The finish line - 2009 style!

My seniors are, for the most part, at the beach celebrating their graduation this week, and I'm reflecting on the past year. Somewhat like a new parent, I find it fascinating to watch the development over the months. As I was re-reading my daughter's latest blog post, it occurred to me that it is somewhat bittersweet to see these young people go off into the world. Although I don't have nearly the connection to my students as I did with my own children, I do feel somewhat responsible for providing them with the skills to allow them to at least survive, if not thrive, at their next stage of life.

Some kids come to me in September ALMOST ready - they're focused on college or career or the military and they know what steps to take to achieve those goals. Others THINK they're ready, but all they can think about is getting out of high school. Still others believe that being seniors means a year-long vacation before they head off to college or the "real world." Regardless, I am dogged in introducing them to higher level thinking skills and a taste of the wonderful stories that come from every age and every corner of the world. I try to expand their vision and earnestly urge them to sample the unfamiliar. For some, it "takes," for others, all I can hope is that eventually they develop that appreciation for art of all kinds.

I cross my fingers as they step up to claim their diplomas, knowing my reward is somewhere down the line. Next year, or the year after, or sometime after that, I'll hear about some of them and I'm often gratified to see what they've accomplished. But I don't need them to be worldbeaters - just compassionate, ethical citizens.

Best of luck to my 100+ graduates - may all your dreams come true!

Now it's official!

After knowing each other for about eight years and being engaged for nearly two, my son and his lovely girl got married on Sunday. I shouldn't be surprised at how well everything fell into place, considering the awesome organizational skills my new daughter-in-law has. I don't know if SHE found any flaws, but from my perspective everything was perfect - dresses, flowers, music, food, and venues. My son looked a little nervous beforehand but utterly enraptured afterward. My daughter and the other bridesmaids looked lovely and my little girls were thoroughly enchanted AND enchanting.

And today is my daughter and her husband's anniversary. I'm so thrilled about how happy and in love both my children are. They deserve it - and I'm blessed to have two more children to enrich my life - not to mention the granddaughters.

All in all, I'm a very lucky woman. And I DO still believe in love.

Home Stretch

This is both the most stressful and most promising time of the year for me - the end of the school year. While I'll be sad to lose my classes, I'll be happy to see them off to the next part of their lives. And while I am glad to have a break from grading papers and working every night on plans, I don't think I'll be that satisfied just cleaning and doing yard work all summer. I'm really hoping gas prices stay reasonable - then I might just take a trip to nowhere!

When things finally turn green, I feel peace - well, a kind of peace. I sure hope that grows along with the leaves and flowers.

Life goes on, but...

So much has been said about the late Harry Kalas that I feel poorly equipped to add anything besides what my kids have already written. I confess to being a passionate but technically ignorant fan. I can't distinguish between the various breaking balls - heck, I'm happy I recognize that it IS a breaking ball. So I don't worry too much about some of the analysis - I do, however, like thinking about the strategy, and Harry and his colleagues always did provide me with that kind of commentary. But, like my daughter pointed out so eloquently, Harry was the voice, not just of the Phillies, but of summer itself and the feelings we get from watching, talking about, and reading about baseball. Yes, it's related to the beach, taking twilight walks around the neighborhood, and going to Rita's for a water ice, too. But hearing that warm voice on the first spring training game from Florida is what reminds me that a seemingly interminable winter is on its way out. And now we won't hear that voice live anymore.

It seems the Phillies are going to use Harry's homerun call over the PA system for every home dinger - I'm not entirely sure how I'll feel about that. But I'm really happy that I bought the highlights and full World Series games from last season, just to hear his voice tell us about that wonderful run.

Why is it we feel so close to folks like Harry and his late running buddy Richie Ashburn? All I know is that it feels like another door closing on a large part of my life.

A week with the princesses

The best thing that ever happened to me, hands down, was having my kids. I enjoyed them at almost every stage and now that they're young adults, I love hanging out with them. They grew up close to each other and remain so, and they've both chosen wonderful partners to expand their circle (and mine). I am grateful every day for all of them.

But getting to be with my granddaughters is just priceless - I crave being with them and hate to leave them after a visit. Observing their development is fascinating and every milestone is such an experience. Lea adds to her vocabulary on what seems like an hourly basis, and her thought process and logic are almost palpable. She recognizes cause and effect, knows colors and shapes, and, best of all, has figured out that Mimi will come almost immediately when she summons me.

And Susanna is working on figuring out her world - taking in all the sights and sounds around her, trying out all her body parts (she seems determined to roll over already), and smiling and laughing in response to goofy gestures and funny noises. She has a sweet nature and doesn't even flinch when Lea "loves" her a little too vigorously. I can't wait until I hear her little voice call my name.

My daughter and her husband are amazing parents. They have infinite patience and, despite their profound lack of sleep, unbelievable endurance and resilience. They deal with the inevitable challenges that come with a two-year-old and a newborn with wisdom and humor. I am humbled by how well they handle everything - much better than I did, I confess.

It was a great week - taking Lea to school, going to the museum, reading, and just plain being together. And even though I lament the distance between us, I feel fortunate to able to see them as often as I do. Thank goodness for e-mail, webcams, and blogs.

So, should I really eat that?

For about six months, I neglected my health - eating badly, not exercising, not sleeping enough. Now I'm going to the gym at least every other day, making a green smoothie every morning, and TRYING to get enough sleep, and it seems to have an effect. I'm not expecting to lose ALL the weight I need to lose right away; my ultimate goal is to be at my ideal size/weight/shape by Christmas. Short-term, I want to look fabulous for my son's wedding in about seven weeks; might have to have a hair makeover to do that.

So, here's my dilemma: I decided to let my hair revert to its natural color after my daughter's wedding three years ago. It took about a year and that in-between stage was pretty grisly. Now, I'm wondering if I should put some color back in - maybe a light brown - and whether that might make me look better. But the prospect of going through that growing out stage is pretty daunting.

Still, those wedding pictures will last a long time and I want to look fabulous for any number of reasons.

Is there a REALLY temporary color that I could get rid of if I didn't like it?

Happy Spring!

It's cold, but it IS spring, so all's right with the world. Two weeks from today is the first day of spring break and not too long after that is the end of the third quarter at school. Not to get too ahead of myself, but it's only nine weeks to Memorial Day weekend and my son's wedding. This week we found out that my daughter-in-law to be got her first choice for her residency - an appropriate validation of all she's achieved - which is, wonderfully enough, closer to ME!

So I have painting to do, and I REALLY have to work on my classroom. But I'll find a way to enjoy the great outdoors, too.