WitL - Day 3 - 2012

Ready for school, Dad.

Bella and a random sock and a dog town minus its stuffing. This is our house these days.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a boy dressed funky for prom week!

As is tradition for prom king and queen candidates, the two in the middle had been shanghaied. Yes, he is wearing a shirt, it's just a soft rose color that makes it look like he isn't.

I love my job!

Checking out the mini TinTin frame that came in the dog food bag.

Playing with her best friend.

I thought she was sniffing the flowers, but when she lifted her head, she had a flower in her mouth.

My Chinese visa arrived today! Have visa, will travel.

Lovely dog - when she isn't chewing up my shoes or my scrapbooks.

We always eat dinner together.

Someone was grumpy and didn't want to smile for the camera.

After-dinner chores

Reading before bed.

Also reading before bed.

More reading before bed.

The main story of today is that teaching seniors this time of year is both challenging (senioritis sets in once their portfolios are turned in) and fun (it's prom week, and their laid back attitude means we laugh a lot in class). If I could handle five classes of senior project research papers, I would teach all seniors every year.

I got my hair cut after school. When I got home, Jason and I spent the next hour doing chores while the kids played. Jason cooked dinner, got the kids' lunches ready, and did the dishes. I vacuumed (two almost-full-grown dogs (one of which is a golden retriever) means lots of fur) and got a load of laundry going. Sawyer was having a rough evening. He must have been tired because he whined and complained a lot.

After dinner, the kids showered while Jason had some quiet time in his den and I did homework for my two master's classes. One of my classes will be done in a week, and I couldn't be more relieved. I am not enjoying the class at all; in fact, it's my least favorite of all the classes so far. On the other hand, the other class - my internship class - is awesome: the professor couldn't be more wonderful, couldn't be more engaging. We are skyping to do our group work and some of our discussions. It makes a big difference to be able to have a face-to-face discussion with someone rather than reading a typed name on a screen.

Roz has had a good week. Since she had her recital Monday, we let her take a break from practicing the piano, and since she has CRTs at school, she hasn't had homework. This means more free time than usual.

I can't help but think today about how grateful I am for everything in my life - my family, my friends, my sangha, my job, my students, my administrators, my new van. I don't always feel this appreciative of everything, but today I do.

Song of the day: "Jesus Walks" by Kanye West - It played on my Pandora station while I was uploading photos.