After lunching on the best BLTs from Dallas Mill Deli with Sus on Friday, Adam and I went for a hike at Monte Sano and did the blue and the white trail.  Yesterday, we canoed the 4.5 hour trip on the Flint River and had dinner with Adam's parents at Watercress.  It has been a great weekend of outdoor activity and good food. 

While at Bridgestreet, Adam and I had gone our separate ways to browse for books at Barnes and Noble.  We met in the middle after about 15-20 minutes only to discover that we wanted the same book--a random graphic novel that neither of us had ever discussed or had ever even heard of before last night.  

I wanted to rent a boat today, but they're really expensive...like twice as much as I anticipated.  Maybe another weekend.  I hope our outdoor adventure weekend continues, but I'm at a loss.       

I woke up with a severe back-neck ache.  It is unlike anything I've had in a while, and it's so ridiculous, it's making me sick to my stomach.  I jinxed myself when I said, "I haven't had a backache since getting the new mattress."  I've taken two Advil, and I've been awake for the last hour trying to increase my range of motion by stretching.  I think the stress of moving classrooms by the end of the week and the end of the year hooplah were more than my body could process in 24 hours. 

I mentioned gratitude in my previous post, and lo and behold, there was a gratitude poem on hand this morning.  I hope that my friends, students, coworkers, family, etc., know how much I appreciate their efforts.  I really do make an effort to express gratitude, though there are a plethora of other feelings that I'm sure I let fall by the wayside. 

Excerpt from a Barbara Crooker poem called Gratitude...

And at least today, all the parts of my body are working,
the sky’s clear as a china bowl, leaves murmur their leafy chatter,
finches percolate along. I’m doodling around this page,
know sorrow’s somewhere beyond the horizon, but still, I’m riffing
on the warm air, the wingbeats of my lungs that can take this all in,
flush the heart’s red peony, then send it back without effort or thought.
And the trees breathe in what we exhale, clap their green hands
in gratitude, bend to the sky...

Feeling the load lightening... It has been a whirlwind of weeks.  Well, the lit mag is indeed finished and distributed.  I have to tweak the website, but all in all, it's an acceptable publication.  Dad had more surgery this week, but he's doing so well that they think he can go to work soon. Much relief there.  Noah had space camp, and he really enjoyed it.  Aidan had his kindergarten graduation.  We've had baseball.  The seniors left me some really sweet gifts--notes, cards, a voodoo Jack White doll, a painted window frame, a basket of thrift store trinkets, a Johnny Depp pencil drawing, etc.  I really needed some display of gratitude or something b/c I was beginning to feel like the give-take ratio was waaay out of whack. 

We have a few more days left of school.  I'm going to take a few days to get some sun, read, study for my PRAXIS, and spend some time with the family before summer school starts.  I'm looking forward to making some money. 

Hey, guess what.  I am one day closer to this lit mag being finished.  I don't know when the end will be, but I do know that I am at least one day closer.

Another weekend.  This week has been a flurry of activity, especially with kids' sports and activities.  Football, baseball, Aidan's baseball, etc.  Last night, Gavin's chorus performed at the Spring Arts Festival, and my creative writing kiddos read some of their poetry.  Tomorrow, Gavin has an all-day chess tournament.  Whew!

The lit mag is in its final stages.  I am honestly SHOCKED at how hands-on I've had to be.  I really didn't see that coming since I seemed to have an All-star surplus of potential editors.  I don't think anyone understands what an editor really does.  Our graphic design is hella disappointing as is our short story section.  The other areas are strong.  The website has been an ENORMOUS headache, but Summer and Kyle are working hard and doing what they're supposed to be doing.  I just want it done.

In other news...  Bobby and her family are moving to Florida.  I'm happy for their new job opportunity but sad that they're moving away.  We'll definitely visit them, but we have such a hard time getting together now.  Such is the way of middle age...

It's been a weekend.  Emily didn't show up to pick the boys up on Friday.  We changed our plans and ended up watching God Bless America.  This was a simple, low budget movie that relied on dialogue, dark humor, and social satire.  I really enjoyed it.  

Emily got the boys on Saturday, and Adam and I went to Panoply.  Panoply minus children just isn't much fun.  I did get my annual henna tattoo.  We had a great lunch of pizza and beer at Sam and Greg's, and then we took our books and chairs down to the edge of the Flint River.  This was fun until the white trash and craziness ratio got out of hand.  After watching some kids play candidly with a dead snake for about an hour, we watched this crazy kook of a man drive his car into the river.  Then he approached us and began to tell us that he was going to call 911 since "that lady" drove his car off in the river.  It was one of those just keep walking moments.  In retrospect, we're lucky that we weren't robbed or knifed while sitting down there. 

We started watching Game of Thrones.  Of course, the Dothraki don't have a word for "Thank You."  What was she thinking?  The show is a little over the top for my personal preferences, but it was still better than anything else on normal TV or the movies on the Apple TV.  I probably should have gone to see Radium Girls at Bob Jones, but I'll get to see it on Tuesday. 

I'm thankful for getting some sunshine this weekend; I needed a dose of it.  Sunshine is really something of an elixir for me.

Sus did a great job today with her mother's eulogy.  She was the epitome of poise and composure, and she really put the poetry into the service.  I think she will always be able to look back at that as a defining moment.

I finally made it to the doctor's office today and left with 2 shots, an antibiotic, and an inhaler.  I had a slight reaction from one of the shots, and they weren't letting me leave.  I was like, "I have to be in Lacey at 1:00 for a funeral!"  Let's just say I was and am in a slightly altered state.  I'm looking forward to feeling better.

I'm also looking forward to spending a weekend at home with my husband.  I need a weekend of rest and snuggles and dates and long walks.

This has been such a long week.  And it's only Tuesday.  Yesterday was a blur of school, credit recovery, Noah's football practice, Noah's baseball game, and bad news. 

Today, I'm just hoping that Sus is making it through this day and then the rest of the week.