ME (or all that I can say in a blog…)

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” ~ Dale Carnegie

Hello! My name is Melissa Bowman and I am a ‘very anxious to be finished with college’ preservice elementary school teacher! What a mouthful! I am married to Scott Bowman and we live in Bethlehem, North Carolina in the foothills of the majestic Appalachian Mountains. We have three awesome children. Katie is 19 and is a sophomore at Liberty University. Jacob is a junior in high school and will soon be 17. Mollie, our sweet baby (she will love that) is a 13 year old 8th grader. My children keep me busy and they also keep me laughing! Sarcasm is a highly valued personality attribute at our house!

My family is the most important part of my life besides my faith! They inspire me to keep going every day and they are the primary reason that I returned to school to pursue my degree in education. I want to show them the importance of education and help pay for their future learning too!

I LOVE these guys!!!

We absolutely adore the beach!!

I stayed home with my children when they were small and when Mollie went to kindergarten, I knew after two days that I could not stay home alone. Fortunately, the preschool where Mollie had just finished needed an assistant and they gave me a call! I quickly said I would do it without knowing anything, not even what amount of money I would earn! Through this job, I learned that I enjoyed teaching and watching children grow and develop. In the summer of 2006 while in St. Simon’s Island Georgia, I decided to return to school. I had no idea what my decision would entail, but I’m glad I jumped in!! Now, I am close to seeing my dreams come true!

I enjoy walking, running, and hiking, but admittedly, my workouts have suffered since I came back to school. I am determined to do better with this, because I know it would help the stress of school to get more regular exercise. Some semesters are better than others! One of the greatest hiking experiences I ever had was in Montana in Glacier National Park. My two girls and I along with another teenage friend hiked to a waterfall. It was the most breathtaking waterfall I have ever seen and when I got there and felt the cold mist from the water and heard the deafening rush of water, I cried. I could not help it. It was one of the most spontaneous, authentic expressions of raw emotion that I have ever felt. I would love to do things that cause this feeling more often!!

This is the waterfall from a distance (from the road) We love how it looks like it comes out of the trees.

Things you might find interesting (or not)

Other than God and my family:

I love ice cream!! Specifically, pumpkin ice cream at Kilwins in Blowing Rock in the fall. Gotta have it no matter what!! It has spices like pumpkin pie and even pieces of crust…Scrumptious!!

I am fascinated by history. I enjoy American history, but also Bible history and ancient Greece and Rome. When I take a vacation, I only feel complete if I see something historical! Our family loves to go to the low country in South Carolina near Charleston and our own North Carolina mountains are full of mystery and intrigue.

I am obsessed with books. I devour them! As you might imagine I enjoy historical fiction and I find children’s literature so inspiring and thought provoking. This summer I read “World Without End” by Ken Follett and “The Last Confederate Widow” among other things. I couldn’t put down the Harry Potter books when I read them  and I was thoroughly engrossed in the Twilight series.

I am a crazy, out of control Tarheel basketball fan. At our house Tarheel basketball games are sacred family time. And if you are not a true blue fan you will not enjoy being there to watch with us. We even get mad at each other! And my husband must think that Roy can hear him talking because he screams at him profusely!!

GO  HEELS!

Isle ofPalms, SC

(If my husband ever disappears this is where he will be)

I can’t decide whether I like the mountains or the beach the most! They are both soothing, energizing, and awe inspiring! I feel wholly alive when I stand at the edge of the ocean and when I experience the view from atop a beautiful expanse of mountainous earth. Rockies or Appalachians?? Both are perfect!

Watauga River in Foscoe, NC

I appreciate inspirational quotes. I hope to make some at a point in my life.  I will share some of my favorites on my blog.

I am passionate about high school sports. I love to watch young athletes do things that are beyond their natural ability for their school. My son plays football and basketball and few things make me happier than watching a good Friday night football game in our hometown Cougar stadium!

My girls and I (The Bowman Girls) have an over-the-top obsession with the Gilmore Girls. But since Rory is a writer, I think it works for this whole bloggy thing…Some people allude to the Bible, Shakespeare, you know, important ancient stuff…we allude to the Gilmore Girls. Of course this often means to alluding to an allusion they have made to something else…We also allude prolifically to The Office.

I DO NOT like:

Homework-Sorry teachers who might read this; homework is just not fun. I have a lot of things in my life that are more enjoyable. But having said that, I realize that the things we do are necessary and will help us become accomplished teachers of young children!

Big, scary dogs-This is opposed to big, nice dogs whom I do like! But that is the problem with dogs; sometimes it takes a little time to determine if they are scary or nice!

My kids being hurt, disappointed, mad, or sad-Of course this is an unavoidable part of life, but I can still not like! I am a little crazy about my kids. Don’t do anything bad to them and you will be fine.

People who are mean-I really, really don’t like people who are mean to kids or older people, but I just don’t care for mean people…period! Be nice everybody!

RANDOM NOTE: I used to like to shop, but now….not so much. I find that I would rather LIVE than spend time buying clothes to get ready to live….Does this make sense to anyone? Shopping is soul draining and I am tired of things that do that! No judgment if you love to shop! Buy something for me.

I am tall and I think my size is average. I’m not skinny for sure, but I guess not too big, although I do worry about this too much! I use to be skinnier but oh well, I also used to be more psychotic (only a slight exaggeration). I have premature gray hair and this is somewhat significant because I stopped coloring it the same summer that I decided to go back to school. I was floating around in the ocean in Georgia and said “What the heck? I think I will let my hair go gray and go back to college.” So…here I am–a gray-haired college student. It is a slightly odd combination, but it’s OK! I feel like letting my hair go gray has given me freedom and confidence that I do not understand. Hmmmm….One thing about my gray hair: I think it makes my eyes look bluer, so that’s kind of nice.

It is exciting for me as my children grow and get closer to flying from our nest, to have this new adventure in my life that will allow me to enjoy children for years to come. I will have a career to keep me busy and will earn a little extra money to help our family. My husband and I would love to travel more in the future and I think I will be grateful to have summers and long holiday breaks to do this. The journey that I am on has been difficult at times, but the self satisfaction that comes with it, is worth it (on most days). I look forward to having my own classroom of children to love and nurture and guide on a path to lifelong learning. How cliche did that sound?

Glacier National Park, Montana

This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his own imperfection.

-Saint Augustine