For real y’all, I feel like time is just going so fast but when I look back at Friday, it feels like a long time ago. Since I didn’t have seventh period or makeup exams to give, I just did stuff in my classroom until about noon. One of the history teachers organized a lunch for the faculty so we all drove and met at a sports bar type place. Some spouses came as well and mine did because I told him that it might be an okay time; and it was. We had fun chatting outside of school. I think we got home at maybe 2:30 and that afternoon we didn’t do much except celebrate the last day of school for me.

Saturday morning, we got up very early to drive to Gainesville. I had not signed up for the early morning stewarding time but it didn’t matter; you just jump in where they needed. We have gone to this event 3 years now and I find that in the past they had a lot of people standing around- extra stewards- but this time it seemed like they had the right number. It was a long, brutal day and I sat it on some very long flights. We stuck around for the award ceremony and by the end we were just very tired. Ash and I still went down to Swamphead to have a couple beers, but we mostly were ready to go to sleep. We’d gotten an Airbnb for the night with the intention of just getting up in the morning and leaving. We were home around 9:00 on Sunday.

While it was my plan to have my coffee and get laundry going, I was irritated by the fact that the kids didn’t really tidy up while we were gone. They just kind of left a mess. It could have been worse but it still sent me in a bad direction. I got on them and they got right to work. I thought that my outburst would make everybody angry but I think it just righted the ship. In fact, my oldest began cleaning toilets but then he clogged ours. What a disaster. Luckily, my husband is the plunger master and took care of it in no time. Rolling off that he also fixed one of the kids’ towel rack while he was feeling motivated.

We went to Walmart and Publix and made Mexican chicken and rice and I’m pretty sure Ash and I watched three movies. The weather was weird; got real cloudy and looked like it was going to rain but maybe only rained for 30 minutes. We did play some bowling until the game did something weird and errored out. So I guess that was the end of that. I kind of don’t recall the end of the evening except that I mentioned to my son I wanted some sushi and magically, sushi appeared. You just never know.

My plan for Monday was to do far less because it was a holiday so I came downstairs – first as always – and had my coffee. Upon return for my second coffee, I looked out the front window and noticed that the tree that has fallen two other large branches in the past, had lost another one. It wasn’t as large as some of the ones before but it was blocking the driveway. So four of us (my oldest did have to work even though it was a holiday) got out there and started cutting off smaller branches and little sticks so we could access the bigger parts. We began hacking away but quickly realized that the chainsaw we bought the last time this happened really just isn’t powerful enough. Ash and Isaac went to Lowe’s and picked up a battery powered one like the other appliances we’ve recently acquired, and that thing went through that limb like a hot knife through butter. It really only took us a little less than three total hours of working to get it cleared. I will include a picture at the end of this.

Feeling accomplished, we made lunch and put away laundry, then settled in for some movies. It rained more yesterday but intermittently. We worked on the bowling game and got it operational again. In the evening I made a pizza and by then, I was just exhausted. Pretty sure it rained in the night, which I’m not complaining about at all. I typically don’t care for night rain but the pool needs water.

I’m going into work today but it’s really only expected to be a half day. We are supposed to be finalizing grades and cleaning our classrooms. I doubt that it will take me all that long but we are supposed to be there today, tomorrow, and Thursday. I almost think I should have planned to do a walk this morning and then gone in but I didn’t think ahead enough. Oh well; there’s always tomorrow!