Labor-less Weekend

I spent Friday night at the Tiny Town High game.  It wasn't a pretty game, but there was definitely a different attitude in the stadium.  There was a big crowd and a lot of excitement.  We haven't had that in recent years.

The Mr. was on the radio doing the sideline interviews and color for another team in the area, so he missed one of his old football players from the "almost" championship team.  He doesn't make it back often, but when he does- he always comes back to Tiny Town for a football game.  I had a great visit with him and met his beautiful wife.  The Mr. caught up with him at the U-town game on Saturday.

That would be Tiny Town High Alum with his hands on his hips.  He looks like he could still play ball.  The U alum were on the field for pre-game.  (The Mr. caught up with him after.) That wasn't a pretty game either, but U town team came out on top. 

These clouds rolled in at the U-town game, and the weather has been great ever since. It has been a beautiful weekend. 

L was home on Friday and part of Saturday.  She spent most of her time with a Lady Bug in her arms.  She was back in Big City for Sunday and today, working at the Clinique counter.  I think she gets her love of sales from the Mr.  This has proved to be a great part-time job.

The Mr. and I are cooking for a Labor Day lunch.  K and CT happen to live on the parade route for the Tiny Town celebration.  We are planning to enjoy the parade from their front porch.  We have to enjoy a few years of watching the parade with the Bug.  It won't take long and she will be IN the parade.

This will be a small-town Labor Day celebration in Tiny Town:  frog jumping contests, pedal pulls, and craft booths.  We have a nearly recovered town (the last of the school trailers was transported out just last week) and beautiful weather to enjoy it.  We have a lot to celebrate this year. The kids will be cheering on their frogs and then sitting on the curbs waiting for candy, while the rest of us catch up with the people who used to call this place home. 

Not a bad way to spend a weekend.

Linking Up

I gave a tour of all three of our new school buildings to a class reunion group yesterday.  It is such a bittersweet time for the alum.  Their old school is gone, but they were in awe of the beautiful new buildings.  I told them how proud they would have been of the students and how they handled the aftermath of the tornado. 

The class of 1986 was my 2nd class at Tiny Town High.  I was about 27 when I was their teacher.  Twenty-seven!  (Most of them are either 43 or 44 now.)  I remember their year being one of those years when I learned a lot more than they probably did.

With the new technology at the schools, all the principal had to do was change my key-less entry card so that it could open all three buildings.  No collecting keys for other buildings and remembering what key unlocked which building.  He will change it back now so my key only opens the high school.  Wonderful!

This seems to be a reunion weekend.  Besides spending last evening visiting with the class of 1986, today we are headed to a family reunion.  This is the reunion that requires name tags.  The family tree sprawls over several states and goes back to my paternal great-grandfather's family.  Pretty incredible that this reunion has been taking place for 81 years! 

We're linked to some by blood, others--just by love.  And it is kind of nice when those links are joined again--if only for a weekend. 

3rd Anniversary

Today is the 3rd anniversary of the tornado that hit Tiny Town.  It destroyed every school, four churches, and about 60% of our town.  In spite of where we were then, I think our new "normal" has arrived. 

The schools are rebuilt.  We switched from trailers to the beautiful new schools in January.  The trailers are being sold and moved now.  Three more have gone in the last week.  Our students will begin the first full year in the new buildings this fall.   

Our church was the last of the churches finished.  We moved into the new sanctuary last September, but the pews and altar furniture weren't in place until the dedication in April. 

There are still a few empty lots in the blocks that the tornado completely destroyed, but there are a lot of new homes, too. 

These days I can almost forget that a tornado all but wiped us out.  Walking or driving around town, things look pretty good.  And to think, for the first two years I had to leave town to walk or run in parks in nearby towns.  It was too depressing to walk in Tiny Town.  I enjoy my treks through the streets of our town today.

I still miss the beautiful old trees that canopied our streets.  I always will.  Those can't be replaced quite so easily.  Yes, a lot of new trees have been planted.  I probably won't live to see them shading our streets again, but I know that they will someday.  And I know someone else will enjoy them as much as I did.

The best part of our recovery is the number of families that still call Tiny Town "home."  Every morning and evening our brick streets are full of bikers, walkers, and runners.  There is shouting from the ball fields, which are packed nearly every night of the week.  Flowers bloom, birds soar, and life goes on. 

Three years.  The first three months seemed like an eternity, and yet the three years have gone by so fast.  As I've watched the news of the towns destroyed by tornadoes this spring, I know what backbreaking work is ahead of them;  however, I could also reassure them that their towns will not only survive, but they will thrive.  Tiny Town is proof of that. 

Who would have thought that life would ever seem normal again?  A community?  We truly know what that word means:  a unified body of individuals, interacting, living together, and sharing a history. We've lived that definition every day for three years.  Our community is stronger for having survived such devastation. 

And... I feel blessed to call Tiny Town my hometown. 

Senior Class of 2011

This is the last week for seniors at Tiny Town High.  They were my first class in the trailers.  We were the shell shocked survivors two months after the tornado. These were the kids that watched me try to pick up the pieces and continue the education process.

When I say shell shocked, I mean it.  Nothing about school was normal that first year.  They trudged through torrential downpours, sloppy mud, small rivers, and freezing cold.  School spirit seemed non-existent that year.  They didn't have lockers- just incredibly heavy backpacks.  They didn't have hallways- just sidewalks through construction zones.  And yet, the kids didn't complain.

I felt out of sync that entire year.  And yet, this was a class that made my job easy.  They were easy to love.

They will be unique at Tiny Town High.  They were freshman in the old building.  They spent their sophomore, junior, and half of their senior year in the trailers.  AND they were fortunate enough to move into our beautiful new school for the last half of their senior year.  They did it all.  No other high school class will ever be able to say that.

I'm pretty sure these kids are equipped to deal with any adversity that life wants to throw at them.  We didn't prepare them.  Mother Nature did.  And they actually taught me a thing or two about making the best of bad situations.  I'm proud of them.

Some classes are hard to forget.  This senior class would be one of those.  Good luck class of 2011 and thanks for the memories.

Flashback

Seeing all the tornado damage down South just made me sick.  I know the heartbreak-- and the tremendous amount of work ahead of them for weeks and months to come. 

I'll pray that volunteers pour into their town; that they bring helping hands, strong backs, and a lot of love. 

They will get through this.  It just doesn't seem like it right now.

New Church

We dedicated our new church last weekend.  It really is beautiful.  If you've followed this blog a bit, you know that the huge wooden altar cross was still standing in the rubble of our old church after the tornado.  It is back in its place of honor in our new church.

These pictures were taken last Sunday.  They aren't mine because I was singing in the choir.  Our church is lucky to have a couple of good photographers.

Our church is also fortunate to have a wealth of adorable kids.  Almost three years ago the children sang a song based on Joshua 1:6:  "Be strong and courageous."  It was their message to our congregation after the tornado.  They sang the song for us again on Sunday morning.  I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one with "leaking eyes."  (Quoting Dad here!)

In the months after the tornado, those adorable kids endured Sunday School sitting on the kitchen floor.  We were having church in our fellowship hall, but the rest of the church building was gone or needed extensive renovation. And now...

the work is completed.  At the afternoon dedication, the choir sang for the first time in three years:  "All Good Gifts" and "Holy Ground."  It wasn't hard to figure out that the music was chosen carefully. 

At the conclusion of the service, there was a reception in our newly remodeled fellowship hall.  The extensive use after the tornado meant that it needed a face lift.  It got it just in time for Dedication Sunday.

Now that the pulpit furniture has arrived and the fellowship hall is finished, I think our church is now complete.  For three years I routinely avoided church services in our cramped, claustrophobic conditions.  It is nice to be back in regular worship with our congregation. 

Tiny Town's UMC is a beautiful sight.  "We are standing on Holy Ground, and I know that there are angels all around."

Now I owe you a post with pictures of our beautiful new schools.  My goal is to get that accomplished before the 3rd anniversary of the tornado.  There's a lot of holy ground in Tiny Town these days. It takes a bit to get it all together.

All Good Gifts

Our church and parsonage were dedicated today.  Both are just beautiful. The minister reminded us that it took 34 months after the tornado to get to this point. The choir sang about how all good gifts come from God.

We have amazing new school buildings, and there are beautiful new homes in the heart of Tiny Town. 

And for the last few months, one thought keeps going through my mind again and again:

"To those whom much is given, much is expected."  JFK

Or in the words of scripture, "And to everyone whom much is given, much will be required."  Luke 12:48

Tiny Town is a constant reminder that we are so blessed.  In fact, my entire life I have been blessed; not with great wealth or talent, but I've been blessed with wonderful family, friends, and students.  I've never had to wonder if I was loved;  I just knew I was.

How do I repay these things?  I have no idea.  I guess that is what we spend our lives trying to figure out. Sometimes I think it would be nice if someone would just spell it out.

Gone

There have been so many things that I couldn't write about this week-- that I haven't written at all.  I think it is finally safe to spill the beans.

K and L have both interviewed and were selected for new jobs.

K is going to be an assistant principal of one of the academies in the J town 10-12 building.  This is a nice promotion for her.  She has quite an August ahead of her:  a new baby and a new job!

And L is going to be moving to a new city about two hours away.  She is going to be a 5th grade teacher in a smaller building in a larger town.  She is excited for the move, and while I'm happy for her--I am going to miss her being so close.  She has a lot of changes in store for this summer:  a move, a different grade level, and a new niece or nephew.

At Tiny Town, this week was the beginning of the end for Trailer High.  They began the task of moving some of the trailers out.  My trailer classroom is gone.  The empty spot actually caught me by surprise.  Who knew that I would think it was a bit sad to see the hole?

They have cleared out the old decks now and are ready to begin building the new art building where our trailers once stood.

Add in the English teachers missing two days from school this week to grade district writing assessments, leaving plans for subs, and catching up when I returned each day--and this week has been a bit of a mess.

The Mr. is looking at a 10 day sale at the RV park.  Today is Day 2. Needless to say, he isn't going to be around much. 

Today, I've enjoyed a morning of shopping for the baby registry with K. We met L for lunch.  It is good to have time to catch up.  I hope that there are quite a few more mornings like today's before L gets away from us.

The spring rush is on at Tiny Town High:  prom, spring sports, senior honor's banquets and recitals, and-- graduation isn't far behind.  I know I'll have time to catch up this summer, but right now I wish for an empty calendar and a few more nights at home.

See.  There are a lot of things 'gone' around here, including this blogger.  I'll drop in when I can!

"Invictus"

Invictus
By William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

This is a memorization assignment in my class.  No one memorizes these days.  Kids don't know phone numbers.  (They are programmed into cell phones.)  Some don't even know their multiplication tables.  They certainly don't do the memorization that our parents and grandparents did in the old one room country schools.  Back then they memorized scriptures or a poem every week. (And Dad could still recite them well into my teen years. Heck, he probably still can.)

Do the students fight me on memorizing? Almost every step of the way.  Do I let them off?  Absolutely not.  I prompt.  I give second, third, and fourth chances.  And every student memorizes the poem.

So why do I make them memorize a poem that many critics consider a "B list" poem?  I don't care what the critics say.  There are a couple of lines that I hope resonate with them forever.

The title means unconquerable or invincible.  We aren't.  (The author knew this first hand.)  Cancer, strokes, accidents, or even tornadoes remind us how fragile we really are. 

Students of Tiny Town get what it means to be bludgeoned by chance.  After all, what were the odds of a tornado hitting our town, wiping out every school, and most of our churches in one fell swoop?  If you had seen Tiny Town the morning after, you would have seen a town "bludgeoned" almost to death.

These past few years, I've had to do less explaining of what it means to be in the clutches of circumstance. All the students had to do was look around at our Trailer High.  "Circumstance" had us firmly by the collar.

So what are the lines I hope they remember?  "And yet the menace of the years finds, and shall find me, unafraid."  For the rest of their lives, that will be the difference between success and failure: facing life's problems with courage.

"I am the master of my fate:  I am the captain of my soul."  It isn't what happens to us.  It's how we deal with the things that happen to us. 

Obstacles will arise.  Tragedies are going to occur.  We can't control all of the things that happen to us.  The only thing we can control is how we face the problems we encounter. The only thing we can control is our own attitude.

And that is how we "Master our fates."  We aren't invincible.  But... we can be courageous. I hope they remember that.

Progress

This is our new church.  It isn't done, but it is getting closer! 

No pews yet, but the carpet and stained glass windows are in place.

This is the view from the balcony.  And right between those tall stained glass windows?

The altar cross from our old church.  Some of you might remember that this cross was still standing after the tornadao went through in 2008.

It was a sign of hope to our whole community. And it still gives me goosebumps.

It has taken a long time, but it will be standing again.  Progress.  Bit by bit the rebuilding goes on.

Tiny Town Two Years After

This aerial photo was taken in November of 2008 by a local man.  The empty blocks are where houses stood, and yet five months after the tornado the final demolition of the churches and the schools still needed to be done.  

Today, June 11th, is the 2nd anniversary of the tornado. You can read the links in my sidebar under the heading of tornado memories if you want to see pictures and hear our story.  I wrote about it in five installments last year.  This post is about where we are today.

Where are we?  Still in recovery mode. There are a lot of new homes; yet, there are still quite a few empty lots.  We still go to school in trailers-- and will continue to do so this fall. 

And yet...

Our church should be finished by mid-summer!  I can't wait.

Our schools, on the other hand, are a little futher behind.  The hope is that the building will be complete by the first of next year.  They have built a few extra teacher workdays into the winter break, so teachers can have our rooms ready to start 2nd semester in a new building. 

This is the front of the new high school.  It is kind of hard to picture the final result right now  (And how sad is that that there is bindweed making itself at home on the contruction fencing?!  Yep, the fence has been there awhile!)

The photo above shows the three wings of the new high school.  My wing is the middle one.  I have no idea which room will be mine, but it doesn't really matter--it won't be in a trailer!

And this is a photo of our new middle school.  As you can see, it looks like all the buildings are progressing at about the same rate. 

Our new elementary school is in a new location. The construction crew for this building is the only one that doesn't have to attach to an existing structure, so their work should go a bit faster.  However, new roads were needed.

This new road and sidewalk will go right past the new elementary, which was built on land that was previously a pasture on the edge of town.  

They also paved an existing road and put in a sidewalk so that the town kids can walk to school via the back way.  

We've come a long way in two years.  Seeing the devastation during the first few days, it is hard to believe how far we've come.  

However, I miss our old town.  I miss the old homes and the shaded streets.  I miss our old schools.  There was so much history that went down with the buildings and trees. 

I guess we've been writing a whole new history.  And what a story to tell...! 

We're lucky/fortunate/blessed to be here to tell it.

A Little Bit Of Everything

My mind is crammed full.  This is the unloading zone today.  Sorry!

I posted this picture a couple of days ago on Quoth She.  Several were wondering about it.

We've had some stormy days in the last week, and I took this photo in that stormy light that is so great for photos.  When the tornado hit Tiny Town two years ago, four churches were destroyed.  Three of them were in town, and this historic church was about a mile outside of town.  It was leveled.  Recently, they have  built part of it back.

You can see the pile of rocks from the old church on the right.  I have no idea if they are going to try to rebuild it completely, or if they are just creating this as kind of a monument.  I always loved the old church, so I hope they resurrect it.

As for the blog remodel, my favorite part is the three rotating banners.  Since I love the seasons of the Midwest, I sent pictures that represent the four seasons for two of the banners.  The other banner is just pictures of things I love. I smile every time I look at those banners.

Baxter, on the other hand, really needs to outgrow his puppy stage.  He is house broken, but the biting is driving me crazy.  He isn't angry, just playing.  The vet came to give him his shots and said the biting will fade with the summer.  I'm hoping I can make it that long.  The Mr. said Baxter might just become a pound puppy if he isn't careful!  Muzzle shopping may be on tap for the weekend. (I'm kidding. I think.)

Running?  That is going great.  Strange how you can go from feeling so weak to so powerful.  I'm ready to hunt a 5K to run this summer.

The seniors have ten days of school left, counting today.  The underclassmen have sixteen.  Senioritis is in full swing, though some of the underclassmen show symptoms, too.  Not my sophomores though. I love my classes right now. They are still interested and still working for me. I hope they hang on for sixteen days!

Me?  I'm enjoying the end of the year.  After reading and hating "A Separate Peace" earlier in the semester, the students are loving "To Kill A Mockingbird."  Note to self:  always teach these novels back to back.  I like ending the year on a high note! 

How is that for unloading all my "deep" thoughts?!
Happy Thursday!

Trailer High Prom

Tiny Town enjoyed beautiful weather for Prom weekend.  The poor students of Trailer High don't have very pretty surroundings for what is supposed to be a gorgeous evening.  We take heart that next year should be wonderful in a brand new school!

I grabbed a few pictures of the weekend.  Prom weekend in a small rural town is always interesting.

Decorations were required outside this year to hide or at least attempt to hide...

This.  Construction zones don't look all that great with Prom dresses and tuxes.

  Parents and community members show up to watch and take pictures.  What is the attraction? 

The rides.  There were two horse-drawn carriages.  (Also a couple of stray dogs who not only ran among the couples arriving, but also went into the Prom and had to be run out.  More than once.)

There are always hot cars.

And teen drivers who have been threatened within an inch of their life.  This is not the night for a fender bender.

The drivers pull up to the edge of the walk to make their entrance.  Dads, acting as valets, take their cars to parking spots.  The principal announces the names of the couples, and they enter through a gym door to go into the Prom held in the "cafagymatorium."  I don't have pictures, but they walked through a hallway covered in plaster board to get into the dance.  The decorations were beautiful; it was the getting there that was pretty sad.  *sigh*  Like I said:  One. More. Year.

There always seems to be at least one Limo, but the preferred ride of Trailer High students will always be trucks.  And I didn't get a single picture of one.  However, this ride took the cake:

Yep, they really arrived this way.  Check out these brave dates:

All dressed up for this??  Actually, they all thought it was a lark.  Kids never cease to amaze me. 

With or without a high school, kids always find a way to celebrate the milestones in life.  They make the best of bad situations and create memories that will last a lifetime.  Will it be any different next year in better surroundings?  I doubt it.  My guess is that these kids have learned a lot more than most of the students that have wandered the hallways of our old school.  They've learned to bloom wherever they are planted. 

Bless. Their. Hearts.

Video Time Capsule

Tomorrow, we are unveiling the video time capsule.  Two of my students finished editing the video, so now all of my classes are excited to see the final product.  A student who is new to the district this year is a guitar player and song writer.  His goal is to make it in Nashville some day.  The boys doing the editing talked 'Alaska' into playing and singing one of his original songs at the conclusion of the video time capsule.  They tell me that they expect a cut in Alaska's future earnings as they are the ones launching his career.  *insert eye roll*  Yes, I am teaching the capitalists of tomorrow. 

After tomorrow, the DVD of the time capsule will be locked in a storage closet until the last day of school their senior year.  I will pass the time capsule on to their class president and give a couple of copies to other students in their class for class reunions in the future. 

Some favorite moments of the Class of 2012's time capsule:
*the girl who showed the "cattle chute" sidewalks that the students travel between classes.
*rain boots and puddles
*the ag boy who showed how he power washes his boots so he won't track mud into the trailer
*the trailer classrooms
*the bathroom in the trailer classrooms- you knew someone would have to show them!
*the construction site and seeing the new school being built right where the old one stood

Yes, they have captured some memories that I am sure we will forget in just a few short years.  I'm pretty sure our new buildings will make all this "mess" we're living in-- a vague memory.  At least, that's my hope!

Time Capsule

For the next couple of days my students will be recording a video time capsule.  They have each been assigned the task of finding something that will give future generations a glimpse of their lives during their sophomore year. 

We will videotape them talking about whatever item they choose to include.  I expect there to be a few cell phones and Ipods.  Some will want to stand in front of a trailer classroom to show where they went to school this year.  Others might include a newspaper with the Haiti earthquake headlines, a mohawk or hoodie, an energy drink, or a video game. 

After we have filmed each student, a journalism student will tie it all together.  They will add the student's name to identify each person. They will also record my introduction and include musical montages of the sophomores outside of class time. 

I will hang onto this video until the last day of their senior year, when a copy will be given to the senior class president for class reunions in the future.  They will be able to see "the way it was" in 2009-2010.  Have you figured out what they are really putting in the time capsule?

Yes, the things they bring to talk about will be interesting, maybe even fun to see 25 years from now; however, the true treasure of this time capsule will be the students themselves.  We will have captured each of them on the cusp of adulthood.  They will see the energy, innocence, and beauty of age 16.  By the time they see the video again at a reunion in the future--they will be heavier, graying, balding, worn down a bit, and wrinkled by time.

The video time capsule for this year's graduating class (filmed two years ago) is a keeper.  It was the last one filmed in our high school before the tornado destroyed it.  It made me misty to see my old room and my wall with 26 years of student pictures.  Their time capsule had captured one last glimpse of the office, hallways, library, and auditorium.  Their sophomore hall and sophomore bench are gone now. When I viewed that video while sitting in my trailer classroom last year, I realized just how valuable the time capsule assignment is.  

That year we captured something that was and never will be again.  Come to think of it, we do that every year. Some years it is just more obvious. 

Trailer High After Snow

You know what happens when snow melts.   Trailer High has been dealing with a lot of slushy water, ice, and mud the consistency of runny gravy.  UGH!  But it is all expected when you go to school in the midst of a construction site. 

The other day I needed to walk the block long cattle chute to the trailer classrooms on the other side.  I got to the entrance of the chute, and this was my choice:  4 inches of water or 4 inches of sludge.  There was no way to jump over it and no way around it.  Did I want to be soaking wet or ruin my shoes in the mud?  It was the end of the day.  The kids had been dealing with this all day long, AND NO ONE HAD SAID A WORD! 

I chose the water, soaked my good shoes, and then reported it to administration.  Repairs were being discussed. 

Kids have fallen on the sidewalk ice.  One girl fell on the frosty deck outside my room.  Not a word.  No one even came in to tell me.   

One boy came in yesterday after falling in the mud.  I know think he had help with that.  The smiling, tardy boy said, "See, Mrs. E.  I really couldn't help it this time."  He headed into the bathroom to clean off.   He wiped off as much as he could, though his jeans were a mess.  After he left, I went into the bathroom and remembered that my paper towel dispenser had been jammed since noon, and the custodian hadn't come by yet.  He didn't even have paper towels to use.  Not a word.  

The kids don't complain or even alert the office when there are mud holes to dodge or bad conditions to deal with.   

So, this is Trailer High:

They have very little parking so they are parking several blocks away from the school.  Using their car for a locker is no longer an option. 

They have no lockers.  They carry it all in their backpacks.  

Mud and water puddles are everywhere.  (Strangest moment of the week: Two boys with incredibly muddy boots volunteered to "power wash" them so they wouldn't track in mud.   Scarier?  I let them!) 

Athletic teams have been struggling in just about every sport this year. We have very few wins to boast.

And yet--the sophomores are happy, smiling, and cheerful every day when they enter my classroom.  They joke.  They mess around.  They always have a story to tell me.  Morale is surprisingly good. 

No one is more amazed that I am...and their attitudes and cheerfulness are contagious.  

I keep wanting to ask: "Who are these people and what have you done with the students of Tiny Town ?"

So now I'm just wondering: Did someone put an antidepressant in the town's water supply??!! 

Poetic Justice

Yesterday, K, L, and I met for lunch and a movie.  ("Leap Year")  We girls had a chick flick afternoon.  I left the two of them to return to Tiny Town, while K did some shopping and L returned to her home.

Back in Tiny Town, the pastor and his wife were having an Open House at the parsonage of our church.  The original parsonage was destroyed by the tornado, and this new home is just a year old.  It is a source of joy to our whole congregation.  We don't have a church yet, but we do have a beautiful new parsonage.

I decided to stop by the Open House before going home so I wouldn't have to get out in the cold again later.  I parked, left my cell phone in the car, and enjoyed catching up with some church people for about an hour. 

When I got back to the car, I had missed seven (7!) calls on my cell phone.  Looking over the list, all but one was from K and L. 

I had two voice mails of "Mom, where are you?  I'm worried."  Then when I got home, I discovered seven (7!) more messages from those two on the answering machine!  Good grief.

I called L.  She said K had called her and was freaking her out about my not answering my phone.  Then K told me she was worried because it was so cold, and she was afraid something had happened to me. 

Turns out they had both made worried calls to the Mr. at the RV show.  He told them to quit worrying, he was pretty sure I had stopped at the Open House.  When I talked to him later, he was chuckling a bit. 

You see, I can't tell you how many times those two haven't answered their phones and left us worrying.  It happened when they were in high school, college, and even post-college.  And oh-how-silly we were to be worrying.  "Didn't we know they were OK?!"

So yesterday, we had unintentional paybacks.  Isn't life grand?

Midweek Joys

These are some of the things that are making life nice right now:

*A super warm, oversized, black cardigan that I pull on every night to keep toasty warm.

*One of those programmable thermostats that will automatically drop the temperature when we're at work or during the night. For under $50, it has saved us a lot of money!

*Dandy over at Spontaneous Clapping is sending me a Sarah McLachlan Christmas CD. I'm quite excited. Thanks, Dandy! (By the way, she has been posting cookie recipes that are to die for! Drop in and skim through her past posts if you're looking for some new holiday favorites!)

*Two principals who walked around to every classroom at trailer high delivering the fruit that came from our Board of Education for American Education Week. It was thoughtful of our BOE to send it, but our faculty doesn't really have a community workroom or gathering place right now. In this cold weather, most opted not to walk the block or so to enjoy the fruit; so our principals pulled on gloves and stocking caps and made the rounds of the classrooms, scooping out small plates of melon, strawberries, and pineapple. Pretty awesome bosses--even if I am old enough to be their mother!

The holiday spirit is alive and well in Tiny Tornado Town and Trailer High.

Trailer School Hallways

This year's fun has included figuring out ways for our students to travel in between two construction sites on their passing period between classes. The Lutheran church is going up on the one side, and the new school is going up on the other. See that picture. That is one of our hallways. The kids have affectionately named it the cattle chute. They aren't wrong. It kind of looks like a corral chute.

Yesterday, we had snowy rain. When a little rain falls, they have to rig a piece of board to make a bridge for the students to avoid a mini river that runs through the chute. The gender differences become fairly obvious on rainy days. The girls balance delicately trying to avoid the water, and the guys go splashing through.

I'd like to think all of this is going to get better soon. Actually, I think it is going to get worse before it gets better. Construction work areas mean waving good-bye to quite a bit of our parking in the near future. So not only will there be no normal place to walk; parking is going to be at a premium, too. I have been walking home from school. It frees up a parking space and gives me a little compassion for what the kids "get" to deal with.

Halloween Eve

L tells me that today is the hardest day of the year for a 1st grade teacher. Six and seven year olds in costumes all day + candy, cupcakes, other sugary treats + great excitement about trick or treating = a very long day. Yeah, and their teachers are in costume, too. L is the Queen of Hearts. I hope she doesn't order any "off with their heads."

I don't have school today, and there were no costumes in my room yesterday; just some Edgar Allan Poe to set the mood for Halloween weekend. I sent them out the door with a box of Nerds, threats that I better not see Nerd boxes littering the grounds of Trailer High, and hopes that since they got the treats--there wouldn't be tricks. We'll see.

Several years ago, I forgot to buy candy for Halloween Trick or Treaters. At the last minute I ran to our local Casey's and bought them out of bubble gum cigars. Great treat. Promoting smoking. Wonderful. They loved them so much, some came back for seconds. *sigh*

We live on a street that is fairly well hidden and our hill is a bit of a hike, so we don't get many Trick or Treaters. Usually, we see a couple of colleagues with little ones, and a few random high school kids.

Halloween was a little odd last year. The tornado had wiped out the houses in the heart of town; these had been the most popular homes for kids to visit. Some people went back to where their home had been and handed out candy from their cars. Very sweet and kind of sad. I think a lot of parents took their kids to nearby towns.

This year there are quite a few new homes in our downtown area, so hopefully tomorrow night the streets will be full of pirates, ghosts, football players, and punk rockers. Baby steps in our return to normal.