The last two school days went alright. Thursday was a bit rough for the majority of the day but I toughed it out and made it through. My students were all confused as to why I was gone and explained that sometimes teachers get sick too. That evening, I wowed the roommates with my cooking skills by making chicken enchiladas for them. Like normal, the enchiladas were a hit and we hung out for the rest of the evening. Patricia continued tormenting Amanda about the Secret Santa gift exchange. She had convinced Amanda that she had drawn her in our exchange and was asking her questions about what she would like all week.
Friday I was ancy to be done with school because we were headed to Orlando for the weekend for the CVIF Christmas party. I woke up late that morning so I had to put my hair in a ponytail. My students had never seen my hair back like that yet and boy did they notice. My girls were all saying kind comments about it but my boys made comments such as, "Ms. Halstead, it looks like you have a mohawk." or "Ms. Halstead, did you shave your head?" The boys always have more dramatic comments about my looks than the girls. Other than that, the day was pretty relaxed and once it was over, Patricia and I darted out of school to pack and pick up Amanda from the office. We finally made our way out of Ft. Lauderdale after a few mishaps and wrong turns around 5:30 and were stuck in traffic for quite some time after that. I was so ready to be done with the 3.5 hour drive already but it seemed to go on forever. We finally made it out of south Florida and arrived in Orlando around 9 that night. I dropped Amanda off at her friend's house for the night and Patricia and I stayed at Nicole's and Ebony's (fellow volunteers) apartment. I went to bed fairly early that night because the next morning I was going to drive an hour out to Cape Canaveral to go see one of my Emporia friends, Shantel, who works for Disney cruise lines.
My alarm came fast on Saturday morning but I was able to leave by 6:30 so I could meet Shantel once she got off the ship. She has Saturday mornings free when they port so I was able to spend about 5 hours with her total. She has been on the ship for about 2.5 months now and hasn't seen anyone from home since she's gotten on so I'm glad I was able to finally see her. We went shopping for a bit in Cocoa Beach after we ate breakfast and then talked for the rest of the day. Being away from Kansas and both have the same degree, we had lots to talk about and find it very easy to relate to one another. She does not get off the ship for good until February so hopefully I can see her before that or if not, see her when she gets off. I had to drop her off at 12:30 so she could work at 1 and then I headed back to Orlando so I could pick up Amanda and get ready for our Christmas party.
That night our Christmas party was at our director's house and she made a huge feast of food for us to eat! There were several alumni and a few other guests there so we had lots of people to talk to besides one another. It was so great to be able to spend time with everyone before we all head home for Christmas. It really felt like family time as we sat around, chatted, laughed, and enjoyed each others' company. As the evening went on, it was time for our Secret Santa gift exchange. I was in charge of it so I organized everyone in the living room and everyone swapped gifts. It was neat to see who had drawn who and the plan that God had behind that. I am going to take this moment to brag, though. I believe, and many agreed that I received the best present of all. My secret Santa, Nich (our only guy), handed me a card. When I opened it, there was a folded up letter and in the corner, I saw the YMCA symbol. I became a bit curious and wondered what he had given me from there. A membership was too much so I unfolded the letter only to see the most sincere and heartfelt present ever given to me I think. Nich had contacted the YMCA back home and donated $30 to Camp Hyde in my name! I wanted to cry but did not. I gave him a huge hug and just kept looking at him shocked but grateful at the same time. He said it took a little bit of work but he was able to give money to my camp for me because he must have known how much I truly love Hyde. I have no doubt that took a lot of time for him to come up with and then follow through with so my heart is truly grateful for him, more-so now than before. Nothing was going to bring my mood down for the rest of night.
After the Christmas party was over, we went with the alumni from last year downtown to their bars. We ended up at a place that was on top of a roof. Not many people can say they can go to an outdoor bar in December and it still feels good! As we were all hanging out, we ended up meeting some guys that graduated from Ivy League schools. Impressive, I know. As we got to talking, I found out that one of them is moving to Hutch in mid-January! He is going to be working at the new Siemens plant out there for 6 months. He is actually very excited for this move and was asking me all sorts of questions about what I should know. I was more than excited and willing to share my love of Kansas with him. He is originally from Maine so the small towns are no big deal for him. I shared as much about Kansas as I could with him for the rest of the night before it was time to leave. He will only be there til June so I probably won't get to see him while he's there but I hope he enjoys it!
This morning, I woke up with a bit of a sore throat as well as sounding like a man when I talked. I was hoping it would go away but I knew that it wouldn't. As we all started getting around for the day and getting ready to leave, I realized that I was losing my voice. Wonderful. I haven't said this yet but Julissa will not be there tomorrow because she has to set up for her daughter's quinceniera (15th birthday) that is on Friday. I tried to rest it as much as a I could but between saying good bye and trying to plan our day, I ended up talking more than I probably should have. After we ate some leftovers that our director had given us, we headed back to Miami. I tried not to talk the whole way back but sometimes that was the only way I could stay awake. Eventually I felt a little too tired to drive so Amanda drove the last hour back to Miami. By the time we got back, my voice was pretty much done for. I unpacked and then headed to Mass at 7:30. During Mass, I was the annoying girl that kept coughing so I didn't shake anyone's hand nor could I say anything. I feel so disconnected in church when I don't sing or say the responses. I love being able to participate and share my love of God with everyone so this evening was a struggle. And I know I shouldn't care what people think but I didn't want people thinking I didn't want to participate. I decided that God wanted me to be silent so I could listen to the readings and the Mass itself today. I worked hard to focus on every word the priest or reader was saying today since I couldn't speak. I really enjoyed the readings and I'll post a few verses at the bottom that really struck me. The rest of my night has truly been quiet. I have said maybe 10 words to the girls. It's such a struggle for me not to talk. I'm worried for school tomorrow.
It's really easy to be frustrated with situations like this. It's very inconvenient for me to not have my voice right now: as a teacher, a friend, sister, daughter, and someone that lives far from home, but I know that there is a reason God chose this time to quiet my voice. I am supposed to be preparing myself for Jesus' coming so I have to quiet all parts of me and listen and wait. This could also be a new way for me to give myself to others. Every other time that I've lost my voice, I've found that I can listen to God, my friends, and myself better. So this no voice situation really could be okay (until school tomorrow that is). Try and look for the good in everything--even when it's hard. I should probably get some sleep now so maybe I can have a small voice tomorrow but I will leave you with a few verses from our readings in Mass today:
"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good tidings to the poor."
~Isaiah 61:1
"Pray without ceasing."
~1 Thessalonians 5:17
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