Winding Down

The school year is winding down-- five more school days with students and then a half day to tie up loose ends in my classroom, turn in my final grades, and say temporary goodbyes to my coworkers, most of whom I won't see until August. It has been a fun year and a trying year.

I started off fresh from an 8 month maternity leave only to have my immune system attacked by strep throat, a stomach virus, and the plain ol' flu, all within the span of two and a half weeks. All of that left me able to nurse and/or pump twice a day, and that sudden decrease threw me into a several weeks long hormonal hell. For pain relief at that time, I took a lot of NSAIDS, caused a small ulcer, healed that ulcer by just dealing with the pain and avoiding acidic food (including coffee, my love), and finally brought an end to all things digestive with the determination of an egg intolerance. While I can still enjoy eggs in baked goods and pasta recipes that use them, I can no longer eat omelets, Egg McMuffins, or my daily scrambled egg (what used to be my breakfast along with steel-cut oats each morning). Throw in a few days of jury duty on top of all the other things a teacher has to deal with, and yes, it does become a trying year.

Sidenote: I've been feeling GREAT since the ulcer healed and I cut eggs out of my diet more than two months ago.

But now? Now it is almost over. My students are wrapping up final projects, I've been spending a lot of evenings with Cate and Brennan outside walking and blowing bubbles and chalking up the sidewalk, and my summer reading list is ever expanding as I discover new titles daily (currently reading Freedom by Jonathan Franzen and am enjoying it). I also finally rejoined my profession's professional organization (NCTE) and am looking forward to some good reading from the journals I re-subscribed to (I let my membership lapse shortly after Cate was born).

We spent the holiday weekend at my parents' house. Actually, I headed to a small college town an hour away from my parents' town last Thursday and Friday for the Power of the Pen State Tournament. The team I co-coach placed fourth overall, we had a student place second in her grade level, and a writer from last year who is now a freshman win a $24,000 scholarship.

For the most part, we hung around Hudson, visited with family, and played outside.

The kids enjoyed cruising in my dad's convertible.

We rode the bike trail along the Erie Canal Towpath and took the train back to where we parked. The kids loved riding the train. Cate especially loved that there was a snack car.

We visited with some alpacas at my sister's friend's farm. Cate loved them, but Brennan wasn't too sure.

And of course, we took in the annual parade.

The countdown is on and this mama can't wait for summer vacation to get here. This past weekend brought a little taste of it and I'm ready for more.  Oh, and seeking book recommendations if you've got them.

~Melody :-)