Week Nine, Five To Go

   Today as I thought about what I have learned in my practicum, I believe one of the most important modifications I can make personally will be to control my thoughts. I get to choose what I think about. I believe I have spent too much time thinking about the hard experiences I have had. As I was running this evening I thought about Mom and Dad. I thought about receiving Tiny Tears for Christmas. My parents tried to provide a happy experience for me and those are the types of experiences I want to remember and think about. My worry is that I have pushed good experiences out of my memory by focusing so often on the experiences that were difficult. I am going to concentrate on remembering all the good things about my life and start writing them here. As I was running I thought about being in first grade. I knew how to read at the beginning of first grade. I was ahead of the other kids. I felt good about myself, I felt smart. I had checked books out from the bookmobile all through the summer. I wanted to read so bad. I would look at the books. I would look at the words. I would ask my brother or sister what a word said. I would sit with the book and repeat what they told me. I would have to ask them about the same word, sometimes over and over. By the time school started and I was a first grader I was reading. I still love to read. I am happy I can read. I am happy I can see. It is one of the great blessing in life, reading.