Almost over

OK, three weeks since the last post -- this is like a lesson in how to chase away one's followers. It's just been such a busy busy time that I can't justify taking the time to post. I can't justify it tonight either, but it's 9:30 and I'm too tired to do anything at all, so I thought I'd write a quick post and call it a night.

The reason for all the busyness is of course my school's end of term. I have one week of classes left, plus one final next weekend. During that time I still need to grade about 70 papers, plus however many rewrites people decide to do. I hope it's not many. This weekend I have about 15 papers to look at, maybe a few more. I also need to plan all of next week's classes, because once the papers start flowing in on Monday, I'll be in trouble for the rest of the week.

Lots of other things are going on too, of course. Kid A is playing baseball, and there are two games each week, plus assorted random practices. I enjoy sitting on the bleachers chatting with the other moms while the kids play. We clap for everyone on both teams, which gets complicated -- "Yeah! Great hit! Run run run! Oh, great throw! Got him! Great catch! Oh, too bad you're out -- good running, though!" and on and on.

Tonight was the school's annual spaghetti dinner and silent auction, which I enjoyed so much last year. I enjoyed it this year too, but I was a lot tireder when we arrived, so by the end of the raffle winners, I was almost too tired to walk home. We didn't win a raffle, but we bid $14 for a $20 gift certificate to a restaurant we eat at often and ours was the highest bid. I thought that was a good deal -- we save a little on something we'd buy anyway, and the school gets $15 (Rocket Boy added an extra dollar for good measure). There were parents and grandparents bidding $75, $150, $350 for items. Must be nice to be rich! It all goes to the school, which is great, especially since there are plenty of kids there whose parents, like us, don't have that kind of money to spend. But I can't help thinking about schools all over the country who don't have any parents with that kind of money to spend.

We're starting to get to know other parents at the school and it feels more friendly. Wonder how it will feel in four years, when our kids are the servers at the dinner.

The menu was, of course, spaghetti, and you could get it with or without a meatball. Rocket Boy quickly said "No meatball," but the boys and I said we would like a meatball. (I almost never eat beef, so it was kind of a treat.) When the plates arrived, each had not one, but four meatballs. "I wanted ONE meatball," Kid B said, with his usual inflexibility. I started to argue that he could eat one and leave the others on his plate, but we were in a public place, so I dropped that suggestion before it was even out of my mouth. "Give them to me," I said, and so I had seven meatballs. They were actually outstandingly good meatballs, but still -- seven. My stomach feels a little odd now.

I know, I didn't have to eat them, but it seemed the path of least resistance.

Not sure what else to add. It's been an awful month, a lot of anxiety on my part, but I acknowledge that it is almost over. I need to think of some fun things to do that last week -- I don't want to just throw away that time with the students. Despite how hard the job is, I really enjoy spending the time with them, talking to them, learning about their lives. I don't know yet whether I'll be back in the fall -- they haven't told me. I hope I get rehired. I'd be sad to put so much time into this and then not get to continue. Despite the agony.

I've got such plans for May! I almost don't care if none of them quite come to fruition. It's so fun planning what I'll do -- lots of reading, lots of writing. And then at the end of May the kids get out of school and I'll become the babysitter. Must think of lots of cheap fun things to do together. And then before we know it, second grade will begin. They're right, you know, once you board the school roller-coaster, it goes so fast.

Well, it's bedtime. Wish me luck for the last long week.