Bittersweet

Boy, am I glad school is out! Thank the Lord! I made it! Thank you, everyone, for your support. For listening to (or reading about) me whining, for saying "You can do it!" and "It will be worth it!" and "You will be great!" and "I know you will get a job!" Honestly, I am so glad I will never have to see a few of those kids again! No more waking up at 5:30 five days a week (although I'll do that occasionally for the summer job). No more dressing up in heels and skirts most days. I don't have to wear makeup all summer if I don't want to! I won't have to send anyone to the office, or shush kids while they're reading, or make them learn about adjectives for three months! Goodbyeeeeeeeeeeee!

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No more dressing up in heels and skirts! No more full makeup in the mornings! I won't have a desk with my cute sticky notes on it and my bulletin board with pictures students drew for me. I won't write the schedule on the whiteboard every day or fill out my planner with them. I put my blood, sweat and tears into this year! (Blood = so many paper cuts!!!) I spent more time with those kids and teachers than with my husband! They were my family! And I'm so sad about never seeing most of them again. They are such cool, funny, interesting, brilliant kids. Some of them will be our doctors, nurses, lawyers, actors, inventors, video game makers, artists, bankers, librarians, authors, teachers, and dentists. (Some of them will be our oil field workers, construction guys, burger flippers, and Wal-Mart greeters--also valuable vocations.) They will get their braces off and drive cars and go to prom and someday be real people! I feel so valued and lucky to have been a small part of shaping them. And I will still think about them very often and remember the funny, awesome, stressful, and touching times with them and wonder how they are doing. I hope that, very occasionally, they remember Mrs. N for a little while, too. Hopefully I taught them just one thing they'll use or treasure or enjoy. Hopefully I made a little bit of a difference.

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P.S. I wish I could show you pictures of the rafting trip on Tuesday! But I can't legally show pictures of other people's kids. I might have to post one, though, with the faces blurred out, because it's great....

Some Lists

Things I Am Not Allowed To Buy At Yard Sales This Summer
-yarn
-fabric
-sewing patterns
-buttons (unless they're really really cute and/or vintage. they don't take up much room, okay?)
-books. at all. period. (unless it's Pride and Prejudice, because somehow I've got a little bit of a collection going of different editions) (or unless they're classics that I've specifically been looking for)
-another typewriter, no matter how cute it is or how cheap. the one I have is enough.
-knitting needles
-clothes. at all. period. even though I have an 18 inch high stack of clothes to give to Goodwill.
-shoes, unless they are the perfect gold sandals I've been looking for since last summer
-did I mention that I'm not allowed to buy books? remind me, if you see me at a yard sale. I literally have NO ROOM for any more. I don't have enough room for the ones I do have.

Things I Do Need To Buy At Yard Sales This Summer
-frame for a queen bed (guest room)
-nightstand (guest room)
-lamp (guest room)
-curtain rods (various rooms)
-sliding glass door doggie door insert thing
-the perfect gold sandals I've been looking for since last summer

Things I Might Buy At Yard Sales This Summer, Depending On Price, Quality, Etc.
-a bike, depending on how close my summer job ends up being to the house, since I might ride there
-things for my classroom (assuming I get a job for this fall) like posters, maybe a couple of fake plants, perhaps a desk if the school doesn't have a good one, file cabinets, and so on
-Gunne Sax dresses, since I seem to have good luck finding gorgeous ones in good condition for cheap
-violin sheet music, perhaps. (I really need to call and get a teacher.)

What do YOU want to find at yard sales this summer? Is there anything YOU'RE not allowed to buy?

8 Things Friday

1. I've had a terrible cold the last few days.

2. I'm finally feeling better!

3. I know this because I want coffee again, and it never sounds good when I'm sick.

4. The coffee I make has been gross lately.

5. Is it just old, or do I need to clean out my coffee maker, or what? How does one clean out the coffee maker?

6. I'm having a tea party at my house with my best friend tonight.

7. Because she is moving to TEXAS in a few weeks! Wahhhhhhhhhh!

8. I guess I better get to school. Three more days after today!

Update letter

Dear Reader,

I have 8 days of school left. EIGHT! My duties are now those of a glorified student aide, which is honestly just fine with me. I'm making copies, cleaning, organizing, and getting portfolios of the students' work together.

I had an interview last week, but as I haven't heard back, probably didn't get the job. There's nothing more I can do, job-wise, but wait for calls for interviews. Pray!

I train for my summer job next week, and start June 1st. I'll be working at a daycare run through the city rec center. I think it'll be fun!

We still have not started our garden. Does anyone in town have a tiller they'd like to loan us for a day?

I appreciate that you're still reading this, although it's been a month (exactly) since my last really dinky post. Hopefully I'll have lovely things to write about here all summer.

How have YOU been? What are your summer plans? Are you going anywhere exciting? Anywhere boring? What kind of books do you think you'll read? Will you lie out in the sun? Take the dog for walks? Sleep until noon? Get up early and accomplish many things? I miss youuuuuuu!

Love,
Heather