Summer: days 1 & 2

I had hoped to post this last night, but I got sidetracked by other drama in my world & just didn't think about it. (thus my previous post about when to delete friends on facebook....) Sorry I'm a day late on this, but here we go. Day by day count of summer 2011 begins now!

Day 1:
Yesterday was my first full day of summer. The kids got out of school last week, but I had inservice days to complete & wasn't done until Tuesday. We had lots of errands to run yesterday & got a lot accomplished. I love those days --feeling productive rocks. And even better, I had a check from an Avon customer to cash & most of the things I did yesterday were with cash. It feels so good to have money to "spare" and not have to deduct a bunch of receipts from the checkbook when you get home. Or am I the only one who loves that? On our way home from all the errands, I picked up my first snow cone of the summer---strawberry with cream. What a treat!

It was after we got home that the drama began. For anyone who's wondering, I did a mass delete today of about 200 people on facebook. Oh how liberating to remove the drama & stress from my life. I know facebook isn't exactly "real life", but it was time to clean out the ol' friends list! If you haven't done it lately, give it a try. Like I said today on Facebook, in the end it all boiled down to a few things:

1. If I haven't SEEN you or TALKED TO you since high school & we reconnect on here & have *nothing* in common or you're just nasty & ugly...you're gone.
2. If I never spoke to you in high school because you didn't think I was worth of your time back then, but then you sent me a friend request on here & we've never talked, chatted, inboxed....you're gone.
3. If we were friends earlier in life & we've grown & changed & gone in a VERY different directions and I can't carry on a conversation with you without feeling frustrated or discouraged, you're gone.
and finally....
4. If your behavior, speech, pictures or other interactions with me aren't edifying & don't point me toward God, you're gone.

I just don't need all that mess in my life. And I'm a grown up & can control who I interact with. :::stomps foot & slams her pulpit before stepping off soapbox:::

Ha ha! (that was a direct quote from my FB status comments today)

Day 2:
Today, I returned to my first (occupational) love --- preschool! As you know, I took a job with the local school district last Fall. I told the parents of all the kids I'm working with this summer, I am very excited to spend the summer with little children before I return to the land of scary teenagers in August. ha ha! Seriously, it was a blast today. I am teaching the Pre-K kids who will enter Kindergarten this Fall at the same preschool where I worked for the past several years. It's just 2 days a week, so it'll give me a chance to get my "fix" of little ones and earn a little extra money. Yahoo! I had seven little sweeties today. (I'm supposed to have 11 this summer, but so far, there are a few missing. What a sweet way to ease me back into the groove of teaching preschoolers!)

Tomorrow the younger two kids & I will be visiting a friend who has a pool for our first swim of the summer!!! I have a feeling they will be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, ready to go bright & early.

Tomorrow also brings something else exciting: Savannah's coming home!! I alluded to her trip last week in my "Proud" post, but as always I don't talk about destinations or locations when we travel until the trip is over. Safety, folks!! Anyway, since she is now on her way home, I can safely tell you more!

When Savannah joined the school band in 6th grade, the band directors explained that once the kids reached high school, there were two BIG trips they would go on. They take a BIG trip every other summer so that every child in the high school band will get a chance to go to both places & experience the excitement & joy of performing in a BIG place. Savannah has looked forward to her first BIG trip for over a year now. You see, last Sunday morning, all (nearly) 300 band members loaded onto a caravan of 5 charter buses in the high school parking lot & set out for Disneyworld. From where we live, it takes almost a full 24 hours to get there, so they were in for a long ride!

They arrived at their destination on Monday morning & spent the day at Hollywood Studios. They stayed there until 7pm that evening & then went to the hotel. (Yes, that means the clothes they were wearing when they left here Sunday morning remained on their bodies until Monday evening. Nice, huh?) Savannah hardly slept at all on the ride there. She texted & called me until about 2:30 that morning, telling me how miserable she was...tired, but couldn't sleep. She's never slept well in a vehicle, so it was no great surprise, but being so far away with no way to help her left this mama feeling a little helpless. She had an aisle seat, so she couldn't lean against the window & her cousin (who she was sitting next to) kept pushing her off when she tried to lean on her. She did finally doze off, but it didn't last long. At 6am (Texas time), she was texting me pictures of her view out the bus window---Floridian trees...she was tickled to finally be so close to the destination! Apparently about 2 1/2 hours of sleep is all she needed that night, but I bet she CRASHED Monday night when she finally hit a pillow at the hotel!

On Tuesday, they went to the Magic Kingdom & were given the honor of leading the "Celebrate a Dream Come True" parade down Main Street. This was the big day they had all been waiting for....the reason they had done fundraisers for a year....their big shining moment! Oh how I wish I could've been there. I get choked up just thinking about their moment of celebrity status. They were SO very proud to get this opportunity! And lucky for all of us who couldn't attend, one of the kids in the band is the son of a local news anchor. That dad was on the trip with a camera & videoed a bit of the parade for us---and then sent it to his news station, who broadcast it that night! What a treat to get to see the parade! Thank you, Joe!!!! Later that evening, they made a trek back to Hollywood Studios to watch a show before going back to the hotel for the night.

On Wednesday, they went to Animal Kingdom & EPCOT and ended their day with a fireworks & laser show.

Today, they finished up their trip with a day at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. At about 8:00pm (Florida time), they boarded the buses bound for home! They should be home late tomorrow evening and I am SO excited to see them get home.

There are moments as a mom where I well up & get emotional because my child has accomplished something huge. Her first day of school, the first time she left for sleepover camp, the first church musical she performed in, the first time she stood up to peer pressure.... I am so proud, it blows me away. This is one of those times. I have been wiping tears writing this post because I am so proud of her, so excited that she was able to do something so huge and accomplish it on her own (without Larry or I there to help her). I'm sure it'll be the same way when she graduates High School, when she goes off to college, when she meets Mr. Right, when she has her first baby. But for the next 24 hours, I will be proud of her for making this trip, keeping up with all her things, budgeting her money daily (Lord I hope she didn't buy a bunch of crappy souvenirs & run out of money early in the week!!), getting herself up every day & out the hotel door on time. I can't wait to see her smiling face when she steps off the bus tomorrow night. Father, get them home safely, please!

This was her on the day they left. Think she was a little excited?

Come on home, baby girl. Mama's ready for a hug!