And, yet, there's more rain

My previous poetry entry seemed to stave off the rain storms for a day or so, but the rain started again last night and picked up in earnest right before it was time for me to do courtyard lunch duty. Fun times.

I was able to avoid focusing too much on the miserable weather, however, because I was so busy today I couldn't fit that particular pastime into my schedule. My day, in not quite a nutshell:

• Soccer Boy was thrilled to be awakened at 6:00 a.m. rather than his usual 6:30 wake-up time. I had to be at work today at 7:00, and Adventure Guy is out of town, so Soccer Boy had to go earlier than usual to before school care. And the fun part is that we get to do it all over again tomorrow morning.
• My morning efforts were repaid by the purpose for my early arrival: the first set of interviews for students who are interested in travelling to Chengdu, China next March. We'll select the 15 students who will go based on their applications and these interviews. It's exciting to hear these young people express their desire to learn about a different culture and to really get to know the Chinese students and their families. It's also phenomenal what many of these kids have accomplished already in life. So often we only hear those "kids today" stories about the decline of American civilization that's sure to happen when these teens are adults and in charge. But my experiences in working day in and day out with kids, rather than scaring me, gives me plenty of hope. I'm looking forward to learning what many of these kids do with their lives, and I'm really looking forward to experiencing China with a group of them this spring.
• The rest of the work day sped by, made up of special education issues, state-mandated testing, AP testing, and master-schedule building. I'm also getting ready for our big year-end assembly next week and preparing for professional development sessions the week after that.
• I spent the afternoon interviewing more Chinese program applicants, again leaving impressed with most of the field. It is going to be such a challenge narrowing down to 15 students. An interesting note, far more girls applied than did boys and we take an equal number of each for the trip. I wonder what it is that makes girls at this age more comfortable participating in this type of experience than boys.
• Post interviews, I rushed to the grocery store so that I have some hope of sticking to my Weight Watchers points for the week. I was completely out of healthy options for tomorrow. The weekend is going to be a big challenge to staying on track. Tomorrow I have PTA end-of-year luncheon and Soccer Boy's birthday party (no way am I passing up the Baskin Robbins ice cream cake; it's a once per year opportunity). Saturday our Sunday school class is hosting a party for our associate minister who has been appointed to his own church and will be moving, and Sunday is Mother's Day, which will likely involve some type of dining out experience.
• After some impressively efficient grocery shopping (if I do say so myself), I ran home, put away the items in need of cold storage and hopped back in the car. I picked up Gym Girl, dropped Swim Chick off for her orchestra concert, sped to KFC to get dinner for Gym Girl and Soccer Boy and arrived back at the school in time to let them eat in the office before we joined the crowd in the performing arts center for the concert. All was well until I realized the drive-thru guy had neglected to give us any plasticware. A quick search of the office revealed their only hope for downing the mashed potatoes: the plastic spoons that are taped to the pens the students use to sign in and out of the office. It was a proud parenting moment. But, hey, the kids were fed.
• Swim Chick's concert was excellent. They played four numbers. Her 7th grade group followed the sixth graders. It's amazing how much progress her group has made in a year. There is such a marked contrast between the two groups. I remember thinking the same thing when she was a sixth grader last year, though I'm also always impressed with how much the 6th graders learn with just one year of formal training.
• After a quick run through for Chinese food for Swim Chick, we finally made it home around 8:30 p.m. Agendas were signed, homework checked, baths taken. And now, everyone is in bed! I'm going to watch Grey's Anatomy and then join them.