In the depths of autumn

I feel as though I've been asleep.
And that sleep was anything but restful.

November is almost halfway through, but I find I am awakening from some kind of hazy autumnal existence that was less than memorable. I am at the end of my first full week of being without classes (well, I'm down to one now) and having a student teacher. And the end result is the constant refrain running in my head that there is a tremendous difference between survival and living.

But living I am. My "hell semester" of grad classes has come to a close and I am on home stretch. One class, and it's time for practicum.

I'm nervous about the practicum stuff, and elated, too. It's hard to know I'm leaving friends for a pretty long stretch, know I'll not see them nearly as I used to, but knowing, too, that I'm making positive life changes. It is, to say the least, bittersweet.

The brightest spot in life, as always, are family and friends. Chris is doing well. He's up for his annual eval and things are looking good. And as for the kids, well, what can I say? Maria is, as I write this, leaping off the livingroom furniture showing me her "superspy moves". Jarod is making a caterpillar out of playdough (and accurately naming all of the parts, thank you very much), and Natalie is fully clothed and playing webkinz on the computer. In other words, they are wonderful, bright, and healthy--and absolutely perfect, of course! Jarod and Maria's report cards show things are progressing well. Maria is quite the little helper at school, and the teacher has had to tell her to let other kids do things for themselves or they'll never learn! And Jarod did extremely well with his latest science test. He received a perfect score on his science test on the caterpillar. He also has had perfect spelling tests all quarter, except for the one where he wrote "shit" on the test. They were testing "sh" words, and he knowingly added this little tidbit to his test before turning it in. I got such a note from the teacher! But the English teacher in me is just happy he spelled it right! (JK) And Natty spends most of her days at school hugging and kissing her friends and dressing up like a fire fighter. Jarod says he wants to be a teacher when he grows up, Maria wants to be a police officer "like Uncle Steve", and Natty wants to be a fire fighter in a "quiet" firehouse. Go figure.

My hope is this finds our friends and family well. Keep in touch, and know you can also find us on facebook!

With love,
Wendy