Another Year Down

As of today, another school year has ended.   We teachers have packed up our classrooms, had our annual luncheon, said our goodbyes, and turned in our keys.  School's out for summer. 

Sing it, Alice!

It's been a tough year for our staff.  Our team leader was promoted mid-year, leaving us to fill the holes as we tried to fill her position.  Several...far too many...of our staff lost very close family members-children, spouses, siblings.  Paperwork increased, responsibilities multiplied, and pay stayed the same (really, decreasing as cost of living went up). 

But there have been many good times too.  Just today, we danced to Just Dance 4 (don't tell the Ortho--I'm probably not supposed to be dancing around on a bum calf but I didn't really do much leg moving).  Faculty meeting with a side of B.S. Bingo (didn't win).  Wedding showers, baby showers, celebrations.  Laughing with students.   Those times are what we hold onto as teachers.  It doesn't make the bad times any better, but it gives a small bright spot in the stressful times. 

So, goodbye, school, for a couple of months.  See you in August.

Big things...

Last week were two big milestones in my life. 

Not my wedding cake, but if I was going to get married again or renew my vows, this would be a cute cake to have.

The first was that it was my 21st wedding anniversary.  That's a pretty big deal in of itself just because that's a long long time to put up with another person.  But it's also a big deal because it means that I have officially been married half my life. 

Yep.  On May 30, 1992, the day I got married, I was 21 years old.  So, I have had this last name as long as I had my maiden name.  Half...my...life. 

May 30, 1992

And I still like my husband.  Hell, I'll say it.  I love him as much (if not more) than the day we got married.  That is rare in today's world, I'm told, and given the divorce rate, I half believe it. 

The second milestone was running my first 10K yesterday morning.  Now, I ran my first Half Marathon back in January, so this may seem anti-climatic, but it was a pretty big deal for me.  I love to run.  Love it.  And I have never run a 10K.  And that Half was on flat ground--this 10K was HILLY.  Oh, and hot.  It was 75 degrees at the start of the race and temps rose pretty darned quickly.  I also did this race with a good friend, and it was nice to have a mini-girl's weekend, even if we were putting ourselves through major torture to do so. 

Good motto.

So, last night was a celebration of my two milestones.  My wonderful hubby took me out to dinner and we ended up in our favorite wine bar.  They even gave us $2 off because it was our anniversary!!!  Big things happened this week. 

And it only gets better from here...