Another year has come and gone. School is out for the summer and I couldn't be happier. I can't imagine having a job where I had to work in the summer. The summer is my catch up time. Catch up on my house work, catch up on my farm work and catch up on my reading. Don't get me wrong I love the children. There is nothing better than arriving in the morning to your job and being greeted by happy kids tumbling off the bus like a litter of puppies let out of their pen. But I'm a homebody. I love being home and doing stuff around the place. You would never hear me say that I had to work because I'd be bored if I stayed at home. This job is the best of both worlds. It was great when my son was in school because I had the same schedule as he did and now that he is off on his own I just can't give up my summers off. Sure I could make more money somewhere else but I won't give up my summer break. Or my winter break. Or my mid-winter break. Or my spring break. See what I mean.I am going to miss my new friend Meredith. She is off to a new position at a different school. She was a breath of fresh air in our room of 3 women in various stages of menopause. She is young and funny and full of life but has decided to tailor her schedule to spend more time with her new baby boy. I wish her the best of luck but will miss her next year.
I won't miss the petty grumbling of too many women in one building. It is like being back in high school. I have tried really hard this year to rise above it but failed miserably at times. I will try harder next year. That's the good thing about school, there is always next year. And summer to cleanse the palate.
This summer we will be moving our son to Colorado. He will be going to the University of Colorado Boulder graduate school with his lovely girlfriend. In spite of the cost of gas, we will drive from Washington to California then to Colorado and back to Washington. What a road trip. I am so excited because I have never been to Colorado before and hear it is beautiful. They will be there for about 5 years so I am going to see a lot of Boulder before it's over.
So here's to long hot days, lemonade, bonfires, mosquitoes, long road trips and a sunburned V on my chest.
I will close with some pictures of my summer colleagues.
Ruckus
Ruckus 
Miles, the wonder dog
My salad garden
What! A garden can be a colleague
Penne Pasta
Solomon, my second son
so what if I'm turning into one of those old ladies that treats her dog like a person
8 comments:
My grandaughter got out today, too. She attends Mintner Elementary and my grandson attends Vaughn. He was out last week.
Have a very fun summer!
I enjoyed your post and found that you and I have something else in common.
I, too am a homebody. I don't like shopping or running around all day in the car.
The only time I like to leave the house is if we are going camping, letterboxing or hiking. I'm an outdoor person. So summer, spring and fall are my favorite times of the year.
And like you, I treat my animals like people with interesting personalities. In fact, oftentimes, I like animals better than people and would prefer to spend time with them over parties, and other social activities.
We homeschool our 3 kids, so we do tend to spend alot of our time at home, but I find that there are so many activities and field trips available that we can end up out of the house more than I like.
And one of my sons is quite social so I am realizing that we are having to plan more activities out of the home, unless we invite their friends over here, which can be a bit of a challenge since we do live kind of in the boonies.
You are going to love visiting Colorado, especially the Boulder area.
It is beautiful up there with lots of things to do, too.
I loved all your photos, especially your critters. But your garden is amazing!
Clare, I bet I know your grandaughter. I am at Minter too.
Have a great summer yourself. I will if it ever warms up on this side of the mountains.
twinville, I am such a homebody that I could go for days and not go anywhere. I tend to put things off so I don't have to go out. Which is why my library books are always late. Tonight is our staff party but I won't be there. Standing around making small talk is torture for me. It's not that I am uncomfortable it's just that I would rather be home with my critters.
What, exactly, is letterboxing?
My son always wanted to be homeschooled and I considered it but the school he went to and the one I work at is on the same street as we live on so I chose to send him there and be involved at the school. I am friends with all his teachers. Public school has a long way to go to meet the needs of each individual child. They certainly want to put everyone in the box. We really need to revamp the system and allow children to learn in their style.
Hi Goatgirl,
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I wanted to let you know that I'm glad I'm not the only one who procrastinates on running errands, too. And my library books would be totally late if it wasn't for online renewal buttons and that we can renew 3 times! hehe
I also appreciate what you said about homeschooling. Many people who send their kids to school seem to feel threatened by homeschool families, as if maybe homeschoolers look down on them for sending their kids to public schools.
I don't think the majority do. In fact we probably wish that we could send our kids to public school, too. But we are also aware of it's pitfalls and know we can do better.
I think public schools have their place if they can truly meet the needs and desires of students, parents and teachers.
It's truly time for a thorough public school rehaul, though.
Oh! And letterboxing is sort of geocaching where you use a GPS to follow directions to find a hideen box filled with treats and a logbook.
Except with letterboxing, there are no treats, instead there is a hand-carved stamp, usually related to the location where the box was hidden. And a GPS is typically not required. A compass is sometimes needed, though.
Also, each letterboxer or family carves their own stamp that usually symbolizes their trail name.
For example, my family's trail name is "Twinville Trekkers5".
Our handcarved stamp is of mountains with our name carved up and down the mountain 'spikes'.
And when we find a letterbox, we take our stamp and leave it's impression in the log book inside the letterbox. And then we take the stamp in the letterbox and stamp inside our own logbooks.
I hope I haven't made it sound more complicated than it is, but you can read more about it by either visiting:
Letterboxing.org
or
Atlas Quest.com
As homeschoolers we enjoy letterboxing for it's educational value. Many of the boxes are in fascinating places and include facts shared by the person who placed the letterbox.
We travel, learn about geography, history, social studies, history, geology, nature, culture and so much more.
Another great thing about letterboxing is how there is no age limit. If you can walk and you enjoy adventure and art(carving stamps) then letterboxing is for you.
Home is where I am happiest! Enjoyed the pictures and your road trip sounds fun!
twinville, I think that part of the homeschooling/public schooling controvery is partly due to the fact that some people, let's face it, aren't very good at it. Then the kids are enrolled in school and are way behind. It takes a lot of extra work to catch them up. Also public school people feel that homeschoolers don't want their kids being around the other kids but I always say "I don't hang out with disfunctional people, why should I expect my kid to." I did send my son to a private school for middle school and high school because of higher expectations and better behaved kids. Sorry if that offends anyone.
If everyone was as conscience as you it wouldn't be a problem. I, for one, believe there is more than one way to go through life and if it works for you and you prepare your kids for real life more power to you. I believe that my purpose in life is to love those little children that have a rough time at home. Families are in such crisis now days it is scary. Public schools are expected to do more now than educate in spite of the home life they go back too and take it from me it is hard to get a child to concentrate when they are hungry, tired and upset because their mom and her current boyfriend were up all night fighting. Believe me I've heard it all.
I am there for the underdog.
OK I'll get off my soapbox. Enjoy your kids everyday, every minute. They grow up way too fast. You are doing a wonderful job. Mom and Dad is where kids learn how to be adults not at school.
But do you cook for your dog? Cause I do and I think thats the true mark of treating your dog like a person ha ha ha
No I haven't started cooking for him yet. He loves his kibbles so don't tell him that other people cook for their dogs.
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