As I promised, here a few photos of my summer for you, my dear friend from Taiwan. 

And to the rest of you, where have you all been hiding?  Say hi to Yang and enjoy the quick retrospective! 

Long Beach




Being a firefighter like dad, also in Long Beach



My newest nephew, Nicholas, and me sitting on a very, very small chair



Do you remember this place?  A visit to UCSD



Me losing to Toshi on a ride at Disneyland; last year I won. 



A trip to the Mission museum with two of my girls



Ice cream with Mark Twain (your Elmira friend) and more girls



A trip to Huntington Library and Gardens with more kids

Yang, thank you so much for calling.  Happy late birthday!  I hope our tradition continues for many years to come.  All my best wishes to you and Hsini, and I am looking forward to new pictures of Pinche! 

Update in protected … yes, again …

The quick and rather boring update:

Two weeks of school down, and I still really like my kids.  Yes, they have gotten a bit more talkative, but nothing I can’t handle.  However, I had forgotten how completely exhausting it is to be a productive member of society.  I feel like all I do is work and sleep … and even then, I’m only sleeping five to six hours a night.  I guess that’s why I’m so sleepy, huh? 

We went to the fair last night.  Somehow it just wasn’t as fun as last year.  Don’t get me wrong … we still ate our way through the place, but mostly I was just looking forward to getting home and going to sleep.  We didn’t eat as much as last year.  My stomach wasn’t too happy about all that sugar and fat and made its feelings known with a big stomachache.  And just so you know, deep fried Snickers bars are as blech as they sound.

For today’s portion of the update, see protected post …

Then this evening we ate take-out and watched “The Waltons”, and I cried some more.  That show gets me every time.    Sappy though it may be, I love the wholesome morality of it, although it does bother me when they all go tramping into the house fresh from a walk in the wilderness with bare feet.

Wednesday is Back to School Night, oft mistaken for Open House.  So, I will be cracking the whip this week to get something up on the bulletin boards for the parents to ogle and of course buying cookies to distract them from the lack of student work and my inability to speak coherent Spanish.  Wish me luck!

And so ends another installment of “As the World Stands Still”.

Quote of the Day:


Consciousness:  that annoying time between naps.  ~Author Unknown

The song playing here is one that I first heard when I watched “Paperclips”, a documentary about a high school that set out to collect one paperclip for every life lost in the Holocaust.  I thought it was such a beautiful and haunting song, and it immediately brought to mind 9/11.  I know I will never forget that day or the disbelief and grief its events brought.

Quote of the Day:


The real differences around the world today are not between Jews and
Arabs; Protestants and Catholics; Muslims, Croats, and Serbs.  The real
differences are between those who embrace peace and those who would
destroy it; between those who look to the future and those who cling to
the past; between those who open their arms and those who are
determined to clench their fists.  ~William J. Clinton

Some years I don’t really grow attached to my kids until about April, but this year they’ve already got me.    I’ve got a lot of sweet kids … and so far at least, they’re really motivated. 

I’ve seen a few of last year’s kids, and they seem to be making the adjustment to their new school fairly well.  I received a letter from a former student in my mailbox today.  It was nice to know that they haven’t all forgotten me already. 

On that same note, this morning when I arrived at work, the secretary told me that I had received a phonecall from my student who was moving to Maine.  She was supposed to stop by for one last visit last week, but she never made it.  Well, her mom called from Maine this morning and said that when she picked Raquel up from the airport this morning she came off the plane in tears because she hadn’t been able to say goodbye to me.    That really touched me, but it also broke my heart because it is quite possible that I won’t see this little girl again.  I was so sad that I missed their call.  I really hope they will call again tomorrow.

Things I’m thankful for today:
1.  minimum days for the first week of school
2.  tomorrow’s forecasted cooldown
3.  my 19 new babies
4.  all of the lessons I have learned from the children and parents I have gotten to know these past ten years

Well, back to the salt mines …

Quotes of the Day:

Some people drink at the fountain of knowledge … others just gargle.

I’ve got my fingers crossed hoping for drinkers this year. 

And for the parents out there …

Labor Day is a glorious holiday because your child will be going back to school the next day.  It would have been called Independence Day, but that name was already taken.  ~Bill Dodds

My only reason for ever watching tennis is gone …

 

Goodbye, Andre, and thank you for many exciting years … tennis will never be the same.