Well, it has been "forever" since I last wrote anything. Maybe having a blog is just not my thing, but I stumbled back across it, and since I have a little free time...
The schoolyear has roared on by. This past week was such a flurry of activity (of course, when is life not a flurry of activity?): summer softball and baseball has started up, we had the school's graduation, and a 10-year-old boy birthday party WITH A SLEEPOVER. Whew!
Leading up to Friday... Spent the week trying to keep 24 kids focused on the last moments of here and now while they're dreaming of (and counting down the minutes until) summer vacation - and 3rd grade boys don't just dream with their minds, their whole bodies live it.
We had evening activities every night: Ben's first baseball practice, the paper route, graduation... Graduation's a whole school event, all the way down to the kindergarteners reciting Scripture (and looking cute). My students were in two parts doing two things in separate clumps on stage: 3rd graders recited Scripture, 4th graders sang - somehow I was able to be two places at once.
So before Friday even hit, I was exhausted. We spent Friday morning doing all that Last Day stuff: cleaning desks, emptying lockers, giving out awards, trying one last time to connect before letting them go...
I was ready, done for the day, by 11:25 - and their parents were waiting, eager to claim them back (how long will it take until the familiar refrain: I'm bored - what can I do?). But they wanted to stay and count down the last seconds: 10-9-8.. 3-2-1-!!!!! I gave out my hugs, shed a couple tears...
The staff raced through a quick lunch to try and fit in 4 hours of CPR training in as little time as possible. My accountant husband was awaiting my arrival to take over our son's birthday party. He grilled. They played. (All but one had arrived before me).
Fortunately we live nearby a recently closed elementary school. After a hotdog supper, presents, and an icecream buffet, Mark walked them over to the school - ballfields, playground... Brought them back in time for parent pickup - for those who were not staying overnight.
My recollection of the rest of the evening is lost in the flurry and smothered my exhaustion: more outdoor play, lots of PlayStation, a movie, junk food...
Mark came to bed once the boys were down - only they weren't. His shift ended at 12:15, and then mine began again. Some of the boys just crashed and fell asleep despite the ruckus around them. Ben tried the couch and his own bed before finally getting to sleep in "Grandma's room" (the guest bedroom).
And we had a hardy twosome who made it past 4 a.m. I'd gone back to bed around 3:30, only to have one of them come knocking on our door at 4:00 - QUOTABLE QUOTE of the night: "We need food." I won't quote what I said to myself, but I sent them on their merry way without any food. Somewhere between then and 5:30, when the first early bird awoke, they found a place to drop.
I don't know where Saturday went. The extra kids were gone by lunch. I lived the day as a lump in the chair. I'm sure we went out for supper (we had a kids-eat-free coupon for OCB). My body went to bed by 8 p.m. - my brain was already there.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
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