Back to School...

In a very short week schools will reopen here in North Alabama. We are already hearing people complain about the early start and, “Back when I was a kid we didn’t start until after Labor Day!” And there is a group trying to lobby to “Save our Summer” to get the start date pushed back. They’re key point is that the state is missing out on all the tourist revenue that would be generated by a later start date. I don’t know about that, but I do know that summer boredom has some of us firmly in its hot, humid grasp.

We are, however; excited about the coming school year. We are leaving our old school which is K-5 and going to a new one for middle school. It really seems hard to believe that Evan is starting middle school now. Seems like just the other day I was taking him for his first day of Kindergarten.

And then there are school supplies. Why are they so exciting to buy? Even kids who don’t like school or are not good students seem to get pumped up with new supplies. I had to run to China-Mart on Saturday to pick up some things and there was total chaos on the school supply aisles. I was glad that Evan & I had already shopped for his stuff a couple of weeks ago when they first put it out. There is a tax free weekend coming up but stuff is usually so picked over by then and it is often a mob scene that I am just not equipped to deal with anymore! So the few pennies I would save are sacrificed for my mental health. I am sure that there will be some things he will need that weren’t on the supply list or that he will think that he needs.

So next week we will have orientation at the new middle school and he can get his locker assignment and we will get that set up and learn how to work the combination lock. I know we can meet the homeroom teacher but I don’t know if we will get a schedule at that time or not. In any event we shall endeavor to get Evan organized which should help make transition less stressful. I think he will be excited to see his school friends and make some new ones.

As for me I shall return to my job as everyone’s favorite substitute. I expect to be at Grissom a lot this year which is good. I enjoy the high school kids, I can be sarcastic and they get it…well some of them get it, and I am certain that it will provide much fodder for this blog. I don’t expect to get anything as good as the note I got for a students absences last year…I was subbing a long term assignment for one of the 10th grade English teachers who was gone on medical leave. A kids in my 3rd period class was absent for 2 days. Upon his return I asked him if he had an excuse which he said he would bring the next day. The next day I asked for the excuse again and he produces a full page letter from his mother explaining to me that on the first day he was absent he had not set is alarm properly (or at all I bet) and missed the bus. Due to injuries from a car accident, she was unable to drive him and so he missed school. But, he would have really only been tardy. The second day he woke up on time but was having a problem with his hair. Yes, you read that right, he was having a bad hair day and she felt sorry for him and let him stay home to try to fix his hair. So after reading this I looked at him and said, “You know, if I stayed home every time I had a bad hair day, I would never leave my house!” I look forward to school starting back, and before any of you start inundating me with emails and phone calls to get my teaching certificate so I can do this “for real,” the answer is NO! I am not going back to school!

Dog Spelled Backwards is God...

Whenever we head out to the cabin on the Elk River one of the things we look forward to doing is the “deer and wine tour.” We drive up into the pastures and look for deer who are feeding along the tree line in the early evening. Along with looking for deer, we also look at my brother-in-law, Dick’s cattle that he keeps on the property, looking for any newborns, looking at their sweet faces. On this trip, we put Trixie, our four legged nutcase, in the back of the Trooper to see how she would react to the cows. The first two days, the trips to the pasture where pretty uneventful although it was quite funny watching her watch the cows out of the car window, crying and barking at those big cows.

Wednesday night was different though. We got out in the big pasture and since it had been mowed and the grass was not very tall, I got out of the car and opened the back and let Trixie out to see what she would do. She was very excited to see the cows up close. The funny thing was, the cows seemed to want to see her. What began as a small group of cows suddenly grew to the entire herd. All the cows started coming up to where we were, some actually running up to us. Pretty soon we had a large semi circle of cattle in front of us, waiting for Trixie to tell them what to do. We laughed, she barked, the cows mooed and then I put Evan & the dog back in the vehicle and we drove on to the back pasture to look for deer.

After driving the perimeter of the back pasture, all of a sudden Evan says, “Look mom, all the cows are following us!” Sure enough, the entire herd was trotting into the pasture looking for us. We stopped again and let Trixie out and again, the cattle gathered in front of her. Once I put her back in the car, the cows followed us out of the pasture. Apparently Trixie has some sort of Rock Star status with the cows that we were not aware of before. Evan thought it was hilarious and was doubled over with laughter, it was a good evening and we will take her back so the cows can continue to adore her… But don’t tell the cat, he is into that whole Egyptian, humans worship cats thing!

Reaction Time

Okay, so here is one difference between mom’s and dad’s/men & women. Our reaction time is vastly different. Perfect example. We spend a day at the home of a friend with a swimming pool. For the most part the day is uneventful, kids swim & play in the pool, parents enjoy a beverage and read novels poolside, no stress, very laid back. It is a Sunday afternoon and around 5 or so I go in the house to change clothes and get ready to head home. I come back out to the pool and we are sitting around having a long goodbye, when suddenly our friend’s 2 year old falls into the pool! He had been sitting on the side playing with the hose that was adding water to the pool and merely leaned over to far and plop, in he went. He was right at the mid line of the pool where the shallow end begins to slope off to the deep end, and yes he had been told repeatedly to leave the hose alone. Reactions-we all jump up, the child’s mom starts to enter the pool from the steps at the shallow end, Pat goes on the side of the pool. Where was I? My friend said she felt this rush of air and looked up and all she saw was my feet as I dove over her head into the pool, completely dressed, watch and all. I do admit that it was important that Pat was poolside and could grab the child when I lifted him up because I could not touch the bottom, but the point is this: I didn’t even think; I just reacted to what needed to be done.

Twice now, Pat has decided to quit fishing. Both times we have been in my sister and brothers-in-law pontoon boat. The first time was the summer of 2006 and I am not sure what exactly happened, but the result was his fishing rod leapt out of his hands and into the murky, brown water of the Elk River. My sister, who was the only one in a bathing suit, immediately pulled off her t-shirt and was ready to jump in to try to find it. Pat on the other hand, is trying to make some sort of logical decision about the attempted retrieval. Last week it was the same thing. We were fishing, probably about 100 yards from where the first incident occurred and somehow, this rod too, decided to make a break for freedom and ended up on the bottom of the river. I said “Jump in!” as the boat was moving forward, but it took a couple of minutes for the reality to sink in and then Pat took off his sunglasses, shirt, shoes, hat etc…and then jumped in. Needless to say, by that time we were all a little vague about the location of where we were at the time and where the rod and reel might be. Of course he kept asking me where I thought we were when the rod & reel went in. I must look like me name is TomTom! So, I circled the area slowly for about an hour while Pat waded around in neck deep water trying to locate the rod and reel. No luck.

It is sometimes a bone of contention at our house. I don’t know how many times in the last, almost 12 years I have caught vomit in my hand (don’t feed Evan apple sauce!) or redirected to save furniture or rugs from either Evan or the dog throwing up and then clean up the mess. It has to be done, but most of the time, Pat helps by staying out of the way. And before anyone jumps on my case, let me be perfectly clear here, I am not picking on Pat, he can and does do many things that I can’t or won’t (electrical and plumbing work and cleaning up “gifts” left by the cat.) I am merely pointing out the differences in our reaction to emergency situations. Maybe it has something to do with being a mom. I tend to see danger at every turn and am prepared to react to it. Maybe it is that invisible dividing line between what he sees as his responsibilities and mine, he cleans up the outside and I get the inside, he handles Math and Science homework and I get English & Social Studies. In any event, we do try to see the humor in the situation and while Pat didn’t find any humor in it while he was searching for the rod and reel, he was able to laugh about it later. On the other hand, I rarely find myself giggling as I clean up the most recent disgorgement.