6, 55, 60, 2, 1

There are exactly SIX more weeks of school left in this very long, very difficult year. That's six weeks for the students, at any rate. We teachers have a couple more days beyond that to make up our contracted time that we lost during the December ice storm. I think this has been the strangest year I've had since I started teaching. We had interruption after interruption --- a lot of scheduled days off in the fall due to conferences, workshops, and holidays, state testing, local district testing, snow days and then all the weather-related interruptions, including the infamous ice storm. We figured out that we had had only one week of uninterrupted teaching before the ice storm hit. That made the stretch between Feb and April breaks feel endless, especially as 30 minutes were added to the school day to make up the lost time. Nowow these last six weeks seem endless also. The kids never really settled into a good learning routine this year, and now that spring fever has hit, whatever concentration was there is gone. It's pretty discouraging. We have district testing coming up the week after next too, and I am not hopeful that we will see a "year's growth" in their reading skills. We had a lot of "not normal" events this year too --- a teacher left mid year, a principal left during third quarter---- which has impacted us all. I have been teaching material way outside my areas of expertise, comfort, and even interest which has consumed a great deal of energy. I have 2 more units to go, and I feel tapped out. Trying to learn new material, figuring out to teach the content in a way that engages students, and having to do that for every single unit has been draining. I think the kids have learned a lot, and I think they've enjoyed it, but I am exhausted!

I recently celebrated what my husband calls the "Speed Limit" birthday although it's been a few years since those double digits were the maximum speed limit on the interstates, and he's celebrating the next decade birthday today. Our birthday celebrations are usually very low-key. A special dinner, either at home or a favorite restaurant, a few cards, and a small gift or 2 are usually it. This year was no exception. I had a quiet celebration, received "exactly-what-I-wanted" gifts (a small teapot, a good book, and lovely bracelet) and for the first time ever --- my husband had a birthday cake for me. Usually I have to make my own! For his day we went out to a Mexican restaurant last night with some good friends, we had breakfast out this morning in honor of his day and Mother's Day, and I have a pie baking in the oven for him. (He's a pie man!)

I have been knitting again --- no pictures available. I have TWO projects that are in the finishing stage - a gray cabled jacket and a blue jacket, and I've got ONE project on the needles, a baby gift. I can't knit as long as I'd like because my shoulder and trigger finger start to react, but at least I can knit again. I'm also getting excited about starting a few more projects . . .. .