Life is still good

Bad things happen.  All the time.  Sometimes bad things happen to good people.  Yesterday bad things happened.  To me.  You can decide if I'm good or not, but it doesn't matter.  Bad happens.  Praise God for supportive staff members - teachers and office staff who went out of their way to give me a hug, a smile, and chocolate.  Lots and lots of chocolate. I also praise God for students, who when told that I was having a terrible day, went right to work on their lab, had fun, but got done what needed to be done - and then helped the group which was struggling.
My horrible day was made better because of the wonderful people around me.
Life will be good again.

Snowshoeing on Crystal Mountain

Some days are more fun than others.  Then there are days which are the Mary Poppins of school days - practically perfect in every way.  It was so nice to get out of my classroom today - even though I love my classroom, my students, and the subjects I teach.  Today instead of teaching Biology 11 and 12 and Foods 11/12, I accompanied some grade 11 students on their first snowshoe hike.  The sun shone, the snow glistened, the powder beckoned. The temperature was ideal - the snow didn't soften, but I never felt too cold either.
I tried not to cram too much ecology down their throats, but they were genuinely interested in the rabbit tracks, the deer trails, the woodpecker holes, the tree wells where wildlife rested, the bear tree, the cute squirrel, and the 5km of pristine trail. They pointed out the sights and I occasionally gave some tidbit of natural history. The girls took turns breaking trail, although Christine lead more than half of the time.  I was quite content to bring up the rear. 
We should do this more often!
Life is good, and sometimes is very, very, good.