FREEDOM

zero days left of school!

Weeeeeeeeee! I wanted to get all of my things moved out of my classroom and into my new school today, but Josh had to be at the station for a shift tonight and thus the truck was unavailable for my use. I can't believe how much STUFF I have accumulated. It will take several trips to get it from my room into the truck and then again into my new school. I'll get to wait until next Friday to do all of that. Next week, a workshop awaits me. 4 long days...with my Principal. Not my new Principal; my old one. Lord help me. She is going to a new school next year as well and they just happen to be implementing the same curriculum that my new school implements for Writing. So she and I have to go to this workshop together. It's a cruel coincidence. I hope there are many people in this workshop so I can avoid her as much as possible. To say I loathe her is quite the understatement.

I haven't been online more than moments since I returned from my fabulous birthday getaway weekend on Monday. I made up for that tonight with a 3 hour marathon of blog perusing, facebooking, and email catching up. It was lovely.

I have so much to say about last weekend--it was truly fabulous. I loved every moment of it. I have great friends. And whitewater rafting? Well, I'm a huge fan. I would happily trade in my career for that of a rafting guide in a heartbeat. And before I forget to mention it, a funny coincidence happened on the trip! One of the boats capsized, which could have been scarier than it was. Another group of people were rafting behind us and their boat overturned on a rapid. We rescued a guy from the water as he was quickly carried down the river in the current. My friend Angela was attempting to put him at ease once he was in our raft, asking him his name and where he and his friends were from. He said, "My name's Josh.", which we thought was funny because we already had 2 Angela's in the boat and now we had 2 Josh's. But that wasn't the weird part. When she asked where he was from, he said, "Indiana." I said, "No way! Where?" And he said "Fort Wayne", which is where Josh and I are both from. We both said, "What?! No!" It turned out, he and his friends were visiting out West on a trip. They had all graduated from Carroll HS, which is the High School many of my childhood friends from my old neighborhood went to. He was 10 years our junior, so that's where the commonalities ended, but how's that for a small world moment?! Anyway, more on that trip in a future post. I might even make it a photo essay. We documented some great fun and some even greater beauty from the area.

Tomorrow night, I will be meeting a few friends for drinks and possible dancing to further celebrate that advanced digit in my age and the finish of a LONG, trying year. Who thought teaching Kindergarten could be so drama-filled? I am looking forward to less drama and more rewards in the coming school year.

I attended my new school's 'Kindergarten Social', at which a bunch of incoming Kinders got to visit, eat ice cream, and play on the school's playground. I felt kind of awkward since the place feels just as foreign to me as it does to them. Still, it was nice to meet many of the parents and the new kids that will potentially be in my room next year. What a world of difference. Almost all of the kids are white and many of the parents are able to be 1-income families due to their higher income level. I was admittedly a bit sad to not have the cultural and socioeconomic diversity I've been used to. It will probably be a welcome change in the classroom dynamics, though. I won't miss being a Social Worker/Child Therapist/Teacher I am anxious to teach without so much psychological baggage plaguing my classroom. But I think I've traded that in for overbearing parents and I question what's worse. Some of them were already weepy and their kids haven't even begun school yet! I anticipate having to force them to let go of their babies each morning for several weeks. That'll be loads of fun...

I am wiped. I stayed up all night writing report cards, and all day was spent wrapping things up with my kids. I spent 4 hours after school packing up my room and now and I want to do is veg. The house is a mess, but cleaning will just have to wait. I need a break. Josh's shift falling on this night this week was a gift. I have the couch and remote to myself!