Summer Vacation

My Summer Break started in early April of last year, because that is when my maternity leave started. I left from Spring Break and came back in August to get ready for the new school year. Now, I was in and out of the classroom a lot over maternity break. I sent the long-term sub lesson plans each week, picked up work to grade, and even attended parent-teacher conferences. When I was called and asked to teach Summer School though, I had to say no because with breastfeeding Benjamin and Jason's reconstructive shoulder surgery, it just didn't seem possible. That was the first time since 2004 that I had not taught Summer School. I was actually hired as a Summer School teacher and then offered the regular full-time position. Needless to say, there has always been a need for Summer School teachers. So, it was a bit of a shock this year when that wasn't the case. The class I was assigned did not have enough students enrolled and my summer was given an unexpected month-early start.



I have been wanting to write for several days, especially to commemorate Justin's graduation. The truth is though, that I have had so much weighing on my mind that I didn't know how to clear away the things I didn't want to write about on a public forum in order to share the things I would like to write about. So, this is my second blog post of the night. The other will remain as a draft, just a cathartic outpouring of anger turned frustration, turned grief, with hopes that just getting it out with help me to clear up some of the mental static invading my thoughts right now. I had not planned on it being a series of posts to myself, but there was so much to say about the first topic that I decided to break them down. In a series called "Things that are Pissing Me Off," Part one was- Justin, College.

Today was... nonexistent.



I watched two movies on the streaming Netflix. The first was "Homeroom." It was about the relationship of two (characteristically opposite) students following a school shooting. One, of course, was the pretty, popular girl with the BMW and good grades. Her scalp was grazed by a bullet and she was the only student injured that survived. The second, of course, was the goth, anti-establishment, girl with a secret. The two, of course, forge a bond through the tragedy and relied on one another to release the demons lurking in their scars from the incident.

The other movie I watched with Cameron tonight, "Hackers." I did not expect to be an older movie, but that was obvious by the bank of pay phones and types of computers, even before I saw Angelina Jolie's young pixied character. Wasn't it everyone's dream to be a computer hacker in the 80's? I loved the television show "Whiz Kids" and the movie "War Games," both with nerdy cute guys that wielded power with a computer keyboard. It makes me laugh today when I hear the wanna-be hackers at school bragging about getting past the school's firewalls to look at their Facebook accounts. That is so... 20 years ago. At least claim that you were able to change your grades... or hide a few million in an off-shore Swedish bank account.

I started to read a new book today, The Friday Night Knitting Club . I've started reading it a time or two before and have not gotten past the first chapter. So, I don't know that I will this time either. I just want some brain candy. I am trying to be good about not buying new books this summer and actually shopping from the library of unread books I have amassed over the years. The best book I read last summer was An American Summer, which was a random find in one of the library sales where you cram as many books as you can into a bag for $5. It was about a 14ish boy, new in the neighborhood, who befriends a 19ish girl, who lived in an iron lung in the height of the polio scare, and all the neighborhood kids would come to swim in her pool over the summer, which was a way for her still to have some sort of social life. I hope to find a rare, unexpected, literary gem like that one again this summer.

Other than 2 movies, one chapter of the book, and cuddles with Benjamin, I spent the greater part of my day sleeping. I don't know if it was pure laziness, illness, or just the weight of stress right now, but no pile of unwashed laundry or cluttered hallway seemed more appealing to tackle than the bed.



I do want to be careful not to laze or waste this summer away though. When all the current issues in my life are resolved, and August rolls around with the faint ringing of class bells growing louder in mind, I want to make sure that I return to school feeling well-rested and revived.