Saturday, May 9, 2009

S-U-M-M-E-R

This week was the last week of classes and so far, finals week is looking fairly reasonable. Today is commencement (what university has commencement BEFORE finals week? And this is the normal schedule, not an emergency schedule because of bad winter weather!) I have three summer classes this summer and then student teaching next fall. I still don't know where I'm teaching, but I'm assuming I will find out sometime....

The last class I pre-student taught in (meaning fewer hours and less responsibility compared to REAL student-teaching) was a 5th grade class and they made me "Thank-You" notes. My cooperating teacher (who we bought our house from --it's a small town) dropped them off yesterday. The notes were so cute! Apparently, I "rock" if you're a 5th grader. They were fun and I appreciated my cooperating teacher letting them make the notes. And when I'm having a tough day in the future and think that I'm just standing up in the front of the classroom accomplishing nothing, I will pull those notes out and remind myself that maybe I am.

With the weather improving, I've been trying to take more walks outside (hence the constant run-ins with the vulture) and I really enjoy it. It's my hour or so to myself when I can think and just be. Although thinking while walking up hill is very hard and I do most of my thinking going downhill. During my down-hill endorphine rush, I've decided that we don't walk enough as a society. We are far too comfortable just getting in the car and driving there. When you walk somewhere, you are forced to slow down and truly look at the world around you. For example, the amount of trash on the roadside is disgusting. And people throw out the oddest things: pillows, pizza boxes (who is eating pizza in their car? Can't you wait till you get home?), and more. But on a positive note, I also get to startle cows, which is always funny but then I feel sorry for the cow and I apologize to her. So, yes, I'm talking to the cows. Gesh, am I weird.....

6 comments:

JayD said...

Well, we won't comment about your last line.....but I must agree with you :-)

Jenna said...

The only thing that would make those walks better would be a dog!

Alice said...

Don't worry, the cow will forgive you.

Jenny said...

Talking to cows = weird? Who knew?

THE BOY said...

Hi GIRL,

Did you get any cards: "you rock the reticule"?
You have always had a way with cows. Even when we were kids we would see cows standing in a field surrounded by a barbed wire fence you would turn to me and say "Hey, let's rush them" and I would stare at the 1000 lbs creatures pointlessly chewing cud and ask "why?". Your reply of "why not" had such iron clad logic that I could not escape it and as such agreed to rush the cows with you. Those cows were not impressed by the sight of two kids running at them screaming. Especially since there was still a barbed wire fence between us and them. So they simply continued to chew cud until we stopped at the barbed wire fence (even at this young age we knew thousands of sharp metal points mean stop). Maybe Illinois cows are more skitterish than Indiana cows?

JayD said...

Okay, a month is long enough. I need another dose of Merrilee musing.