yesterday...

Yesterday was half-off day at the thrift store.  And when I say thrift store, this isn't like the junkie, dirty place around the corner from the old K-mart.  This place is actually pretty nice, as far as thrift stores go.  It's clean and well-organized and of a fairly good size.  The only downside to the place is that they don't have fitting rooms.  On average days, if you buy something and change your mind, you can return it for store credit.  On half-off days, however, which occur on the last Wednesday of every month, you are not permitted to return the items you buy, so generally, you want to be sure the clothes will fit.  The common solution to the lack of fitting rooms at this particular location is quite amusing.  This is what my story is really about.  When shopping in this store, especially on half-off days, it is common to see numerous customers making their way to the "furniture department" with cartloads of clothing.  In the store, there is an area where four bedroom sets are organized side by side.  Each set has a full-size mirror attached to the dresser next to a queen size bed.  These four areas have become the make-shift dressing area.  A somewhat obvious problem still exists, however.  You can't change your clotes in public!  Solution: snug shirts and enormous skirts.  Planning ahead and wearing a snug shirt allows for trying on shirts over your current clothing.  For the bottoms, one must borrow a large, elastic-waist skirt from the womens' area, which allows for trying on things underneath without being seen.  So yesterday, for the first time ever, and totally on my own, I participated in this local tradition.  I started off with a skirt that was far too large, however, which, as you might imagine, caused quite a bit of difficulty.  Another skirt from my pile, thankfully, was an appropriate replacement.  I was not quite as successful as I had hoped to be with finding things that fit, but I found a few good things.  In the end, I came home with 14 children's books (which were not included in the half-off sale), one pair of shorts, one sweater, and three shirts for under $27.  Not bad, I think, since the shorts alone (Old Navy) would have originally cost that much. 

To segue into another topic, I'm really excited about all the children's books I have been able to get this summer, and about the great prices I've paid.  After taking several classes pertaining to children's literature and reading instruction, I have become passionate about finding quality children's books to stock up on for my future classroom.  "Future" makes it sound so far away, but really it's only a year and a half away.  That's weird to think about!  I'm anxious to get back to St.Augustine next month and start my practicums again.  I love being in elementary classrooms.  I love teaching.  That is definitely something I could have never imagined myself saying a few years ago.  It's funny how things work out.  All my life, teaching was the one career I vowed never to do.  "I'll never be a teacher," I said.  Looking back now, I think I said that because I realized how hard it is to be a teacher.  It takes hard work.  It takes patience and determination.  I think at the time I couldn't imagine anything being worth what it takes to be a teacher.  Then, through a clever little plan, God eased me into the teaching field in a way that was nearly painless.  Once I got involved in it, I started to become passionate about it.  The stuff I learn in my classes is so interesting, and then when I work with the kids I actually get to apply it.  (I love it when they teach us useful things in college!)  I don't know if I'll want to teach forever, or just for a few years, but I do know that right now I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing, and that's a good feeling.