Getting There

These last two weeks have been all about "getting there," and by there I mean to April 11th.  Tomorrow is the last day of school before our spring break.  It has been a long stretch.  A colleague and I were recently discussing how difficult it is to teach when you have a long string of five-day weeks together.  For those of you non-teachers out there, let me try to explain.  I certainly am not complaining that I have to work five days a week!  But, kids do need some breaks.  Typically our schedule allows for a few four-day weeks for students here and there, and us teachers come into school to do required professional development and training.  In many ways it is a win-win situation; we get the training the district and state require, and kids get a chance to be kids for an extra day.  With our recent Wisconsin winter, that's all been changed.  Not only have kids been cooped up for far too long due to lower-than-average temperatures, but they've also lost out on those banking days that I mentioned earlier.  Since coming back from our winter break we have not had one non-holiday day off.  We did have Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, on January 20, off of school.  Believe me when I tell you that staff and students are getting pretty excited for an eleven-day break!

Tony and I have plans of our own.  Tomorrow afternoon we'll be flying to Denver, CO for six days.  Not exactly sure what we'll be doing there -- we are practicing living spontaneously and going where the days take us...at least that's what I'm trying to tell myself.  Tony (and most anyone else who knows me well) can tell you that I like to have a "plan" for just about everything.  And in those situations where I don't have a plan, I like to think about a plan...and think about a plan...and think some more about a plan.  So, this new approach has been a little bit difficult for me.  The good news, however, is that I've been so incredibly busy these last few weeks that I haven't really had a chance to think much about it at all.  My current "plan" is that I have a book list with twenty-two books on it that I would like to start.  That's it.  The end.  Beyond that, I have no idea what we'll do, where we'll go or who we'll see.  All I know is that the weather in Denver appears to be slightly warmer than in Milwaukee this week -- with temperatures in the low 70s, and I'll take it!

In case anyone is interested in book lists, I'll leave you with mine -- these are either books I've heard about, read about or have seen that look intriguing.  Let me know if you read any, and we'll compare notes!

-Not I, Memoirs of a German Childhood
-Reconstructing Amelia
-The Weight of Silence
-Mortal Instruments Series (City of Bones, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls)
-Clockwork Angel
-Clockwork Prince
-Clockwork Princess
-Shine Shine Shine
-Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend
-Look Again
-A Prayer for Owen Meany
-Divergent
-Allegiant
-Insurgent
-The Book Thief
-The White Princess
-Telling the Bees
-The Inn at Rose Harbor