Dog Days Of Summer

The good thing is, the pool is set up and working like a charm. The bad thing is, it's been too cold for the past 6 days to use it. Oh well, during the past six days I spend two of them in the hospital with Noah getting his appendix out, and the other four unpacking my 97 boxes in my new classroom. Noah's main nurse was a neighbor growing up! She told Noah she used to change my diapers when she babysat me as a baby. I love my new room at my new school. It's in an awesome location. It's sized and shaped nicely, there's tons of storage, and everything is shiny bright and still smells like new carpet. However, yesterday as I unpacked I felt I was on the verge of tears the whole time. I think it's the unknown, you know? I don't know if people will like me. Will I "fit in" or always be an outsider looking in? Will the kids and parents be nice? I know NOTHING about any of my students. It's scary. Yesterday I thought, 'I'll never see Andy Panda running up to me with a note pinned to his jacket ever again,' and it made me really sad. I'll never see "Hector" who wrote a note and left it on my chair last year when he was in fourth grade saying "You said I wus smarte. so I wuz." What if no one ever believes in him again and he ends up on the streets? I won't be in my room when he comes back to see me in the fall. I won't be there when Andy Panda comes in and sits down for the first half of the year because that's his routine. Who will tell him, "Andy, look around. There are no other students in here. Is this really your classroom?" I'll never have another Watson child. It was a four year tradition, and I love the Watsons. I also won't get Evie's little sister, and I love Evie and her little sister. This morning I find myself dragging my feet and not wanting to go in and organize, but I have to because in less than a week, the kids are going to show up if I'm ready or not. I haven't found that damn magic wand that will do stuff for me, the genie with three wishes, or the winning lottery ticket, so I guess I better shower and go in. I wish I had one more month of Summer vacation. I'm tired of parents saying, "Thank God school is starting next week!! My kid needs it!" Because what they are really saying is, "Good Lord! These kids are getting on my very last nerve and it's about time their teacher to have to put up with 'em!" Oh!! Another good thing- I ordered new swimsuits on-line today from Amish Swimsuits R Us. I'm hoping it does get hot again so I can use them before I break out my long-johns.

"Old" People?

My dad turns 75 next week. When I was younger, like 20, I used to think 75 was old. Now I like to think of it as middle aged. I know my dad isn't going to live to 150, but I hope he has a good 25 more years in him. I have noticed a lot of changes in the past few years- other than the "What? I didn't know I had a daughter, let alone two! And all of MY grandchildren are in their 20's..." That's due more to his wife than old age. But he forgets things a lot now. He loses stuff. He never used to lose things, but now he puts the house key in a "secret hiding spot" also known as his shoe, and then he forgets his "secret" spot. He'll spend two days looking for the key and when he tells me about it I think, 'how did you not wear your shoes for two days?' He's also gotten so nit-picky. I only talk to him maybe twice a month, but the last two times the conversation revolved around how he and his wife "saved" spots at a table at the local polka fest for four of their friends. Well, one set of friends brought some of their friends that my dad's wife can't stand- that's a shocker- she can't stand me either, and I am awesome. Anyway, I got the half hour low down on how mad they were because these friends brought other people to their "saved" table. I wanted to tell him, like I tell the third graders about lunch- "You can't save spots, that's rude. How would you feel if you didn't have anywhere to sit and all of the spots are 'saved'? You'd feel like no one likes you, that's how you'd feel- so stop saving spots." Today's conversation revolved around how they went to a family friend's funeral. Dad and his wife were mad because none of dad's brother's wives "saved" them a spot, which made them have to sit in the pew in front of the others. Guess they got the short end of the "saving spots" stick. Anyway, I don't like to think of my dad as old. There are too many things left undone and unsaid, which will remain that way and I know it'll bother me to no end one day. Who knows, maybe he will live forever- Victor and Kay on the Young and the Restless are still alive and they have been old my whole life. Victor continues to have children even though he's about 190-years-old, and Kay is finally showing her age. She just yells randomly "Ahhhhhhh!!!!" when people are fighting around her. Wouldn't it be a hoot if my dad started doing that?

Yesterday I passed a hobo and I wondered, where did he get the sharpie marker and cardboard to make his sign?

Changes...

I hate in less than 20 days, my summer vacation is over. I always have such great expectations for summer, and it goes by WAY too fast. Everyone likes summer, but I Love, Love, LOVE summer, I think more than the average person. I don't know if it's because I am on vacation (except this year), or because we have six months of winter and I absolutely HATE, HATE everything about winter (except Christmas, which has nothing to do with winter, it just happens to be in the winter). Soon I will be getting my new pool, in one to three weeks. However, I am not sure if I should put it up because school starts in three weeks- YUCK. I start a full two and a half weeks earlier than the boys. Next week, I start unpacking my stuff at my new school. All of my belongings are officially (I assume) at Kennedy waiting for me to come in and give them a new home. I am a little excited and a lot nervous. What if the parents are mean to me? What if the kids are mean? What if the principal doesn't like me? What if my co-workers don't like me? I already know one doesn't like me- what if she sullies my name and people don't give me a chance? What if I don't have room for the 29 and a half students I will probably end up with because that school is already busting at the seems? What if a kid freaks out? What will I do with him/her? At my last school I just sent him/her to Special Ed, even if they usually didn't see Ed. Special Ed doesn't have a classroom right by me anymore, Ed's classroom is upstairs and I don't know who Ed sees. Kennedy is literally out in the middle of no where. What if I get lost going to school on my first day? Or worse- If I get lost going home? I'd drive around, and around, and around Fargo all night and be way too tired to teach on day two.
I also don't think I like the idea of Noah going into fifth grade. I don't want him to grow up. Next year he'll be in middle school. I want him to be going into third grade. I also don't like the idea that I am getting older. It's seriously a lot harder to lose weight. The other day I was shopping and saw my reflection as I was walking, I thought "Good Lord that woman looks tired! And fat!And I have that shirt she's wearing. Oh..." I have these horrible, puffy bags under my eyes. It doesn't matter how much I sleep. I read on-line you should drink more water. I drink about 7-9 glasses a day. They also said to make yourself some tea and use the tea bags on your eyes. Really? How could you not get tea in your eyes? I just got a new pair of eyes, I think if I wreck these, I'm out of luck- they'll never give me another pair. The website also said to put cucumbers on my eyes, and take an hour nap. First of all, I can't sleep on my back, secondly- who wants to keep cucumbers on their eyes for an HOUR? It also said Preparation H for hemorrhoids works. Today I bought some, rubbed it under my eyes, and it. does. not. work. I accidentally forgot I had it on and rubbed my eye, so now I have hemorrhoid gel in my eye. I guess the puffy eyes match my puffiness everywhere else. Maybe the eye puffiness can work in my favor. The mean parents might think, "Oh I won't harass her... she looks so tired, and puffy..."