How can it have been four months since I have posted here? During the day, I get sucked into work and life and plan out posts in my mind but never seem to commit them to the page.
Where do I start? The rant in my head all morning has been to ask the woman on Facebook who wants our school to start an after school program for her kids until she gets off work if she voted for tax increase to give teachers a raise. Or maybe I will ask her if she wants us to feed her kid supper and teach him to brush his teeth while we grade papers and sponsor a club all at the same time? (I might need another cup of coffee.) I won't though because I don't get into ugly things on social media and I do get it. I really do. What do working parents do who have little kids? It's a problem and there simply isn't a good solution. I am really blessed that my mom was Bell's safety net and I didn't face those problems. I am just not convinced that it is the school's job to fill yet another gap though I don't know who will if not the school.
Do I start by telling you that living with my entire family for a week (2 parents, their 5 kids each with a significant other, 5 grandkids) in one big house with 30ish more for dinner every night made me love my family but bite my tongue . . . a lot and still probably not often enough? We just got home from the big Wilson family reunion at a Grand Lake and it was an experience, almost all good. We rented a huge house in the same area that the cousins were staying so our house and Cousin Wes's place became a hub for eating, drinking, laughing, swimming and tubing and just general Wilson craziness for Wilsons from North Carolina and Florida to Hawaii, from southern Oklahoma to Denver. I already miss them. I miss getting to have four sisters instead of one. I miss my late night talks with Cousin Mo. I never even got a good visit with Cousin Ryan. I grew up with so many good memories at the lake with family and am so thankful that we are continuing the tradition. It was different though - my siblings and I haven't had that much forced togetherness in twenty years. A few toes may have been trod upon.
Then there is the wedding! My youngest brother is marrying the sweetest girl next month. I am so excited for them and to have another girl whom I really like in the mix. That means the rest of us get to host a shower in two weeks. I honestly have never hosted anything before - not really my thing, but I so want this to be special and pretty for Harley and Ian. Rach and I have been plotting and planning food and decor.
It's summer so that means running, gardening, and preserving. My own running has been good - sometimes I manage a long one but I always at least manage intervals. We tried to do couch to 5k with Bell but it got too hot to run at dusk and she is not a morning person. In other words, a big flop. The garden is so-so. We tried some new things, new varieties, and even some hydroponics. That is a whole post in itself. Perhaps the highlight here is that Bell wanted to learn how to make jam this year and I had wild plums that needed dealt with. I was her age when I first helped mom make wild plum jam so this created a satisfying circle of life for me. I didn't care about "homemaker" type things until I was in college, but maybe I can plant the same seeds in my daughter that my mom planted in
me. I want her to know the satisfaction in growing things and making something wonderful from them.
In 17 days, life as I know it now will end and I will be sucked back into school. At times, I bitterly
dread it, but I am also excited to try some new things, see how far I can stretch young minds, see my own friends. I have been revamping my AP curriculum and am really hopeful that I will hit on the magic mix for my students. That is actually on my agenda today - I went to bed last night and my mind raced with ideas I still needed to tweak and develop. I want to get those things on paper before I lose them.
For now, I am going to finish the Saturday bonus cup of coffee and get caught up with Elephant Soap and Cindy.
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