Impatiently Awaiting Summer.
A list of little happys:
. a drawing from a student with the words: You’re a good teacher!
. pieces of candy from a fourth grader
. paddle boarding while the littlest brother paddled beside in the canoe
. cooking a new recipe and getting it to turn out. I am actually starting to enjoy cooking for bigger groups of people. Never thought I would say that;)
. a chocolate chip cookie during a ball game
. a volley ball game after school board supper. How fun it is to play with middle aged people:)
. completing all my bulletins for next year
. seeing a project come together just like I’d imagined
. a heart to heart with a friend home from the mission
. a Pride & Prejudice meme sent to a friend who shares my love for Jane Austen
. a FaceTime call from big sister
. a ball game with some company
. the 70° weather
. the fact that school is almost over
. a complement from a fifth grader
Teacher Appreciation Week was quite a fun time. The ROA faculty was treated to ice cream with all the toppings from one mom, lotus drinks from a previous school teacher, and gift cards from a co-teacher’s mom.
The highly anticipated youth girls camping trip finally made its appearance. After unloading the tents and other supplies, we dashed off to the lake to go paddle boarding. What a gorgeous evening it was! Supper was a fabulous ordeal with fajitas cooked over the fire and toppings galore plus a giant bowl of pasta salad that was appreciated by all. The temperature began dropping and given we had forgotten the most important parts to building and maintaining a fire, we shivered away. Finally a few girls ran to a Dollar General and bought some lighter fluid. That is not the way to start a fire but it worked okay and eventually the fire took off. The s’mores were delicious and have you ever tried a strawberry doused in marshmallow fluff and then roasted? It was the most incredible dessert I have had in a minute! The fire, the blankets, the food, the moonlight, and the late hour with all the heart to hearts was a bonding experience. We read “Miss Hinch” and the girls that like true crime and psychological thrillers had the plot almost figured out. It was early the next morning by the time we snuggled down in our sleeping bags and fell asleep.
That Saturday morning dawned gloriously bright. It was a gourmet breakfast of pancakes, loaded with whipped topping, fresh berries, and maple syrup, and cheesy scrambled eggs and bacon and sausage. The food was quickly devoured and soon the swimming gear was on and the paddle boards were fully inflated. We floated on the lake, catching the sun rays and eventually landed on the beach. We inhaled the leftover pasta salad, Red Bulls, blue raspberry sour patch kids and not nearly enough water. Tip: never forget sunscreen when the UV rays are at a nine. It was a very burnt group of girls that paddled back to camp. The paddle boards were deflated and the process of taking down the tents began. It’s quite simple if you read the instructions! Home again but this time with good memories and rosy cheeks. Aloe Vera and moisturizers have definitely been a best friend! Another tip: drink plenty of water when you are in the sun. It was later found out that there was some dehydration going on and more than one person passed out. As one youth guy said when we spoke of the ordeal, “It couldn’t be a white girl’s camping trip if all that didn’t happen.” And as one girl said, “Bad things happening create memories!”
Program practice is fun when the teachers get to be distracting to help the kids focus on the leader. I was amazed at how well they focused on the song leader instead of watching the teachers clanging pots and pans, or the teachers playing soccer with mops, or the teachers peering in the windows in odd clothing. That was probably a practice they will not easily forget.
Summer cannot come fast enough for the Rock of Ages School. The children have been playing softball and it is often that you hear bare feet padding the halls. Lunches and story hour are just better outside. It is bittersweet in a way, knowing these are my last days in this building with these children for the foreseeable future. The lessons learnt and the memories made will not easily be forgotten. But life moves on and it is time for me to move on too. Another door has opened and I am ready to step through to the next adventure. Summertime is first, and it looks like it is gearing up to be an entertaining roller coaster ride. “Let us live like flowers, wild and beautiful, and drenched in sun.”