School's out for summer.

My last day of school was yesterday.  Today marks the "beginning of summer" for me.  (With a twist, unfortunately.)   

It is so hard to describe the past school year.   

EARLY AUGUST - It started all virtual for ALL THREE LEVELS of school:  Elementary, Middle and High.  (Although, Iabella and other teacher's children did something different;  they logged into their virtual classes from "teacher pods" in their parent's school buildings).  That brought some level of anxiety - for her to be with other kids even though it was 5 to a room -- one in each corner + one in the middle.

MID SEPTEMBER- Eventually, the littles went back to the classroom 2 days a week at their home school while their classmates went another 2 days a week in order to reduce class sizes.  The "other" 2 days +Fridays were virtual.  She was in a different teacher pod at her own school.  This brought about additional anxiety at the time.  There were some students who were virtual as well.  The class sizes were quite small.    (At right - a "class" picture... basically a compilation of all of the individual pictures.  pretty clever!)

(I was grateful for the teacher pod that my school system coordinated.  My previous school system did not have that set up; teachers from the neighboring district were trying to teach WHILE helping their own children.)

***  I'm dropping some photos into this timeline ***

Here is a photo from "awards" day.  Isabella got a certificate of completion for 2nd grade.  Woo hoo!   She will be moving onto 3rd next year.  Her behavior was better this year.  She and a little girl in after school had issues sometimes, but otherwise, in the classroom she was great.

Her academics were good.  She slipped a little in math but still doing really well / above average in it.  (That just gives us something to work on this summer.)  

They had a luau the last day of school -- complete with Kona Ice, Hawaiian leis, and beach balls.   Here are photos  from field day the last week of school and from the Last Day of 2nd grade -- one from school and one from home after school - she still has the mask on to compliment that crazy outfit.  (Todd assures me that she picked out her own outfit.)  

Mercer was already home from School when I picked Isabella up.  He had baseball practice, so we didn't really do any "last day of school" things.  (Also, I had grading due, so.... it went out with a fizzle instead of going out with a bang.) 

**** Back to the timeline ****

EARLY OCTOBER - Elementary school students went back 4 days a week.  Isabella still had "teacher camp" on Fridays.

LATE OCTOBER - The middle school students went back to school in person (if they chose to) .  Originally - I believe - they were to have started 2 days a week to minimize class size, then, it went to 4. There was definitely anxiety at this time:  full-size classes (depending on how many came back in person -- instead of breaking students into two groups to decrease class size).  Mercer said his "regular" classes were about 10 - 15 people.  His art class - in a larger classroom - had 30/35 people.   

I have no pictures from middle school.  :( 

Mercer rode the bus - which we were not thrilled with but had no choice because of the timing of his school was the same as my school.  As a teacher - obviously - I had to go in earlier than start time / stay later than leave time, so... he could not be a car-rider.   (Todd drove Isabella to school in the mornings and then went back to her teacher pod... which eventually went back to regular "after school" program.)    

NOVEMBER - The high school was the last to go in-person... just a couple of weeks after the middle school.  I was nervous, of course, about students in the room.  I had some classes with just a few students who came in person while everyone else was on Zoom.  I had one class with 20+/- people in it. 

We had to teach "hybrid" classes -- simultaneously teaching face-to-face AND virtual students.  It was SOOOO hard.  That large class made me the most nervous, honestly, because I could not socially distance that one.  All of my 5 other classes were socially-distanced and I felt quite comfortable.  Students were allowed to come and go as they wanted.  The high school tried not to put pressure on them. 

I had quite a few students who had to quarantine - 1 because they were a close contact... or 2 - they actually had tested positive.  This brought about another level of anxiety as I counted back the # of days since I had a "positive" student in my room.  

Was I directly helping them in close contact or not?  Luckily... nothing bad happened to any of my students nor myself.  Nor Mercer... nor his teachers.  Isabella had to quarantine a couple of times -- once because she was a close contact with an after-school student and the other because of someone in her class.  Thankfully, neither time, anything came about because of it.  I had to get a sub in my room for classroom management for the handful of students I had + Zoom in to teach on the big-screen in the room + the virtual students.  So strange!! 

Our district was in a CDC study.  Apparently, we had a low transmission rate for a school system.  This study gave administrators direct access to CDC representatives.  We're a smaller district - more nimble and can make decisions / changes quicker than the bigger school systems. We DID make national news - like several school systems in Georgia.  But... the news we made was, thankfully, positive!

I do have to admit - at the end - with only 2 weeks of school left, our district + a several others in metro Atlanta dropped the mask requirement (based on a CDC recommendation for fully-vaccinated people).  My 9th graders were not old enough to have been vaccinated.... and I had several 9th graders who tried to drop the mask.  10th - 12th graders may have had their vaccines, however, we were not supposed to ask.  Not supposed to police.  I was very anxious about that as well - in my large class.  There was a lot I was anxious about this entire school year!

In looking back... it was a strange strange year.  There were so many students who suffered - really sad stories like they were trying to work while going to school.... or their parents required they stay home so they could take care of siblings while they were trying to go to school.  There were cases of depression that we heard about from parents and counselors.  There were cases of anxiety and students who were straight A before the pandemic who failed every class because they could not cope.

It was a tough tough year.  It was tough for new teachers, veteran teachers and everyone in between.  There are so many teacher who are leaving the profession.  There are so many teachers who are dealing with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression of their own.  There are so many teachers who are just absolutely out of steam.  I feel like one of those.

Making ONE change in teaching is tough (EITHER a school system change OR a subject taught).  I had BOTH of those changes AND - last week - I just finished my 2 year teaching program.   So, considering all THREE of those were going on - during a pandemic - to say that I am beat... I am exhausted... is an understatement!  

I am glad I made the change, however.  There are political differences between the school system I just left and the current one I'm in.  I'm more in tune with the current school system I'm in now.  Throughout this school year, I felt more supported than my previous colleagues were experiencing.   I think teaching High School is also a better fit for me than Middle School was.   I love science, but... I think that I'll have a lot more freedom in teaching architecture / be able to be more creative.  Of course, I know this subject quite well.  

Scattered throughout the text above are photos from my student work / things we did this semester - designing birdhouses / designing homeless huts / building partition walls (For the in-person students only.)  The virtual students - for the most part - did not turn in / upload as many things.  Having the in-person instruction and hands-on materials really really helps - especially in a class like this.  

I did have two of my architecture students receive recognition (3rd place + honorable mention) in a local restaurant design competition.  I think that was pretty good considering that both of them were virtual!   

Worth a mention:  The woman who has been my supervisor for my alternative teaching program said that I did well in my last position (teaching Earth Science) but that I really shine in this position (teaching Architecture) -- that my passion for it is more evident.  

I officially finished the teaching program!!  Done.  Finished.  That all wrapped up the last week of school as well.  The paperwork was sent to the Georgia Professional Services Commission.  WOO HOO.  

That was an intense 2 years of life juggling classes with life!  

I am 10,000% glad this school year is over!!    

During these last weeks of school, we - of course - crammed in a LOT of baseball!!  

Isabella made her "rookie" league's All-Star team.  She was, again, the only girl.  (Our little fire-cracker!!)   Her team was made up of players from 4 different teams in the league.  2 of the 3 coaches from her spring season were the coaches for All-Stars.  She played in-field during spring.  During the short All-Star run, she played outfield.  Before the spring season, someone said something about her joining a "Spikes" tournament team (like Mercer).... but it never materialized for her age bracket -- no one to coach?  In a way, I'm glad that there wasn't yet ANOTHER team this season!!  

They practiced EVERY SINGLE DAY.  It got to be too much for many of the littles.... they tried to make practice fun after grueling through day after day for a week.  The kids were losing steam.  They had slip-and-slide water sliding practice, Kona Ice after one practice, pizza and snacks after another, water-balloon batting practice.  

The Rookie Little League All-Stars tournament was a "double-elimination" tournament.... meaning once you lost two games, you're out.  The EMNLL Orange Rookies played in the first two games and lost both.  It was a short run, but the kids had fun and learned a few new skills.

(Isabella was supposed to be #7, but there was an issue with her jersey... they swapped her to #11.  One picture may show the baseball with 7 on it, but the jersey is 11 and they put a little decal in the back with her original number to say "oops - sorry!".)

Isabella's spring baseball season ended in mid-May.  1 day off, then 2 weeks of heavy baseball for All-Stars - which ended at the end of May.  

We reported on her Spring season on the last blog, but the team party was delayed awhile - was in the mix of All-Stars team.  Here are a couple of pictures from the end-of-season party + informal presentation of game balls to each kid.

At Mercer's level, there are not as many teams at our local Little League club.  (There are only 2 teams so, they play "inter-league" baseball.)  They played nearby Smyrna and Hobgood National Little League teams last fall and again this spring.  Like last fall, the inter-league championship came down to the two East Marietta teams.  (Last season, Hobgood hosted and they were a little upset that at least one of their 4 or 5 teams) of teams didn't make it to the championship games.  

This spring - Smyrna was hosting.  It got changed back to East Marietta since Smyrna didn't have a team at the championship.  But.... the trophies say Smyrna -- although all 3 clubs helped pay for them!   Mercer's spring season came to an end the day after Isabella's All-Star season did.  We were at a ball field in Smyrna OR in Marietta 'til almost 10 Tues, Wed and Thurs.  (note - the day before my grading deadline~)  It was such an INSANE week!   

The championship game this spring came down to the two East Marietta teams:  Coach Alan & Coach Greg's "Thunderbirds" + Coach Richard & Coach Todd's "Hammers."  Most of these boys have played together for years.... so it's hard NOT to root for the other team's players when they excel because they've grown up in front of you.   During the season, we kept losing to the Thunderbirds, but once we got into the playoffs, the Hammers came from behind tying up the series when the beat the Thunderbirds early in the week.... and they clinched the Interleague Championship when the beat the Thunderbirds again later that same week. 

Here are different photos throughout the trophy presentation that evening + game ball presentation.  One of the things that Coach Richard said about Mercer:  they built the season around Mercer.  (He was pitching so much + he was the middle of the lineup batter.) 

The EM Thunderbirds that took 2nd.... about half of those players + half of the players from Mercer's team - the EM Hammers -  came together the next day - as friends and teammates - rolling into practice as the EM Spikes.  

Mercer is on the East Marietta "tournament" team - Spikes -  AND he also made the All-Stars for East Marietta.  The Spikes play through the Fall Winter Spring and Summer.  The All-Stars just play in the summer after spring baseball.  The funny thing about All-Stars and Spikes -- the teams are almost the same.  There's a couple of Spikes that are not All-Stars and there's one All-Star that's not on Spikes.  Basically the same teams with some different rules of play.  

So, there are Spikes tournaments throughout the Summer to help condition the All-Stars team because the "interleague" baseball teams mentioned above (Hobgood and Smyrna) are NOT playing in the All-Stars this year... there are no regional playoffs.  The East Marietta National Little League 13u team automatically advances to the State playoffs!  

(This is what Mercer and his team did in the 11u tournament 2 summers ago... they won at regionals and went to state.  Unfortunately, the 12u tournament did not happen because of Covid.)  So, that's pretty cool for these guys -- they get to go to state again!  (later in July).

whew.

I need to FINALLY take care of ME this summer and practice self care that has been neglected for many years.  But.....

... will have to do this with a twist...

__________

My final teaching training / exit meeting was Tuesday.  Our students were last in the classroom on Thursday.  I had a grading deadline on Friday.  We had all of that baseball stuff mentioned above (Isabella's All-Stars tournament and Mercer's Spring season Inter-league championship).  Saturday was the 1st "chill" day I had in a VERY VERY VERY VERY long time.  It was the start of a long 3 day Memorial Day weekend.

We went for a lovely, relaxing family hike.  

Seriously - I did not have a care in the world.  I was totally relaxed.  We did not have any place to be and we could just go at our leisure / stay at Sweetwater Creek state park as long as we wanted.  

Unfortunately, I started to slip on a sloped rock.  (The rock wasn't even wet.  It was dry.)  Instinctively, I grabbed onto a fence that was next to me and... RRRRRRIIIIIPPPPP.    I head muscle tear in my shoulder and a rush of pain come through my arm.  I immediately knew that I had dislocated my shoulder!  

I did this once when I played basketball in Middle School.  I did it a second time when I was on Color Guard / Flag Corps in High School.  Thirty or more years later, I dislocated it "catching myself" from falling while hiking.  I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THE FALL!  :(

We had a loooonnnnngggg walk back to the car -- we were about a mile down the trail.  I had to hold my arm up (then later where Todd made a sling out of Mercer's sweatshirt) was no fun. But, what made it worse was a screaming 8 year old who was really really REALLY REALLY mad that she could no longer play in the water and try to catch salamanders.  

She and Todd were up ahead of Mercer and me on the journey back to the car.  We could hear her screaming the whole way back.  (Mercer stayed back to make sure that I didn't fall down... to make sure there were no sticks in the path.)  Todd went on ahead to go get the car and drive it up to the trail head. I can only imagine how stressed out he was about me, but also because he was getting yelled at the whole way there.  (ugh)

We live near a hospital, however, we pass a different one that was closer to the hiking trail.  So - Todd dropped me off at the ER check-in at that one about 30 minutes from our house.  Once I was checked into the waiting room and seated, he took the kids and dog home. 

He came back to the ER and he signed for / paid for my hospital co-pay.    They took x-rays of my shoulder.  They identified a fracture and a bone fragment in addition to the dislocation.  They gave me pain medicine in an IV - which dulled the pain.  They gave me the option to go without sedation for the procedure of putting it back in.  I declined.  I opted for the sedation.

Todd had to sign consent forms.  He sat outside my room and said he heard me scream even while I was "under."  (The doctor said that the sedation wore off and they had to give me more.)  They tried the procedure twice and it didn't work.  CAN YOU IMAGINE IF I DID NOT have the sedation??!!  The nurse told me after I "came to" that she was glad I had it... it was pretty bad.  They told Todd that it would be awhile while they called in an Orthopedist to come to the ER... so he went back home with the kids.  

The orthopedist did a "modern-day" torture procedure by putting my arm in a gravity-pulled traction.  I found the procedure online. I was in this position for at least an hour.  The orthopedist said that my arm wouldn't go back into joint because my muscles were too tense.... this would relax them and she would try the procedure for a 3rd time.  They would come check on me every now and then.  "How are you doing?"  what am I supposed to say in this position?

  

Great!  um.... I'm in pain and you're hanging a weight on my arm!  I consented to go under sedation again.  (The 2nd time I didn't have as good a dream as the 1st time.)  When I came to again, they told me it worked and I needed to hang out for awhile so they could observe me.  Eventually, they gave me apple juice and yucky graham crackers (b/c I refused the turkey sandwich originally offered.)  

At this point, the doctor told me to call Todd back up to the ER to come pick me up.  He packed up the kids and headed back.  (This was about 11 pm)  After I ate, however, I threw up.  So... the doctor said I couldn't leave yet.  Todd and the kids waited.  I waited.  Finally close to midnight, I walked around w/out throwing up and they said I could be discharged.  Todd met me back in the ER waiting room and wheeled me out to the drop-off area.... went to go get his car... but it wouldn't start!  (they were listening to the radio while waiting for me)

We called Allstate who said they'd be out in 74 minutes to jump the car.  74 minutes came and went.  Todd called again... they said it would be 93 MORE minutes.  Then, I thought that there may be campus security at the hospital.  Todd tracked someone down who worked there / they called security and they jumped the car!    We did not get into our house 'til close to 3 am.  

All of this to say that the "carefree" weekend turned into a very surreal ordeal!  Still doesn't seem like it happened (until I reach over to pet the dog and a pain shoots through my arm)!

Scattered throughout are photos that were taken BEFORE this happened.  Seriously - I can still remember (about a week later) the serene feeling I had while hiking around and exploring.  The kids were enjoying themselves.  Todd was having a good time too with the dog.  

These are my favorite photos here.... where the building meets the water.  I was done shooting & turned to meet back up with the family after taking these photos when....   (oops)

Just makes you realize that - although this ordeal was not life-or-death - that EVERYTHING can change in the blink of an eye.  

Since the last post....

India's #s looked like they topped out last week at more than 400,000 new cases per day.  Thankfully, it looks like it's trending downward.  It has dropped a bit each day (in the 370 - 350,000 cases a day range which is still insane!)  There was an updated article that talks about the "why" -- the country had recently opened back up because the health minister said they were at the END of the pandemic.  YIKES!  There were also large political rallies where people were not masked.  Finally - as mentioned before, there was a large public "bath" as a religious event.  All of this while a new covid variant was making it's way across the globe.  

Vaccinations were low - still are - but that is starting to ramp up.  I've been following the data every week.  Just to check in on it.   This is interesting to see the spike mapped out compared to other countries.  

Now it looks like John Hopkins' map is showing the number of world-wide doses of vaccine administered.  Interesting!   Here in Georgia, the numbers continue to decline thankfully, however...... my prediction, we'll see another spike soon:  the CDC just released the mask mandate for fully-vaccinated people.  (However, they just offered a clarification for schools:  stay masked up.)  Unfortunately, our school system and the neighboring school system jumped and released a statement about dropping the masks if vaccinated.  They also told us that we're not policing it / we're not asking who has been vaccinated or not.

At school, I've had students argue about their masks.  I'm constantly policing and saying "mask up."  Now - the new CDC masking recommendations will be fuel for those who don't want to wear them... even the people who haven't been vaccinated.  It's a problem really only in the high school (regarding students).... for we have students ages 14 and above.  The kids' elementary and middle schools should still be masked-up... except for the adults that work in each of the facilities.  

Kids 16 and above have had the opportunity to have had 2 doses of the vaccine + the 2 week efficacy time.  Last week, 12 year - 15 year olds now also have the opportunity but it will be approximately 6 weeks before any of the 12, 13, 14 and 15 year olds would have the opportunity to be considered fully-vaccinated after the 2 week efficacy time.  

I'll stay masked up.  I only have 2 more weeks!  I am counting down soooo hard 'til summer!

The next two weeks will be insane.  I had signed Isabella up for summer swim team about a month ago.  Little did we know that last week she would be named as one of the players for Little League All-Stars for their park!    Swim starts tomorrow (every day after school 'til school is out, then it's every morning).  All-Star baseball practices started the day after her regular season ended. And it has happened every day since.  Every....Day....Since.  EEK! 

She had a fun season.  Normally, I'd be taking teaching classes, but because things were virtual this year - I was actually able to be at more of her games than the previous season.  There's some good energy at these games as the kids are starting to "get it."  Isabella seems to understand the game pretty well (probably because she's been to a zillion of her brother's baseball games -- or on the playground near his games and it's rubbed off?).  She has been a valuable part of their team, the Emeralds.  She was playing mostly in-field (1st, 2nd, short, or 3rd base.  She played some left field as well.) 

She loves being the only girl.  There are lots of moms out there rooting for her.  I overhear people telling their little girls / siblings of team-members "look... there's Isabella at bat. Let's watch her."  (inspiring the littles who are a few years behind her -- much like Gabby who played on M's team for awhile.)  I hear dads yelling "come on baby-girl."  Hey... that's MY line!   and on multiple occasions, I've had strangers -- people who aren't on our team -- come up and talk to me about her.  I don't want to tell her this because it will go to her head, but she's like a little rock star out there in the 7 & 8 year old fan-base.  (I don't need to tell her.  She already knows it.)

I love this photo... she hits and then you can tell where the ball is going by looking at the opposing coaches.  

They came 2nd in the playoffs.  There's one team that just couldn't be beat.  Some of the boys were flat-out crying about it.  She was OK.  I think they did great.  

There were some things that were pretty exciting and I'd have to text Todd about (because he'd be at Mercer's game.)  "She hit a double and knocked in 2 runners to tie up the championship game 17-17." then "someone knocked her in for the win!"   OR  "she just caught a pop-fly!"    one lady sent me a video clip of her getting the ball and running down the person who was trying to go from 3rd to home.  She caught up with them after fielding and tagged them out.  There were some intense moments!  She's a firecracker!

Todd has been coaching BOTH her team and Mercer's team -- jumping from one to the other back-to-back many days. Mercer's team is currently in the playoffs.  Their next game is also against the 1st place team that hasn't lost yet.  Unfortunately - Todd had to leave to go coach Mercer's game and didn't get into this shot.  

We'll see later what happens this week.  In the meantime, here are some photos from a recent game where he pitched and played 1st base.  He's also been playing center field.  He's fast. 

 

He's definitely got speed on his side.  He won the park's Hit-Pitch-Run event.  He made 3 of the 6 pitches in the strike zone.  He hit the ball straight down the line he farthest and ran so fast that -- between all 3 events -- he had the best score and *MAY* advance to the state Hit-Pitch-Run event at the Brave's stadium at the end of the summer.  We won't know how he places in the state / if he qualifies 'til other clubs have had their events.  

I didn't get to see it.  I was at home getting ready to chaperone for prom at my school.  It was low-key.   I think the students were just all happy to be going somewhere and were all pretty well-behaved thankfully!  

Since then, we did squeeze in a couple of fun things.  We tried something new as a family:  disc golf.  The coach at Isabella's school was teaching students how to play -- then -- offered free family lessons at a nearby park.  We took him up on it and gave it a shot. Todd won.  I was not very good (oh well).... but we had fun!  

Later that weekend was mother's day.  I ordered some new blog books (trying to catch up -- it's been 8 years since getting the last book!)

We went on a picnic and a bike ride.  (I ordered a charcuterie plate.  Mercer was NOT happy with the food.  "This isn't real food." )  

Oh well.  At least Isabella was into it!  

Todd picked up some tulips. The kids made cards.  (I really like tulips when they start to wilt...I always keep them past their prime!)  They're "artistic" in how they fall!  

Here are some flowers that I got - I had to snap a photo or two.  (In fact, the house looked pretty good with these flowers on the ftont porch + the flag blowing in the wind.)  

Here's a fun "closing photo" for today's blog... Isabella found something else to do at the ball-field. After a ton of rain, there was standing water near the play ground.  She couldn't help herself - she had to pick up the frogs!