Queen Jen's Gems

 Have you ever made plans that didn't happen or they happened in a way you did not see coming? I can definitely answer a big YES to both of those! I know many of you may be able to say yes to these also. When things come up unexpectedly, we often refer to that as life happening. Life has been happening! As we're in this last week of January (that's hard to believe already!), January has been very interesting to say the least! We're currently in the winter season. For the last couple of winter seasons, we haven't had a really cold winter, and we really hadn't gotten much snow. Well, winter 2025 decided to show us different 😉! In the first full week of January, I missed two days of work because of snow days. Then, the second week, there were concerns at the school division I work with that needed to be checked. I got an unexpected call on a Wednesday evening (January 15th to be exact) that school would be closed the remainder of the week to check the boiler at on...

 Opportunities come in different forms and ways in our lives. Opportunities are a chance for advancement or progress. It could be a relationship, job, new experience, travel, or a chance to learn something new, among many other things. Some opportunities are good for us, while others are not good for us. I believe that we can learn from every opportunity and take the lessons from it 🙏. What could be a good opportunity may not be for me. I'm also learning that it may be for me, but it's the wrong timing. I've learned to examine opportunities real close. At some point in our lives, we probably have all seen play money. You may have played with it as a kid or seen kids play with it. Perhaps you are a teacher and you have used it to teach students about Math 😊. Fake money feels different than real money. When I've paid with cash at the stores with certain bills, I have noticed the cashier raising the bill up and taking a close look at it to make sure it's real. Unfort...

 Have you ever felt like you were overlooked? Ignored? Not noticed? Unappreciated? If you have said yes to any of the following questions, you are not alone. I believe that many people can relate to one or more of these. I know I have felt all of these at some point in my life. I have felt these in my childhood, but as an adult, I've also experienced these feelings. It's okay to acknowledge them. The good news is that these feelings don't last forever! In my life journey, I have realized that our presence does matter 😊. I learned that others may not have seen me, but God was always watching me 🙏. I was doing my best in that moment and that's what mattered. I also learned that people noticed me when I didn't think they did. When we show up to something (work, school, event, gathering, etc.), people notice whether they say it directly or not. The opposite is true also. When you don't show up to work, school, the event, or gathering, people also notice and may sa...

Happy New Year everyone!! God has blessed us to see 2025 😊!! I'm so grateful for a new year!! For those of you who may not know, I love to read 💖. I can be content wrapped up in a blanket with a book in a cozy corner. In the last few years especially, I have worked on reading a mix of fiction and nonfiction books. Now, I love my fiction, but it is good to be exposed to nonfiction reads as well 😊. As a teacher, I love to share with my students what I'm reading. In fact, I have a sign outside my classroom door that says what I'm currently reading. We have at least 15-20 minutes of independent daily reading in my class where we all read. I love it as it's one of my favorite parts of class! Sometimes, students will ask me what my book is about and how it is so far. One day, I had to move the sign temporarily and was going to put it on the shelf when one of my students said she liked to see what I was reading. That made my whole heart smile 💖!! You see, this year, studen...