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Donating Clothes On Staten Island

 Although I live in New jersey, I'm originally from Staten Island. And while my family is white, we grew up in Mariner's Harbor, an area that was, and is, economically disenfranchised. We were six kids and two parents, all living in a small home, but it was ours. We took pride and love in caring for our home. Each of my siblings had chores, myself included. We had a pretty front garden with roses and flowers, and a gigantic backyard with a lawn and veggie garden. My brother Scott mowed the lawn. My parents still live in that same home. While my own family lives in New Jersey, we visit every Sunday for an Irish-Italian spaghetti dinner. My father still goes to church every Sunday. I do not, but I still support the community. I like to donate clothes on Staten Island . We take all my kids clothes and bring them to my parents home. From there, my Mom makes calls to families in the neighborhood and after a few hours and visits with a few local friends, everything is gone! I don'
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Black Lives Matter Mural Defaced In Brooklyn

I am white. And so, I feel a little hesitant in posting this. But I will anyway.  First off, I want to say that I fully support the Black Lives Matter movement. I even brought my daughter to a rally in our town. True, there wasn't a single black face in the crowd, but we meant well. Then I saw the Bevelyn Beatty interview on Youtube. That shattered my world. Here was a black woman opposing BLM. I was confused. Then I was angry. Then I was confused again. In the end, I realize it's her place to say the things she said, and not mine. It's not my experience being black, and I can only listen.  But she says things that are totally in contrast to what most black people think and believe about Black Lives matter. Bevelyn defaced the mural in Manhattan and other boroughs because she strongly believes that the movement is not about helping black people. It's not my place to agree or disagree. Bevelyn Beatty and other black men and women are the ones we should be listening to.
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How I De-Stress

I teach kindergarten. I love my job, but I can't say it isn't without its unique kinds of stress. There's the parents. The administrators. Catty co-workers. All sorts of book-keeping I have to do on a regular basis. It's a lot. So how do I deal?  Here are my time-tested methods: 1. In-Home Women's Massage : This is my favorite. I try to get a massage at home once a week. Before I knew this existed, I had to drive to the day spa. That didn't really fit into my schedule so instead of fifty or so massages  a year, it was maybe only like ten or fifteen. Most of the other teachers now get massages as well. But most of them still go to the spa, something I'm never going to do again. In-home massage is just so much better. I can immediately shower afterwards and get the icky sticky oil off, and I can save about an hour between driving, parking, and sitting there in the waiting room. But just like traditional massage, the big issue is finding a good therapist that I
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Being A Kindergarten Teacher

I love my job. I teach five and six year olds. It's not easy, but it is rewarding work. I can't explain, really. It's more than teaching little ones how to tell time or their ABCs. it's a lot more. First of all, spending my days surrounded by children is better than working alongside angry, disgruntled adults in a bank. (That's what I used to do.) Kids are amazing and there's no group I'd rather work with. Well, maybe dogs. But I can't see what job that would be, as a vet would just not be my thing. The best part is teaching the kinds the lessons of life that are not in the books. Like how to be kind, how to be creative, how to be a responsible member of society. That's my favorite part of it all.  Of course, I do have to do workshops with other teachers, and there are a good number of them that aren't the nicest people, but then there are some amazing people in education.  I'm happy I chose this path, or rather it chose me. How did I begin?
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My Kids Are Driving Me Crazy Blog

OK. About that name. It's just a catchy name for a blog. I'm not crazy and I love my children. My name is Darlene and I have an eleven year old daughter named Jackie, and a son who is ten named Mason.  In my blog, I plan to talk about cooking. Sharing recipes. But that's not all. I want to also explore topics like child rearing and pregnancy.  I am also a kindergarten teacher, so of course education and all things learning are going to be topics I touch on a lot. My energy is fast and furious. No, not angry, just super-hyper! I am a Leo, and I love painting canvases, though I'm not any good yet. I'm not going to get too much into personal details. I feel that's kind of inappropriate, and so I'm not really comfortable when others go there. Save that for your close friends, not your blog that the world will see. Of course, as a teacher, I am also bound by ethics and won't discuss anything that might jeopardize my job! Makes perfect sense, I would think. My
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