There was a skiff of snow on the ground when we woke up this morning—just enough to be pretty. We had new gravel put on our driveway while we were away. It’s so white right now the joke has been that we have snow outside. When Ben got up this morning he was so used to seeing the new gravel out the window that he was surprised to see it actually had snowed.
VISITING THE JONESES
We headed out to Georgia right after I sent out the last edition (the 30th) for our annual family visit with the cousins. It’s always fun just to go hang out at the Jones house.
The Jones family had just retuned from a ten day trip to Italy the day before. They scheduled their trip at this time so that they could celebrate mass at the Vatican on Christmas. From their stories and pictures that experience itself was amazing as was the rest of their trip. They flew in and out of Switzerland and took a high speed train to Italy where they also visited Assisi, Pisa, and Florence. We have a group text running between our families (which Jenna named “The Eatingest Bunch” because that’s what Pauline always called us) so we had a great time following their travels with the occasional picture while they were away. Still, it was good to hear more of the details when we saw them in person.
We had a good time laughing, cutting up, and playing together, though they were all suffering from a bit of jet lag so the schedule was a bit off. For example, no one stayed up for late night Scrabble the first night and I think most everyone had clocked in before the New Year rolled in the next night. This is saying something because I’m usually the only one who can’t stay awake to see in the new year. Emily was also a bit under the weather which put a damper on things for her.
We did get out a couple of times. The boys and I went to see Star Wars and then we all went out to eat Mexican last Saturday night. By last Sunday morning it was time to load up the van and head home. We were all sad to see our break come to an end, Nate most of all.
JENNA’S LAST SEMESTER
It is so hard to believe Jenna’s last term of high school has begun. We drove through Trevecca’s campus on the way home last Sunday. It’s beautiful, though I’d like to see it bustling with activity rather than closed for the holidays. I jealously guard this time, though I know we are already caught up in the routine of life and the time will pass before we’re ready. Enough of that.
Jenna went back to school on Wednesday. East Robertson being on a block schedule means she has a completely new slate of classes: College Algebra (another dual enrollment course), Economics and Government (two half semester courses), Advanced Computer Applications, and Service Learning.
THE BUS ROUTE
The boys and I returned to school on Monday. Davidson Academy is not on a block schedule but all my classes are semester courses so I have a brand new batch of students. This also means I do not have Ben or Nate in class any longer. One class, the 7th grade Intro to Technology, is a repeat from last semester and I have two sections of that. The other, Exploring Computer Science II, is a second part of the one I taught last semester, and I have students from that class who have chosen to continue along with me. The good thing is that I can focus on improving the 7th grade class this time around and I can teach website development to my ECS 2 class which I’ve always wanted to do. The only changes to the boys’ schedules are that they have Bible classes in the periods where they had my classes.
My bus route began Monday. If all I can think of to complain about is dodging a ladder in the middle of the interstate (at least this nasty surprise was laying parallel with the flow of traffic) than I have nothing to complain about. This past week I’ve had anywhere from seven to fifteen students on board, all of them nice, well behaved kids. All seems good here, though any prayers while I’m on the road with these students would be appreciated.
BRACE YOURSELF!
Jenna and Nate wear contacts and glasses (respectively) and deal with allergies. Ben has always cruised along without any of that. This is not to say Ben never gets sick and needs medicine, just nothing long term or expensive, until now. The last trip to the dentist we were advised that Ben would need braces. Thursday was his first trip to the orthodontist. He came home with spacers and a plan for 22 months in braces followed by a lifetime of wearing a retainer. He says he’s already noticed his teeth have shifted. Pretty soon the tin grin will be in. So will a mouth guard when he’s playing ball making it hard to communicate with his teammates on the court. Necessary, but no fun.
PERSISTENCE DOESN’T ALWAYS PAY OFF
I do not startle easily. In fact, I almost never get startled at all. This is not to say that I am never surprise or scared, I just almost never react with an involuntary jump neither do I make any noise. Aunt Mar was always easily startled and as a boy I loved to jump out of hiding and scare her.
Nate has decided it his his goal to scare me. For the past several weeks he has jumped out from the most unexpected places and yelled “BOO!” at me. I NEVER flinch. And I must admit he is good at hiding and even better and stealthily slipping up behind me to give me a start. All I can say is get used to disappointment kid because the reaction you’re looking for just ain’t gonna happen. He sure is giving it an admirable effort though.
Joe
