Have you ever heard of FutureMe.org? You can send your future self an email. I just got one that I sent to myself because this is my number three childʻs last week in high school. I told myself to be patient and mindful, because I knew that the now-me would be a bundle of emotions and feeling quite nearly overwhelmed with all the teacher-y year-end stuff. When you get your email from your past self, you have the option to email a future you. So, of course, I sent an email for next year - for the Friday before my last childʻs high school graduation.
Now that is going to be a killer. It might be even more killer the first day of the school year here without any of my kids. When I first came to this school, my oldest son was a senior. The year after he graduated, I found myself looking for him in the morning protocol bunch and feeling sad that he wasnʻt there. He wasnʻt far, but he had moved out into an apartment, was attending college, had started his adult life (with a few bumps on the way). I suspect that my youngest may be the only one that gets enough scholarship money to go to the continent for college... and that will be hard. I wonʻt be able to drop off food, or just generally check in (not that I did enough of that, frankly).
I feel like this graduation (which is my last official work day of the year) is this big hurdle that I just have to get over, but the truth is, itʻs just one. As a teacher, I count my years from August to July, and this year has been a doozy. Iʻd like to think that once those lei get placed around the graduatesʻ necks (my fingers are sore from making lei), the year will be over and all itʻs challenges behind us. But, the truth is, my second son may need another lung surgery, we have to continue to be vigilant about the possibility of recurrent cancer for my husband, and next year is another senior year hell of applications for colleges, scholarships, AP tests and SAT tests and all the rest of it.
That sounds really gloomy. I donʻt actually feel that gloomy - hence the email to myself to be a little more patient and mindful. Although helping kids with college scholarship applications is pretty darned stressful for me, itʻs also a pretty joyful process. All that guiding and encouraging, cheering on and nagging unmercifully, is paying off. Applying for scholarships, reading the essays they write for them, itʻs a celebration as much as it is a prayer (or begging, I donʻt know) that they get the means to follow their dreams is a way that wonʻt bankrupt their future.
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
The Last Week
Have you ever heard of FutureMe.org? You can send your future self an email. I just got one that I sent to myself because this is my number three childʻs last week in high school. I told myself to be patient and mindful, because I knew that the now-me would be a bundle of emotions and feeling quite nearly overwhelmed with all the teacher-y year-end stuff. When you get your email from your past self, you have the option to email a future you. So, of course, I sent an email for next year - for the Friday before my last childʻs high school graduation.
Now that is going to be a killer. It might be even more killer the first day of the school year here without any of my kids. When I first came to this school, my oldest son was a senior. The year after he graduated, I found myself looking for him in the morning protocol bunch and feeling sad that he wasnʻt there. He wasnʻt far, but he had moved out into an apartment, was attending college, had started his adult life (with a few bumps on the way). I suspect that my youngest may be the only one that gets enough scholarship money to go to the continent for college... and that will be hard. I wonʻt be able to drop off food, or just generally check in (not that I did enough of that, frankly).
I feel like this graduation (which is my last official work day of the year) is this big hurdle that I just have to get over, but the truth is, itʻs just one. As a teacher, I count my years from August to July, and this year has been a doozy. Iʻd like to think that once those lei get placed around the graduatesʻ necks (my fingers are sore from making lei), the year will be over and all itʻs challenges behind us. But, the truth is, my second son may need another lung surgery, we have to continue to be vigilant about the possibility of recurrent cancer for my husband, and next year is another senior year hell of applications for colleges, scholarships, AP tests and SAT tests and all the rest of it.
That sounds really gloomy. I donʻt actually feel that gloomy - hence the email to myself to be a little more patient and mindful. Although helping kids with college scholarship applications is pretty darned stressful for me, itʻs also a pretty joyful process. All that guiding and encouraging, cheering on and nagging unmercifully, is paying off. Applying for scholarships, reading the essays they write for them, itʻs a celebration as much as it is a prayer (or begging, I donʻt know) that they get the means to follow their dreams is a way that wonʻt bankrupt their future.
Now that is going to be a killer. It might be even more killer the first day of the school year here without any of my kids. When I first came to this school, my oldest son was a senior. The year after he graduated, I found myself looking for him in the morning protocol bunch and feeling sad that he wasnʻt there. He wasnʻt far, but he had moved out into an apartment, was attending college, had started his adult life (with a few bumps on the way). I suspect that my youngest may be the only one that gets enough scholarship money to go to the continent for college... and that will be hard. I wonʻt be able to drop off food, or just generally check in (not that I did enough of that, frankly).
I feel like this graduation (which is my last official work day of the year) is this big hurdle that I just have to get over, but the truth is, itʻs just one. As a teacher, I count my years from August to July, and this year has been a doozy. Iʻd like to think that once those lei get placed around the graduatesʻ necks (my fingers are sore from making lei), the year will be over and all itʻs challenges behind us. But, the truth is, my second son may need another lung surgery, we have to continue to be vigilant about the possibility of recurrent cancer for my husband, and next year is another senior year hell of applications for colleges, scholarships, AP tests and SAT tests and all the rest of it.
That sounds really gloomy. I donʻt actually feel that gloomy - hence the email to myself to be a little more patient and mindful. Although helping kids with college scholarship applications is pretty darned stressful for me, itʻs also a pretty joyful process. All that guiding and encouraging, cheering on and nagging unmercifully, is paying off. Applying for scholarships, reading the essays they write for them, itʻs a celebration as much as it is a prayer (or begging, I donʻt know) that they get the means to follow their dreams is a way that wonʻt bankrupt their future.
Chicken Coop ...after a hiatus
When my husband makes animal shelters, he makes them like Fort Knox. He says itʻs because he learned from our early efforts (some of which fell down in bad weather) and wants them done forever. In any case, this chicken coop is made of hollow tile and the bottom half of it, at least, could be a bomb shelter.
At the moment, all those chickens are free range. We used to lock them up at night, but weʻve given up, and they just roost on the pipe rails of the horse and sheep stall. Heʻs luring them in daily with food, but some of them would rather snatch a few morsels of sheep feed than to get their full ration of layer pellet. Weʻd like them to come in at night where there are lovely egg boxes, so that they will be tempted to lay their eggs where we can find them. As it is, they lay more often than not in the forest (we think), where we canʻt find the eggs.
Itʻs frustrating to feed 20+ chickens and not be able to find the eggs.
At the beginning of the summer, we had plenty of eggs, but once they figure out we "found" the nest (sorry, ladies, but the corner of the horse stall is not very hidden), they move. Itʻs also possible that mongoose are getting some of the eggs, and, honestly, my dog Mellie could also be a culprit, but I never catch her at it anymore.... Wherever they are, whatever is happening to them, the eggs are not in my fridge, so that means weʻre feeding hens for nothing.
I keep threatening them with freezer camp, and amusingly, it seems that every time we have a school break, and I have the time to actually make good on my threat, the eggs magically appear. Letʻs hope it happens next week, when summer school is over, because I donʻt want to buy terrible store bought eggs.
At the moment, all those chickens are free range. We used to lock them up at night, but weʻve given up, and they just roost on the pipe rails of the horse and sheep stall. Heʻs luring them in daily with food, but some of them would rather snatch a few morsels of sheep feed than to get their full ration of layer pellet. Weʻd like them to come in at night where there are lovely egg boxes, so that they will be tempted to lay their eggs where we can find them. As it is, they lay more often than not in the forest (we think), where we canʻt find the eggs.
Itʻs frustrating to feed 20+ chickens and not be able to find the eggs.
At the beginning of the summer, we had plenty of eggs, but once they figure out we "found" the nest (sorry, ladies, but the corner of the horse stall is not very hidden), they move. Itʻs also possible that mongoose are getting some of the eggs, and, honestly, my dog Mellie could also be a culprit, but I never catch her at it anymore.... Wherever they are, whatever is happening to them, the eggs are not in my fridge, so that means weʻre feeding hens for nothing.
I keep threatening them with freezer camp, and amusingly, it seems that every time we have a school break, and I have the time to actually make good on my threat, the eggs magically appear. Letʻs hope it happens next week, when summer school is over, because I donʻt want to buy terrible store bought eggs.
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