Hello, Summer! :(

Suddenly, I appreciate the cool spring we had. I even appreciate the 40 degree days we had just a couple of weeks ago. Summer has arrived. Maybe the calendar doesn't indicate that yet, but when you teach in a middle school, one hot, humid day is all you need to be convinced. It was so humid today that I actually had a layer of wet on the floor. Kids were slipping on the floor! Papers were limp, faces were glistening, and no one felt like concentrating. We still have 3 weeks of school, and if this weather keeps up, it's going to be a LOOOOOOOOONG 3 weeks!

On a happy note, I got my flowers planted yesterday. I feel very close to my mom and my grandma when I do that. It was always a spring ritual when I was growing up. In Council Bluffs, we'd head out to K-Mart and buy our flowers. Matt & I would haul the big pots around to the front, and Mom would plant away. Matt is the one who figured out that the gigantic pots are a lot easier to move when you put them on a skateboard! Our deck was always overflowing with impatiens... other things too, but I especially remember how fond my mom was of impatiens. They're cheery. When I moved to Fairfield, I would help Grandma plant her flowers, and we'd haul stuff around in her red wagon. That red wagon just bit the dust last year. I was sad to see it go... many good memories with it. But when a wagon rusts clean through, it's basically just 4 wheels and a handle. Not much good for hauling. Luckily, I have the best boyfriend ever who replaced that red wagon for my birthday this year. I had fun testing it out for the first time yesterday when I hauled my own flower pots and bags of peat & soil around. It's amazing what a few pots of flowers do for a person's yard... and a person's spirit. :)

On a crappy note, I woke up yesterday with a wretched sore throat & headache. It's not any better today, and I CANNOT be sick this week. The 8th grade GOAL kids are premiering their documentary films tomorrow night, and Thursday is the 7th grade GOAL trip to Hannibal. I repeat... I CANNOT be sick this week! Send healing thoughts my way!

To close, I'll reiterate what I said today on Facebook & Twitter. Air conditioning is my favorite invention. Stay cool, everyone!

Weekly Update

This has been a great week so far at school. Monday started with a rocking assembly. We celebrated kids who made their goals with Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. The assembly started with our band playing the school song as everyone got seated. The drumline played a killer cadence, and about 25 teachers took their places on and around the stage with pompons and drill team flags. We did an impromptu dance routine to "Eye of the Tiger." The top 5 students in each grade with the biggest ITBS improvements got called to the stage and got a fleece Fairfield Trojan pullover. The top 2 have the option of turning that back in for an iPod. The students in each grade who scored 95% & above for composite scores got called to the stage. 6th & 7th graders each got a pass to all the school dances for next year. The 8th graders got $20 in Chamber Bucks. This is a gift certificate to any place in town that is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Then, the homeroom in each grade that had the biggest improvements in scores won a pizza party (mine won for 7th grade... go homeroom!!). Suddenly, the room went silent as pulsing music poured over the sound system. As the theme from Chariots of Fire played, three teachers began their slow motion race to the stage. Each teacher represented a grade level, and after coming from behind, Mr. Owen leaped up to the stage, winning the prize. 7th grade had the biggest overall improvement in ITBS scores, so tomorrow, the entire grade will be watching The Blind Side in the cafeteria and eating popcorn. The crowd went wild. The afternoon ended with the teachers back up on stage, this time dancing to "Don't Stop Believin'" with the entire student body singing along. It was a GREAT afternoon.

Tuesday was Andrew's birthday, and he and Zach and I drove to Bonaparte to celebrate with supper at the Bonaparte Retreat. It was a beautiful evening. One of Andrew's presents to me is a share of a new Hawkeye season ticket for next year (hopefully close to the Mornin' Crew). I can't wait to have him at football games with me!

On Wednesday morning, when I pulled into school for Wednesday morning staff development, I was flagged down and waved away from the parking lot. In front of our school, the red carpet was laid out, and my principal took my keys. Valet parking and the red carpet for teachers on Wednesday morning. I felt like a celebrity!

Today was the 6th grade GOAL trip to Nauvoo. It was a rainy day, but it was a fabulous day. The kids were so well behaved, and luckily, it's a trip that works even if the weather doesn't. You can still see and do almost everything in rainy weather. I was very proud of the kids... I'd take this group just about anywhere, I think. I also had a set of very helpful chaperones go along.

And, tomorrow is FRIDAY!!! Hard to get a better week than that! :)

Sigh... :)

The only thing that could make this ad any better is if Julie Andrews were singing. But, nothing is perfect. ;) I'll take darned near close to perfect, in this case.

For some reason, I was back in the 1991-1992 school year today, reliving my sophomore year of college. Maybe it's because I wore my USD t-shirt today (Go 'Yotes), but I had They Might Be Giants songs in my head all day. I thought of all the games of Double Solitaire my roommate Cristy & I played on the floor of that teeny tiny dorm room, listening to our tape of They Might Be Giants' Flood. Good times.

Mockingjay

I. CANNOT. WAIT.

Glogster

Our high school media specialist told me about the coolest thing this week. It's called Glogster, and it's like an interactive poster maker. I have several kids trying it out on projects, and we're all loving it. Here's my experimental one...

It Doesn't Get Any Easier

Let's say a certain person turns 38. That certain person expects to start getting a handle on this thing called life. But said certain person realizes that she still doesn't have a freaking clue.

* Mother's Day still sucks. And I don't mean a little bit. When you don't have a mom, and you aren't a mom, this day is rock bottom, 50 feet of crap, and then me, to quote Rachel Greene.

* More birthdays don't make a person wiser. I still don't have the answers. I still don't know how to run my life. I still want my mom to give me advice. I still want to crawl in a hole some days. I swear, the older I get, the less I know.

* Despite what my mom told me, there are some things that you can NEVER get, no matter how hard you work or how much you want them. Thank goodness there aren't many things like this, but there are some.

* I've felt very emotionally unsettled lately (can you tell???). If you're the praying kind, I could use a few.

Luckily, I have a lot of blessings in my life. I always need to remind myself of those. I have wonderful friends and love in my life. I have a caring extended family. I have a roof over my head. I have options and possibilities. I have fantastic students that I care about. I have theatre. I have books. I have Hawkeye football. And, I have a sweet little furball named Avery who greets me with love every day, no matter what kind of mood I'm in.

It feels good to release some of this bottled-up stuff. Hope none of you mind.