Thank God for Modern Medicine

Dad had a heart attack late Monday morning. Mom, Dad, and their Japanese international student went to Lake Tahoe for a long weekend get away. As dad was driving to Zephyr Cove, he told us that he was sweating, had horrible chest pain, and mom shared that he looked so pale he matched his current hospital gown (it's ivory/buttercup colored material). Not good.

At first, things seemed to be fine and the news was that dad was just getting some surface treatment (IVs, simple tests, etc.). I actually thought he was not feeling well due to the altitude and extra activity. Suddenly, we found out he had to stay overnight due to some positive tests (minor heart damage being one of the things that came up 'positive' on the tests). Tuesday morning, Jackson woke me up to tell me dad was moved from the hospital in Tahoe to Mercy General in Sac. We (me, Belle, Jax- Happy 28th birthday :-), and Shannon) drove up and arrived in Sacramento in time for lunch. As an aside, two of my nurse friends have confirmed that Mercy Gen is great for heart treatment and it was encouraging that they had a department dedicated to cardiology. Yesterday afternoon, dad had an angioplasty and one heart stent was put into his heart. I'm still waiting for a call to confirm that he gets to come home today. I know that God has been with dad and us all the way, and I truly thank God for modern medicine.

Also, here are the awesome (there's lots) things about my dad, Michael Cornelio.

- He is a self taught musician. It's amazing, really. He can play the piano and guitar really well, and has never had one formal lesson.
- He's the most dependable person ever. I have a fond and recent memory of my dad dropping everything to help videotape me delivering a lesson to a 4th grade class. After the lesson, he asked if I wanted to go to lunch with him. During our lunch, he received 5 phone calls and was talking about things I've never heard of (engineer stuff). He kept putting off these important calls to just have lunch with me.
- He is a wonderful dad.

- Lots of people (including me) think he has a funny sense of humor- sometimes embarrassing if your his daughter, but he's really funny

- He loves people.

- He gives sacrificially of his time, talents, and resources.

Teaching and Parenting

First off, I definitely want to teach 3rd grade now. I've been in my current teaching placement for 13 days as of this past Friday, and I LOVE it. Not just like, "Yea, kids are cool... teaching is great". More like, "I am enthralled by teaching and all it entails- I want to be the best teacher I can be" type deal. To date, I've received encouraging feedback such as "You have the teaching gene... You're a natural...You could teach your own class right now". I share this not to toot my horn, well maybe a little tooting is happening in this post, but I am trying to emphasize how much I love what I do and how I love being good at what I do. I am saddened that I only have 6 weeks (yes Jackson, 6.0 weeks) left with my third graders until my next placement.

Teaching makes me a better parent. Parenting, I believe, makes me a better teacher. Belle and I have been to the library about 5 times since I've started teaching because I actually have time to go to the library before the evening routine begins. She is semi-obsessed with the library and can identify the public building about a quarter mile away. Also, I have more energy to invest in and be consistent with my precious daughter. All in all, I love that what I do on a daily basis (as a teacher and a parent)and that is makes a positive difference and is fulfilling.

First Offical Lesson (for Student Teaching)

Today was my first formal observation. My supervisor came in and watched me deliver a math lesson about pictographs and other graphs to 21 3rd graders. It went well. I was initially nervous about the whole observation situation. When I started the lesson, it felt natural and I loved every minute of interacting with the students. I had some positive feedback and am excited to keep teaching. Every day I'm in the classroom, I'm more sure that I was meant to be a teacher.

I realized that I only have 7.4 weeks left with my master teacher and the class I'm in and I'm actually sad. I'll be happy to have a new learning experience of course (in my next 9 week student teaching placement), but I LOVE the kids in the class and the teaching skills I'm learning from my master teacher. Also, I love 3rd grade. I think I may want to teach 3rd grade now.