Ahhh....

Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.

"This is really sad," Adventure Guy said as he joined me lounging in bed last night. We had assumed the position: pillows propped, laptops on laps, television tuned to an episode of Weeds on DVD. The kids were in bed, and we were enjoying those precious moments of quiet before bed, our time.

And that time is far from sad. While we may need to ditch the electronics from time to time, that comfortable familiarity is something I value most in our marriage. After nineteen years together, he knows me far better than anyone else. He's my confidant, the one I want to talk to about the good and the bad, the exciting and the mundane.

Contentment is not exactly something I've striven for in my life. I'm much more of the type to disregard accomplishments as soon as I've achieved them. I've always been the one looking toward the next task, the next challenge, the next thing to possess. But, suddenly, I find myself in a place I really like, a place I have to call contentment.

Careening toward forty at a rapid pace, content is not exactly where I expected to me right now. I hated turning 39. I had been dreading the next birthday. But, now, admittedly 6 months from the big date, I'm not focused on that milestone like I was earlier. I attribute much of that feeling to Adventure Guy, but I also know that my new job has something to do with that as do the current ages of my kids. I love the new challenges at work right now, the opportunity to make a significant difference in the operations of All-American Public Schools. And I love having older kids, even dealing with Dancer Girl, our resident teenager. I enjoy being able to have a different level of conversation with my children than I could when they were younger, and I especially enjoy catching those glimpses of the adults they'll turn into in just a few years.*

While I'm sure that one day soon readers will surf by the find me bemoaning the latest personal or career crisis or the everyday craziness that is my life, for tonight, all's right in Suburbia.

*In case the above post made anyone feel like throwing up just a little bit because of the sappiness, I should mention that my current level of contentment does not rise to the level that I would feel comfortable posing nude for a Times Square billboard like the women I just saw on Ophrah did. There's got to be a limit to this whole contentment thing.

1 Down, 35 To Go

I am truly enjoying my new job. It's exciting to have new challenges. Having been in my previous position for several years, much of my work there had become routine. That said, last week, the first full week of the school year, brought about a number of challenges. When Friday afternoon rolled around, I was thankful for the weekend. I'm hopeful that the remaining 35 weeks of the school year will not be quite so eventful.

Thanks to the people who continued to surf on over to the Suburbs since my last post. My goal is to post at least every other day, which I obviously did not achieve this week. So, to catch up quickly here's what been up in Suburbia since Tuesday.

• I helped host a shower for the new wife of a colleague. It's interesting to see how showers have evolved now that most of the brides involved are no longer 20 somethings. This shower involved dinner at a great restaurant, good wine, lots of laughter, and a limo to make sure no one had to drive after all the fun.
• I dealt with my first PR crisis at work. It's always fun to talk to the media, particularly when our local paper is guaranteed to get something wrong or misquote you. This time they didn't misquote me but they did get some facts wrong. I often had to speak to reporters in my previous position, so at least I'm used to that aspect of things. For this issue, I also was the liaison between the district administration and our school board members, which is a new role for me. I just had to remember my earlier statement about being excited about new challenges while taking on this task!
• Gym Girl had a school crisis involving not being selected for a program she was really hoping for. I'd rather be disappointed a hundred times than have to deal with one of my kids being disappointed. She's dealing with it pretty well now, though she was upset on Friday when she got the news.
• We had a new fence put in since our old one was rotting out at the bottom. The fence is lovely, but it took three days longer than it was supposed to, requiring the dogs to stay in the kennel that much longer as well.
• Adventure Guy's mom gave his step-dad a surprise 65th birthday party. We all went over for a cookout and got to see some family that came in for the occasion.
• My father in law and his wife were in town and visited us from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. on Saturday. Yes, really.
• Gym Girl and I travelled to the state capital to attend the All-State Gymnastics banquet. Gym Girl was named to the All-State team last spring, and this was the recognition event. She had her name announced and received a plaque.

Amidst all that excitement, we managed a few more mundane things as well. I introduced the kids to one of my favorite television series, Freaks and Geeks. We're through the first season. It's been fun spotting all the actors who went on to big careers. I loved this series when it came out because it captures high school so perfectly, and the kids seem to be enjoying it as much as I did. Hey, it's one aspect of Judd Apatow's work I can actually share with them. It's not likely we'll be taking them to see Knocked Up or Superbad any time soon.

On tap for today is actual relaxation. We went to church and Sunday school, and, while I'm currently doing laundry, my only other big plans for the day involve taking the girls to see The Nanny Diaries. I loved the book and am hoping the movie is better than the reviews indicate!

Full Circle, Geometrically Speaking

In a land far, far away, in a time long, long, ago, I took high school geometry. Okay, so it was in Texas and it was 1984, but I digress.

Let's set the stage. As a student, it was hard to miss the Garfield (remember, it was 1984) poster on the teacher's podium which stated, "I'm not hard of hearing. I'm ignoring you." Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside doesn't it? Mrs. R was not a warm and fuzzy kind of gal. And I could have used some warm fuzzies. Geometry was not my thing. I was a good student, and I wasn't used to having to work hard to understand academic material. I had done fine in Algebra I the year before, but I was not remotely getting Geometry. Mrs. R's helpful explanations, such as "It's that way because of the invisible line that bisects the plane," (I swear this is true), were not proving very helpful. Now, I will admit that I might have been a tad distracted by the presence in the class both of my crush of the year and the resident mysterious bad boy who was repeating the class as a senior in a last-ditch effort to graduate, but this teaching style was NOT matching up with my learning style. Unfortunately, no one cared much about that in 1984, and parents, particularly my parents, had certainly not yet learned to write all about their child's unique learning style when asking principals for special consideration in class placement.

Fast forward to the end of semester one. Texas had just changed the passing score from 60 to 70 thanks to Ross Perot and House Bill 72. Mrs. R gave a looong speech about how out of the pure goodness of her heart, she would be raising the grades of students who had a 69 to 70 so they could pass the semester. And there I was, staring at my grade of 89. So channelling Tracy Flick about 15 years early, I shot up my hand and asked, "So, does that mean you're going to raise 79s to 80s and 89s to 90s?" And the answer? "HA, HA, HA, HA....NO!" And it's there until this day on my high school transcript. Geometry 1: 89. Accompanied by Geometry 2: 89. Yes, really.

Why am I telling you this? Or, better yet, why am I still bitter so many years later? I'll leave the second question for future psychotherapy, but as to the first question, well, Dancer Girl is now taking geometry. Since she is in 8th grade as compared to my sophomore year geometry experience, the reader can assume that my quest to marry well in the math department so as to pass on better genes to my children has succeeded. Thank you Adventure Guy, engineer. Tonight, for the first time since leaving Mrs. R's class (and going on to do quite well in Algebra II and Pre-Calculus and well as 6 hours of college math thank you very much) I was faced with the prospect of geometry homework. Dancer Girl had some questions and said, "I'll wait until Dad gets home and get him to help me." In an effort to dispel the notion that Mom can't do math and therefore convey somehow that girls in general aren't as good at math as boys, I said, "Well, I can take a look." She demurred until I added, "And, your dad won't be home until late, so you're kind of stuck with me."

And then I had NO IDEA how to solve her problems. It makes you feel good, I'm telling ya! I was hoping for a few more years before I became obsolete in the math homework department. Fortunately, Adventure Guy got home earlier than expected and saved the day.

But, this story does have a happy ending in another way as well. Remember, like the infamous Mrs. R, I too became a high school teacher. While math was NOT my field (I taught English and history), numerous students benefited from her teaching philosophy. Because in Mrs. M's class, a student never, not ever, earned an 89, which in my book is even worse than the proverbial Peppermint Patty D-. Nope it was either an 88 or a 90, but 89 did not exist in my classroom world.

Teachers often work for years without knowing how much impact they have on their students in the long run. My guess is Mrs. R has absolutely no idea of how much her actions way back in 1984 affected future generations of students. And I'm sure they'd thank her for it, even if I can't quite bring myself to do the same.

P. S. That hot guy? The senior trying to get out of geometry? She passed him. I'm convinced it was only so that she never had to see him again (particularly after that little incident with the scantron for the exam from first semester which he was auditing that spelled out "Merry Christmas Mrs. R). Oh, the injustice of it all. But I'm getting over it, really, I am.

There's No Crying in Preschool...Or Maybe There Is

After what seems like months of preparation (oh, wait, it was months of preparation), All-American Public Schools opened our doors (some newly refurbished) today for the start of the 2007-2008 school year.

My mommy duties involved delivering all three children to their respective school sites (Yes, I have three children attending three different schools. This will continue for another 5 years until Swim Chick and Gym Girl are together again for high school.) My work duties involved visiting all the classroom buildings at our five elementary school sites. With approximately 4500 students in grades Pre-K through 6th, that's quite a challenge. But, as I learned, not quite as much of a challenge as accomplishing the mommy duties.

We actually got off to a fairly good start this morning in Suburbia. Remember, I am operating in single parent mode since Adventure Guy is off at his sales conference. Having a husband who is an equal partner in this whole raising kids operation is fabulous, but getting used to that level of help and then having it disappear for a week is a challenge. But I digress. Other than a burned bacon incident (Gym Girl and Swim Chick cooked bacon, eggs, and toast this morning), things went well on the homefront, and we were out the door before 7:00 a.m. The plan? Drop Swim Chick off at her school (starts at 7:50 a.m.), swing by Soccer Boy's school to drop him at before school care, then drop off Gym Girl at her school (starts at 7:50 a.m.) and visit teachers and administrators there until time to go back by Soccer Boy's school to pick him up from before care, deliver him to his classroom, and visit more teachers and administrators at his site. It seemed like such a good plan.

Until I hit the traffic. The middle school where Swim Chick attends school is notorious for traffic jams. That is why I left the house at 6:55 to drive 3.5 miles with the target time of arrival being 7:15 or so. I should have known it was a bad sign when the traffic started slowing a good 2 miles from the school. We inched our way along until we finally arrived at the school at 7:30. No problem, I'd just revise the plan, now officially known as "Plan A" and drop off Gym Girl at her school, go to drop of Soccer Boy and return to Gym Girl's school for my visits. The younger two kids' schools are right next door to each other, so this would not be a big deal.

Until we came upon the flipped car. Yes, major wreck on the way to Gym Girl's school. We sat and sat through green light after green light until the police evidently arrived and began directing traffic. By this time, Gym Girl was panicking at the thought of having to get a dreaded tardy slip. Why couldn't all my students at All-American High have been that concerned about being tardy, I ask? I pointed out to her that there are no fewer than five school buses behind us, and that she will be fine. The principals understand traffic issues on the first day. Fortunately, I delivered her under the wire at 7:48 a.m. and she was not subjected to the horrors of the tardy slip.

Things did improve over all once I had everyone delivered. I was even able to reassure a nice couple who had just dropped their child at preschool for the first time. I came upon them first as I witnessed their escape from the classroom, leaving behind a wailing boy on the teacher's lap. I decided visiting another classroom at that point would be nice, allowing the teacher to get things under control without the assistant superintendent watching the process. By the time I had stuck my head in across the hall and made a bit of small talk, I was able to return to the first classroom and observe a content preschooler listening to a story, while still claiming the prime real estate of the teacher's lap. It's amazing what these preschool and kindergarten teachers can do. I watched teachers establishing procedures and building relationships that will carry them through the year, all in the span of a morning. Teachers at older grades do the same, but it's an art when your students are 4 and 5 and may have never been to this place called school before.

I was happy to run into the above mentioned couple later in my rounds of the school. I assured them that, minutes after they left, their preschooler was content and told them that my son had had the same teacher, that they'd be very happy with their son's year with her. They shared that they'd moved back to our state simply so their children could attend All-American Public Schools. It's comments like that that make my day and help me know that I'm where I'm supposed to be, making All-American Public Schools a place where any parent would want to send her children. 2007-2008 is off an running, and it's going to be a great year.

There's A Distinct Possiblity I Have Sunk To A New Low

I just finished reading all the blogs on my links while sitting in the bathtub. I know this is wrong on many levels, but I just couldn't help myself. Does it count that I balanced the computer on the edge of the tub rather than actually holding it over the water? Somehow I'm guessing the folks in IT won't think so. And Adventure Guy would definitely point out that I had crossed the line, that is if he were here to comment!

Usually I have the opportunity to check in to the goings on in the blogosphere during lunch, but with my new job that hasn't been happening. Evenings usually work well, too, but tonight I didn't get home until around 8:00, and then I was doing battle with rampaging ants and falling shower curtains, not to mention dinner preparation.

And, did I mention, my feet were in serious need of soaking? In fact, that's what lured me onto this dangerous path in the first place. I figured, I could just stick my feet in the tub while it filled and do some surfing at the same time. But, of course, I wasn't finished reading when it was time to hop in that beckoning warm, sudsy water. The really scary part is nothing bad happened. No morality tale to keep me from risking water damage in the future. But really, I'm going to reform. I will; I will!

Today was "meet the teacher day" at all our elementary sites in All-American Public Schools. We start school on Thursday. I needed to take both Gym Girl and Soccer Boy to meet their respective teachers, and, in Gym Girl's case, to buy school supplies, pay innumerable other school fees, and decorate her locker. I also wanted to make appearances at the three other sites, particularly in the buildings that were remodeled over the summer. The teaches there have worked tirelessly to get their rooms ready, and I wanted them to know I'd noticed.

So, I left the office at 2:30, went home to pick up my kids, and headed to Soccer Boy's class. Fortunately, we were able to do most of the paperwork and all of the fee paying on Saturday, so all we had to do was deliver his supplies to his classroom, meet his teacher (who was also Swim Chick's 3rd grade teacher), and fill out a bit more paperwork. Swim Chick and Gym Girl visited a few of their old teachers while Soccer Boy and I were in his classroom, and then I dropped Gym Girl off at practice and the other kids back at home. I then spent about 45 minutes at one elementary site that did not have any construction projects before going to one of the intermediate schools and the elementary site with the most extensive renovations. While it was fun to see the classrooms all complete and the happy kids ready for school to start, it was draining walking between the two sites, in heels, with the temperature reaching around 105 degrees.

After a conversation with the principal at the elementary school about her burgeoning class sizes (new developments are going in around her attendance zone, and it's hard to determine exact numbers until everyone actually shows up), I picked Gym Girl up from practice and went to her intermediate school, where I filled out forms and wrote checks in seemingly unending fashion. Much poorer, but with supplies in hand, we went to meet her new teachers. She'll have two teachers this year in a teamed situation. I know one of them well and just met the other, but both have excellent reputations.

Did I mention that all of the above events were the good part of my day? I called from the car to tell Swim Chick to defrost the hamburger meat for the tacos I had planned for dinner. She got the microwave started, and I told her I'd be right home. Do you think this would have been a good time to mention that ants had invaded our pantry? I'm thinking yes, but Swim Chick was evidently thinking no. I arrived; she and Soccer Boy pointed out the ants (they're looking everywhere to get out of this heat), and I spent about twenty minutes clearing things out and killing ants. During this time, I asked Soccer Boy to put his comforter that I had washed over his shower rod since the comforter was a bit damp still. Of course, he managed to pull the entire rod down in the process. I did get it fixed, only to return downstairs to be informed by Swim Chick that she had gotten nail polish on the table runner in the kitchen. Serves me right, I guess, for still having the 4th of July decorations out.

So, can you see why I was driven to escapism in the form of both bubble bath and blog reading? Calgon, take me away!

Well, hopefully I won't be living in the doghouse

"You're the big dog now, it's time for me to drive you out to see your buildings." That's the way that our head of construction at All-American Public Schools greeted me this afternoon. And I think he meant it as a compliment. It came across that way, at least.

The buildings that inspired this bit of show and tell today are the buildings that have been renovated, and in one case added on to, at two of our elementary schools over the summer. Both schools were built over 25 years ago, and they needed some TLC and some deseventiesization. Yes, I made that word up all by myself. We've now brought them into the 21st century, and it was great today to see the teachers excited about moving into the refurbished rooms. At one site, they were having electricity problems, but the lack of airconditioning didn't stop the teachers from checking out the changes in their rooms. It was great to see how excited they were, and I know the students will appreciate the new digs as well. I am fortunate to work in a district where the voters continuously approve the bond issues that allow us to do these renovations, build new schools, and purchase technology equipment.

While new buildings were the topic of today, new teachers will be the focus for tomorrow. The newly hired teachers reported to their schools today, and tomorrow they'll spend the entire day with us at the district-level. I'll do two presentations, my first since taking the assistant superintendent position. These are key events to conveying the culture of our school district. It will be a long day, but I can't wait to see all those new, enthusiastic employees, one of whom I ran into today. This freshly-minted 3rd grade teacher was walking the halls of All-American High just four years ago. She's gotten married, so I didn't realize who it was until I actually stepped into the room. It's amazing how fast time flies! It's great, though, to see high-quality students like this young woman become teachers and return to All-American Public Schools.

I have to be at work bright and early to make sure everything is set up for the training tomorrow, so I'll sign off now, but not before making a blatant plea for some comments already. I've been seeing that "0 comments" tag for far too long!

Just Another Relaxing Weekend in Suburbia

I'd like to report that due to Nazi-like enforcement techniques (thanks, Adventure Guy!), our game room and the three children's rooms are still lovely to look at this weekend, just as they were last weekend after we finished the massive cleanup project. My own closet even remains pleasantly clean and organized. It's so nice not to feel that sense of dread when I venture upstairs. One week down. Now, my goal is to keep at this organization stuff for the rest of the school year so that we make it a real habit. So far, predictably, Swim Chick has been the most resistant to the room upkeep. She did react well to my threat on Saturday morning (or actually afternoon), though. After she'd been asked to get up more than once by the emissaries I had sent from downstairs, I went up and told her that laundry was being sorted downstairs and that she could either get up and bring hers down or she could do her own laundry. It's amazing how quickly a "sleeping" teenager can move under such duress.

Our weekend started slowly and then ramped up. I was able to join some colleagues for a late Friday afternoon "meeting" that involved margaritas at one of the local Mexican restaurants. I then took myself to the mall for some shopping. I tried on some dresses with the thought of buying a new one for a wedding we have coming up this weekend, looked at some shoes, and then settled for replacing some makeup that had seen better days. I came out far to the good by indulging at the Clinique counter rather than in the shoe department.

Saturday morning I made it to Pilates class. We had a substitute, and, while she ultimately gave a good workout, she just wasn't as dynamic as the usual teacher. It was also a good thing I knew what I was doing because her instructions weren't very complete or clear as to proper technique. She must have tipped her hand by subbing at the Friday morning class too because Saturday morning is typically packed, and attendance was low this week. Once I was home and dressed, Gym Girl and I went out to pick up her birthday cake and a few last minute favor items. Then it was off to the laser tag place for her birthday party. The group played two games of tag and then had the party room for 45 minutes. Fun, easy, and not too expensive: a definite birthday party success. Gym Girl's best friend came home with us to sleepover for the evening, and I took everyone to Blockbuster to spend one of Gym Girl's gift certificates she received at the party. The kids settled in for movie night, and Adventure Guy got ready for our party Sunday afternoon by preparing brisket and ribs for the smoker.

Adventure Guy has been wanting a smoker for a while, and I bought him one for Father's Day. This was the first time he'd actually tried it out, and a friend from church who is an expert came by to show him the ropes. They did all the prep and got the meat smoking. It smelled mouthwateringly good, but we wouldn't know the results until Sunday afternoon. In the meantime, we got some sleep and then went to church and Sunday school this morning. After church we came home to prepare for the Sunday school get together that inspired the brisket and rib preparation in the first place. Fortunately, the house was in pretty good shape, though I did hang a few pictures that have been sitting around forever. The main task was getting the yard in decent shape. Why does grass tend to grow just fine in my flower beds but not so well in the places I want it to grow? We all worked outside for a couple of hours and then got cleaned up for the party.

I must saw Adventure Guy's first run at using his smoker was quite a success. All of the meat turned out great. We went through most of it, but he does have enough leftovers for dinner tomorrow night. Other people in the class brought all the side items, drinks, and desserts, so I actually had little to do to prepare. It was a fun evening. We are truly fortunate to have such a caring and fun group of people in our class.

Tomorrow I begin my first full week in my new assistant superintendent position. I can tell already it's going to be a challenge as I make the transition. I'm excited, though, about all the possibilities for impacting students' lives. In each position I've worked in in education, I've viewed my work in light of how I can affect kids. First, it was the 140 students in my classroom; then it was the 2200 students at my school; now, it's the 9300 students in our district. No matter what else happens, I intend to keep the well being of students in mind each and every day as I go about my work. After all, I have three very special reasons for doing so: Swim Chick, Gym Girl, and Soccer Boy, three of those 9300. And as for the other 9297 kids? Well, they're all mine now too. And they'll have someone at All-American Public Schools looking out for them.

Repeat After Me

Change is good. Change is good. Change is good. I have officially been in my new job now for two days. I'm a bit overwhelmed because I've been doing both jobs since the Board of Education confirmed my appointment to the assistant superintendent position July 9th. Invariably, if I was at the high school, I was needed at the central office, and vice versa. But now, my replacement is hired, and I've done some transitional work with him this week. I'll be available tomorrow as well, and then I'm going to concentrate primarily on the new job. Of course, I'll always be open to answering questions that come up, but I'm not going to schedule time in my old office after tomorrow. In fact, I moved out the last of my things this afternoon, and I'm almost settled in the new space.

Getting settled involved transferring all the already-scheduled meetings and to-do's. I now have 59 new things "to do" than I did at the beginning of the week. Wow. All I can say is that my predecessor was very organized, and I appreciate the detail that she left me about what needs to be tackled as I make this transition.

On other fronts, I am continuing with my Best Life program and counting my points on Weight Watchers. I'm doing well on avoiding fried foods, increasing my fruit and vegetable intake, and eating whole grains. I'm still having more of a challenge with eliminating soft drinks. I'm doing okay at limiting them. In the two weeks I've been diligent, I've lost four pounds. I'm particularly pleased about that because I've had several "events" that I've been able to manage while staying within my points. I've got another 8-12 pounds to go to goal. Even though I've lost at two pounds per week so far, I don't expect that to keep up. In past experience, I slow down to between half a pound and a pound per week eventually, so I expect it will take me about ten more weeks to get to my goal. I'm hoping reporting my progress here will help keep me on track until I get there.

Also, as my summer winds down, I'm starting to look forward to a couple of trips I have planned for fall. Over Labor Day, the whole family is taking a road trip to Texas for a long weekend of college football at Adventure Guy's and my alma mater. Then in October, I'll be attending the annual August Mom's reunion in San Antonio. I can't wait to see everyone there since I haven't been able to make it the last few years.

I seem to be rambling now, so I'll sign off for the evening. More later on the big weekend...Gym Girl's birthday party on Saturday, and a Sunday School class get together at our house on Sunday.

Trials and Transitions

I am deep into the "transition" phase for my new job. Except, that right now, that means I'm trying to do everything in both jobs, but I don't officially leave the old one and start the new one until August 1st. I'm also dealing with spotty childcare right now since I was not planning on working a lot these last couple of weeks of July (based on my old work requirements). While theoretically, those requirements are still in place, I'm getting invited to a lot of meetings that are related to my new job, and it's very hard to say "no."

I am mostly taking the day off tomorrow, though I do have to go in and do an interview. We're in the last-minute hiring phase, and I don't want to miss the opportunity to nab this candidate if she's as good in person as she is on paper. She has an offer from another district, but I caught her before she'd accepted, and she says she'd prefer to come to work at All-American High. So, I'll go in tomorrow and interview her, even if that means going in for a while on my day off. I'm also planning to go in some on the weekend to finish packing and clearing out while I won't be disturbed.

On the home front, Swim Chick and Gym Girl are now in my hometown, visiting with their grandparents. I met my parents half-way last night, and my mom will bring them home either Sunday or Monday. I think I'm going to lobby for Sunday so that my mom can help with the above-mentioned childcare dilemma for Monday. That means, though, that I should do more in the game room than I had planned to do on Saturday. That, or I should just buck up and admit it's a pit, and not let it bother me. We'll see. The problem is that we have far, far, too much junk that's collected over the years of conspicuous toy consumption, both on our part and on the grandparents' parts. Theoretically, I really want to do a major cleanout of that area and our study. The problem is, I really, really want someone else to do it. Since that is unlikely, I'll have to figure out a time I'm willing to put aside all the fun things I'd rather be doing like hanging out at the pool, scrapbooking, reading, blogging, sleeping...the list goes on.

I am looking forward to tomorrow night, though. Adventure Guy and I are going out to dinner at Flemings with a friend of his from work and his wife. I have dutifully calculated the obscene amount of Weight Watchers points I will need to cover this meal and have worked it into my weekly total. I'm trying to decide if the fried onion strings are worth breaking one of the Best Life rules for--I've done very well so far with the "no fried food rule," so I'm not sure. I've been pleased with what I'm seeing on the scale this week, and I want to hold out for a good weigh-in on Monday. (Yes, I know, I'm only supposed to be weighing-in once per week. That isn't going to happen!)

Closest Book Meme

Continuing my literary theme from yesterday, I thought I'd pick up the "closest book meme" that's been circulating recently. Thanks to Doc Thelma for the original post.

The game:
1. Grab the nearest book to you.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 4 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

From Rick Smith's Conscious Classroom Management: Unlocking the Secrets of Great Teaching comes the following

As a matter of fact, much of the information will come to you naturally, even if
you don't go looking for it.

Ah, ha! I have been spoken to, not exactly from above I guess, move like from "beside" since I pulled this off the top of my desk. Now, on it's face, Rick Smith's book is a great resource for teachers, all about setting up effective classroom procedures, designing lessons that keep students engaged, and dealing with student behavior issues that arise in spite of the first two items. But I took the sentence above as more of a sign relating to my current transitional phase as far as work is concerned.

My new position will involve working in some areas that are new to me, and I've been focusing on upping my knowledge in those areas as well as on reassuring those who'll now be working for me of my competence. Honestly, I don't even think that my competence is what's in question, just that they need a little reassurance that I'll be understanding of their daily challenges. If the past week or so since my appointment became public are any indication, I believe that the information I need will come to me naturally. People are coming out of the woodwork to share information with me. Now, I just need to process and fit all this new information into my own scope of reference. In all respect to Mr. Smith, I'll also say that I'll be doing a little fact-finding of my own as well.

August 1st, my transition date, is speeding toward me faster than I can believe. Tonight, I'm going to stay late at work and do some packing. I have a quick Junior League meeting this evening, and then Adventure Guy and I are going to see the new Harry Potter movie. I'm trying to relax and enjoy this process as much as possible, and the movie should be a nice distraction.

I'm Officially Official

Tonight the All-American Public School's Board voted in favor of our superintendent's recommendation that I be named to fill the position of Assistant Superintendent. The interview process and offer came at the end of June, but nothing is solidified until the Board's vote. I am happy and ready to get started in my new position, which will happen next month.

Leaving All-American High is very bittersweet. I have good friends there, and I love the administrative team I have worked with for the last seven years. I'll miss the day-to-day interaction with the students as well. But I am very excited about the opportunity to focus solely on curriculum and our school improvement process. These areas reflect my true career interests, and I am both challenged and humbled by the opportunity to affect students across the district.

Wish me luck as I finish my commitments at the high school and make the move "across the street." It's going to be a whirlwind for me between now and the beginning of school in August.

Blur

Was that June speeding by? With the kids at camp, I expected to have plenty of time to relax and also to get some things done both at work and at home. That did not exactly happen. I'm amazed each summer by how much more work seems to materialize in my office. I swear I had some down time during the summer when I first took this job seven years ago. People often ask, "So what do you do up there in the summer anyway?" In fact, my colleague said to me yesterday, "If one more person asks 'What in the world do you guys do up there in the summer anyway?' I will not be held responsible for my actions." So yes, the question comes up often.

What we're doing is trying to hire the best possible professional staff including in my direct responsibility three counselors (two retirements, one transfer left these positions open), one special education transition coordinator, two social studies teachers, and two special education teaching positions (plus one more if I hire internally for the transition coordinator). I've been in what seems like nonstop interviews. I'm also finalizing the master schedule, which is somewhat dependent on hiring decisions and has a deadline of July 3rd in order to work with a planned system changeover in the technology department. Yesterday I spent all day out of the office at a district-wide administrators' retreat, thinking about what I could have been doing with my time back at the office. Not that it wasn't valuable, but it seems like the timing for that annual event is always off somehow. I am looking forward to tomorrow, though, where all I have on my calendar is one meeting with my social studies curriculum specialist and a haircut, the latter of which is sorely needed.

Adventure Guy and I have done pretty well as practice empty-nesters. We've eaten out a bit more than usual, and we worked together in the yard on Sunday between rain storms. We've also watched some good movies from Netflix and thought a number of times about going to see Waitress, which is still on my list. Maybe an all out last-ditch effort will be made tomorrow night. Oh, and did I mention our newest addiction? In the not good for the waistline category, we have the local organic bread store. Best Friend introduced Adventure Guy to this culinary delight on his birthday when she presented him with his very own rustic baguette and a "frequent loafer" card. What can I say? She knows my man. All month now he's been saying things like, "Since you're nearby, can you run by the bread store?" The baguettes are good but the challah is to die for. I'm also likely to be found on Saturday mornings circling the lot in hopes of finding the chocolate filled croissants in stock.

Thursday night our friends whose kids are also at camp will arrive again from Houston. We'll pack up the respective Suburbans and head to Branson on Friday morning. Friday and Saturday will be devoted to boating, fishing, and shopping (in no particular order). Then on Sunday we'll get to see the kids for a full-day of closing activities: track meet, swim meet, family vespers, cabin awards ceremony, carnival, camp term movie. Monday morning it will all wrap up for another year with the announcement of major camp awards and the results of the tribal competition that's been going on all month. By ten o'clock we'll be headed back to our rental cabins on the lake and soon after we'll hit the pontoon boat with the kids in tow this time.

It's hard to be this close to seeing the kids and not be missing them desperately, but things like this make it easier to take. That's Soccer Boy, clearly letting his cast keep him from enjoying camp!

Anticipation

I write from the calm at the eye of the storm. Tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. my children will board a bus that will take them to camp. In preparation, I have labeled many pairs of socks and underwear, filled prescriptions, paid enormous sums for strengthened contact lenses and eyeglasses prescriptions, purchased "pink ladies" jackets for one of the costume parties, and packed everything needed for 25 days into one duffel and one trunk for each child.

We are now awaiting the arrival of our long-time friends, the best man in our wedding and his wife, who are driving in from Houston to put their three children on the bus with ours. Adventure Guy and Best Man met when they themselves were kids at this camp. They've been best friends ever since. I find it amazingly cool that our children are now attending camp together at the same place. The ages line up nicely. We have pairs of 13 year olds and 10 year olds bracketed by a boy at each end, one 15, one 8. After pizza tonight, we'll let the kids hang out, dreaming of all the excitement that's in store while the grown ups dream about almost a month of childfree days and nights. But we'll be sad when we send them off tomorrow, really we will!

I'm also looking forward to a little R & R of my own starting tomorrow. I will wrap up our big retreat event at work and then take off for Texas to visit my family. Adventure Guy is, appropriately, running an adventure race this weekend, so I'm going to take advantage of the down time to spend a few days with my parents and my sister and her family. My nephew will have his first birthday party while I'm there, and I'm going to do as little as possible until Tuesday when I'll head home to start hiring new teachers and finalizing the master schedule. And, I am going to Catch. Up. On. My. Scrapbooking. There. I've said it in print. I must do it. I'll keep you posted!

School's Out For Summer

Well, almost anyway. This week the rest of the staff at All-American High and I are officially being professionally developed. Thanks to the infamous "ice break" back in January, we missed all of our spring professional development days, one during that week and two more that were used to make up instructional days. I'll admit that I'm not fond of this particular schedule as it makes the end of school seem very disjointed. Teachers are trying to finish up and post their grades, pack up their classrooms, and meet all the various continuing education requirements, all in four days.

The good news is that we have some truly wonderful opportunities this week, meaningful sessions that should make a difference for students when school resumes in August. Yesterday, I attended a session on improving literacy across the curriculum with Cris Tovani. She presented a wide range of strategies for improving reading comprehension. We are fortunate not to see many students at All-American High who can't read, meaning can't decode the words on a page, but we certainly see students who don't understand how to really interact with a text and gather meaning from it. Even more exciting, this morning in a departmental meeting I attended, teachers were already planning ways in which to implement Ms. Tovani's strategies next year.

Tomorrow I will attend a session with Dr. Douglas Reeves, a speaker I've been fortunate to hear previously. Dr. Reeves does a great deal of work with standards-based education and grading practices. Tomorrow's session focuses on leadership for educational change. I am always open to new ideas for successfully changing school culture and ingrained practices, which in my opinion, is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, challenge school leaders face. School is such a familiar institution that many, both inside and outside the system, resist any changes that aren't cosmetic in nature.

The event I'm looking forward to most this week, though, is our annual staff retreat on Friday. Each year we invite a representative group of staff members to attend. We've dealt with a wide variety of topics over the years, but one thing that remains constant is the format of addressing "our" issues in the morning and then hearing teachers' concerns in the afternoon. Since we began the practice four years ago, the positive impact on staff morale has been amazing. We have also been able to gain buy-in that we likely would not have had for the issues we've brought to the teachers in this manner. As a result, we've been able to implement a wide range of initiatives from small refinements to the tardy policy to the much more impacting implementation of the AVID program at All-American High. This year, we'll be focusing on clarifying the "vision" that's in place at our school, encouraging teachers to reach for what brought them into teaching in the first place and to develop plans for addressing any barriers that might stand in the way of making a meaningful difference in the lives of students.

What I've enjoyed most so far about this week is that, even amidst the hundreds of questions and little issues that come up at the end of the school year, I've had the opportunity for real reflection and for meaningful planning with the rest of the administration team. When we're talking about where we want to go and how to get there, with all of our staff in tow, I know that I'm spending time on what is important, not just urgent. I only wish I was able to prioritize in this way all year long. That will be my vision for the coming year.

The Post-Birthday World

Finally, an update in the "What I'm Reading" category. My reading pace has slowed considerably during the craziness that is the end of the school year, and I've been working through Lionel Shriver's The Post-Birthday World for quite some time. This doesn't reflect the quality of the book, just the quality of my leisure time!

In The Post-Birthday World, Shriver takes the concept of "what if" to a new level. Her main character, a children's book illustrator, has the opportunity to cheat on her significant other after a birthday dinner with a mutual friend. From that pivotal moment on, alternating chapters of the novel trace the developments of her life in parallel universes: one in which she stayed loyal and the other in which she began an affair. I found the writing particularly impressive in the way that Shriver bends the details of certain events that happen in both lives, subtly changing things to reflect each world's reality. I also liked the ending, which I won't ruin for those who would like to read the book. Neither decision leads to perfect happiness or complete ruin. In one universe Irina, the illustrator, writes a children's book that can be read two directions and tells two stories. In her book, the moral is that no matter what choices we make our lives will turn out okay in the end. In The Post-Birthday World, Shriver sends the same message.

Of course, this book prompted me to think about the choices I've made in my life and how things might have been different if I'd taken the other paths that have been presented to me along the way. Fortunately, I don't have any key moments where I regret the decision I made, but that doesn't completely eliminate the wondering at times.

I'd say the biggest decision I wonder about was my choice to change my major from pre-law to education. My father is an attorney, and he had always encouraged me to follow in his footsteps. I know he secretly hoped that I'd still change my mind and go to law school right up until I took my current job. There were a number of people in my life that didn't see teaching as a career that lived up to my "potential," which is quite a commentary on where our society places its values. This list included my former high school principal who, when I returned to do some observations that were required in my teacher education program, sat me down and asked,"You can do anything you want, why are you doing this?" Nothing like a little professional encouragement!

Why did I change my mind about becoming an attorney? Honestly, it was because I didn't see how I could achieve what I wanted both personally and professionally by choosing that career path. I wanted to marry Adventure Guy, and I didn't see postponing that for three years while I finished law school. I also knew that his career was not likely to keep us in one place for three years, so being married while going to law school wasn't a great option either. I also knew what it took to be successful in the legal field, the kind of hours it took to make partner and the type of dedication to career over family that was required. I knew I wanted to be a fairly young mother and that I didn't want to put off children indefinitely in the pursuit of career. But I also knew that I didn't want to put aside a career completely and that I was not the type of person to pursue one half-heatedly.

What I didn't realize at the time I made this decision is how much I would truly love what I do. Working in the field of education, both teaching and in school administration, has been personally fulfilling in a way that I don't believe practicing law would have been. Of course, I'll never know that for sure, but my career choice has allowed me to combine my family and career in a way that works for me. I was able to continue to study subjects that interested me, my teaching fields of history and English. My hours are flexible enough to be conducive to my children's schedules. But perhaps the best unforeseen consequence is the satisfaction I get from knowing that my professional efforts can and do change the lives of thousands of students for the better.

I'd say the best answer to the question of "what if" lies more in the answer to the question, "If you could do it all over again, would you do something differently?" In my case, I'd have to answer with a resounding no because, as in The Post-Birthday World, everything has definitely turned out okay. In fact, it's turned out better than okay, and I don't think I could ask for anything more than that.

The Merry Month Of May

I think I've mentioned previously how crazy May is in Suburbia. It's the month where all fronts in the balance challenge that is my life collide. Work brings state athletic tournaments, the senior awards assembly, our culminating assembly for our year-long theme, graduation, and building next year's master class schedule. The kids are involved in numerous year-end activities of their own: music programs, gymnastics banquet, Soccer Boy's birthday, and, this year, confirmation for Swim Chick. We are also in full-swing for camp preparations; they leave June 1. Adventure Guy also has a birthday this month, and he's involved in year-end soccer events now that he's joined the association board.

This weekend is shaping up to be a hectic but good one. My parents and grandmother are coming to visit for Swim Chick's confirmation. In the meantime, I also have a Junior League leadership retreat that I have to attend Friday evening and Saturday morning. Fortunately, my guests are understanding of our crazy schedule. They'll get in fairly late on Friday night and then hang out with the kids on Saturday morning while I'm gone.

I have been prepping for the visit, though. I got all my outside pots and hanging baskets planted over the weekend, and today I finished some planting in my front flower bed. I put hot pink petunias in, and I think they'll look really nice this summer. I've also got my menu for the brunch following confirmation on Sunday all planned since I'll need to grocery shop tomorrow.

We'll be having:
Baked Ham
Cheesy Potato Casserole
Green salad with mandarin oranges and candied almonds
Blueberry Almond Bread
Bacon and Egg Crunchy Brunch Casserole
Brownies
Theta Shoppe Vanilla Bars

The nice thing about the menu is that most is doable ahead of time. I'll have everything ready so that all I need to do is bake the two casseroles on Sunday. Now I just need to check my silver to see if it needs any work and plan my serving dishes!

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.

Antoine

I'm often inspired by what I read over at Oh, The Joys. The blog is irreverent and unfailingly humorous, but from time to time, it's an absolute tearjerker. Today's post was one of those that had me drawn in from the beginning, and it drove me to do something I've been meaning to do for a long time: find out whatever happened to one of my all-time favorite students, Antoine.

In any teaching career, there are students who are unforgettable. For me, Antoine was the first of those students, one who has influenced my career in many ways. There are two memories from the year he was a student in my U. S. History class that stand out, the first being the very moment I met him. Standing at the door and greeting my students was an important task for me each day, and it was especially important on the first day of school. I wanted students to know that I was happy to see them, and that I was looking forward to a great year. As I waited by the door in August of 1992, a 24-year-old, second-year teacher at a Houston high school I'll call Multicultural High, I spotted a nice-looking, black kid, wearing a white undershirt with the sleeves rolled up and perfectly styled jeans, hovering outside the room. He'd given himself away by glancing first at his schedule, then at the room number, and then at me. More than once. So, I asked, "Are you looking for U. S. History? Come on in." He hesitated before saying, "I don't want to go in there. I'm not going to like that class."

So many things rushed through my head at that point, and this instance illustrates what makes teaching both an art and a science. Nowhere in my teacher education classes did anyone instruct me in how to respond when a student informs you, without previously having met you, that he is not going to like your class. I managed to respond neutrally, "Oh, really, why not?" "Because it's not MY history," he responded. I could feel the challenge in his words, and I knew that my response would be key for our relationship and my ability to reach him throughout the year. And I had only a few seconds to craft an answer. Instinct kicked in, and I responded in a way that was both truthful and, for this student, right. "Well," I said, "Come on in anyway. I think you'll be surprised. In this class we learn about how all kinds of people have contributed to making our country great. I don't leave anyone out or just focus on groups once a year during Black History or Women's History months." In he went, and I could make out the first glimmers of the bond that we would form over the year.

I quickly learned that Antoine was smart and that he was gifted athletically. Recruiting letters often arrived for him during my class. I must have delivered contacts from 30 different colleges over the course of the year. After our conversation that first day, he was always unfailingly polite, and he worked hard. He was being raised by a single mother, one who cared tremendously for her son and knew his potential. A humorous moment came for me when his mother arrived for teacher conferences. I now knew where Antoine got both his size and his looks. Good for him, not so good for her!

Antoine willingly participated in class discussions, and this led to another key moment for me, one which I've related on numerous occasions to others. My class, full of students of color and recent immigrants, was discussing the civil rights movement. The question posed was does discrimination still exist today, or has our society conquered such attitudes, essentially, "Is there a need for further civil rights work today?" I'll admit to having been honestly taken aback when the majority of my students stated that they did not believe discrimination was a big issue in modern-day America. I had expected our discussion to take a different route, in fact, I was rather depending on it to help in my efforts to make the these events of the 60s and 70s relevant to the 16 and 17 year-olds in my class, for whom those years might as well have been eons ago.

Finally, Antoine spoke up. This 6' 3" guy, weighing in at about 250 lbs. said,

"If you think there's no such thing as discrimination these days, you need to walk home from school with me. When I get to the corner of Cook and Bellaire, I have to wait for the light so that I can cross. Every day, all I can hear are the automatic locks clicking on the car doors around me. People don't see me at that corner. They see a big, black guy. And, you know, all I'm doing is walking home from school. I'm a kid, walking home from school."

It absolutely broke my heart. Both because I knew he would never do anything to hurt anyone and because I knew that if I didn't know him, I might be afraid too. It taught me about myself, and it taught me a little, just a little, about how it must feel to walk in his shoes. I never took him up on his invitation to walk home with him, but I often wished I had. Later, when I moved to Suburbia and began teaching at All-American High, a much less diverse school than the one I had left, I shared Antoine's story with my new students, students who had even less reason to believe that there were still issues with discrimination than my Houston students had.

Antoine left my class that year with us both knowing that he had been wrong in his assumptions about U. S. History and his role in it. He kept in touch the next year, and I enjoyed watching his achievements on the football field. I celebrated when he accepted a football scholarship to a quality, four-year university. Antoine was the kind of kid that college athletic scholarships were designed for, a kid who was talented both athletically and academically. I knew he was smart enough to get a degree, and I hoped that he'd be able to overcome some of the circumstances in his life that made it less likely that he would cross the stage with a diploma in hand. I hoped he wouldn't let the distant prospect of a career in the NFL distract him from taking full advantage of the academic opportunity he'd been granted.

I saw Antoine again the following year when he came home from college and stopped by to visit. He told me about his classes and his experiences in football. He'd been redshirted, which he said gave him more time to focus on studying and also more time to complete his degree. He also told me about his "coat allowance." He was thrilled to have a "real coat, not these pretend coats people wear down here." He was making friends, enjoying life, and eating well. He was huge! Those college strength and nutrition programs are nothing if not effective. I hugged him and wished him well. He walked out the door of my room, and I haven't seen him since.

But I've always wondered. What happened to him? Did he get the degree? What's he up to now? Moving away made it difficult for me to keep track of my former students, and Antoine was one of the ones I regretted not being able to contact to let them know where I was headed and why I would no longer be working at Multicultural High.

Today I found out. Inspired by the post on Oh, The Joys, and aided by the vast array of information out there on the world wide web, I found Antoine. Since I knew his full name and where he attended college, it really wasn't too difficult to find references to him, especially if I was interested in his football career. But I hit paydirt when I unearthed a report for a project he worked on recently that listed his credentials: a degree in economics from the previously mentioned quality, four-year university. He's a consultant working in the field of public transportation design. A little more searching revealed an address, and the Big Brother satellite in the sky allowed me to zoom right in for a shot of his home. From the suburban address and the house size, I'm also guessing he's married and has a family. What I know for sure, though, is that he's come a long way from that street corner with its accompanying soundtrack of locking car doors. It's great to know he achieved his goals, and I'd love for him to know that he also helped me achieve mine.

That Thin Line

There are perks to being an administrator in the school district where one's children attend school. There is also the inevitable downside. Today, I tried to walk the thin line than exists between making sure that I'm looking out for the good of my own child (as well as for the good of the 2200 other children whose parents entrust them to me each day) and taking advantage of my position to benefit my child.

I try very hard not to interfere in my kids' education more than the average parent would. I'm not the person who emails the teachers constantly, and I don't expect special treatment for my kids because of my position in the district. During the seven years that I've served as principal, I've received varying responses, encompassing the range of nonchalance to obvious discomfort, from my children's new teachers upon my entrance at "meet the teacher" night. In my kids' entire experience thus far in the district, I've only been less than pleased with two teachers, and we've gotten through those years without incident. Have I "disclaimered" enough now?

The latest: our district did some new math placement testing for incoming 5th and 6th graders, of which Gym Girl is one. However, Gym Girl was not tested. Only certain students were selected. The only parents notified of the testing were those whose students had been selected. Kids who tested will take regular math, pre-Algebra, or Algebra I based on the results. I learned of all this when Gym Girl's school principal called me to ask a question about the rules for teacher certification. I deserve bonus points in my book for not quizzing him about my own child during this conversation.

Instead, I quizzed Gym Girl when I got home.

Me: "So, have you taken any special math tests lately."
Gym Girl: "No, but some people did. They got a letter about it."
Me: "Hmmm....that's interesting. Who tested?"
Gym Girl: "I'm not really sure."
Me: "Oh, I see."
(Subject dropped as to not make Gym Girl paranoid)

I'm lost as to why Gym Girl would not have been tested. Honestly, I figure that she might or might not qualify for more than the regular math class, but she's always been good at math and has scored "advanced" on all the state-mandated tests in math over the past couple of years. She also makes A's in math and has seemingly "phoned in" the 5th grade material. If I were to guess, I think she'd score in the middle group, being ready for pre-algebra but not algebra. Why do I care? I've been living through Algebra I with Swim Chick in 7th grade, and while she qualified for the class through testing in as well, she would have been better served by taking pre-algebra last year rather than 6th grade math (though this was not an option for her class). If Gym Girl is going to do 7th grade Algebra, I want her to do pre-algebra next year.

So, risking being the overaggressive parent convinced that her child is a true genius who has been wrongfully overlooked, I sent an email to Gym Girl's teacher. I noted that I had learned of the testing and that I was surprised that Gym Girl had not been tested. Then I inquired as to what the criteria had been for selecting students to test. As of leaving work at 5:00 p.m. I had no answer. I'll be curious as to how he replies, knowing that just my sending it can be perceived as pressure. And I'm not sure yet how much pressure I want to put forth in this issue.

One of these days this parenting gig is going to get easier, right? Oh yeah, I think that's scheduled to take place around the year 2022 when Soccer Boy should be graduating from college! I'll keep you posted.

Off to the Prom

For many, prom night is a once in a lifetime experience. For me, it's an annual occurrence. Yes, earlier today I was actually considering which shoes would look best with my selected prom outfit. No prom dress this year. I've decided to go with the dressy pants and top look. And my shoe selection dilemma focuses more on what will be comfortable for standing at the door for four hours rather than which pair best compliments the outfit.

As prom season approached, I noticed several bloggers were reliving their own prom experiences and posting pictures. I am not so brave. I attended two proms when I was in high school. The first was at the high school that was my school's cross-town rival. I went at the behest of my date's mother who called my mother and asked her if I would go. Can you imagine just how popular this guy was? To top that experience off, we entered the country club for dinner just as a group of the most popular girls from my high school were being seated with their equally popular dates. Beautiful. For that event, I wore the 80s classic off the shoulder, tea length light blue taffeta concoction. For my own senior prom, things went a bit better, though I did attend with my newly-ex boyfriend. We'd dated most of my senior year, but he broke up with me a few weeks before the dance. Having been planning to dump him as soon as was convenient prior to my leaving for college, I was not distraught about the breakup and had the presence of mind to inform him at the time that I hoped he didn't think this was getting him out of taking me to the prom, it being far to late for me to acquire another date. We went with a group and had a good time. I honestly have fairly vague memories of the whole thing other than that year's dress which departed a bit from the standard by not being taffeta. This time, it was a tea length royal blue lace dress with a sweetheart strapless neckline which my mother was not a fan of but let me buy anyway. There's a picture in my senior yearbook from that night that is cropped in a way that makes me look like I'm not wearing anything. Nice.

Girls today seem more confident about their fashion choices than we were. Tonight we'll see all different styles and lengths. Fortunately, the "genie" two-piece look seems to have gone out of style. Hemlines are getting shorter, though, so soon we'll have to worry about that. I enjoy working at prom each year because with it being a "seniors only" event, it's smaller than our other formal school event, the homecoming dance. We also rarely have any inappropriate behavior at prom. It's a nice evening, watching the kids who are about to leave us have a really good time. It's bittersweet in many ways to see those students who I've known since they entered All-American High as insecure sophomores experiencing one of the last "big events" of their high school careers.

Not to be outdone by all the students, I have prepared for prom by getting a lovely pedicure, and one of the other principals and I are going out to dinner before hand, hopefully at a location that will not prove popular for our students. She and I have been fairly successful in our choices the last couple of years, so I'm hoping our luck holds. It's just not as fun for either the students or for us when we end up at the same restaurant. We've learned over the years, though, that anonymity for us in this town is unlikely. Part of the job is making sure we're a role model at all times. Last night, when Adventure Guy and I went out to get some sushi, we chose a restaurant that's not in the district. That did not, however, stop us from being seated by a hostess who's a former student and being greeted by three of my seniors who were at the table behind us. I've even run into students on vacation in Belize and on a cruise that left from San Juan. It's really amazing in some ways how often that happens.

Outside of prom this evening, our weekend is pretty uneventful. Soccer Boy had a game this morning, in which he scored a goal, his first of the season. Swim Chick has gone to a movie with friends, and Adventure Guy is doing the lawn. Everyone is supposed to be engaged in cleaning up the game room and their rooms, but that seems to be happening in stages. Gym Girl is diligently working, and I predict the others will regret not putting in the time earlier when she's finished later today. I figured that since I'm working on getting the mounds and mounds of laundry that have piled up done, I should take a bit of time to update the blog. That's my excuse for not doing something more productive. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!