Taking a Deep Breath

Believe it or not, today was day 14 of my summer break. I feel like I've been holding my breath since my last assignment was turned in, but now I can relax and enjoy the rest of my break. Why the long wait? Well, today I got my grades for the semester. Normally by the end of the semester, I would have a good idea of where I stood, grade-wise, but this semester I had a professor who didn't actually grade our assignments. Or, at least she didn't bother to mention it to us. I ended the semester with 30 assignments completed, eight graded with actual grades entered in the gradebook, and another five looked at with feedback, but not entered in the gradebook, and no word whatsoever on the other 17. So, when I clicked on the link today to check my grades, I wasn't exactly sure what I'd find. While the end result was good - I've managed to hold on to my 4.0 GPA - the process was less than pleasant. Unfortunately, the fun isn't over. I have this professor again this summer, but at least she will only be teaching one class. We will see if anything changes.

The other thing that I've been holding my breath about is our anniversary trip. We've been saying that we wanted to do something special this year - it's our 15th anniversary after all - and today I booked the trip. We will be heading to St. John, one of the US Virgin Islands, for seven days in June. Now that I've booked the trip, I can start getting excited about it!

So, as I mentioned, it's day fourteen of my summer break. I've been catching up on all the things that seem to fall by the wayside during the school year, cleaning out a few drawers, closets, etc., getting the semester's schoolwork properly documented and filed and put away for future reference, and researching our upcoming trip. I've read a few books too - Jerry and the girls got me a Kindle for mother's day - so far I like it, although I've downloaded so many free books, I may never get to them all. Another thing I am always worried I'll never get around to is my scrapbooking, but I've managed to do a couple of months worth of photos in the last couple of days.

The girls are not out of school yet - they still have this week and next week before they get to have the joy of summer vacation. I've signed them up for swim team this summer, which means they have to be at the pool bright and early in the morning, four days a week. It's a preemptive strike against spending all summer in their PJ's, which is exactly what they would do if given the chance! (I can't imagine where they get that from. . .)

As usual, the last month of school has been jam packed with all sorts of activities. Of course, the SUPER BIG DEAL of being a third-grader in Oklahoma (at least at our school) is the big Land Run Reenactment. Gracie was pumped! Here we are in our getups:



Gracie was in a family of four girls - they called themselves the Prairie Gals. They decorated their wagon to the nines:





Because everyone else was wearing long dresses and boots, Gracie (who wore not quite period authentic tennis shoes) was elected to run as fast as she could to try and claim the only "plot" of land in the shade while the rest of the family came as quickly as they could with the wagon. Although Gracie made a valiant effort, there was a lot of folks headed for the shady spot. We ended up in the shade of the wagon for our lunch, but it was a beautiful day, so we didn't mind.





After lunch, games, and other activities, it was time for the hootenanny and the Virgina Reel. Gracie was excited about this - in fact, the day before she had asked me if we could practice the dance. I actually do have a recording of the Virgina Reel on my iPod, so we practiced through one or two iterations of the music (it's about 11 minutes long.) The she gasped, and said, "I MUST practice wearing my dress so I don't TRIP!!) and she scampered off, put on her special dress, and the practiced dancing some more. She was totally ready when it came time to dance.



Of course Easter was late this year - I bought my dye early, because I had a hard time finding any last year - but then we waited until the last moment to dye the eggs. The girls did practically all of the preparation by themselves this year. By the time I got in there, they were practically done!



Maggie had told me that when she got moved to the back of the classroom recently, she had trouble seeing the board. I got the girls in for eye exams, and sure enough, Maggie is nearsighted. She was so excited to get glasses, and Gracie was so disappointed that she has "healthy" eyes and didn't get to pick out a pair. It's funny how they look forward to the same things that I dread. It's only a matter of time before I have to get my first bifocals - perhaps if I looked as cute as this, I'd feel different!



As we hit the last couple of weeks of school, the fifth grade is in a whirlwind of activity. They lead off with their program - a search for the American Treasure. Maggie had her first singing solo, and she did great!





Once that was out of the way they went ahead and watched "The Film." Yes, THAT one. When Maggie got home she said, "We Watched 'The Film' today."

"Oh really?" I replied. "What did it talk about?"

"Mostly stuff you have already talked about, like the period, and hair growing, and stuff like that. They talked about how a baby develops inside your body from an egg and a sperm." She said.

"So, do you have any questions?" I asked.

"Just one." She said.

Oh boy, here it comes, I thought. And sure enough. . .

"How does the sperm get there?"

Luckily for me, Jerry came home from work right then, and I told him that his daughter had a question about the film she saw that day. HaHaHa!!! Anyway, so we answered the question together, and obviously, I lived to tell about it.

And so they keep growing up. Sometimes I wish I had a pause button so I could enjoy all the great moments. And maybe a fast forward or rewind button to deal with the not-so-enjoyable moments. I'll just have to do my best without those handy things!