Don't Mess With Mother Nature

Memories of Past Hurricanes. Hurricanes have always been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Since my mother grew up near Myrtle Beach and my dad has lots of family in southern Mississippi, I have always kept my eye on hurricanes that might affect family members. As a teenager and college student my Dad worked for FEMA, so a hurricane headed towards the east coast meant Dad would be gone for several weeks. When I moved to the coast of Virginia I was a bit excited to have the oppurtunity to be close to Mother Nature and her power. After learning more about the history of this part of the east coast, I'm not too worried that a huge hurricane will ever wipe Virginia Beach off the map. I love to watch a stormy surf, but I'm not stupid, there does come a time when you need to leave a storm area. I have a cousin in South Carolina that always has a extra bed for me and calls everytime there is a storm headed my way. That's a good feeling to know that the cat and I will not be stuck in a shelter.

When I think about hurricanes, I can't help to think back to Hugo. It's been what, 18 years since Hugo(1989) hit the coast of South Carolina. My brother, Sam, and his wife were newlyweds living in Charleston. I had 14 family memebers in the direct line of the storm. I'm happy to say that everyone came through the storm very well. Sam and Tammy left Charleston just hours before the storm hit. They returned to find their previous house gone. After Katrina, I once again saw people that I knew and loved doing what people had done for centuries. Picking up and carrying on. If you live by the coast, you have to be aware of the threat of hurricanes. What can you do to stop one? Nothing. The people of the southeast coast are used to hurricanes and made tough. I'm thankful to know that all my loved ones are safe tonight. No telling what will come in the future, but we will always carry on. That's what you do when you live somewhere you love. The wrath of Mother Nature is just part of the adventure.

This is my first post on my first personal blog. I decided to start this blog after I spent a great week mingling with my fellow Computer Resource Specialists in Virginia Beach at our annual CRS conference. It's three intense days of technology surrounded by like minded people. You don't know how good it feels to be around people that think the same way you do. I think that after 20 years of teaching I've finally found my place in the world of education. I spent 19 years teaching special education. I loved my kids, but it was at times so very trying on me both mentally and emotionally. I always felt that my ideas were not in line with the others in my field. I've always used and known that technology was the way to reach so many of those unreachable kids. Never did I think that I'd have to leave the comfort and safety of my classroom walls to find my true calling in education. I LOVE MY JOB!! I can say that over and over again. It's after a conference like I've attended this week that I get inspired, motivated and encouraged to go out and reach those 21st century learners that will be walking through the doors to our school in about three weeks. My head is full of ideas, and inspiring thoughts. When I put my head down on my pillow tonight I'll have happy thoughts of blogs, web 2.0, podcasts, digital stories and Twitter dancing in my head and there won't be a sugarplum anywhere around. Well I have come to the end of my first blog post. That wasn't so hard after all. Till later ... hang tough and keep the faith.