Luxurious

Summer. Oh, summer. How I love you. And how I love you even more when I don't have an agenda, a schedule, a job. How I love you even more when I have a paycheck coming in, a trip to Italy to plan, and options for getting together with friends and family.

To those who are reading this and rolling your eyes, I get where you're coming from. Really, I do. But after nine months of being strictly tied to a schedule, so tied that bathroom breaks became scheduled too, I am relishing this free time I have. This is only day two of the first week off, and already I feel like a weight was lifted off me.

Don't get me wrong; I had a great year. My class was such a great assortment of kids, that seeing them off the last day was so bittersweet. I could tell about 3 weeks before school was out that they were ready. Ready for middle school. Ready for summer. Bless their hearts, though. Most of them held back the urge to cop attitudes like only a few of them did. Some of those days it wasn't pretty. But looking back, that's not what I'm going to remember.

I am going to remember that being a fifth grader is tough. You want to remain a kid for all the kid stuff You want to start to show some adult behaviors to put your toe in the adult pool, but you still have so much to learn. I am going to remember that forgiveness is sometimes wrapped up in a facade of coolness. I am going to remember that friends change by the minute, by the mood, by the activity. I'm going to remember that four-square can be ultra-competitive. As soccer or wall ball can be.

And now for my time. Time to think. Time to dream. Time to plan. Time to read. Time to be.

Wandering Mind

I'm finding myself daydreaming a lot lately. Knowing there are 2 weeks left in school has made me jump into planning mode. Our garden is pretty much planted, we have new landscaping in the front of the house (no more white trash), and we're thinking about adding brick pavers to the backyard. It all sounds so grown up to me as I just listed all those things, but I guess I'm a grown up...

In the midst of all of this garden work, my mind has been wandering aimlessly in all directions. There are things that I want to do differently next year in my classroom. There are trips to plan both around here and abroad (hello, Italy!). There are books that I would love to read. There are friends whom I would love to catch up with. There are recipes I want to try. There are things around the house that I still need to catch up on (shredding party, anyone?).

I can't wait to have some time. Time to reflect on the past year, time to enjoy my favorite season, time to plan for future gatherings and school years, time to enjoy my friends and family without having 10 other things on my plate.

I'm going to wander wherever my mind and spirit takes me. I can't wait.