovered that I never knew what work was until now! But I love every minute of it!