Wow! It has been one exhausting week. Seriously. I need to rethink my life. Physically, I am not able to keep up with myself. It’s a bummer because my brain is running a million miles per minute, but my knees, ankles, and hips can’t do it. I know it would help if I were a smaller person, but, despite my efforts to eat well and to get some kind of exercise into my week, I have remained the same for a year. I am grateful for the pounds I lost up to this point, but this year long plateau is making it hard to keep up with the demands of my life.
This week Freya graduated from preschool. Next year Kimber is planning on homeschooling her kids. Freya seemed to thrive in her little preschool class. I hardly ever heard her complain about getting ready to go to school. Her teacher is awesome. I know Freya will miss going to see her every other day.
This week we held auditions for the fall musical, 13 the Musical that performs in October. It’s about finding your place in life as a 13 year old. I was super proud of all the students I teach who auditioned well. Many rose to the occasion and knocked it out of the park. And of course, I was super proud of how Lilli did. I am super sad that I never got the chance help her get ready. Still, she did so well getting ready on her own… well enough to earn the lead. Jeff cast her as Patrice. Her two best friends are cast as well. Ethan is cast as Brett (the jock who wants a date with Kendra) and Jocie was cast as one of Lucy’s friends, Cassie. They both have some great songs to sing in the show. I am excited to see how this show gets off the ground in August when we begin rehearsals.
In addition to auditions, voice lessons and helping with school classes, I was responsible for setting up the last school assembly of the year sending off the seniors. That same day I ended up helping the ASBEC tech kids with their constant set ups for events around the school. I even helped them set up their dance and stuff. Our school baseball team one state for the first time since 1958, or something like that. So there were celebrations there too. Then there was the final sports awards and senior awards, baccalaureate… and finally…
Graduation… I am going to miss this class. What is super sad that I was so busy that I didn’t get to celebrate with them. I spent all day, from 7am to 9:30pm working at making the tech stuff for the day happen. It is far more work than the administration will ever admit to cart all the school equipment around the school. I got soaked on the field 4 times. We had to clear the field because of thunder. I got a late start on the actual sound set up because I didn’t want to get it all out in the rain and stand in a puddle of water to run it and I never got a real sound check before people started into the stadium. When it was all over I had to quickly get into the take down mode. So I never got a chance, like most spectators and staff, to mix and mingle to congratulate the kids I love. Only four of them came out to the field to find me to get a picture and one last hug.
I’m going to miss these guys.
I did get to learn how to drive one of the gators around campus. By the end of the day my legs and feet were killing me. Someone had loaded up the gator, but no one was left on the field to drive it back to the building, so I hopped in and learned how it worked. That was fun.
Kimber, Ray and the kids left on Wednesday to go camping on the coast for a week and to participate in the sandcastle competition on Saturday. John left on Thursday to join them. They didn’t place this year. They had a hard time getting started. It was John’s first time working on the team. It is a ton of work. I took Lilli and Ethan on Saturday morning to watch, but I never made it to the beach. We got there late because we had to take a major detour because the cut off at Grande Ronde was closed. The crowd was awful. There was no where to park. I was sent to get diapers. I dropped off Ethan and Lilli and headed to Seaside for the diapers. By the time I got back and worked my way through the traffic it was time for cars to get off the beach. Lilli met me on the main road to take the diapers to the beach dwellers and I circled around some more. I even got run off the road and hit a bush that took the mirror off my truck! Seriously. People were crazy! I finally gave up and told Ethan and Lilli to meet me at the main road and I picked them up and drove toward home.
We stopped at Manhattan Beach, just north of Rockaway, and I finally got to see the beach. We stopped for a potty break and then walked down the little trail a bit. We only stayed for a minute and then we moved on down the road. McKay, Myles and the kids met us at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. John eventually met us there too. I discovered they make on flavor of sugar free ice cream. I admit I indulged myself and got one scoop. It’s been a long year. It was a long day. I spent 10 hours in the truck driving. By the end of the day my leg was numb with the occasional shooting hot poke stabbing feeling from my hip to my toes.
Meanwhile, Chad is working like crazy at his sales job in Arizona. Some days are good and some days are bad. He has earned some killer blisters and a great farmer’s tan. He hopes to do well enough to earn all the money he needs for the coming school year. He now has residency in Utah and plans on going to college there.
These silly guys always make me giggle. They say and do funny things. This week their back yard project nearly ended. There is no longer a drop off. There is a little room to play and a larger patio area. It will make playing outside much more fun this summer.
I think those grand-kids came by their silliness genetically. This handsome guy needed a head shot for work, so Kimber did her best to help him out. When we were at the Tillamook Cheese Factory he was doing somersaults in the grass to teach them how to do it. I laughed so hard.
Hannah is doing well. Her mission is wrapping up. She got to see a show in Branson Missouri on a p-day. She has had a few tornado warnings, but has not experienced a tornado touch down. She has got soaking wet learning to change a tire though. It’s hard to believe there are only three weeks left. I’m pretty sure that, although she will live at home for a little while, we won’t see much of her. She plans on working for McKay and Myles for a bit to earn money for more school. Then, I think she will be off to discover the world. Kids grow up so fast.
So, there it is… the week. I am super tired and in need of a change. But, life keeps moving on; bills need to be paid so work continues; demands on time and resources never end. I’m think that “tired” will remain my answer to “How you doing?” for the foreseeable future.
Resigning as the General Manager of the Universe 