Last night we met my sis and bro-in-law in Atlanta at a Japanese restaurant and sushi bar called Ru Sans. I had cucumber salad and chicken fried rice. Yum!
Today I closed the door to my classroom for the last time. It sure looked empty. My room was so homey and inviting. (Those of you who've seen it can vouch for me). This is stark and white. I had to leave Orlando. He began to rip when I was taking him off the wall. I guess he was just too attached. I hope his new owner cares for him as much as I did.
This past weekend was crazy. I was accused of being a slack blogger. I can understand why you would think so, but I hope that the following rebuttal will be enough of an excuse.
Friday: Visited the funeral home. A student at our school died. Ate with Pamela. Got ready for the huge garage sale on Saturday. Emily and Mandy came over to drop off junk. Err...valuable items to sell. (Emily's was actually a really nice, small fridge that she let me sell and keep the profit.) Went with my dad to my house to load up furniture I was going to sell. Neighbors probably thought we were robbing. They didn't call 911.
Friday, 12:30 AM: A huge moth flew into my dad's ear. (OK, Becky, it wasn't QUITE that big.) Flew down in it. WAY down in it. As in you-can't-even-see-it down in it. Took him to the emergency room. By the way, there's some REAL classy people in there. Waited. Was taken to Mandy's and my room. Doctor flushed it out fifteen minutes later. Over an hour later we finally leave. Arrived back home at 2:30 AM. It was all rather hilarious.
Saturday: Woke up at 5:45 AM to get ready for the garage sale. (Is anyone doing the math here?) Set everything out. Waited. Sweated while random strangers came and sifted through all my things. Made $150 for myself.
Saturday afternoon: Loaded up everything that didn't sell and took it to the Salvation Army. Took a shower. Went to a rehearsal and dinner for a wedding I was singing in.
Saturday night (late): Moved all of my big furniture out of my house and to the storage room.
Sunday morning: Church. Lunch with the fam for my sister's birthday.
Sunday afternoon: Went to the church for the wedding. Sang. Went to the reception.
Sunday evening: Dad and I left the reception early for dinner with a Muslim family from my school. This was the highlight of the weekend. I had formed a relationship with this Muslim student and her family throughout the school year. (We talked religion and asked each other questions all year long. It was great preparation for my new job next year!) Her family was so warm and inviting. So many children! My dad ate with my student's father and uncle -- he said it was the best dinner and conversation he'd ever had. I ate with all the women and daughters. Real Palestinian food. A lot of real Paslestinian food. Awesome! Here are some pictures of me and my student and me with her mom and all the older daughters. I wore my jellaba that I bought during my trip at Christmas. This is a night I'll never forget.
Today has been just weird.
First, I went to school to teach remediation. I learned that my birdhouse had been stolen. STOLEN! It has been there for three years -- handcrafted by a dear student. I move out and three DAYS later, it is gone. Post and all. It makes me so dang mad! I just want to scream. I mean, I know I'm not going to be there anymore, but geez! If they'd ask me, I'd probably have given it to them!
Then, the principal tells me to look outside at our M (white stones in the shape of an M for the school that decorate our drive). Some pranksters had removed some of the white stones and made them into the shape of a HUGE -- well, something guys have that girls don't -- under the M. Nice. Real nice.
All in all, it was just a downright strange day.
