First of all, our summer back home in NC/SC was awesome! The beach, the mountains, the small/simple life of Cherryville... it was all so nice. The fondest memories are those of Sweet Tea, Sundrop, Shake Shop cheeseburgers, Aunt Judi's home cooked meals, me DRIVING again, Grant Driver's Permit, Green Grass, the BLUEST sky I've ever seen in my life (I know it wasn't that blue before?) and time spent with family and friends... it was basically perfect.
The worst memories from summer are those of my pants not buttoning because of the mass amounts of good food we ate all summer, my mom crying when we pulled out of her driveway, not having enough time to see everyone we thought we would see and losing a precious friend, Tina West, to her years of battling cancer.
So, we've been back here for 6 weeks and we haven't stopped yet. I am teaching kindergarten again for the first time in about 15 years, and man am I zapped at the end of my day (plus I still have grade 1 and 2). They are the highlight of my day (everyday) but my age is showing a bit I think! Last week, Ara, a KG2 student told me I was one beautiful lady... bless his heart, he made my year! I have just over 300 students this year and Blair has about 350 or more... so we don't stop too much during the school day. Grant has an incredibly challenging Grade 10 schedule, but he's working at it. He is playing volleyball for the first time ever, and is doing really well. They have a 3-1 record so far and he will be in a couple of tournaments soon.
We both serve on a couple of committees and advise after school activities, and Blair will be coaching a basketball team soon!
One of the best things is that the administration gave me their approval to coordinate a special Celebration of Thanks/Picnic in the Park, for the Saturday following Thanksgiving, for our support staff. We have many Filipono, Pakistani, Indian and other nationalities that are our cleaners, bus drivers, bus nannies, helpers, assistants, etc. etc. We are looking forward to this fun today together of games, music, good food and fellowship. A little funny for ya... I was hanging the posters and signup sheets last week, when one of the filipino ladies said, "Excuse me Miss, but are you Christian?" I said, "well yes I am". She said, "I thought so, because you put the word fellowship on the poster!"... I just laughed and said, "yes, that does give me away"! Good stuff all the time!
So, our apartment is settled, we still have our Toyota Camry we bought last year, we are still attending the Redeemer Church and loving it, and life is pretty good overall. I am able to get Grant some imported goods like Eggo Waffles, PopTarts and Oreo cookies, and he is very happy. I found a magnolia plant a couple of weeks ago and have in on the dining table (along with some other house plants here and there), so green is good.
That's about it for now... need to go put a little hair color on this gray... one thing you don't see a lot of people with over here... not because they don't have gray, but because they are on top of their image and would never let it show! Me on the other hand, wait until I can't take it anymore! Until next time... Kim
