Is it June yet?

*Warning--I inserted random photos just to ease my guilt about the lack of photos.*

So is it June yet?

Every September Gus asks me this question.  He asks it repeatedly throughout the school year.  There's a stretch in early February where I get the question every morning.  Usually, today is one of my favorite days of the year--I love telling him to ask me tomorrow (for some reason he never really asks in June).  I also normally have a countdown of school days on my board.  I would be deciding what projects to start, what to complete, and what to simply shove in a box for next August.  This has been the routine, and I like routine.

This year the question hasn't come much.  Instead of increasing in frequency, it's decreased.  In fact I haven't heard it at all in weeks.  This is good, because it can't possibly be June!  Yowza!  I'm moving toward panic mode.  I was informed last week that I needed take class time for students to complete a survey (requiring computers, which are booked solid through next week) by next Friday.  Nobody cares that I'm already pushing to get through my curriculum because I couldn't get into the library until now because it was booked--making my project come down to the wire (usually I have a few days to spare).   I've been dealing with the old boxes of "I'll file this someday" papers for days.  All those items I've brought in from home for a lesson?  Yep, gotta take 'em home now--and we're easily at a full box with more to go (and lots already at home).  Craft supplies and silent reading books are being given away, posters are being taken down, and my classroom is generally losing its color.  I'm reminded of how the room looked when I started teaching--before posters adorned the walls (heck, before I had posters), when no student work had been completed and displayed, and when I was nervously surveying the space that would be my first classroom, my first kingdom, and my first office.  I have grown so much in that room, both as a person and as an educator.  This room has been a huge part of my personal and professional life; I'm no longer that nervous beginning teacher with minimal personal and no professional stability.  I've laughed, cried, learned, taught, been riffed, been rehired, complained, soothed, and so much more in that room.  It's been exciting and a bit sad to realize that it's June and that I'm leaving CYMS and this classroom.

Mt. Shasta--one of the many places here in the NW we will not have time to visit again.

The nostalgia has, for now, continued to trump the absolute panic.  The panic item on my list--the horse--is checked off the list.  Daz went to her new home--and the trailer went with her.  I couldn't be happier.  She's got a snazzy new name (Abbycadabra, or Abby--fitting since she has a Harry Potter lightning bolt marking on her forehead), a mom and a passel of girls who ADORE her, and horsey buddies in her pasture.  I know she's in the best of hands.  I'm looking forward to watching her show career continue.  I haven't ridden in almost 4 weeks, and I have to say it's a bit of a relief.  I miss it like crazy already, but it's been good to have the time with Gus, at school, and to pack away my horse stuff properly (yes, I did the keep/toss/store/donate method).  My tack has never been this clean, I'm rid of a bunch of the miscellaneous junk, and everything is sorted more effectively than ever.  Working on my tack has made me feel like I'm making progress with my packing.  I am at the same time wishing I could have held on to the horse a bit longer.  The show season has started, and everyone on the O'Neal team had good runs at NWEC.  Karen apparently has a reality TV crew following her around now.  Why is it the cool things always happen to riders I groom for AFTER I leave them?  I didn't get to go XC schooling or gallop the mare again (my last opportunity was abruptly snatched from me last October when I was kicked by a pony), and I ended the season strong and hungry for more last year.  I WANT to be out there desperately.  It's hard watching everyone go compete while I'm not even riding at all.

This picture of the lovely lady was taken during our last clinic (and last jumping session).  We jumped 4' that day.  Unfortunately no pics of that.  I miss you already, Daz.

I'm sure none of you are reading to hear my musings on how far I've come as a teacher, so it's time for updates.  On the personal updates front, Thomas, Romina, and kids had fun here--and we did, too.  A day at the Oregon coast is always cool, though we missed the grey whales by minutes at Yaquina head (according to the other folks there who were waiting for them to resurface).  Luana particularly liked Gus, and Kimberly and I had a blast exploring the caves.  Luana loved the guys crabbing on the docks, but Thomas was wigged out.  The big news this month, however, was that after a LONG wait, baby Williamson has arrived!  Yes, Bennett Mozley Williamson has finally decided to grace us with his presence.  Congrats, Linda and Sam.  Bennett, we can't wait to meet you!

On the moving front, several additional international phone calls and 3.5 weeks have brought NOTHING from the relocation agent.  I'm starting to think there is no such person.  He is a myth designed to keep us procrastinating so that we can spend the first days of summer in a double-overtime panic.  Who needs planning!?

I received my contract late last week--Friday maybe?  I did not have time to look it over right away, so I put it in the mail until Tuesday (Monday being a holiday and all).  It should be there tomorrow.  This means BOTH of us are now obligated to go, relocation agent or no relocation agent.  So we began taking matters into our own hands.  Here's a run down:

--Quotes for shipping the dogs have been requested.  Preliminary information shows that it will cost a fair bit to ship a 90 pound greyhound in a supersized crate.  This means there is less money from the school moving allowance to ship stuff.

This big dude needs a BIG crate.

--Shippers have been researched.  Time to start really thinking about what to take and what to just buy again over there!  Dressers?  Cheaper to buy (thanks, IKEA).  Clothes?  Cheaper to ship.  Books?  Gus has been incredibly good.  He has donated and sold off TONS of books in the last few weeks.  For those who didn't know, getting rid of books is the Gus version of selling the horse.  Nothing concrete on the shipping front, but we're moving forward.

Jimmy can't wait to get back on an airplane.  He's so excited to fly!  In other news, I have been inspired by the beer commercials and have taught Jimmy to open the fridge on command.  It's pretty cute, and he hasn't figured out there's food in there.

--Flights have been booked.  We were able to snag economy airfare Miami to Munich (via Duesseldorf) on Air Berlin for under a grand--for BOTH of us!  Yep--I'm that good (or that lucky on Kayak).  We fly out on the afternoon of July 11th.  This was an incredibly exciting step (though it would have been nice to find a good fare on a Star Alliance airline so I could get the miles and use my status--oh, well).  It's a bit more real with tickets in hand!  We've been too busy living here and now to think much about two months from now--certainly not in concrete terms.  The tickets changed that a bit and allowed us to look past the packing to the arriving and living in Bayern!

--Our driving itinerary has been set (well, mostly).**

--Going away parties have been planned.  June 9th will be party number one.  Mostly geared towards friends, this party is an evening of fun and pork shoulder.  June 18th is a Monday--the first Monday of summer.  This work and friend party will be an afternoon affair, though the pork shoulder will still be a feature.  If you're in the Eugene area, stop by!

--We still have to clean out and sell the truck and one of the cars, pack the stuff we'll need for the travel and first weeks in Germany, pack our junk and prepare for shipping, and generally get everything around the house organized.  I finish school on June 13th, and Gus finishes on the 15th.  From the end of school until departure day our schedule will include packing boxes, packing boxes, and packing boxes.

Vasco, who will be staying here with his new roommate Bill, will be missed.  He is tremendously helpful when packing.

--Still to come in the next 3 weeks are prom (yes, Gus and I are attending the Mohawk HS prom--how cool is it that I'm the only prom date he's ever had?), a few scheduled evenings with friends, watching the Euro Cup (soccer), finishing out the school year (I have 3 work parties, a major speech, Spring Fling, grades, and work samples on that front), goodbyes to everyone, tears, possibly a yard sale, and more packing.  Last visits to banks, pharmacies, Target, and Costco are also being planned.

Please note the dunk tank in this picture.  This is the CYMS Spring Fling a few years ago (and our lovely then-principal in the foreground).  I was a good sport stupid and volunteered to be in this dunk tank at the mercy of my students for 25 minutes next Friday.  

**For those wondering, here's a quick run down:
6/21--Eugene to approximately Idaho Falls
6/22--Idaho Falls or so through the Tetons and to Yellowstone.
6/23--Yellowstone to Sioux Falls?  This is the fuzziest day in terms of distance and even route.
6/24--Sioux Falls to Cincinnati via Princeton, IL.  Nancy and Caleb, this takes us within a few miles of Swisher.  I'll finally get to see where Caleb grew up!  We'll spend the night with a friend.
6/25--Cincinnati to NYC.  Spending the night with Elizabeth.
6/26--NYC with Elizabeth, Leslie, Veronica, and some Duke friends.
6/27--NYC to New Bern, NC.  Lunch in Baltimore?  Should probably call Grandma and Grandpa to make sure this works.
6/28--New Bern to Duke to Camp to Greenville to PTC/Dadeville?
6/29-7/1--Dadeville with the Ketsche clan
7/2-7/6--Atlanta to Ocklawaha to hang with the Elliotts
7/6--celebrate my birthday twice--breakfast in Ocklawaha and dinner in Orlando.
7/7--Orlando to Palm Beach
7/8-7/11--Petersons in Palm Beach
7/11--Fly out of MIA 15:55 (Air Berlin 7001)
7/12--Arrive Dusseldorf 7:00.  Depart Dusseldorf to Munich (Air Berlin 6027) 10:20.  Arrive MUC 11:35 AM!!!

KK, Linda, Dad, Nancy, Elizabeth, and I prepare for one of us (or several?) to fly to Germany.  Not sure why Liz was there other than that she was just always around.  Maybe this was the summer she came with us?  Probably the goofiest picture of me ever.  At least, I hope it is and that I normally look a bit less nuts.

Nancy, Leslie, Veronica and I enjoyed many camping trips.  Fun that I now get to see them in the city of cities, NY!

 By the way, teaching middle school exposes one to great stuff--for those who haven't seen it, the Harvard baseball team "Call Me, Maybe" video on YouTube is funny.  Thanks to Karen, I had already seen it when my students asked me.  Cool points for me--thanks, KK!
Harvard Baseball Call Me Maybe

So the sum of it is that the panic is not yet here, but it's very near on the horizon.  Three weeks until we depart, 7 weeks until we arrive in Germany, and a lifetime of experiences and things to do in between.  But for now, it's not June yet.  I am off to enjoy the last hour of May in bed.  Seems fitting.