Home At Last

          I loved my trip to Washington, DC. and the people I went with. We went to seminars together, participated in workshops together, ate dinner together, and went sightseeing together. I believe this trip has not only brought us closer as individuals but closer as fellow students and classmates.
          I also believe that as students in college, we have the best instructors any students could ask for. They are like family and truly care about each and every one of us. I don't know of any other students that have the relationships we have with our instructors. Although we all enjoyed our time together, tomorrow bring us back to reality and back to our final weeks of this semester.
          It feels good to be home and able to sleep in my own bed. My dogs were so excited to see me. It took them about 15 minutes to calm down. On the other hand, my son, who is 21, and my daughter, who is 23, didn't show the same excitement in seeing me, but then again they aren't dogs.
          It will take days for me to go through everything I brought back from the conference. I have bags, books, paints, crayons, markers, brochures, pamphlets, and information pertaining to early childhood and teaching. I don't know where to begin. I met so many nice people from different parts of the country at the convention. I am hoping I am able to go the annual convention next year, which will be held in Texas.
          This has been an amazing experience and one I will remember for a long time to come.

Final Day in Washington

          Our final day in Washington was an eventful one. We started out our day with breakfast in the hotel, then we went to the Conference Center for the last day of exhibits. We gathered more items to bring home (like we needed more).
           We had separated into different groups, the groups we were to ride home with. We had all decided to do something different before leaving the city for home. My group decided to ride the Metro-rail, which is the equivalent of an under-ground subway. We rode to Arlington National Cemetery. We got off the Metro-rail and walked to the entrance to the cemetery.  I wanted to see not only the National Cemetery but the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the final resting place of John F. Kennedy. The previous day had been the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination.

           

          My feet had other ideas. I was in such pain and found that we had to walk another 10 or 15 minutes to get there. I had come this far but was physically not able to continue because of all the walking from the previous days.We had to turn around and get on the Metro-rail and head back to the hotel.
          The ride home was a long one but we had a lot of fun. I have become closer to the people in my group than I ever thought I would. I believe we will remain friends for a very long time due to this trip to Washington. I just wish we had more time to see everything that is offered here but we have families to get home to and school to get back to.

Day 3 in Washington, DC

          My time in Washington is going great. The workshops and seminars are so informative. We had originally formed two groups. Four in one and four in the other. On this day, we have all joined together as one group to engage in the seminars and workshops.
          This day, by far, has been the best day of the trip so far. We have come together as one group, gathered plenty of free items from exhibits, and we went to dinner in Chinatown with our instructors. It was a wonderful dinner. A friend of one of our instructors, Doug, ordered for us. One thing he ordered, and I still can't believe I ate, was chicken feet. It was actually good.
          Once dinner was over, Doug offered to take us around the city to see the sights. He had told us at dinner that he used to live in DC. So we all loaded up in two vehicles and off we went. Our first stop was the Lincoln Memorial. This place was so awe inspiring.

                                 

          Our next stop was the Vietnam Memorial Wall. This wall means so much to so many. The names of the soldiers who gave their lives for our freedom. I wish I could have seen it during the daytime to get a better view of the memorial. We also stopped to reflect on the Korean War Memorial before heading back to our vehicles.
          On our way back to our hotel we did not stop but saw the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and passed by the White House. What an awesome end to Day 3 in Washington.                             

Day 2 in Washington, DC

          It is day two in our Nation's Capital, Washington, DC. It is such a beautiful city and for the most part, the people are helpful and friendly. The employees at the Embassy Suites were especially friendly and kind.
          On my second day in Washington, my group went to a seminar. Once the seminar was over we went downstairs to the exhibit hall. This is where all the vendors of the childhood products were giving away items to sample. We gathered quite a lot of items to take home.
          After we gathered free samples, we headed back to the hotel to drop of all we had collected. We had decided to walk a few blocks to see some of the sights. We found ourselves standing in front of the White House. Policemen had lined the streets and weren't letting anyone cross the street.
          Just a few minutes later, as we were taking pictures, a motorcade come from a gate at the end of the sidewalk. We were so excited. "Was this the President?" I don't think we were meant to know. Whoever it was, it was still exciting to be there at that moment.
          As the sun was going down and the lights were shinning on the White House, it felt surreal. "I'm actually standing in front of the White House." It was a wonderful feeling. I can't wait to see what else is in store for us while we are here.

                                                         

         
         

I Made It

          I am finally in Washington, DC. The drive here only took 5 1/2 hours. The other members of the Teacher's Education Club that rode with me are Carrie, Annie, and Kat. We had so much fun on our drive here playing all sorts of travel games. We looked for a particular color of car and once spotted, we would shout out the color. Another game we played was to use the alphabet to name different animals.
          Once we checked into our hotel room, we walked 1 1/2 blocks to the conference center. We gathered with the other members of our club and with our instructors to listen to the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony. We then went to the exhibit hall to see all the sponsors and vendors and to receive free gifts.
          This annual conference is the largest gathering of educators in the world. There are so many interesting things to see and do. There are seminars, workshops, and sessions to sit in on.
          We are also going to get away from the conference and see some of the sites of DC. Although I was here twenty-five years ago, I still want to see the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials as well as the Capital Building and the Vietnam Memorial wall.
          One thing I must do while I am in DC is to visit the JFK Memorial. This year is the 50th Anniversary of his assassination. This will be a huge event and I want to be there. I have to go to a workshop but will write another blog later tonight.

Washington Trip

          My trip to Washington, DC is getting closer and closer. I leave in four days. I have so much to do before I leave. I have to make sure I am caught up with homework in all my classes. I have assignments or presentations due on the day I return to school. I have several more blogs to complete before November 24th.
          I want to be able to see some of the sights in Washington while I am there. Several members of the Teacher's Education Club also want to see some of the historical monuments and memorials while we are there. I am just hoping we will be able to find the time to see some of these historical places. Our schedule for the conference is quite full of seminars and workshops but I am going to find time somewhere to see at least one or two places.
          I went to Washington, DC twenty-five years ago with my brother. It was great going to the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the Capital Building, The statue of Iwo Jima, the VietNam Memorial Wall, and the Smithsonian Institute. These places were amazing and I would love to see them again.
          I am counting down the day before I leave on my trip. I know I will get everything done that needs to be done so I can enjoy my trip.

Autumn Ryleigh

          In an earlier blog I wrote about some friends of mine that were pregnant with a baby girl. They were going to name her Sarah Ryleigh but has since changed her name to Autumn Ryleigh.
          She is finally here. The proud grandma and I were in the waiting room for about two hours when Daddy came out and told us she was here. She was born on Saturday, November 9, 2013 at 10:15 am. She weighed 7lbs. 11.9oz. and was 19 inches long. She was absolutely beautiful with a full head of hair.

          She is definitely a Daddy's girl. She loves the sound of his voice. When Mommy or Daddy is changing her diaper, she gets really upset and Daddy is the one who calms her down just by talking to her.
          She is a week old already and her and Mommy are doing just great. I just love holding her and watching her smile while she is sleeping. My dogs still can't figure out who or what she is. They have never been around a baby before. When Autumn makes her little baby noises, my dogs go crazy trying to check her out. I'm not sure if they think she is a squeaky toy or what.
           I am just glad she has finally arrived and is perfect with all her little fingers and toes. I can't wait until Mommy and Daddy ask me to babysit.

TEC and DC

       In just two weeks I will be going to Washington, DC with some of my fellow classmates from college. We are members of the Teachers Education Club. The mission of the Teacher Education Club is to support the development of leadership by educating students regarding national and state policy direction and trends on the behalf of children and youth.
        What we do--The Teacher Education Club participates yearly in several fundraising efforts to support community involvement. We also sponsor community outreaches such as Food Drives for the Second Harvest Food Bank and a Teacher Supply Closet to assist local teachers with much needed school supplies. We participate in several local events, including Snacks with Santa, and the Itty-Bitty-Kiddy Festival, both of which are sponsored by SmartStart of Davidson County.
        We have all become members of the National Association of the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The NAEYC is having their National Conference in Washington, DC this year and the Teachers Education Club is going to the conference. We are all excited about going and learning from some of the best educators in the country. There will be seminars and workshops for us to attend. There will also be games to play, educational of course, with prizes, give-a ways and much, much more. 
        We are also hoping to find some time to go sight-seeing. After all, it is our nation's capital. There is so much to see and do there. I went to DC with my brother in 1988 and went to several memorials and museums. It was wonderful. I just hope this trip will be just as wonderful.

 

Scary Day

          It was a cold December morning in South Florida and my husband and I, along with several friends decided to ride our motorcycles in a toy run to gather toys and gifts for needy children for Christmas. We rode about an hour to get to the starting location.
          If I had to estimate how many motorcycles were involved in the toy run that day, I would have to say around 300. There were police officers directing traffic at the starting location becasue there were so many motorcycles.
          We rode to the designated bars or restaurants to pick up their donated toys. Some of the establishments were having raffles and donated the money they had collected as well. The toy run turned out quite well and the riders collected over a thousand toys and gifts and as well as $1347.00 in cash for the needy children in South Florida. These unfortunate children were going to have a great Christmas, thanks to the overwhelming turnout of riders that day.
          It had been a long day already and we had decided it was time to head home. So my husband and myself, and our friends started on our one hour ride back home. We were only about fifteen minutes into our ride when the mini-van in front of us decided to slam on brakes, causing my husband to swerve towards the right shoulder. The only thing is, the van also decided to swerve to the right which caused the left front end of our motorcycle to collide with the right rear end of the mini-van.
          I was airborne. All I could think about was "tuck and roll." When I landed, I was hurting but I was alive. All of a sudden I heard my husband screaming my name. "Darlene, where are you?" Just as I yelled back and started to get up to go to him, one of our friends was at my side and telling me not to move. Rick, my husband, kept trying to call out to me and I realized that even though I couldn't see him, I knew that there was something seriously wrong with him. He was having difficulty breathing.
         An ambulance arrived and strapped me to a stretcher. They did the same with Rick. They put us both in the same ambulance. We were able to finally able to talk to each other but with neck braces on each of us, we still could not see each other. Rick was in so much pain. I could tell by his voice. As the ambulance drove us to the hospital, Rick and I were holding hands.
All of a sudden everything changed.
          The attendant in the ambulance called on her radio for a helicopter. "He's crashing," she said. We were no longer holding hands. I just knew he was going to die. I still could not see him, although he was laying right next to me. Within two or three minutes I could hear the helicopter. The attendant told me not to worry. "Yeah, right!"
          The ambulance slowed down and came to a stop. I could hear police officers outside. I asked what was going on and the attendant told me, "They had to stop traffic on Interstate 75 to let the helicopter land to pick up your husband." As they pulled Rick's stretcher out of the ambulance, we told each other we loved each other as if it were the last time we would see each other.
          It wasn't until I arrived at the hospital that I found out that they had taken Rick to another hospital. I was so upset because no one would tell me anything about where he was or how he was doing. They had taken me back to get x-rays of my wrist, which was broken. When I got back to the ER a nurse said she had found out where he was but had no information on his condition.
         By the time I was ready to be released, the nurse had explained to the other hospital what had happened to us and how we got separated. They had tried everything to calm me down, including medication, none of them worked. I wasn't going to relax until I knew if Rick was going to be okay or even if he was alive.
         Finally, the phone rang and it was the other hospital. Rick was going to make it. He was injured pretty bad having gone through the windshield and handlebars of our motorcycle. He had a broken collarbone, a broken breastbone, eight broken ribs, a badly bruised thigh, and a punctured lung. He was lucky to be alive.
         After several months of recuperating, we hesitantly got back on our fixed motorcycle. It was a little scary at first, but the thought of being able to sit behind my husband and ride again was well worth being a little scared at first.