This is too boring to even bother reading! (But the last paragraph is slightly entertaining.)

How time flies. Only two more days of work and then I am hopefully off for the month of July. Am I excited? Can't wait. People often express surprise that I would have to work part of the summer. What is there to do? Here is what I have done since school ended two weeks ago:

1. Our school traditionally gives each student a card which staff members have written friendly and encouraging words to the student. Each year, many students are either absent the last day or carelessly leave them lying about. I then get to address them and mail them.

2. I caught up on work that I had not had time to do the past two weeks of school because of the busyness. That means I was way behind on depositing lunch money. I also spent a good part of a day preparing deposits for yearbook money, drama, band, library, horticulture and various other accounts.

3. Year end reports were expected by the district office for the Mealtime computer program that we use for lunch money.

4. Daily attendance and tutoring attendance needed to be finalized and have reports printed out.

5. In the absence of the office manager who was using vacation time, I prepared many purchase orders to take care of bills that needed to be paid.

6. Also due to the above, I tracked down invoices/receipts on many purchase orders that needed to be paid but couldn't be processed until the district office received them. That particular job involved a lot of detective work and phone calls, but I was able to track them all down.

7. I cleaned out files, boxing up the attendance and Mealtime reports from the past year to be stored away.

8. I cleaned up the workroom and office.

9. I made phone calls and sent letters to parents of students who have been selected to come to summer school in August.

10. I met with administrators to go over the school information pages of our student planner, (about 18 pages of attendance, discipline, academic, incentive, and other information) so I can get them revised and ready for the printer this week. Also prepared a calendar of next year's activities for the planner. Finished typing it Friday afternoon.

11. I stuffed report cards into envelopes (about a week late because of glitches in another department) and noticed an anomaly in the way one teacher's final grades did not average with the three six-week term grades, which caused a bit of a commotion. Some final grades ended up being changed, but it all worked out in the end and thereby saved us some phone calls from upset parents and having to print a corrected honor roll in the newspaper.

12. Prepared an honor roll list and emailed it to the newspaper.

13. Shared our facilities with 600 American Legion members for their annual convention on Thursday and Friday, made copies for them when requested (at 5 cents a copy), smiled when several of them came in at different times to ask us to turn on the air conditioner (welcome to our un-airconditioned world), and called the custodian for various other requests they made. We'll see if they kept their promise to sweep up all the cigarette butts off the sidewalk out by the street where they congregated on breaks.

14. Answered many phone calls from parents wondering why report cards weren't out yet (some actually suspected their child may have removed it from the mail!) and from people wondering what was going on due to all the cars at our school.

Isn't that just fascinating?! Now you'll know better than to ever ask me, "So how's work?" I have actually been a little stressed the past week about getting it all done so I can get out of there! Monday should be my last day, but I have to attend a half-day training on Tuesday on a new computer program for purchase orders.

Then I will stay home lolling on in my back yard and enjoying my flowers. At least for one day. For example, isn't this pot of bell flowers (campanula) lovely? If only it wouldn't tip over every time it gets windy!

My four men are all off helping Molly move from her apartment to a house her dad owns. I wish they'd hurry up and get back because strawberry shortcake is waiting!!

Nick just got back from a week in San Francisco on a youth mission trip. It was really quiet here last week without him. Not that he's a noisy child. But he does things like rest a mayonaise covered table knife on Craig's arm and they end up running all over the house slamming into walls and various objects as the mature older brother tries to exact revenge, and I am yelling "Out, out out! Take it outside!" He also managed to spill a glass of strawberry lemonade all over the carpet at lunch today. His suitcase and clean laundry are messing up my living room. Yes, I missed him indeed.

Weekend on the Metolius

The Metolius River. What a balm for a weary stressed out soul! I drove there Friday after work and joined Will who had been there a couple of days. When we walked Saturday morning, a little boy at a campsite eagerly informed us that there was a bird on the log. Sure enough, an osprey was having a little snack!The wildflowers did not match the prolific show they put on in July, but I got to see iris blooming. They will be long gone by July. And of course there's lots of yellow flowers and lupine.
This was the view out our back window. We swiveled the chairs around and drank our morning coffee there. Mornings were a little chilly before 9:00.

The desk is a perfect setup for Will's ham radio gear. No more cluttering up the table with it.
Will cooked the meals in his Dutch ovens. He treated me like a queen.
After dinner I was just thinking I would ask if he wanted to go on an after dinner stroll, but before I could speak, guess what he said? Yes, the exact question I had been about to ask!!

One hike I took without him involved taking a trail up above the road then freestyling it to get some good views of some mountains. Here's Mount Jefferson, carrying a lot of snow.

And here's Mt. Washington. It was worth getting my legs a little scratched up to see these gorgeous views.
There is one place along the river just down from our campground where there is a view of Mt. Jefferson also.

We came home this afternoon and Will enjoyed sitting in his Father's Day gift, a rocker for the front porch. Unfortunately, Eric had to work. He'll come home at 9:00. This is the picture I like. (I said, "Everyone smile phony like your dad!")
This is the picture they like.
Craig barbecued some steaks and we had dinner on the deck. Then they played some catch in the park and are now watching the NBA game while they have dessert, a cake that Nick baked. Craig does more shouting than anyone else! It's an exciting game.

I love the Metolius! I put my pedometer on and I think I walked about 10 miles from Friday evening through today. But after my last walk today it reset itself and is now on kilometers instead of miles! So I have to find the instruction book and set it right again.

Nick is Half-way Through High School!

Nick really impressed me on Saturday. I was out working in the yard when he came to the back door and asked where he could find a needle and thread because he needed to sew a button on his work pants. As I walked to the house, he put his hand in front of his face. I asked why. He said “I just can’t look at you right now.” I had no idea why I would be so hard to look at. “You just wouldn’t believe how goofy you look,” he said, face averted. By then I was at the patio door and looked at my reflection in the glass. What a sight! I had pulled some of my hair back in a clip so it would stay out of my face. When I put headphones on, the clip was in the way, so I pushed it forward. I had quite an amazingly high hair poof going on. Combined with my becomingly thick glasses and my baggy sweats, I guess I was pretty difficult to look at. Good thing my husband was still far, far away.

But I digress. How impressive is it that Nick did not ask where he could find a safety pin (as his older brother recently did when in that situation, but I gave him a needle and thread instead), neither did he ask me to sew the button on. I complimented him on his maturity and felt very encouraged that at the youthful age of 16, on his own initiative he actually sewed on his own button. There is hope.

That evening when he was on his break at Taco Bell he texted me that he was working the cash register for the first time. I texted back that I needed dinner so he should watch for an unspeakably goofy-looking female. (Although I had removed the hair clip by then.) I got there behind four teenagers who attend school with him. There was much giggling from the girls, and one of his coworkers who was taking a break told Nick to quit hitting on them. (He wasn’t, he was very professional. Of course.) I ordered a Mango-Strawberry Fruitista Freeze, which Nick made for me. He even added more strawberries when I requested them. It was absolutely delicious.

Besides being very responsible and hardworking, he has a great sense of humor. I forgot my cell phone one day last week and asked him to drop it off at work on his way to school. He was messing with it when he walked in and had a big smile on his face. I suspiciously checked it out immediately and saw that the screen says, “I will give Nick $100.” Hopefully I will figure out how to remove that message before the repeated viewing of it brainwashes me into following those instructions!

Tomorrow is the last day of school!!!!!! We are all SO excited!!!!!

Softball!

Much to my surprise, Craig volunteered to coach one of the church softball teams here awhile back. He needed more female players so I said I would help out if needed. Last Monday was pretty rainy and I wisely chose to stay indoors with my book. I've put in many years of sitting out in the rain watching those boys play baseball, and I have decided that I have earned the right to be a fair-weather-only ballgame person. That game got called off because of the rain, so tonight was the first game. I was planning to just watch so I could leave if the wind got to blowing any harder than it already was or if the threatening dark clouds decided to dump some rain. However, I got an urgent call from Craig as I was finishing a little shopping at Freddies saying no women had showed up and they could only field 8 players without a female.. "Please get here as fast as you can Mom!" That's a very dangerous thing to tell me!

So with no opportunity to practice, there I was, out in left field. Only one ball even came close to me all night, and I successfully fielded it and threw it in. I was a little nervous about getting up to bat, because as I recall at Dad's 80th birthday party, a few people laughed and made fun of my batting style. (My sister Hope got the female athletic talent in the family.) But fortunately, church people are much nicer than my family. I didn't notice anyone laughing or pointing. I hit the ball (poorly) every time I was up, but got thrown out at first every time except once when they overthrew! I got a double out of that one! The sun came out for awhile and there was even a rainbow!

I took my camera but didn't get any great pictures. Although Nick looks pretty pleased with his hit! Nick played first base, Craig played second, and they worked very well together. Even had a double play. They are both awesome hitters. Craig thoroughly split the crotch of his sweatpants at his first at bat. Oh well. You had to look real hard to notice.

We really needed Will, the great scorekeeper. No one officially kept score. The other team said the score was tied 7-7 when our time was up, but we secretly believe we had more than they did.

Pet Day

Today I made my annual pilgrimage to my favorite nursery, still in search of something to fill in the bare flowerbed in front of the house where Nicholas helpfully dug up two shrubs weeks ago. This wonderful nursery sits between Albany and Corvallis and it is pure delight to stroll about the large area it covers, not only because of the huge selection and variety of plants, but because of the very satisfying organization and layout. Perennials are in alphabetical order. Sun-loving and shade-loving are separated. Shrubs are in two separate sections, evergreen and deciduous, also alphabetical and further categorized by mature size. The price is a bit more, which is why I generally only buy what I can't find elsewhere. It is a destination where I can spend hours just looking, experiencing pure joy.

As I drove into the parking lot, eagerly anticipating meandering around on the first warm sunny day we've had in ages, imagine my chagrin as I noticed signs proclaiming, "Welcome to Pet Day!" Indeed, everywhere I looked people had dogs on leashes. Vendors were set up showing off special pet products. Signs were posted that sternly instructed people to clean up after their pets.

I have often been unfairly accused of not liking dogs, so I need to once again clarify: I do like dogs. In fact, I think pictures of dogs are absolutely wonderful. It's just that I don't like many of the things that dogs do. I don't like dog saliva to touch my skin. I don't like to hear barking and yipping. I don't like the way they dig holes. I don't like hair shedding or fleas. I really hate being jumped on. But in spite of all that, if only there were special dog toilets that they could all be fully trained to use, I think I might like them very much. I will never forget returning to work one day more than 20 years ago after visiting my sister at lunch and wondering for several hours what the horrible smell was that followed me everywhere I went. Eventually I noticed dog doo-doo on my shoe and on the carpet under my desk. Icky icky icky. Completely uncivilized.

I was still able to enjoy the beautiful plants today, in spite of the need to constantly scan the ground as I walked. I stopped to chat with some friends, Mike and Vicki, who had brought their little foofy dog because Vicki said he needs more opportunities to socialize with other dogs. After we had been chatting awhile, the dog started to do its dirty business. Amazing how much dirty business a tiny dog can have. Although I would not have known as I was trying to avoid looking in that direction, but Vicki had to mention her surprise at the amount because the dog had already done its' business earlier. Vicki of course sent her husband to go find something to clean it up with because they forgot to bring any baggies. They had no idea where to dispose of it, because the signs failed to mention official disposal sites. When Mike returned with nothing but a paper towel, it was time for me to tactfully say goodbye and move on, watching my feet even more carefully than before! I felt very fortunate that I completed this outing with my shoes undefiled, at least to the naked eye.

Fun Day!

Yesterday was the annual “Fun Day” year-end celebration at the middle school where I work. For the first time, it was an all day event instead of just a half day and included a talent show and two hours for yearbook distribution and signing.

A little extra thrill was added to this day when the librarian came at 7:00 am with a list of students whose yearbooks would be withheld because they had outstanding books and/or fines. I gasped in horror when she said that 305 of our 660 students were listed. Usually this list is plastered all over the school for the week before yearbook distribution so that kids will take care of it, but we have a new librarian this year. She sent out bills to students and we made announcements, but many kids did not pay much attention. We quickly decided to change the rules a bit, eliminating the names of students who had turned in books but still owed fines. Students were calling home, turning in and paying for books all morning, and by 11:00 our list was cut to about 200 students, still far too many.

At 12:30 just as students were returning to classrooms in preparation for the exciting yearbook release, my principal radioed me from the cafeteria, “Call 911, call 911”. With my fingers poised over the telephone, I waited a few seconds for more information then asked what I should tell them. I could just imagine calling 911, they say “What is your emergency” and I would say, “I’m at Memorial Middle School and my principal told me to call you. Hold on a minute until I find out why, and please don't ever tell my husband that I made this uninformed call that I'm probably going to have to cancel in a minute.” I’ve called 911 from school before, and those dispatchers expect you to know why you are calling. I've also been told to call 911 and had the order rescinded before I could get to a telephone. Anyway, she radioed back that a student with a heart condition had passed out in the cafeteria and was not breathing, and they were starting mouth to mouth. I instantly got the word to 911, telling them to pull up in the bus lane and come in the open cafeteria door. My principal came flying over and made an announcement for students to stay in the classrooms until released because we had a student with a medical emergency. A teacher raced in and shouted, “Call West Albany and tell them we need their defibrillator.” I called, they said they would send it over, no questions asked. Our Health Room person was gone and the binder with the student’s medical protocol was in her locked office in a locked cabinet. I grabbed my key ring to open the door and went to the safe to get the cabinet key. It was not hanging on its hook! I desperately started shuffling through the papers that had collected on my desk through the hectic day, digging in my desk drawers, searching my pockets. Helen was on the phone trying to reach a parent, who no longer worked at the number listed in our information. I caught her eye asking if she knew where the key was. She had it in her hand because she was headed back there when our boss told her to call the parent. I arrived in the cafeteria with the protocol at the same time the paramedics got there and handed it over to them. The student was breathing and somewhat alert by then. He was able to tell us where his mother currently worked.

In the middle of all this, I get a call from a staff member asking me if we are on lockdown. No, we aren't on an official lockdown but everyone is supposed to stay in their classrooms because we need to keep kids away from the cafeteria. He says "Well, I was just wondering because your office aides are out in the hall delivering messages." I was well aware of what my office aides were doing, I sent them out because this is the only time all day when students were in their regular classrooms for me to get messages to them. It was also better to have them out of the office with all the urgent activity going on there. The only good thing about this situation was that it kept the kids in the classrooms long enough for all the messages to get delivered. I had to exert a lot of effort to be nice to this annoying person and did not even ask him to please limit his calls to the office to emergencies only right now because I was a little too busy to answer ridiculous questions.

We finally reached the mom as the paramedics were leaving our building with the student en route to the hospital. He was released about 3:30 that afternoon, doing fine. Kudos to our teachers and staff who kept their heads and did everything that needed to be done.

After that little adrenaline rush, the students were released to pick up their yearbooks. Our office quickly filled up with angry students wondering why their yearbooks weren’t out there. I made repeated loud announcements to check the list outside the door and go to the library if their name was on it. In spite of that, many students remained in the office. I found their names on the list and sent them to the library. Many of the students had paid that morning and had a receipt, so we gave them their yearbooks. Many others soon returned with a note from the librarian to release their yearbook. Others thought they had purchased a yearbook at the beginning of the year but actually hadn’t. I pulled their receipts to show them they had only paid the activity fee, which also happens to be $10. In spite of repeated announcements to check the yearbook list which I posted two months ago, they had never bothered to look. Other students came to buy a yearbook at the last minute. It was so much fun. I believe they call it bedlam.

Two of the adult children of my co-worker had stopped by to visit just after the ambulance left, one of them visiting from out of state. Great timing. They seemed to be entertained by all the Fun. The 40-year-old son made himself comfortable in her chair. After the hubbub of students died down a bit and phones were ringing, I found my co-worker was at my desk answering the phone and I had to awkwardly reach over the many plants at her desk to answer a phone call. I gently mentioned to her son that it would be helpful to us if he would let his mother have her chair. I didn’t say anything like, “Hello, have you noticed we are extremely busy here and she doesn’t have a lot of time to visit you right now?” I am constantly aware that I must work very hard not to let my natural assertiveness wipe out all tactfulness. I often fail.

(When my 16-year-old son visits, he makes himself at home in my chair if it’s vacant, but he knows enough to leap right out of it when I head toward it! It is well known that I am not nearly as nice as my co-worker. He managed to get through the crowd and come behind the counter to check in when he got out of school at 1:15, was smart enough to say “hi and good-bye, I’m out of here!”)

One of my good friends signed in to volunteer first thing that morning and I asked her if she was up for a girl’s night out. She was. I sent out emails to a couple more friends, and three of us were able to go out to Los Dos Amigos where we enjoyed a delicious dinner and sat talking and laughing until the restaurant closed at 11:00. It was just what I needed to end my Fun Day!

Work Work Work

It's that time of year. Only one week left of school. I have put in more 8 hours of extra time this week, working 6 am to 6:15 pm today. I wasn't done but left because people started coming to school for a play and I didn't want anyone coming to the office to bother me.

Normally from 7 am to 8 am we have three people in our office, plus one next door in the health room to give meds, first aid, etc. Today from 7 to 9, the three of them were gone and I got to run the show. I felt like Super Woman, checking in substitutes, taking money for lunch, yearbooks and lost PE locks, giving meds, fixing copy machines, writing tardy slips, taking constant phone calls on my headset, and finding time for a few sips of coffee from my handy large travel mug, all with a smile of course. As the day went on, I dealt with a boy who got a bad bump on the head. His eyes were dilated so mom took him to be checked out for a concussion. Several students had finger injuries and a diabetic had extremely high blood sugar. A girl was sent to the office for wearing a cloth book cover on her head and continued to argue loudly with both the principal and assistant principal that it was not a hat and only hats were against the rules, this is so stupid, I'm not taking it off, etc., until her parent was called and she was suspended for the rest of the day. Which I suspect is what she was hoping for.

But some good things happened. A teacher brought us some chocolate dipped strawberries. My principal sat down at the end of the day and told me how much she appreciated me. There were a couple of times this past week where she asked me to do something and I had anticipated the need and already had it in hand, including something today. That's always fun.

I also had a little fun yesterday at work. Some students brought in a Visa check card they found in the parking lot, which belonged to a young staff member who tends to lose keys a lot. He came through just before I went to lunch so I was deriving some entertainment from the situation for awhile before admitting that I had the card. He asked to have it and I said I left it right on the counter so I could give it to him. Oh no. It's not here. It was right here on the counter a few minutes ago. Oh, I hope nobody took it. Suddenly the sweet person who works in the office (no, not the office manager) said, "LeAnn, don't you remember that you put it in the safe?" She had no clue that I was kidding around. Just could not understand how I could appear so serious about it.

On my way home tonight I stopped by the Shell station so I could see Eric and fill up the car before gas goes any higher. I wanted to see what he looked out without all the hair that I found in the downstairs bathroom sink a few days ago. I called Eric immediately when I saw the disgusting sink and I told him, "Eric, for some reason I thought of you when I saw the bathroom sink covered in hair. What have you done?" He was so sorry, he thought he had cleaned it up. He shaved off the big bushy beard a few weeks ago and hadn't shaved since. Today I got to see the new look. He shaved about an inch between sideburns and goatee. He looks real cool. At least that's what his guy friends are telling him. For some reason the girls don't like it so much. Including me. But it's a million percent better than the enormous bushy beard. I decided to be a nice mom and took his order for a Subway sandwich, since Subway is just across the street.

Will is gone to Idaho with our new RV, parking it at his cousin's place and visiting his father in the hospital. He's also going to do a little camping with his sister.

I am so sick of this cold gray wet weather! It's June and I need some sun!