Loser!

I am such a loser to have not posted in almost two weeks! Sorry about that! I am going to lose my faithful readers (all 3 of them!) if I don't get busy.
The school year has been going well and I absolutely love the people I work with...kids and adults alike. I already have a few good stories to share this year. My favorite so far was two weeks ago when one of my Friday students referred to me and my co-worker, Jess, as "The Old Lady and her sidekick, Miss Know-It-All". It was hard to keep a straight face in front of the class. So funny! After we finished the group that we co-facilitate, Jess asked me which one of us was "The Old Lady" and which one was "Miss Know-It-All". I said that although I have been called a know-it-all in my private life more than once, in this case I thought I was probably the old lady. Jess and I are almost the same age...only 22 years difference :). I have been LOVING referring to Jess, a very accomplished social worker, as my sidekick.
I am also busy taking four continuing education classes this semester. I am taking one on SMART boards (there is a Smartboard in one of the three Friday classrooms I work in), one on iTechnology (AWESOME!), one on goal writing/ data collection/communicating student progress via graphs (difficult but important) and one called Beyond the Book, reading fiction relating to special education issues and applying it to our jobs. I love these classes that my special education co-operative offers. That was where this blog originated two years ago right about now. I had to create a blog for the class and emptynestingpatty.blogspot was born.
Thanks for reading!
good night

This past weekend Jenny took a picture of Abbie and me, sitting on the bench on Marmar and Susie's front porch. I remembered that I had a similar picture of Arne (my nephew, Abbie's dad), taken in the same spot almost 30 years ago. Check it out. Time warp! I have not changed at all, have I?

September busy-ness

September is a busy month. About this time is when all the facets of a new school year have kicked in and things are percolating. There is just not much free time/downtime and I know that, so why does it surprise me every year?? I do love being back in a routine and I do love a new school year with its fresh start, but my goodness, I get tired! It has nothing to do with my age. Nothing. Well, maybe something. But I do hear the young educators around me saying the same thing and that makes me feel better. Sally is coaching (assistant coach) for girls' swimming right now, so she is actually more tired than I am :) She leaves the house by 5:20 am at the latest and often does not get home til after 7 and is gone most of the day on Saturdays for swim meets. The good news is that  Sally is really enjoying her new school year and is loving coaching. I  love my job, too. So blessed.

We have lots of September birthdays in our family. It starts out with my sister Sue's birthday on September 10, then my niece Lauren on September 15, Jack and Downtown Sue on September 19 (born on the same day, three years apart), my brother Tom's birthday was September 25, and my mother-in-law Marie on September 30. On Saturday, Jenny and I took Abbie and Nina out to wish Sue a happy birthday. We also popped in to see Brooke's (Sue's dog) hydrotherapy. Brooke is recovering from her leg surgeries and is still having a hard time getting around and this seems to be helping. Abbie and Nina love to go to Marmar and Susie's and they loved helping Susie blow out the birthday candles.

At work, I am getting settled back in to my old building that we vacated after the pipe burst last January. That is worthy of its own post, which I will save for another day. Better get to sleep so I can keep up with preschoolers tomorrow! Good night.

The Labor Day tradition continues!

There is nothing like a fun tradition with fun friends. If you are reading this blog, you probably already know how much we value traditions here at our house. Like a LOT. And one of our favorite traditions is Mark and Cathy's annual Labor Day party, usually held the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Having this party to look forward to is the best thing about the end of summer. We so appreciate all the time and effort and love that Cath and Mark put into this party. This year, two of their kids and spouses were not able to come.  Chris and Krissy were in Indiana spending the weekend with her family as her dad was celebrating his 50th birthday. Adam and Kristin just moved to North Carolina, where Adam is working on his MBA at UNC and Kristin has a fabulous new job as a speech language pathologist (working with assistive technology, I believe). We missed them big time. Jeff and Andi were there with Mason, age 15 months; LOVE the fact that we have the next generation represented! Wow. Hard to believe. Mason was so mellow (I must have said that 100 times!); Andi and Jeff are clearly loving being parents and it shows.

Andi, Mason and Jeff

Matt was a first timer this year and fit right in, which is not hard to do since everyone is so fun.

Jordan, Jack, Matt and Mark with the little grill

Don and Susan watch Matt dig into his first Peter Luger steak

the men

circle of love!

the moms

love our friends!

How blessed are we with these wonderful intergenerational (is that a word??) friendships! Truly an investment in all of our futures.