And I'm back and giving this blog posting thing a try...

I'm feeling a little rusty getting started on this post.  No worries, though, I'm sure I'll be rambling like my old self by the end of it! ~christy

I'm as back as I can be with the start of a new school year looming.  The first day of school is close enough to choke me with the stress of a pressing deadline, yet far enough away that I'm teased by the hours I think I have left to prepare in.

It had better be enough time. 

I'll make it enough time....

While a week away camping with my family was a spledid hiatus from normalcy, once in a while tendrils of reality crept into my mind.  A moment or two of panic ensued until I pushed off the pesky reminder that my workless summer was coming to an end.

And now here I sit amidst piles of laundry and dirty dishes, no dish soap in sight.  I send frantic emails to my principal and colleagues, hoping one of them will clue me in on my responsibilities for the year.  You see, I teach part-time and my schedule depends entirely on them.  Finally, after days of emailing (while camping...yes.  one of the productive ways I handled the panicked minutes---shooting emails left and right), I got not one, but two replies.  Tomorrow I'll meet with my principal to discuss my hours, pick up my keys and unpack the room I packed up this past June.

Yes, this past May, like the May before that one, I was told I'd be moving to a different building in the district.  So, this past June, like the June before that one, I packed up every teaching item I owned into box after box after box after box (after box, etc.).  Until August, when I learned that I would actually be moving BACK INTO THE ROOM I'D JUST PACKED UP.  Yes.  So tomorrow I will be unpacking and reorganizing and buying name tags and cleaning and buying teaching books and planning.  And not only tomorrow, but Thursday and Friday too.  I'm crossing my fingers the weekend will be free for me to relax and enjoy the remaining weekend of the summer before inservice, and the school year, kick into full gear on Monday. 

I definitely need family time this weekend because my oldest starts KINDERGARTEN next Thursday.  And that means that he starts five full days of school that will continue from next Thursday until he graduates from college.  After which he will (maybe?) work five full days every week of his life.  So, you see, it's the last weekend of his childhood.  (I am NOT sobbing right now.)  AND my baby (well, my baby until our third son is born in December) is starting pre-school.  YES!  I will have two children in school and I am in shock over this rapid progression of life.

With that said, I am going to either read (finish Paranormalcy by Kiersten White) or write (edit and add in scenes for Fixing Shelby) right now.  Oh, that reminds me.  Shelby didn't win Miss Snark's August Secret Agent Contest, but the agent gave me good feedback along with a positive nudge (imo).  Here's what she wrote (it appears I've not yet fully recovered from Overwriting Syndrome):

Secret Agent said...

Nice work characterizing the mom through dialogue. Just that one word, "honey," does so much. The set up here is compelling, too, but this entry could use some pruning. One example that would appease my sense of economy and still maintain the tone of things here: "I glared at the purse for a moment before setting it at my feet. I'd rather be home cleaning the toilet bowl with my toothbrush or ripping out my fingernails than primping in the car on the way to my 'best' friend's house. 'You didn't have to drive me, Mom.'"


So, I'm writing with my garden shears in my lap, hoping for inspiration to economize while keeping the tone.  The only problem is I haven't yet acquired the ability to recognize my own wordiness.  Are there special writing glasses out there for that?

Ah, well.