Remembering How to Relax

Once we arrived in Florida, and recovered our luggage, it was time to relax and enjoy the visit with family. Compared to the hectic pace of school days at home...not having a schedule, household jobs, or responsibilities has been a bit of a shock to my system.

My brother's family has gone out of their way to take care of us. My sister in law is an amazing cook and is feeding us well. Lounging on their patio, and hanging out in the hot tub feels heavenly. Even Oliver is doing his part to make our visit a positive experience.

Oliver is their cat. He has always hated me. Correction: he has always hated most people. Being the animal lover that I am, it's been hard to accept the idea of a pet that won't warm up to me. I've tried several times over the years, only to come to the conclusion that he's just a cranky cat. If I pass by him, he growls in warning, then darts away as if he can't stand to be in the same room with me. He has stalked me as I walked down their hall, springing from out of nowhere and whacking my ankles like I'm some sort of cat-sized prey. I've lost my dignity once or twice when I've broken into a run to avoid his attack.

I'd given up any hope of befriending this unapproachable creature, but this year, OIiver surprised us. He's about sixteen years old now, and apparently age (or senility) has mellowed him. I was breathless when he voluntarily jumped in my lap yesterday. At first I hardly dared to move, for fear his old personality would come back and he'd bat me in the head before running away. 

I guess Oliver doesn't hate us after all. I'm watching in amazement as he sleeps with my son at night, and goes from one lap to another while we watched a movie after supper. I've decided if Oliver can learn to be cuddly and nice after all these years, I can learn to give up a few of my Type-A habits and learn to relax a bit more. 

This trip has been full of pleasant surprises. I guess you can teach an old cat new tricks after all.

Travel Hassles

We never go anywhere for spring break. This is a first. Since Joe is in college and Ben is graduating, we decided that this was the year to scrape some money together and go somewhere for a family vacation. All the boys agreed that Uncle David's house was their top choice, so we made the plane reservations.

Perry knows how hard it is for me to go anywhere during spring break. Being the Type-A person that I am (make that Double A) I use days off from school to work on projects around the house, or get school work done. Stretching my comfort zone is good for me though, so as we prepared for the trip last week, I did my best to ignore the dirty floors at home and the stacks of papers at school. I was doing remarkably well until the travel hassles began, and then I began shrieking, "See! This is why we don't go anywhere on spring break!!"

Travel Hassle #1 I found out at 4:30 Friday afternoon that some new doggie vaccination was required before we could drop Buddy and Pearl at the kennel the next morning. So, I had to round up the dogs and make a frantic dash to the vet clinic. The dogs received the necessary shot and I and handed over $56.oo, mentally calculating the total cost of leaving pets at a kennel for a week. As I drove home, I mumbled, "This is why we don't go anywhere on spring break."

Travel Hassle #2 We arrived in Kansas City promptly 2 hours early for our flight, cleared security, and settled down at our boarding time, only to find out that our flight had been delayed at least an hour, creating the possibility that we'd miss our connecting flight in Atlanta. As we waited, I reminded "Perry, See, there is a reason why I don't like to go places on spring break."

Travel Hassle #3 We arrived in Atlanta with 5 minutes before our next flight departed. Racing to the next concourse, we found our gate, only to see that flight had been delayed, first 1 hour, then 2 hours.  This time, I grumbled to complete strangers sitting next to me, "This is why I don't travel on spring break!"

Travel Hassle #4 Arriving in Miami at midnight and waiting what seemed like an eternity at the baggage claim, only to realize that the thingy had stopped turning and the lights were being turned off. Our hearts sank as we realized our luggage did not make it on the plane. I resisted the urge to fling myself to the floor of the terminal and beat my fists, but I'm sure I made it clear to the Russian woman next to me in line that this is why I hardly ever travel.

Travel Hassle #5  Waiting in line another hour and a half to fill out the necessary paperwork so our lost luggage could be delivered to us when located. The airport representative kindly took down all our information and politely ignored my incoherant mumbling.  We left the airport at 1:30 AM with our complimentary overnight kits in hand and me reminding everyone within earshot that this would probably be our first and LAST spring break trip anywhere. 

Think I made my point?

Lining Up for Lunch

I must confess that I do something unusual when lining my class up for lunch. In most classrooms, the students find the friend(s) they want to sit by and line up accordingly. The thing I HATE about this is : the same kids race to the front, the same kids linger in the back, plus the same kids tend to sit by each other day after day. I hate how early cliques can form. My heart can't take seeing the kids who repeatedly get left out, so I have developed a system of lining the class up differently each day. They are forced to sit by different "friends" each day, and no one gets left out. The kids don't always like this, but they know I'm firm about not leaving anyone out of our school friendships, so each day's line order doesn't get questioned.

This takes a little extra time, I must admit. Sometimes I dismiss them by the tables where they sit, or by the individuals who are sitting the quietest. Other times I line them up according to the colors they are wearing that day. Often, I try to make a connection to something we are learning. The students have lined up alphabetically by first name, last name. They have also lined up according to how many syllables are in their name or the month of their birthday.

We have been doing a dental health unit and talking about the proper care of our teeth, including regular brushing. My main focus with the kids is getting them into a habit of brushing twice a day. I have handed out new toothbrushes and we've made reminder signs to take home and use. We have reminded each other, clapped and celebrated for the children who are starting to remember good brushing habits.

The other day I took a chance with lining up. First I called for all the kids to get in line if they remembered to brush their teeth that morning.  It surprised me to to see six kids who stayed at their tables and waited sheepishly. I was amazed because I never would have known whether they brushed that morning or not. Then I called for the students who "accidently forgot to brush, but they promise to remember tomorrow". They hopped up and happily joined the rest of the group, ready for lunch.

Their dental health habits may be a little disgusting, but the innocence and honesty of those 6 kiddos warmed my heart!