What's the Name of this River?

When we were children living in South Jersey our family made the drive to DC pretty often. In those days that road trip involved me, my brother, and sister tucked in the back of our Ford Falcon eating Chikn-in-a-Biscuit crackers and playing the license plate game with our parents. About halfway into the journey and a little while after passing under the hairpin towers of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, the highway would open up and cross a huge expanse of water. "What's the name of this river?" my dad always asked, and in a chorus we replied,

"The Susquehanna!"

A few miles down the road we'd find ourselves descending through Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, its submarine subway tiles shining wetly in the dim yellow lights. Keep up Speed Keep up Speed Keep up Speed we chanted along with the reminder signs posted every hundred yards or so. Back then, the pay off of those trips was always a visit with our grandparents, or one of our beloved aunts and cousins, which was a very grand reward indeed.

Today I made that journey in reverse on my way to a family vacation in Maine, and it was impossible not to note all the usual landmarks. Oh the highway is wider, and tunnel has been updated, and there are two spans to the DMB now, and there's no longer a Hot Shoppe at the rest stop in Delaware, but the name of that river is still the same.

0630

Tomorrow's ETD and...

yes,

my birthday!

The van is packed.

Let the wild rumpus begin!

Things You'd Rather NOT Hear...

...ever, much less 36 hours before your vacation:

"This is going to be an awkward conversation..."
"Neck to toe for 12 to 14 hours..."
"EVERYTHING in VERY hot water..."

Things you can't do anything about:

See above.

Watching the Grass Grow

The key for me to a happy summer is to try to do something I consider worthwhile every day. That can be harder than it sounds, but so far I've been successful. For example, on Saturday, I planted wheat grass in a little pot on the deck for our cat, and today it's nearly 2 inches tall. Now that's what I call measurable progress!

This is Happening

Even though it is technically summer vacation, I attended a required 2 hour workshop today. Our school system is providing iPads for all students in grades 3 and 6, and so their teachers have to be trained. This particular session was advertised as a very basic, first step, and so it was, although I definitely learned a few things.

Don't get me wrong. I've wanted more access to technology for my students since I started teaching. I understand what a powerful tool it can be. I don't know if this is the way I would have gone about it, but nobody asked me.

Perhaps most importantly, the management approach of our senior administration was evident in the presentation today. One of the slides actually said that there were to be no "buts"-- we were categorically instructed to move ahead with the expectation that things might be rocky at first (Ya think? Handing 400 dollar toys, I mean tools, to thousands of 8 and 11 year olds...), but it would all work out in the end.

And I'm sure it will.

Did I mention? I got my own new iPad today.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

We were all a little weary, Treat, Heidi, and I on Saturday afternoon after unsuccessfully attempting to see two movies. We were hungry, too, and with some time to kill before our third try, we stopped into a Chipotle Restaurant. Heidi and I had never actually eaten in one, but I have heard very good reviews from kids and adults alike. Treat concurred, and I knew there would be a vegan option for Heidi.

And so there was. In addition to beans and rice and veggies, the chain is rolling out its tofu sofritas nation-wide, and this branch had them as a featured item. As it turned out, the three of us went for that menu item, in its taco form, Treat with soft wheat tortillas, Heidi and I with soft corn. Our meal was delicious (if a little high in sodium), so yummy in fact that tonight?

My own version of it is on the menu.

Buen provecho! 

An Offer We Couldn't Refuse

One of the many joys of summer vacation for us is going to the movies. In fact, we go to so many that sometimes there's really nothing we want to see. This year, though, after a particularly busy spring, we're starting the season with a longer than usual list.

Yesterday we saw the new Tom Cruise-Emily Blunt picture, and the gray skies this morning had me looking up our next show. Imagine my delight to find The Godfather playing in three places. Regular readers may recall that this is one of my all-time favs, but I have never seen it in the theater.

Until today, that is. Even after watching this movie countless times, or maybe because of that, I felt a thrill when the lights when down and those first violin strains sounded as the title, stark white on black, flashed onto the big screen.

And? Two hours and 55 minutes later I was not disappointed.