Eighty-two

My dad Myron and stepmom Kathy at home. Dad turned 82 on Sunday.

I got this picture on Sept. 5, 2016, the day after his birthday.

It was a busy weekend. There were two birthdays to celebrate; we enjoyed an unexpected visitor; and we had a great Labor Day barbecue!

In my immediate family growing up, there were three of us born in September: me on the 1st, my dad on the 4th, and my mom on the 29th. Mom has been gone since April 2002, but Dad is still hale and hearty. So, of course, I can't have a birthday without remembering that his special day falls just three days after mine.

You may recall that my birthday celebration ended up being a three-part affair, with a small, impromptu party the Sunday before my birthday, dinner together at our favorite Mexican restaurant on my actual birthday, and then plans for homemade cheesecake and ice cream on the Sunday after my birthday, which happened to also be my dad's birthday. 

Naturally, I called to invite him to join us for dinner and dessert, but he never answered his phone. I thought he must really be partying hardy with his friends all evening! He finally called me around 9:00, when our party was winding down. Turns out he'd shut off his cell phone at church that morning and forgot to turn it back on until almost bedtime!

We finally got to stop by and visit him the next day for an hour and a half after our Labor Day barbecue. I brought him a birthday card and a small ice cream cake, since he missed out on my homemade stuff. He does love his ice cream!

Sarah, Dylan, Jake, and cousin Savannah play a rousing game of Phase 10.

Chris wasn't able to join us since he had to work.

Sunday, September 4, 2016.

On Sunday, we got an unexpected visit from my lovely niece Savannah, who drove here all the way from the Valley to join the party. It wasn't entirely unexpected, since I'd teasingly asked her on Saturday, on Facebook, when she was coming back to the mountain. She said she was considering Sunday dinner. I wasn't sure if she was serious, but I said, "Great! See you when you get here!" I'm open for a visit from my amazing family members any time, anywhere! Maybe she was kidding, I thought, but I hoped to see her at my door.

More Phase 10 monkey-business with Jake, Savannah, Sarah, and Dylan.

To everyone's delight, she made it in time for the fun! Savannah and Jake have the same, shall we say, "twisted" sense of humor, and Savannah and I can talk for hours (literally) about everything. And she brought me a big, beautiful, colorful bouquet!

My bouquet from Savannah.

The cheesecake turned out perfectly.

And the homemade strawberry ice cream was absolutely to-die-for!

My multi-day birthday party finally drew to a close, but it was very pleasant with good food, good people, and good fun. However, as if that weren't enough, Chris had called me that afternoon and invited us to a Labor Day barbecue the next day. We accepted!

Chris donned the doggy chef's apron I'd given him

last Christmas, and he grilled us up some yummy chicken.

Chris and Sarah live next-door to Chris's mom, Brenda, and together they all put on a really nice barbecue. It was a great way to end the long weekend, and the food was outstanding! Thanks for allowing us to join you, Brenda, Chris, and Sarah!

A delicious spread for our Labor Day barbecue.

Sarah and her dad, Mark, enjoy dinner al fresco.

Mark, Chris, and Brenda. It's so humorous to take pictures of people chewing!

Sarah brought their baby, Frodo, out to join the barbecue.

 Jake looks on while Dylan cuddles Frodo.

Dylan says this video is too boring. Perhaps. But I think sometimes the best part is listening to the people talking while they think the camera is focused on something else, like an adorable guinea pig!

Three-Part Birthday Party

On September 1st I celebrated 62 years of life.

This is what happens when you don't have a plan. I knew my birthday was coming up, of course, but since it fell on a Thursday this year and my job is extremely stressful right now, I had just a vague thought that we'd celebrate the following Sunday, on Labor Day weekend, when we all gathered for our weekly family dinner. I didn't mention it to anyone, though. After all, it was still a week away.

So when we got together for family dinner on the Sunday before my birthday, the stage was set for confusion. Dylan and Jake arrived first. While we waited for Sarah and Chris to get here, Dylan and I chatted in the living room, and then Jake came from the direction of the kitchen to join us. I was asking if I could use my old Wii game system to watch a new Netflix series that looked interesting, called Stranger Things. (I usually just have the Netflix DVDs sent to me.)

Dylan reminded me that I had run the vacuum over the Wii cord awhile back, severing it. "Oh yeah, dang," I said. We discussed the possibility of finding a new cord for my old system and how expensive that might be. He said what I really needed was a Roku. Huh? A what? So they spent awhile explaining this new technology to me.

Meanwhile, Jake kept whispering something to Dylan. Finally, Dylan said, "We need to run to the store." I asked why. "We're going to get dessert," he said. I pointed into the kitchen. "There's a box of brownies on the counter we can bake," I told him. "Do you have frosting?" Hmm. "No, probably not," I admitted. "Then we're going to get frosting," he said, and they took off before Sarah and Chris even arrived.

Now, I'm no dummy. It's four days before my birthday, so I figure their antics are somehow related. Sure enough, they return with a can of frosting and a gift bag.

These four cards started the party ball rolling.

It turned out that Jake had noticed the four birthday cards I'd set up on the kitchen table, and he thought that meant we were having my party that day and they'd just forgotten! In reality, I just love birthday cards, and as they arrive I put them out where I can enjoy them for a week or two.

Once we realized the misunderstanding, we convened a brief family council and decided to go ahead and have a small celebration. We would continue it when my birthday finally came on Thursday, by going out to dinner together. Meanwhile, I could open my gift from Dylan and Jake. I didn't want to wait to see what they ran out to get me!

You've probably already guessed it. Yes, they bought me a Roku for my television! Dylan got it all set up for me so I can now watch all these free channels (most of which I'll probably never use, but it's the thought that counts). And, I confess, I watched all eight episodes of Stranger Things in just four nights!

After an ear-splitting rendition of "Happy Birthday," we had frosted brownies 

and ice cream on Sunday, August 28th, four days before my birthday. 

The unexpected nature of the party caught me wearing ratty clothes and no makeup.

My eyes sort of disappear without mascara, thanks to my blonde lashes...

The party continued on Thursday night, my actual birthday. In this photo are

my new Roku from Dylan and Jake; a rose and candy from my friend Wyndie;

and the hand-quilted pillow from my friend Debbie, along with two unopened gift bags.

You'll note that Mark re-gifted Dylan and Jake's gift bag...

After we were all done with our various jobs on Thursday, we all met here at my house around 6:00 to open the rest of my gifts before we headed up the mountain to our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Rancho. As always, my children were thoughtful and generous with me on my big day.

A new Willow Tree figurine from my sweet Sarah!

This one of a mother and daughter is called "Close to Me."

Sarah gave me another beautiful Willow Tree figure for my collection. This one is particularly sweet since it depicts a mother and daughter. The card that came with it (from the artist, Susan Lordi) states, "Apart or together, always close to me." It's especially meaningful because Sarah has become one of my very best friends. She is always there for me, no questions asked.

Beautiful from all angles!

Mark chose this wind chime for me. 

Mark has had it in his mind for a long time that he wanted to get me a new wind chime to add to the collection on my front porch. I simply love the random music of chimes on a breezy day. So Jake took Mark shopping on Thursday, which is why I came home to an empty house that day and had a couple of quiet hours alone. They said they searched three different stores before they finally found wind chimes.

The lovely pink rose from my friend Wyndie

(plus two bags of sugar-free chocolates).

The rose makes my kitchen smell luscious!

The number of birthday cards increased...lots of lovely sparklies this year!

It was about 7:00 when we finally got to El Rancho. While we waited for our food to arrive, I texted with my older son Jacob, who had earlier texted me a happy birthday wish and explained that his phone service was out or he would have called. He also told me my gift was in the mail.

I took a group picture (below) to send in a text to Jacob, telling him that I wished he and Danielle were here with us, but then Dylan took my cell phone and started snapping unflattering, ridiculously close closeups of our faces, or parts of faces, and then texted them all to Jacob at once, which tied my phone up for a bit. Next, he spent 10 minutes secretly filming Sarah eating tortilla chips, and then we all laughed hysterically (except Sarah) when he played it back in time-lapse mode. There's never a dull moment with my baby boy around!

Everyone poses for this picture I sent to Jacob in Utah. (Jake looks mad 

because he's jealous that Jacob got to see Mark Hamill at Comic Con that day!)

Mark and Mary at our end of the table in El Rancho.

But wait! It's not over yet! After we'd finished dinner and the waitresses had brought me my free deep-fried ice cream (which I shared with everyone), taken my picture in a sombrero, and sang happy birthday, Dylan asked, "So are we going back to your house for cake and ice cream?" We all groaned. It's rare that you leave El Rancho without being stuffed to the gills.

So we decided that this coming Sunday, three days after my birthday, we will have a third celebration featuring my homemade chocolate chip cheesecake and homemade ice cream. Both are sugar-free, but they are delicious family favorites. I think we'll grill burgers, too. It will be Labor Day weekend, after all!

Technology can be so fun! I know that no one at Google knows me,

yet it's strangely pleasing to have your name pop up on their search bar!

At the end of the day, after everyone had gone home and Mark had gone to bed, I got a phone call from my dad around 10:00. We had a great, long talk, and that just ended the day on a good note. It's hard to believe that he'll be eighty-two on Sunday! His birthday is three days after mine, on September 4th. He was still nineteen years old for three more days when I came into the world, just a baby himself when he became a dad. So his big day is up next!

And it's so cool to find all these birthday greetings

from friends on your Facebook page!

Even my students remembered to wish me happy birthday at school,

and some even sang to me, on Thursday. One sweet freshman girl

brought me this note and a sunflower on Friday.

Freshman Names

Sometime around 2002, there were a whole bunch of mommies and daddies who dreamed up some really interesting names for their adorable little newborns. And a whole bunch of those little ones are now freshmen in my English classes!

I've been in education for 37 years now, and I can't remember ever being faced with a roster of names like those that greeted me at the start of this new school year. Many of them I wasn't even sure how to pronounce.

Biblical names are always popular, but this year there were some I'd never seen outside the pages of the Bible. I now know, for sure, how to pronounce Esau and Nehemiah. And then there are those British names you read in Agatha Christie novels but never actually hear in real life, like Cyril. I always thought it was SEER-uhl. Turns out it's SIR-uhl, at least at my student's house. And then there's Cipriano. Thank goodness he told me he likes to be called C.J.

In one class, both Zonte and Jonte were enrolled. No, not twins, not brothers, not even related. Other boys' names include Khijhel and Taliesin. Taliesin likes to be called "T." He said he was named after Frank Lloyd Wright's famous school of architecture, Taliesin West, here in Scottsdale, Arizona, but his parents chose an original pronunciation: tuh-LEE-she-uhn.

The girls' names, of course, are usually the most creative, and this year is no exception. We have Deiah, Noelia, Kwamie, Exianne, Chantea, and Exxianne. My spell-check does not recognize any of these names, and neither did I at the start of the year.

Once I retire and become a full-time writer, I just might be looking for some original names to give my characters. I think the ones I noted in this post might just have some possibilities!

Dinner with Debbie

Lovely early birthday presents from my friend!

August 26, 2016

Toward the end of every summer, my sweet friend Debbie insists on taking me out to a birthday lunch before she returns to her home in the Valley for the winter. And she never fails to bring me a thoughtful gift, often made with her own two hands.

Last night we met at Native Grill for dinner--fish and chips for me and a burger for her, all yummy--and I was able to convince her to let me turn the tables for once, allowing me to pay for her dinner since I'm not nearly as good a friend as Debbie is! Her birthday is just four weeks after mine, but by the end of September I'm so caught up in the stress of work and planning for our annual first-week-of-October family vacation that I usually miss her birthday altogether or just send a card, since she's already returned to the Valley by then.

So, this year, she brought me a big bag of beautiful gifts and I treated her to dinner as a very-early birthday gift! I hope she knows how precious she is and how much her friendship means to me!

One of the handmade table runners Debbie gave me for my birthday last year

adorns the top of the tall dresser in my bedroom, a perfect match for my bear quilt!

Debbie is a master quilter, a hobby to which she gives much love and time. One of her gifts was a quilted throw-pillow in our high school's colors, purple and gold. It just so happens that Debbie and I met at Blue Ridge High when I came here as a first-year teacher in 1990 and she was an established instructional aide; a few years later she had earned her own teaching degree and moved with her husband, George, to the Valley where she taught at Mesa High until she retired a few years ago.

I love the pillow! It will be a bright spot in a dark living room filled with the very brown furniture picked out by my second husband (which was delivered just three days after we split up, leaving me stuck paying for the stuff he just had to have...but I'm not bitter...ha!). Debbie also gave me a rose candle that actually smells like real roses! And the glittery card (I love glitter) is adorable.

Thank you, Debbie! (I know you're reading this!) You are an amazing woman, a wonderful friend, and a talented seamstress. I look forward to many more years of long heartfelt talks, tasty meals shared, and meaningful friendship. Love you!

The Apples Are Blushing

Our little apples are starting to take on a red blush!

August 21, 2016

The other day I glanced out the front window, curious about how our tiny green apples were doing, and I noticed there were pale red patches peeking out from among the green leaves. I wanted to go have a closer look but, as usual, the busy activities of life intruded on my immediate plans. Thus, it wasn't until this morning that I went out to have a closer look. Sure enough, our little apples are taking on a fine blush here and there.

A nice, healthy cluster of apples!

The apples our tree first produced, unexpectedly, five years ago mostly ended up rotting in the grass because I hadn't known it was an apple tree. Nonetheless, we were able to rescue a few and give them a try. As I remember them, they were quite sweet and tasty despite their small size. This year, I expect to harvest and enjoy many more of these little gems!

Blue Ridge High School as seen from the air around 6:00 a.m.

August 10, 2016

And here's a bonus photo, captured from the sky by Chris Paxman. Chris is a photographer with his own studio, as well as the photography teacher at our high school, who inspired Dylan in his quest to ultimately become a professional photographer himself. (And Chris is also my doctor's son. That's small-town life for you.) 

It's a great shot of our whole, widespread campus, including the soccer, football, and baseball fields. My classroom is located in the East Campus, the big building at the front on the right side, where the English and social studies classes are located, along with art and two science classrooms. This picture also captures a great slice of our mountain beyond the campus, the beautiful evergreen-carpeted place we call home!

Empty Nest Perks

The big entertainment center in my tiny living room after July's deep-cleaning.

(Yes, the Christmas lights Dylan put up in December are still there. I decided

to leave them until next Christmas, then give them to him for his own home.)

By 8:00 this morning, I had cleaned out and reorganized my kitchen cupboards, pantry, and refrigerator. I'd also washed up last night's dishes, planned my meals for the coming week, and made a shopping list for today's shopping trip. I love when my day starts out productively!

I have way too much furniture crammed into my small home!

I actually take tons of these pictures after deep-cleaning each year so I can

update my home inventory for insurance purposes. But handy for blogging!

There are still a few items on my to-do list, of course. A couple of bills to pay, a letter to write, the previously mentioned shopping, two loads of laundry to wash/dry/put away, my bangs to trim, a decision to be made regarding for whom I will cast my vote in the upcoming primary election. The thing that amazes me is that the reorganizing of my kitchen was not on my to-do list, yet I had plenty of time to do it.

New items on my shelves: My son Jacob gave me the lovely figurine

for Mothers Day. Her banner is printed with the word "Teacher." 

Also on Mother's Day, my new son-in-law Jake gave me the sweet plaque.

It proclaims, "Children are born with wings, teachers help them to fly."

I'm discovering there are some very nice perks to having an empty nest. In July, after my long 6-week respiratory illness and the stress of being under threat of evacuation for the Cedar Fire, I was finally able to finish deep-cleaning my house. And guess what? It's still clean! It's very freeing to know that for the remainder of this year the only mundane cleaning tasks needing to be done will be occasional dusting and vacuuming. Everything else is optional.

More graceful Willow Tree figures adorn the shelves.

All but two were gifts from my sweet Sarah.

Other tasks are likewise simplified. Mark washes his own work clothes (his Denny's shirts are so saturated with airborne cooking grease that the smell of them makes me queasy), but I add his regular clothes to mine just so I'll have full loads to wash, and it still only makes two loads per week. That's if I'm not also washing bedding, of course. 

The bottom shelf holds part of my Japanese art collection, collected

during the two years I worked in a Japanese factory in Anaheim.

Above that, I rearranged my castle shelf, which made more room and...

With just two people to feed, both of whom are working and away from home a lot, there are far fewer dishes to be washed. Except, of course, after our weekly family dinner on Sundays, which usually generates a lot of dishes. (Keep in mind, I still don't have a dishwasher, so it's all done by hand.) Mark helps out with dishes on his days off. He also cleans the bathrooms, takes care of car stuff, and keeps his own room tidy. He even makes his bed before he leaves for work every morning.

...allowed me to fill an empty shelf in Mark's room, mentioned in an earlier post.

Shopping no longer means hauling in and putting away twenty or more bags of supplies. Nowadays, we usually have less than ten bags of goods when we get home from Walmart, which we can bring inside in a single trip. I admit, I do most of the putting away, although Mark helps when asked. I have a system that no one else seems to understand!

Everything in my house has a memory attached to it.

Jacob sent me the wooden bear hanging while he was serving his mission

in northern California. My former stepson Ryan and his wife Shera 

gave me the Family Rules for Christmas the year they stayed with us.

As I've said before, I would never trade a moment of the years I spent raising my children. In fact, I wish I'd worried less about keeping a clean house and focused more on simply enjoying my little ones, because those years disappear much too quickly.

In first grade, my kids each did a little booklet about their families. One page featured a fill-in: "My dad likes to ____. My mom likes to _____." Over the years, without fail, all three of my children wrote, "My dad likes to go fishing. My mom likes to clean house." I didn't love cleaning house! It just seemed so necessary. I think I was a little afraid someone would come and take away my greatest treasures--my children--if my house weren't spotless enough.

I love family pictures so much that there's no more wall space!

The photo and bronzed baby shoes on the desk are mine. I was two.

In the end, I think everything turned out okay. We still managed to build enough precious memories that our family is very close. We all have our own lives now, but we still love being together as often as we can manage it.

Family photos line every inch of my short hall, on both sides!

However, now is my season for a quiet, clean home and more time to tackle long-postponed tasks, as well as to savor getting back to the projects and hobbies I abandoned long ago in favor of building a family. It was the best decision I ever made, but now is the time for Sarah, Jacob, and Dylan to build their own families while I reinvent myself. And I'm going to love watching it all unfold!

Lasts

The aisles of Walmart last month.

One day last month I was walking through Walmart when I noticed the annual back-to-school displays hovering above aisle upon aisle of school supplies. It hit me like an electric shock that, for the first time since 1994, I wouldn't be buying pencils, notebooks, calculators, or backpacks for anyone this year. Twenty-two years of providing for my children's education was now a thing of the past. In some ways it was a nice "You did it, Mom!" moment. In other ways, it made me a little sad.

My final beginning-of-the-year district-wide assembly for all faculty.

(Dr. D's Blue Ridge High Drumline performing for the teachers.)

Thursday, July 28, 2016

When we are young, we measure life by all the "Firsts" that mark the milestones of our accomplishments. I'm starting to realize that I've entered the season of my life where many of those markers will be "Lasts." Some will be planned, like this, my final school year before retirement. Some will be unexpected. Some may not even be recognized. Some will be highly anticipated. Others may be dreaded or, worse yet, mourned.

My last Blue Ridge student planner/handbook.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not rolling over and calling life quits. I have lots of "Firsts" still planned. I think often of all the places I want to travel after retirement, places I've never seen but always wanted to visit. I look forward with longing to the day I finally get to cuddle my first grandchild. I fully intend to complete my first novel and have it published. Life still holds the promise of new adventures, and I hope to be around for another twenty years or so to enjoy them.

The last time my name will be included in the faculty listing of the student planner.

(I served on the committee that developed our Mission Statement about 20 years ago.)

Perhaps knowing that something is, or could be, the last time you'll ever do it or experience it is a good thing. Perhaps that's the key to making sure you find a way to enjoy rather than endure the difficult times, as well as a reminder to savor the uplifting, interesting, and joyful moments.

The last time my name will be included in the Master Schedule.

I've already been asked by both the principal and the assistant principal if I would consider postponing retirement to return for another year. Or two. When I mentioned on the first day of school that this will be my last year at Blue Ridge, upperclassmen in my two non-freshman classes pleaded with me to "Just stay until I graduate, then you can leave!" I've had several students stop me in the hall or come by my classroom to tell me they wished I were going to be their English teacher again this year. All of these things warm my heart, but it's time to start a new chapter in my life. Some new Firsts to mingle with the Lasts.

My last time to set up family photos and mementos on the shelf behind my desk

to remind me that I also have an amazing life outside the classroom.

My last time to prepare my classroom for a new bunch of students,

mostly brand-new freshmen, to arrive on the first day of school.

My last time to leave start-of-the-year notes and copy orders, for things

like my class syllabus and permission slips, on the desk of my aide, Joe.

The last year I'll watch students' Lexile reading scores make huge gains

as we work together on the Read 180 program (this is the Reading Station).

The last first-day-of-school assembly I'll attend with the whole student body.

(So funny not to see Dylan's face in the crowd for the first time in five years.)

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

And so begins my twenty-seventh year at Blue Ridge High School, my thirty-seventh year as an educator, and my last chance to experience all the ups and downs of doing my part to make a positive difference in the lives of the hundred-thirty-plus students entrusted to my care for an hour of each school day. It will definitely be the last...and it's all good.

And the last "Freshman Friday Transition Games" I'll ever attend.

Freshmen only, participating in activities to familiarize them with our campus,

and culminating in a barbecue lunch served to them by their teachers.