And... breathe.

This week marked the conclusion of summer school and another session of swim lessons for me. Don't get me wrong, I like doing both of those things, but I am very thankful to have a break! When the summer began, my thoughts were something like, "Teaching summer school will be so awesome because I'll be finished by noon every day and then I can just lay out by the pool and read a good book, have lots of time to spend with friends, etc." And then I volunteered to teach swim lessons. And clean someone's house. And continue Spanish tutoring.  And wake up at 5:00 a couple of times a week to run before the heat kicks in.  Overcommitment might be one of my greatest faults.  Usually I enjoy the things to which I am overcommitted, but honestly, nothing is as fun when you have to rush through it in order to accomplish the next thing on the list or feel like you are constantly running yourself into the ground (sometimes literally).

Overcommitment issues aside, I had a precious little class this summer.  Being in an autism room entails sometimes getting bit, spit on, scratched, and the occasional student pulling down his pants and sitting naked in your chair (happened this week).  But all in all, I have loved it and am probably looking forward to the fall more now than I was before I taught this summer.  Not to mention the fact that my coworkers and bosses seem really wonderful.  We had a staff retreat on Monday of this week, and everyone was so friendly and welcoming to me and the other new teacher.  The assistant principal is always contacting me about resources I can have, and she provided me with all kinds of new furniture and supplies for next year.  I have always wanted to teach in an inner-city school, but for my first year, I am very thankful to be working at Roosevelt so that I can build up my stockpile of teaching supplies before I do this!  I may actually be sharing a classroom with the other autism teacher for about a month or so until their classroom is finished (not exactly sure how that will work out with 8-9 adults and 15 students in the room), but that is literally the ONLY thing I have had to worry about.

As far as other news this week, my students in swim lessons were a lot of fun.  They all made great progress, too, which is exciting for their parents and me to watch.  I also got to see my friend, Rachel, every day while I was teaching them because she graciously offered for me to use the pool at her house to teach.  Andrew is frantically looking for a job- we've basically given up on Starbucks because the hiring person is out of town for a few weeks.  (Who does that?)  I guess it's not out of the question that he could still work there, but he is definitely looking at other options.  My cousin, Nathan, who lives in Utah, came through town this past weekend for a pottery show in Oklahoma City, and we really enjoyed visiting and playing games with him.  Last night, we had book club here, which was fun.

Last but not certainly not least, we are seriously considering getting a dog.  One of Andrew's coworkers has a cute 7-month-old golden retriever that is quickly outgrowing their apartment.  We had thought we would wait to get a dog, but since this opportunity kind of fell into our lap, it seems almost too good to pass up.  Another family is also interested in the dog, so we will have to wait and see I guess!

In Christ alone,
Mary Rachel