Summer Holidays

Six months of '09 are over! OMG! Almost a month of summer vacation over too. In two weeks we'll be off to the Old World. July 16 we fly to London. We'll divide our time between London and Cambridge the first week. Then off to Stockport (near Manchester) for a sort of family get together and birthday celebration for Glynis. On July 28 we fly to Milan, and drive to Verona where we'll indulge in a couple of operas at the outdoor arena. We have tickets for AIDA and Turandot. Should be fun.
August 1 - 8 we'll be enjoying the French Riviera or Cote d'Azur. Ah yes, swimming in the Med., sipping wine at the cafes, shopping at the markets, and oh, all that beauty. It's going to be great.


Meanwhile, I spend my days writing, or rather revising an old manuscript. Summer in Santa Barbara is hard to beat. I love the warm days, the long, long evenings, getting together with our wonderful friends, the farmer's markets, and gardening.

It's funny how my teaching job fades into the past when summer vacation rolls around. I have to say last year was one of my best teaching years. I do love 3rd grade. I connect with this grade much better than any other. Last year I had a group of kids who were nice people, who wanted to learn, who were well mannered, and who were surprisingly responsible. I could tell right from the first day that they were going to be an easy group. They did their work without asking annoying questions. They kept their name labels on their desks neat. They brought in their homework. They took their work seriously. What more could a teacher want?

I know it's going to be a whole more challenging next year. With 25 kids in the classroom there is no way I'll be able to give them the individual attention necessary to get them working at their best. With 20 kids, every child, including the advanced ones, were able to get quality time from me. It's a pity this is now a thing of the past.

Anyway, the main problem we're facing is the job losses. So many teachers have been laid off and many of them won't get their jobs back. It's s depressing to think about all the cuts we will have to face next year because of the state of California's economy.

I guess I'll just try to enjoy each moment of vacation and not think about the fall.