Well, it's certainly been a while since any of us posted something in our Gratitude Blog - that's not to say there's been nothing, but perhaps as summer often is a respite for teachers, it was a break from this, too.
This was the sweet summer that didn't especially feel like summer at all: temperatures weren't grueling, we had a much warmer version of winter's polar vortex sometime in July, I didn't get 1 mosquito bite, and I didn't make it to my family's pool club (Shore Acres, Mamaroneck, NY).
I was just saying to a good friend of mine that when people reflect on a summer, they usually identify it with an event like "the summer I went to Cyprus" or "that summer I worked in stop-motion animation in NC." For me, this was the summer I taught a gifted program on Speaking, Reading, Writing as well as Sports, in Princeton; spent a lovely week with great people in the Outer Banks; visited my family pretty often in New York; spent 6 hours on the couch on days where I planned nothing for myself; watched a tattoo being inked for the first time ever- cool tattoo, Brooke!; made new friends; played softball for a large part of every Sunday; was asked to be maid of honor in one of my best friend's weddings; ate too much pizza; tried Federal Donuts; had a one-day vacation with my parents at Mohegan Sun; went to my cousin Michael's college graduation party; joined Barre3 classes; dumped a bowl of icy warm (secret's out!) water on my head; donated to further research on the disease known as Progeria; etc. I don't know which of these things will be a landmark stamp on my memory for summer 2014... but those memories are sort-of the film-negatives-in-wait to be developed in permanence on the Summer 2014 reel of my mind.
Since Yardley's Shady Brook Farm has been put up to the task of reminding me that summer is coming to a close "23 more days until Pumpkin Ice Cream!" And Starbucks is releasing their pumpkin latte a good month too soon, I suppose I should brace myself for the fact that regular work starts up again next week, and it's back to daily commutes to Princeton in addition to getting used to thinking in & deciphering two languages for 10 hours a day. Je suis pret! (sans accent...)
~ ~ Christina
This was the sweet summer that didn't especially feel like summer at all: temperatures weren't grueling, we had a much warmer version of winter's polar vortex sometime in July, I didn't get 1 mosquito bite, and I didn't make it to my family's pool club (Shore Acres, Mamaroneck, NY).
I was just saying to a good friend of mine that when people reflect on a summer, they usually identify it with an event like "the summer I went to Cyprus" or "that summer I worked in stop-motion animation in NC." For me, this was the summer I taught a gifted program on Speaking, Reading, Writing as well as Sports, in Princeton; spent a lovely week with great people in the Outer Banks; visited my family pretty often in New York; spent 6 hours on the couch on days where I planned nothing for myself; watched a tattoo being inked for the first time ever- cool tattoo, Brooke!; made new friends; played softball for a large part of every Sunday; was asked to be maid of honor in one of my best friend's weddings; ate too much pizza; tried Federal Donuts; had a one-day vacation with my parents at Mohegan Sun; went to my cousin Michael's college graduation party; joined Barre3 classes; dumped a bowl of icy warm (secret's out!) water on my head; donated to further research on the disease known as Progeria; etc. I don't know which of these things will be a landmark stamp on my memory for summer 2014... but those memories are sort-of the film-negatives-in-wait to be developed in permanence on the Summer 2014 reel of my mind.
Since Yardley's Shady Brook Farm has been put up to the task of reminding me that summer is coming to a close "23 more days until Pumpkin Ice Cream!" And Starbucks is releasing their pumpkin latte a good month too soon, I suppose I should brace myself for the fact that regular work starts up again next week, and it's back to daily commutes to Princeton in addition to getting used to thinking in & deciphering two languages for 10 hours a day. Je suis pret! (sans accent...)
~ ~ Christina