summer list

One of the things on my to-do list for the summer is to spend time with my niece, Shelbi. She lives a couple of hours away from us, and we don't get to see her or her dad as much as we probably should. She's spent about a week with us each summer, though, for several years, and she and Raine have a blast. We have a good time all around.

When Raine and I were putting together some summer plans and activities, Shelbi's name definitely came up, but it was a wait and see what happens when. Well, neither of us had to wait very long!

While I was working in my classroom, yesterday, Shelbi called. Since I don't get good reception in my class, I had to wait until a little later to talk to her. (do I really need to include that? probably not, even if it is what really happened...) When I did get to talk to her, about the second question she asked was "Am I going to get to come visit you this summer?"

I responded with, "Do you WANT to come visit us this summer?"

"YES!"

"When would you like to come?" I asked her.

"I still have school tomorrow, so how about Saturday?"

I was thrilled that she wanted to come... wanted it enough to want to come sooner rather than later, even. So, I talked to my brother, John, and we arranged it. Ron and Raine and I will be heading over to pick her up tomorrow! Excellent way to start the summer!

finished...and not

I've learned enough to get the grades done the day before they are due, so I was ready to check out pretty early today, and I got that done. Still I worked for a good while in my classroom, going through things and throwing a lot of it out. It took time, but I cleared out my classroom cabinets and got a long way towards organizing them - although not filling them up, as that was part of the point, right?

Still, there is more to do, so tomorrow morning (although not at the crack of dawn, yippee) I'll be up and getting ready for one more day at the school. I'm not really planning to bring home much. but there are a few things. Mostly, it's still getting rid of stuff.

slacking & lacking

I know. It's been a couple of days here. No excuses, really, either. Just... yeah, the end of school. I have one more day of tests, and then it's getting them into the gradebook, and into the computer, turning things in and checking out. The checking out will be on Thursday. So will the cleaning up. Well, I've been doing a little bit of that here and there, I will admit. Not as much as I'd like, yet, though. I just wish I knew which classroom I was going to be in. That is - however - going to have to wait until things are settled. I hope it will be soon. Sigh.

Did I mention I'll be throwing stuff OUT? Yes, I feel the need to shed some baggage. At school, and at home. There will be a theme, here, yes there will. I'm tired of boxes stacked around. Tired, I tell you! Tired. Those and the cobwebs and the dust bunnies just have to go. I don't get into the spring cleaning, there's just no percentage in it here. You have to wait until the spring winds stop blowing the dust all over your house.

Well, back to grading essays, and then to sleep. Come on summer vacation!

a fitting tribute

Last month, a good friend of mine, Ed Judd, passed away. Today, his family and friends gathered for his memorial. His daughter read from a sermon, which was a lovely sentiment, and very fitting. It basically said (but in a much more poetic way than I am) I'm not really gone, I'm just out of sight, what we've done together still exists, what we've meant to each other won't change. I liked it a lot.

Then, anyone who wanted to say something had a chance to share a remembrance about Ed. Of course there were tears, but there was also camaraderie, and love, and caring. I hope that his family were held up a little by how Ed's friends cared and felt about him, and how much we will miss him too.

As a rule, I understand how valuable our rituals and ceremonies are to us as people. I respect them, and the role they serve, even when they sometimes seem too much planning, too much frufrau, and too much trouble. Memorial services never seem that to me. They are sad and emotional, which I - like many others - aren't always comfortable with, but they are always a way to say goodbye to someone you have cared about, and to share that loss with others who feel it, too. Being able to share that loss with others, even for a short while, somehow makes the long term grieving a little more bearable.

Be well, Ed, in whatever it is that comes after this life. We will miss you because we can't see you, and because the things - both tangible and intangible - you left behind remind us of you.

graduation 2011

Is done. Those seniors are now graduates. They did well, they survived. A few even excelled. Beyond them is the scary future. The exciting next thing. I wish them well, with happiness and success and all the good. They'll find out what the world is really like. Or they won't. But mostly, they'll do all right, I think. Congratulations GHS class of 2011.

not my best day

Can we just be done now? Please? I took my classes to one of the computer labs on campus, so that we could do a short cycle assessment. Yeah. So, one of the students was not attending to what he should have been, and broke the window in the lab. Yeah. Just like that. Of course that was not his intention, but just the confluence of timing, force and luck... He cut his hand in a few places, and the window made quite a mess of glass inside the room and out. Since it was done on my "watch" so to speak, I feel somewhat responsible. Not that I could have known he was going to jump up and smack the window with his hand, but still.

Tomorrow is half day, and then graduation. Next week is finals. Come on, I can do it, I can do it...

mini crobot

I finished my mini last night. Couldn't show you until I charged the camera's battery, though. All better now.

I think she turned out pretty well, with cute flower buttons on her head, and a stack of sequin hearts. She stands pretty well, too. It was my first experiment with the yarn, which is a very small weight. Can't tell you exactly what, because it was all unlabeled, from my stash. All the yarn wasn't even uniform size, but pretty close. It is pretty much embroidery type thread. I used a pretty small hook as well. I had to fiddle with the pattern a bit since the proportions weren't the same as the worsted weight that I was using on the other crobots, but it wasn't too bad. I kept the number of stitches per row, but had to increase the number of rows to get the right shapes.

I'll probably make a few more this size. I like it!