Our March Madness

I’m not sure whether to say March roared in like a lion or not. Back on the 1st we had a line of thunderstorms move through. They were severe enough that many schools and school systems, including Davidson Academy and Robertson County, delayed school for two hours. Those systems that started on time regretted this decision because many kids were at bus stops while tornado sirens were wailing. Some places had pretty severe wind damage. By the time we drove in to school the skies were clearing for a beautiful day.

Since then March has been pretty mild. We’ve had a few storms, even some snow a couple of Saturdays ago on the 11th which began at daybreak and had melted away by lunchtime. But overall it’s been a fairly pleasant month. This has tricked a lot of trees into blooming and budding a little before they normally do.

SPRING BREAKS
One thing March brings with it is spring break. Unfortunately, Jenna’s break did not coincide with mine and the boys’, but it worked out. Jenna’s break was the first week of the month (March 6-10) and she spent her time off here at home. From my perspective it was just like her senior year last year. She was asleep when we left for school and working on homework when we got home in the afternoon. I don’t know how much homework she got done, but she did work on some scholarship applications for next year.

The boys and I got our spring break last week. We actually got a one day extension added to our break as our headmaster decided to close school a day early (Friday, the 17th) since we haven’t had any snow days this year.

We spent the first half of our break at Don and Penny’s lake house, the same place where we got away two years ago. We had planned to leave immediately after getting home from school on the 17th, but with the extra day off we could drive up there at a more leisurely pace. We came home last Tuesday. The only bad thing about the whole trip was that an hour after leaving I discovered that I had left behind my backpack with laptop inside.

This entire trip was all about enjoying a quiet break. Vicki and Jenna did some grocery shopping the night we got there, we went out to eat at Barkley Lodge and antique shopping in Cadiz on Sunday, and then out to eat again Monday evening at Ralph’s Harborview Bar and Grill just down the road at Moors Resort and Marina (this is on our repeat list). The rest of the time we just stayed in. We played board games and cards, we watched some movies, and we ate. All in all, it was a great time to get away and recharge. Oh, and Jenna essentially got an extra break as she met us in Clarksville as we drove up there and then skipped her Monday and Tuesday classes.

Thank you again, Don and Penny, for sharing your lake house with us. It’s not going to be easy to roll out of bed in time to get the bus on the road by 6:35 in the morning, but at least I feel like I can tackle the next eight weeks of classes between now and summer.

LYE SOAP
One day that was especially fun earlier this month happened on Tuesday the 7th. That’s when I brought my 8th graders up to church for a field trip. I decided that one cool project for my STEAM class would be to make lye soap. Lana Osborne makes lye soap (http://lanasherbalsoaps.com/) and she was kind enough to help me out here. It all started with a conversation at church and them me going to her house back on Martin Luther King Day (January 16th) to help her make a batch of soap.

We spent a couple of weeks in class leading up to our field trip learning about soap, the chemistry behind it, and how to make it. One the day of the trip Mrs. Lana met us at church and made two batches on soap with my two classes. A couple of other teachers volunteered to come along to do some other activities with the kids as well. When all the soap was made, the kitchen was cleaned up, and everyone had eaten their sack lunches we then wen’t over to Will Ed and Lana’s to pet her goats. There were several newborn goats which were a bigger hit with the kids than the soap. All in all it was a very fun day.

CRACKED GLASS
The folks at Jack Morris Auto Glass Repair love us this month. One morning before spring break Ben and Nate were driving in to school when a vehicle in front of them kicked up a rock. This put a good sized hole on the passenger’s side of the windshield. Ben said he saw it happen, but in all the traffic with so little time to react there wasn’t much he could do. I can see that. As it turned out, the repair was done that afternoon in our driveway. The guy said it was the largest hole he had ever filled. Had it been any bigger or on the driver’s side he would have replaced the glass.

This past Friday I sent the boys over to do some clean up work in Mom’s yard. They were loading tree limbs in the bed of my truck when Nate tossed a limb a little too far forward and shattered the back glass. It stayed in the opening because of the protective film car windows have, but it was shattered. That one had to be taken to the shop for repair since there was rain coming and we wanted it done that day.

A LAST HURRAH
We enjoyed one last outing on our spring break last night. We all went to Hendersonville where we met Jenna for supper at Jumbo & Delicious. This has become my new favorite for a hamburger. The only problem is the burgers are so large you really need to starve yourself before eating there.

After supper we enjoyed the Hendersonville Performing Arts Company’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat where Ben’s basketball coach, Steven Sorrell, is currently starring as Joseph. (We enjoyed Coach Sorrell last year as Bert in Mary Poppins.) It was a great evening. If you live locally this would be a fun thing to do as it will be running for the next couple of weekends.

VIDEO GAME HEAVEN
Our boys are now the proud owners of a Nintendo Switch. This is the new console to succeed the Wii U. This game system wasn’t ready for the holiday season, but at Christmas the boys asked if we’d by okay if they bought it in March when it came out. We said it was okay so since then they’ve been saving for it, dreaming about it, and talking about it. They bought a game for it ahead of time. They did everything except preorder it. And three weeks ago when the Switch hit the shelves there were none to be had.

These poor guys have lived in disappointment ever since. They’ve called stores to see it the device was in stock. Found out when new shipments were expected to arrive only to be too late to buy one. They’ve handled it well, but still, they’ve been disappointed. Then yesterday they went to Springfield for Ben’s office cleaning job and stopped by Walmart afterwards to buy a few necessities. Swinging through the electronics area they couldn’t believe their eyes. One, lone Switch was in the display case and no one seemed to be around to claim it. Two happy boys came home yesterday and have enjoyed the end of their spring break. It’s nice when dream are realized, even if a little late.

Joe