This installment will include the songs that come up on my iPhone/iPod on shuffle as I type. I had started this in writing on the front porch and have moved inside.
It’s the last weekend of my summer vacation. The kids are playing in the front yard. The dogs are in the backyard and the cat, yes cat, is hiding under Jack’s bed. In four short days I’ll be back in my classroom, not that being back in my classroom is a bad place to be, but [Club Can’t Handle Me – Flo Rida (this makes me smile because this is how my summer started with me standing on a chair at the Camp Wing Dance, dancing to this song while 200 seventh graders danced below me)] it’s not home with my children. They have driven me completely around the bend and back, but I will miss them on Tuesday when I’m listening to our principal outline our upcoming school year [Sound – James]. It will be interesting to see what’s happening; it always is. [Looking for Jack – Colin Hay] [To Have and to Hold – Colin Hay] [Down Under (Acoustic Version) – Colin Hay (so much for shuffle)].
It will be interesting to return to school. We have an acting assistant principal and a principal who is actively looking for another career path. We are also in the process of building a brand new building which will be open sometime in 2013. It will be interesting to say the least.
This summer has been full of ups and downs. Our friend Brian passed away early on in the sumemr. That was a shock from which I’m not sure we’ve all recovered or ever will. We had a relatively annual trip to the Cape [Waltzing Along – James], and a trip to Disney World with the Bailey fam. I plan on chronicling that adventure at some point, but have yet to do so.
Jack is poised for first grade; although, poise has not been so well…um…poised. He was very anxious for a few days about the first day of school. So yesterday I took him to school to see if we could see his classroom. We met the assistant principal coming in, and the principal herself took us to his room and showed us around. And bless his teacher, Mrs. Gordon. The room was absolutely ready to go. All the desks had name labels, name tags to be worn around their necks, pencil cases loaded with stuff and a little pack of tissues. He’s sitting across from a little girl he likes from his kindergarten class [Hymn from a Village – James], so all is right with the world. Mrs. Haymes told us how the first day would go. John has even decided to go in late on the first day to drop Jack at school. He’s no longer in panic mode and that’s all I can ask for.
Anna is impatient to return to school. She knows she’ll be in a different class and she’s tired of waiting around. I think she’s looking forward to the structure and predictable routine that I so completely failed to provide her. [Say Something – James (so much for shuffle, eh?)] She’ll be sad on Wednesday when Jack goes to school and she doesn’t. But she’ll start the following week.
One good thing about living in the ‘hood is that, at least at this level, the school supplies are supplied. No need to buy pens, pencils, crayons, anything. The school supplies it all. At all the schools, there is free breakfast available for all students. At Anna’s school, everyone gets snack.
Anna will start with the original schedule we set up in February: 8:10 to 10:40, Monday through Thursday. [Who Can it Be Now? (Acoustic Version) – Colin Hay]. We’ll be meeting soon to change that. Her previous teacher, Miss Mary, and I decided that she would benefit from a full day program. So, hopefully, by October 3rd, she’ll be going full day. She improved so much part time from February until June that I’m fairly confident that she’ll be ready for kindergarten in a year (a year!).
It’s been kind of quiet around here in terms of the kids who are around the neighborhood since we’ve come back from Disney. Jack is no longer allowed to play with the little boy next door (my sanction), and the little guy at the end of the street hasn’t been around. I haven’t seen him since we’ve arrived. [Born of Frustration – James] Of course, when we did see him, we were just pulling into the driveway after a day of hell. Jack gets out of the car and instead of saying, “Hi!” he said, “We had more fun than you this week!” Which is probably true, and if the shoe were on the other foot the little guy would have said it to Jack, but it didn’t sit well. Jack and I talked about it and how it must have felt the other kid feel. Generally Jack and this guy are on their bikes riding up and down the street by this time of day. Oh well. It’s the end of summer and it’s been cooler than it has been lately.
We got a cat. John’s sister needed to find a new home for her cat, Tyler. So we took her in. We have a little mouse problem and supposedly Tyler is an excellent hunter. I haven’t seen the carcasses of dead mice strewn across my kitchen floor when I come downstairs in the morning, but it’s only been two days and [Grace – Jeff Buckley] honestly there hasn’t been any hint that there has been mouse activity. Both kids have been scratched though. We’ll see how it works out. She’s cute. She seems friendly enough when the kids leave her alone. She just hasn’t met the dogs yet. [Rolling in the Deep – Adele].
Two Anna Stories to end the blog:
1. We never really talked about Brian’s passing with her. She had a mixed relationship with him. Some days she loved him [C’mon – The Runaways]; some days she would scream and hide from him. I figured I would tell her about it when I was sure she could understand. Right before we went to Florida, Jack, Anna and I were in the car driving somewhere. I don’t even remember where. Anna was chatting away to herself and Jack was babbling about something or other. Suddenly, clear as day, Anna said, “Bye Brian!” Jack and I were perplexed. So Jack and I didn’t know who she was talking about. So we quizzed her, naming all the people we could think of whose names were either Brian or sounded like Brian. Finally we got to Brian McSharry. She immediately said, “Yes! Good-bye Brian!” Interesting, right? It’s nice to know that he was hanging out with her—either really or at least in her imagination—for a little while.
2. Last night my friends Chuck and Joanne came over (and it seems really wrong to tell this story on the heels of that one, but I know Brian would have found this funny) [I Found a Boy – Adele] for dinner. My kids love Joanne (or as Anna calls her, “Joey”) and Chuck. They were waiting with palpable anticipation all day yesterday for them to come over. Towards the end of the evening, Anna was sitting in Joanne’s lap. Anna looked at Joanne and said, “Close your eyes and pull my finger!” I almost died of embarrassment and hysterics. It was too funny. Of course, that is a game that HER FATHER plays with her…I’m not taking credit for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment