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Monday 11 August 2014

a not so conventional summer...

Though this is a teaching blog (tell all your friends!!!), I had to share this with you all because quite frankly, I don't have time to engage in much teaching activities right now. 

I had high hopes for this summer. Yup. Big dreams.

My family and I, as mentioned briefly in my first post, packed our things and headed seven hours north, deep into the bush, where we would engage in mining exploration all summer. Though my job would be that of a camp cook, I intended on really beefing up my Teachers Pay Teachers store with anchor charts, math unit plans, a short story unit, a novel study on the Maze Runner, along with other goodies. I also brought some books that have been on my 'must read' list because well, I really didn't want to find myself bored.

HA!!!! 

HAHA!!!!

Bored is not what a person is when they're responsible for feeding a dozen or so grown men and women that trudge through swamps all day, cut lines, drill, and prospect. Ensuring that everyone has three square meals isn't just a full-time job, it's an ALL day job!! We're up at 7:00 am to put breakfast on the table. Then we make bagged lunches for everyone. After lunches and breakfast clean-up, we put dinner together. On very special days, we finish this task early, and actually enjoy a couple of hours to ourselves in the afternoon. Usually I'm too tired to read though and have been known to indulge myself with a wee nap. However, 4:30 comes around quickly and we're back at it again to begin dinner preparations. After dinner is over, there is of course, clean up. And by the time everything is looked after and put away, it's 8:30 pm and we're done... beat... too tired and worn out to join our staff at the fire. We might play a games of cards, watch a little t.v. (we get two channels!!), but then we're off to bed. 

There are also regular trips into town to shop for food and supplies, replenish fuel, dump runs, and of course my personal favourite (can you feel the sarcasm here??) - laundry. Sometimes we're in town everyday for 4 or 5 days. 

And a trip into town isn't like running to the store for milk. Oh no. It's driving through old logging roads and widened atv trails and down dirt roads that are nothing but giant washboards. And the time for one way? 40 minutes or so. 

Fun stuff.

However, what IS really incredible about what we're doing, is what we're doing. This experience we're giving our children and ourselves too, is unlike anything else.  It's a real family deal as the company, GOOD Mining Exploration Inc, is owned by my husband and myself along with two other partners. Three of our six children are here working with us as well. Our 5 year old is one of them and clearly LOVES being his dad's little helper. My husband's mother and brother have also both spent a significant amount of time here, helping me run the 'kitchen'. We have some excellent employees and also had many geologist students offering their time through our student-volunteer program in order to gain valuable experience. Everyone here has truly become a part of our family.

I also have a tiny confession to make...

Yes it's hard work but we do sneak in some quality fishing time. The pickerel are AMAZING here and like clockwork, they bite every night at the same time. We also get some great ATV riding in. The trail system here is incredible. Hundreds of trails webbed together provide hours and hours and hours of good outdoor fun and adventure.

So it's true that this summer was not what I'd originally planned or hoped for, but it's been incredible, and I'll be very sad to see it come to an end. 

My silly kid insisted on having a 'sink' bath. 

Gorgeous sunsets right at our doorstep!

This is Hawkin, our first student, on the left, and Dennis, our senior geologist on the right. That is of course, me in the middle. 

A little fun in the camp.

My amazing mother-in-law and me.



My mother-in-law and brother-in-law, two truly incredible people who saved my life when they offered to help me cook for all the hungry people. 

The drill rig in action.

That's one of my boys there to the left.

Gotta love a good photo bomb!


Dump runs were always fun when the bears were out. 

From left to right, we have Kira, Frank (my hubby), Chay, Athraa, and Dennis in the back. 

I caught those two, big beauties!!!
It was a great night fishing.



Wednesday 9 July 2014

A time capsule story to brighten your day...

I finished work on a Friday at 4:00 pm, and left on the Sunday at about noon, to join my husband at our remote mining camp, where I will run the camp and also provide daily meals (3 of course) to our exploration crew.

That gave me one full day to clean my house, visit with family, and pack my stuff for a fun-filled summer (haha), and zero time to wind down from the school year. 

Awesome.

I really don't mean to complain. My summer - so far - is really great. It's busy cooking for a bunch of hungry people, but it really isn't that bad. Our family business is exciting and really, who else does mining exploration?  

But the purpose for this blog isn't to discuss our business or what's happening in our camp. The purpose is to share something with you in the hopes that it brightens one teacher's day.

You see, last year (2012/2013) was a challenge for me. It was my second year teaching and I was faced with some difficult moments. I also took two AQ courses which absolutely devoured ALL of my personal time. I lived, ate, slept and breathed work.

I had no life.

My children didn't know me anymore.

My husband - bless him - didn't know me anymore.

I didn't know me anymore. 

When the summer finally came, I actually considered leaving the teaching profession. To say I was burnt out would have been polite. A week before I had to go back to work (we are called in a week before the first day of school), I was in a full-on panic. I was NOT ready. Not even close.  But, something clicked and by the time those sweet little faces greeted me on the first day, I felt fresh and rejuvenated and ready to jump into to a brand new year. 

To start things off, I had my kids put together a 'time capsule' to be opened at the end of the year.We cut a piece of string to measure our heights, outlined our hand, some outlined their feet, and we wrote a letter to ourselves. We then decorated a large manila envelope, put all the pages in it, sealed it shut and put them away until the end of June. On the last full day of school, we opened our envelopes and laughed at how much everyone had grown, and giggled at our letters. Some students shared their letters with the class and others chose to keep theirs private. You can download this product from my Teachers Pay Teachers store by clicking here.

I too wrote a letter and when I read it at the end of the year, I was reminded of how I KNEW I might need reassuring that rejuvenation would come. It sort of made me feel a little warm and gooey and I thought it just might be what some teachers need to hear after a long and challenging year. This is the letter:



And here is what it says:

Dear Mrs. Dusome, or me, hahaha!
I am so excited about this year! I have an amazing group of kids and can't wait to see all they'll accomplish. I LOVE my job. I hope you haven't forgotten that. No matter how busy and hectic your days get, you LOVE this job! If you could, you'd even do it for free!
Hopefully you're not too burnt out. If you are, you WILL feel better in September! I promise!
Did you stay organized and on top of things? You sure set out to do so at the beginning of the year! Did you give feedback to the kids on a regular basis? You better have! Haha. 
Have a great summer. 
You totally deserve iot!
Mrs. D...
ME

So, if you're one of those teachers out there that ended the year feeling completely exhausted, hopefully my September letter can help. Rejuvenation WILL come. I promise!!