Rah! Rah! Rah!

Truth?

I really needed that month off from the Ten Things of Thankful. 

It wasn't for lack of thankfuls. I had them. But I also had not-so-thankfuls, like my dad being very ill, changing grade levels and only having a week to physically move everything and set the room up to be a classroom, and some sadness for the lack of participation in the TToT after so many years. Did you know that at one time, we would have 50+ weekly participants in the hop? I began to feel like I was one of the cheerleaders at the pep assembly in the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (watch it if you don't know what I'm talking about; it's currently streaming on Netflix), yelling cheers and encouragement while the audience ignored the enthusiasm and the team's morale slipped lower and lower. I wanted to throw down my poms and walk off the field.

So I put the TToT on a break for the rest of the summer (a Rachel break, not a Ross break). And now summer is over and it's time to either pick up the poms or quit the cheer squad.

Let's do this:

Slowly but surely, my dad has regained enough of his strength after his fall in early June and subsequent sepsis in his artificial shoulder joint that he may be going home soon! He was in the hospital for nearly 3 weeks and then transferred to a rehab facility near us. He plans to go home and live by himself again when he is released.

I'm thankful that we were able to bring my dad to Joplin for his rehab, because I've been able to see him nearly every single day. 

My daughter finished her summer internship at the end of July and was offered a position at the firm where she interned as a public finance attorney when she graduates next May. Yay! She won't have to worry about finding a job when she graduates!

Future attorney!

My husband and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on August 7. Hard to believe it's been that long!

Moving all my stuff from my former classroom down the hall to my new classroom was not fun. Also having to move all the superfluous stuff out of the new classroom was even more not fun. Having some amazing student workers helping me with all of it was priceless. I absolutely could not have done it without Dane and Baylee; we worked hard and laughed hard!

I got my room ready enough for Open House literally minutes before the doors opened. 

The room continues to be a work-in-progress, but it is comfortable and homey and the kids love it.

See those paper flags? I SEWED THEM!

I am now teaching pre-kindergarten instead of preschool. If you've been following me for awhile, you may remember that I taught pre-k for 18 years before leaving that position and taking a new position at the school where I am now. I taught toddlers for a year before being moved to a preschool classroom (where I stayed for three years), and here I am, in pre-k again. I am back with my people, and it feels good!

My birthday was last week (63, if you're keeping track). Enough said.

This weekend, I am having a much-needed girls weekend with my friend Nikki. We have shopped, talked, laughed, eaten, and gone to a club to see one of my favorite bands, the Cleverlys. I feel restored.

Pick up YOUR poms and join in the cheerleading by reading thankful posts, commenting, and then writing your OWN list to add to the hop so we can all cheer for YOU.

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