i honestly wonder what has happened to the 6 weeks of summer vacation. It seems like only last week i was struggling over the job change....... and moaning about the crappy weather.. and here it is Friday of my last week of holidays. What the hell happened to summer???
swan - about a week ago - talked about how teachers (well good ones) go in early to get their classrooms ready.. get some lesson prep work done - tidy up and get organised before the kiddies come storming back.
And it got me to thinking... because there have been so many rainy days this summer... and because of the situation i am walking into .. i have spent a fair amount of time here at the computer getting plans done... getting some admin work done (letters to families introducing myself and some of the changes they can expect) ...
Do i feel ready to walk into the challenge that is my new job?? noooooo not really.... Do i feel up to the challenges??? YES... oh god yes.... i have come to realize this summer that as much as i am leaving a whole mess of "my" kiddies behind and it breaks my heart.. i AM ready for a change of scenery .. and a change of challenges. Cause ya know .. no matter where i go.. there will be a line up of needy kiddies.
So this week - being my last week of schedules - i have lazed around.... spent a good part of it sitting in the sun under my red umbrella..... reading. i finished 7 books this summer.. (mostly fluff - i do quite enough heavy reading all winter thank you very much) i even managed to tan a little bit - even under the red umbrella.
It was a productive summer in many ways.. i got the car rust proofed.. i had a brand spanking new furnace put in... and a week later they were back cause the central air was leaking all over the basement floor !! i got approximately 4 months of lesson plans done .... Sir and i had some great times together... even if we didn't get to my favourite village in the country for dinner and photo opportunities ... i went on Wednesday by myself for a work dinner meeting.. and managed to squeeze in an hour or so of photography before the dinner.. we got to visit with the kids and grandbabies.. and even took youngest grandbaby to the train museum.. (oh yeah and next week we are taking eldest grandson to see "Walking with the Dinosaurs") i had my adventure with the 'swarm' ... and most important of all - i recharged my batteries !!!
Yeah it was a good summer... and though the kiddies don't come back for another 2 weeks and though i will be on flex hours for another week .. summer is over..............
i thought i would share with you some of my photo shoots from the summer... (remember i am STILL learning the new camera!!)
both of the above pictures were taken from a moving car......... oh yeah and i have a thing for small roadside grave yards....The following pictures were taken in my favourite lil village.........
strange lil balcony
a pleasure boat going through the locks
just a stone wall... shrug.. hey what can i tell you.. it appealed to me!
one more shot of an outside staircase - i have a wonderful time working out imaginary stories about what lies at the top of these stairways...
can you see the shadowy figures swinging in the trees in my back yard? Yesterday they were trimming the dead limbs..... like monkeys swinging in my trees.......Yup .. it was a good summer... busy.. rocky at times.... but good nonetheless..
it's hard to believe you're already getting ready, but then I remember that quebec starts earlier than anywhere else. D. still has the better part of a month left as he doesn't start until after labour day.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like it was a decent vacation all around and that has to be a good thing.
Ready or not, Dear... here we go. I just know you will have a wonderful, exciting, and interesting year. Like you, I've done lots of school prep and planning all summer. I am feeling ready to go. Just minor details left to finish up and we are off and running.
ReplyDeleteHave a great start!
hugs, swan