How Do They Know?

I got my temporary AARP card in the mail today. Of course it's no good unless and until I pay my sixteen bucks and join the swelling ranks of Americans over 50.

And I still have one month.

Don't forget that.

One month.

Rain, Rain

Come today!
I was too busy to water the garden--
plus the weatherman promised
boomers and soakers
this evening.
Clear skies?
Go away!
Heaven
drench
us.

Any Time Now

We were on our way home from the movies this afternoon when a brilliant thought entered my mind. We had been to The Avengers, something I was eager to see but had put off since it opened a few weeks ago, because it was such an iconic summer movie, and summer was just too far away for me to enjoy it. After the pink, pink, pink of yesterday, though, I felt like maybe I was ready to kick off the cinematic season.

The movie was good, but, as I suspected, would have been much more enjoyable without a lengthy to-do list--with hard deadlines-- in the back of my brain. Driving home we commiserated about the busy weeks ahead. The end of the school year has a lot of time-consuming details made much more challenging by the fact that most students are mentally checking out early.

"Oh!" it came to me in a vision. "I totally know what we should do! The end of the year should be like the end of a soccer match, where only the official knows the time... that way they could call it at any moment!"

C'mon, it's genius! Not only would many of our students totally get the concept, but THAT would really keep us on our toes.

Thinkin Pink

Pink sky,
pink wine,
pink cheeks--
Can summer be far away?

Z is for Zone 7

We put in some productive time at the garden this afternoon, and with luck and proper stewardship July should bring tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, and okra for sure. The watermelon and pumpkin are questionable, mainly because we've been unsuccessful growing them for the last two seasons, fingers crossed that third time's the charm. Our strawberry patch is going gangbusters except that we didn't put down the straw mulch so the fruit is rotting before it ripens, not a mistake we're likely to make again.

Life Lesson: There is no gardening without humility. Nature is constantly sending even its oldest scholars to the bottom of the class for some egregious blunder.  - Alfred Austin

Y is for You're Definitely in My Top 131

A few of my students have started playing a silly game where they bicker loudly about which of them is my favorite. I don't think for a minute that their spectacle has anything to do with me; I am just an effigy in a drama they've invented for their own amusement.

It does make me wonder, though, about favorites. I hope all my students feel that I like them equally, although realistically I'm sure that's not true. Some kids don't really care, and others are convinced that they could never be the favored one.

I never really liked the parable of the prodigal son. I always sympathized with the guy who stayed home and did his duty and then was hurt by his father's celebration of his wayward brother. Even so, as a teacher, in an attempt to build positive relationships, I often extend a greater proportion of my time and energy to those students who are not being successful.

Does that make them my favorites? They seem to think so. At least they are willing to argue about it.

Life Lesson: It is appropriate to celebrate and be glad... for he who was lost is found again.

X is for X-ing Xs

Oh how tempting it can be to mark the days off on the calendar in a countdown to summer vacation. Who isn't looking forward to a break and time to rest and recharge? Still, when the kids start asking how many days we have left it makes me a little testy. For one thing-- is school really that awful? For another? If it is, then how hard could it be to do the calculation yourself!

For the record, we have 28 calendar days, and 19 school days remaining.

But as long as we're counting? Only 104 more days until school starts!

Life Lesson: Rather than count the days, make the days count.