weekend update

A few random thoughts from the schroeder life:

1. My parents are here in Denver right now. At the same time! And they brought three adorable pumpkins with them, who happen to go by the names Clara, Amelia, and Charlie T. There has been a lot of raucous cousin fun the last few days, and as I have always been in favor of raucous cousin fun, I am a big fan of this week's goings-on. Charlie T is only 20 months old, but he NEVER stops talking, and he will repeat just about anything you say. I'll tell you what he won't do, though, and that's let anyone but his grandma retrieve him from his pack-n-play sleeping quarters in the morning. This morning I listened to him squawk for several minutes before I rushed in to scoop him out of bed, thinking that he would be overflowing with gratitude at the appearance of his beloved Auntie Taryn. This was not the case. He moved to the other side of the pack-n-play and squawked even louder in the direction of Grandma's room. When my mom came in and lifted him into her arms, he looked right at me as he nuzzled into Grandma's ample bosom. I told him he's hurtful, and then I went in search of a nephew or niece who would give me the lovin I so rightly deserve.

2. I called my mom at noon today when my summer school class ended and she and dad were at the zoo with a litter of grandchildren. The zoo is just a few blocks from the school where I'm teaching this summer, so I hopped in the car and headed over to meet them for some wholesome animals-in-captivity fun. I drove around the parking garage for 20 minutes before I found a parking space, paid my $12 zoo entrance fee, walked through the poop-smelling pachyderm house, and eventually caught up with the W clan. We proceeded into the bird house, where a bird promptly defecated on my personal head, and I then promptly left the bird house.

3. Today marked the end of Week 2 of summer school, a three-and-a-half week adventure. I was told I'd have 10 - 15 students, and that they were all choosing to be there because they wanted to be part of an "enrichment" program this summer. Other teachers are handling the "credit recovery" summer school classes, so I was excited to learn that I'd be working with motivated, high-achieving students. Three students were present on Day 1, and only two of those returned for Day 2. Two additional students joined us on Day 3, and one more showed up on Day 4, so by the end of the first week, I had reached a grand total of FIVE students. Oh, and did I mention that I have two student helpers? So that's three teachers and five students.

At first, I thought, "What on earth am I going to do with five students?" And it turned out that they weren't so much motivated by their desire to learn as they were by their parents making them be there. After two weeks, though, we seem to have settled into a nice rhythm together and I'm really enjoying the experience overall. I'd like to extend my personal thanks to the makers of Boggle, Scattegories, Taboo, and Wise or Otherwise. We always finish the day with game time. It's bliss.

And now I must go take a shower and remove the remaining bird poop from my hair. [And now you're wondering why I chose to blog BEFORE the shower. Actually, I'm kind of wondering that myself. I really must go now.....]