Looking forward to moving next year

It has been a busy week for my hubby. And a difficult one. He has needed glasses for a couple of years but you know how parents are, we put off things for ourselves and opt for what the kids need, or the repairs the house or car needs and on and on. But this year it has been a struggle for him to get all the work done he needs to without them so he is finally going to the optomotrist next week. He is continually worn out lately and I hope the glasses make a huge difference for him.

As I said though it has been a busy week for him. In one of his classes he has the kids all working on teams for a big project that some of them are having occassional difficulties with. He expected this and as usual makes himself available for help. He stays after school and lets them know when his planning period is during the day. He also is available to them online by Instant Messenger while he is doing his work and if that is not enough, they all have his phone number and now even his address! lol.

A few nights ago we had a student drive the 45 minutes from the town where he teaches to get help. Between her after school job and extracurricular activities, she just couldn’t get to him during the usual times, so he got a call and he guided her in as she tried to navigate an unfamiliar city to get here. I got a big hug from her when she got here and she was tickled pink to try a cookie from a recipe I had been experimenting with. It was nice to have her here. Then last night, he had another team working together at one kid’s house calling us on speaker phone to get help. When they got put on speaker phone they all yelled "Hi Mrs. B!!" I said "Hello Dears" and asked if they were having fun yet which they all laughed at. But they were having fun! Even though Dennis had to be patient and keep going over the material and walking them through it, they were all laughing and joking but still doing work. Dennis will go over something and keep trying different methods and ways of explaining it until it does make sense to the kid. The kids know this and don’t have any problem keeping him on the phone until after 9 at night. In fact last night the parents walked into their room and we could hear them ask who they were talking to so late. When they found out it was Dennis, they apologized but Dennis just laughed and said no problem, I got 4 other kids online getting help anyway! It was fun to have them on speaker and to hear it myself instead of just hearing Dennis’ side of the conversation.

I really do miss having a house full of crazy teenagers (and believe me ours were ‘out there’ crazy! lol) and once they were all gone and I was suddenly here alone all the time, I started bugging Dennis to move closer to his school. He didn’t really ‘feel the love’ for that move, but I wanted to be closer so I could be more a part of his school life. I meet kids and teachers once in a great while at the sporadic game or event we go to, but I never get to know who anyone is enough to put a face to the name let alone remember them the next time I meet them. And most of the time when he’s telling me about his day, I have no idea who he’s talking about. I’m just too far away to be a part of his school life.

But when we started checking around for schools for me to get my degree and found one an hour east of here, suddenly Dennis was more than willing to not only sell the house and move but to also to change jobs. He is tired of the commute and also of being too far from the school. When he starts teaching after we move, I will FINALLY be able to wander over to the school to watch a baseball practice if I feel like it, or help out at a special event if they need volunteers, get to know the people he keeps talking about, to be a part of his school life which conveniently will also satisfy my cravings to be around crazy teenagers! LOL!

Although I believe Dennis is right, we will be in trouble once the kids have easier access to us. We are somewhat safe being so far from school now. I have the feeling that there will be pilgrimages of kids to our house for warm chocolate chip cookies and help with their homework! I won’t mind though. In fact, I can’t wait! Give us an old victorian fixer upper close to both our schools and a bunch of kids wanting hugs and cookies crowding up the house and I might actually be able to deal with all my kids growing up and moving out. Hmmm, since I will be in school too, I might even get them to help ME with MY homework! LOL!