The Road to Independence...and More

May 7, 2009

I'm a little slow in getting to this latest blog, because there's just so much going on. We did survive the kitchen flood with not too much damage, but it was quite inconvenient. As we head into the home stretch of school, we are both winding down and winding up. There are so many end of the year activities for me and each of the kids that May is the storm before the calm. Yeah, we do things a little backwards around here.

First of all, my AP students have their test today. Hallelujiah! All of the prep work for the whole year leads up to this morning, bright and early at 7:30. (Of course most of them have other AP tests next week, too, but they'll essentially be done with my class as soon as they turn in their tests later this morning.) I greeted them at their testing site this morning with a sugar-high snack for their break between the multiple choice part and the essay section--a box of Nerds and a giant Smarties candy roll for each of them. Get it? They're my AP kids, my own little loveable 'smarties' and 'nerds.'

Also, those of you who read my previous post know that I attended our school's prom on Saturday, and all of my darlins made it back safe and sound to class on Monday. I'm not kidding when I say it always makes me a little nervous to read the Sunday paper the day after the prom. I'm always worried there will be some big accident after prom that makes Sunday headlines. Thank goodness, no tragedies to report. The prom was beautiful, and not only did I get to see many of my students, but I got to hang out and chat with one of my good friends all evening, because our duty station was together (and not anywhere near the dance floor, to my relief!)

The kids also have lots going on in their worlds as they gear up for state testing and all of their end-of-the-year activities. I got to go see Danielle accept her award for Principal's Honor roll for the third straight quarter (she's gotten all As this whole year!). I am so proud of her, and I have just seen her self-confidence sky-rocket this year. She is also just loving softball, and has now gotten the taste of crossing home plate more than a few times. The whole team has really improved, and I can see them becoming more comfortable in working together to accomplish their goal. Danielle is our athlete AND scholar.














Nicholas has been a reading MACHINE, which is fabulous, because there was a time when he wouldn't pick up a book. (Much to the chagrin of his English teacher mom). If I'd let him, he'd stay up all hours of the night delving into his books (Star Wars novelizations are some of the biggest hits right now, but he'll read other stuff, too.) Come to think of it, I seem to remember my mom having to come in several times a night to turn my light off AGAIN or take away my flashlight because I was reading past bedtime. Anyway, what we are working on now with Nicholas is balance. He's getting so into whatever book he's reading that classwork is becoming a nuisance. Go figure. His grades this quarter weren't what he (or we) wanted, because he was spending so much time in his books that he wasn't finishing all of his classwork. I think he figured out that the cost of those grades (no video games--gasp!) wasn't worth the additional time reading in class, so it looks like we're back on track. Balance, my friend. It's a tough trick to learn.

Finally, Brianna had a spectacular week. She and a small group of her friends, mostly sophomores, decided they wanted to try out for the choir's Spring Show. Miss Organization got together her group, made the song selection, and planned the rehearsals. She had auditions last week, but then found out the list of those who made it wouldn't come out until this week. She was all nerves for a week, until yesterday morning, when the list finally went up. They are so excited and proud of themselves (as am I), and are now in the process of costume design. The concert is in a week and a half, and I can't wait! To make it an even more exciting week, Bree took (and passed!) her driver's permit test. She is officially on the road to independence! We went down to DMV on Monday afternoon, and as soon as we found out she passed, we took a little celebratory shopping trip and had a mommy-daughter dinner, just the two of us. (I was going to take her shopping and out to dinner either way--either celebrate or console. I'm so happy it was the first!) By the way, more about DMV in another post....














Two additional side notes:

It looks like Doug's work at the construction site is wrapping up. This could mean big changes for us, as it might mean he'll have to switch to the Bakersfield site, which is two hours away. If that's the case, he'll probably just work down there all week, and only come home on the weekends, which would be a huge bummer. But it would definitely beat him not working at all, which is a situation a lot of people are having to deal with right now, so I'm grateful that it looks like even if the Fresno gig is over, the work is probably not.

Also, my ex's mother is quite sick, and in the hospital right now recovering from surgery. I'm really hoping she gets better soon, because otherwise, Mother's Day will be a tough one for him. Sending good wishes her way....