Away we go!

We're off and running in a new school year. Thanks to my ambitious nature in the spring, this year's AP class turned in two assignments. Forty students times two makes eighty assignments. At about fifteen minutes each, that's approximately twenty hours of correcting. And, why do I love this job?

It's the students. Really. They are worth it all. No day is the same, and they teach me so much. Besides the two classes of AP, there are the three of English 11 and Creative Writing. Oh, I'm Literary Magazine advisor, too.

So far everything's been rolling along like a well-oiled desk chair. The first day I walked someone to the office to see the principal. I was subbing for another teacher during my prep time, and one the guys, out of four obnoxious ones, wouldn't stop making fun of another kid. Thought he was Eddie Murphy or something. He kept up the chatter all the while we walked. Said I was racist. I said, "Yeah, right. I was Miss America last year, too." (Really I didn't say anything.)

Too hot in my room at 8:00 a.m. so I emailed the responsible people because if it felt that ghastly that early while I was sitting in my chair and no one else was in the room, think what it was going to be like teaching 28 students! Said it was NOT too hot in my room. So, the sweat soaking my armpits and staining my new green dress were a figment of my imagination. A dream, maybe? A hot flash?

Several new foreign exchange students: three from Germany, one from Portugal, and one from Norway. One student who moved here from Miami has never seen snow. Boy, is she in for it! The young man from Portugal says that whenever he goes to a country where it is supposed to snow, it doesn't. I hope his luck continues.

Student quote of the week: "Yeah, my brother tried to catch his fart in a jar once. He's so dumb, you know?"

Today, our dog Angel went to doggie heaven. Her years of chasing rabbits and her pal Brady stay with us. I can see her sitting on the steps to look out the window, waiting for the kids to get home from school, only to be dressed in clothes and played with like a doll. I can see her tail wag like a fly swatter when we come in the room, and then lying by the couch while we watch TV. She's sit on the deck or the front porch like a proud lion surveying her domain, ready to bark and snarl if a stranger set foot on her turf.

She helped raise Brady as a pup, nipping him into submission, training him to behave and leave his annoying puppy habits behind.

We love you, Angel and will miss you every day. Thank you for your seventeen years of companionship. No dog could top your sweetness. RIP