Older yet again! I'm getting more experienced at ageing with age and experience.
There wasn't a big party. I'm pretty low key for a guy with a blog. Mainly, I enjoy spending time with everyone.
We went to the Fortune House, a mom and pop sushi restaurant my friends and I frequented for over the past decade. The people who run the Fortune House started to recognize us very quickly. They were always quick to smile and generous with our orders. We'd get our miso soup for free, extra spicy salmon topping on rolls, and sometimes random "Here! Try this!" rolls showed up. Of course, we'd tip accordingly! Good memories.
Back then, impulse spending was up and disposable income was easier to come by. It's also a longer drive for me now and Shane will only sit still for so long. It was great to go on a Saturday during a slow time!
Thank you everyone for the cards and the well-wishes! God's blessed me greatly in many areas, but especially so in people who care about me. I hope that I can be a blessing to everyone in return!
PS - Funniest Shane moment of the day: when Shane woke up, he sang "Happy Birthday" to me twice...and then immediately asked, "Where's the cake?"
PPS - Carrie and I started cracking up. Shane was confused. He looked at Carrie and asked, "You making a cake?"
I sent Carrie and email today: "How would feel about living in Glasgow, Scotland?"
"Would love it. Don't tease me. :-P" Carrie replied.
With my red hair and last name I'd fit right in until I opened my mouth to talk.
Carrie and I have discussed spending a year abroad somewhere. It's a wide world and we both feel like Shane would benefit from experiencing it. We both went through several moves as children (Carrie far more than I), and (while not always fun) it's a growth experience seeing how the grass is on another side. Neither one of us has lived out of the States, but I wonder what it would be like being an immigrant somewhere. It would give me a new perspective into the lives of many of my students.
We're not exactly sure when or where a move would happen, though.
Would I teach somewhere through a Department of Defense school? Would I get a job as a special educator in a different country? Or are we only talking about a different state? How old should Shane be? Would we sell or rent our house? My current job allows me a year leave of absence with a guaranteed position upon return. What are all the conditions?
It's a fun dream. It may never happen or it may happen right after Nana and Pop move. I'm not concerned one way or the other; I like to wiki places, zoom around on Google Maps and learn new things.
Ideally, I think Shane should be old enough to remember the experience. If we packed up now he wouldn't be likely to remember much of it. I doubt Shane remembers our townhouse at all. However, I wouldn't want Shane to be so old that it would be too hard to adapt in case a short trip ended up becoming a new home.
I love watching people interact with my son. Have I said that before? I've probably said it multiple times, but I'll say it again: I love watching people play with my son.
There's something about seeing people smile, laugh, and play with Shane that strikes a chord with me and reminds me what a gift he is.
When it's the two of us, it's easy to get tired or to find myself in a feedback loop: Shane does something wrong and I correct him. He's always going to do something wrong, too, because he's a three year old! That's how it works! I try to be careful and pick my battles, but when it's only the two of us he clearly looks at me sometimes before embarking on mischief.
However, when Shane is playing with someone else I can fade back a little. I can enjoy watching him play and someone else play with him without always being "the dad." It helps that I can be my normal ADHD self, too. I can run in, be high energy, and then scoot off to recuperate until I'm ready to run in again!
It's ironic, because I've always viewed myself as a "doer" over a "watcher." Yet here I am, enjoying being able to step back and watch Shane's swim teacher try to herd him like a cat or watch him try to wrestle with Pop.
If you're kind to my son, you're kind to me. I hope I always communicate my appreciation of it.
It's exactly what it says it is! I cracked up and immediately forwarded it to my fellow gingers at work.
Ironically, I always get in trouble for not telling Carrie if I'm hurt or feel sick.
Now, I can just say it's my freakish red-headed pain tolerance!
PS - The other thing I've heard about red-heads is we wig out on anesthesia. It's true. Nana could tell a story or two about when Matt and I got our wisdom teeth pulled!
Carrie and I are blessed to have family on both sides close by.
For breakfast, Carrie and I had a morning Starbucks date. Shane spent the night at Nana and Pop's.
For lunch, we met up with Kim and Ryan. They recently bought a townhouse within half an hour's drive. Kim's a big fan of board games (automatic awesome points), so she had a copy of Settlers of Catan for everyone to play after we ate.
Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the RSVP for their wedding again.
The first time, I put it in the Prius and told Carrie, "Don't worry! I'll give it to [Ryan and Kim] when I'm there!"
Today, Carrie got a message on Facebook reminding us about the RSVP.
Oops.
I immediately said, "It's a good thing we're visiting today. We can hand it to them then."
Which we didn't do. The RSVP was still in the Prius, but we drove the Volvo over. Oops again.
My ADHD does a great job of reminding me to be humble; I'm not perfect!
Shane would have loved to visited Ryan and Kim's new house, too, but that will have to wait for another day. He loves them.
For dinner, Carrie volunteered to grill burgers at Nana and Pop's. I'm useless in a kitchen, so I spent my time filming Shane and Cole playing about!
Video #1: Tee-ball attempts with Carrie trying to take my head off at the end.
Video #2: The first 20 seconds are hilarious. Carrie trimmed it out to put it on Facebook for her daily happy! I love my wife!
Video #3: Shane and Cole start to bounce on the trampoline together. It's cut short when my cell's memory runs low.
Video #4: More trampoline fun! I cleared up so memory to keep recording.
After I put the phone away, I started to crawl around under the trampoline. I wanted to surprise Cole, but he barely noticed. Shane, on the other hand, loved trying to jump on my head! He's a funny little toot.
I did have to get on his case a little. I noticed that he was having a little too much fun upsetting Cole's balance. Now, Pop and I enjoy bouncing around Shane, so he could have learned it from us. Little monkeys see and then do. I did give him a time out later when he bumped into Cole on purpose in the yard. Shane's going to be the oldest of all the cousins; I want him to learn to be a protector of family. It wasn't a big bump or anything abnormal for a three year old. I just want to be aware.
It was amazing (to me) watching how much differently Shane moved than Cole. Shane's grown so much in such in what suddenly felt like a shorter time than before. I look forward to those two playing even more over the years to come.
"Remember Mike, don't show up the bride!" My friend Matt joked.
Carrie went through the proper channels and asked the bride for kilt permission long before the wedding!
This Saturday was the wedding of one of Carrie's YCC kids. It was at a little church in a more rural part of the state. Everyone had a good time!
We had a short stopover for tea on the way back and Carrie did a surprise wake-up call for Gaston (he'd fallen asleep in his chair at work! Genevieve texted Carrie that he was snoring!)
What were Shane and Roxy up to? They had play dates at Nana and Pop's!
Nana and Pop's neighbors were out of town and left their golden retriever, Archie, behind. They asked Nana to help, and she introduced Archie to the girls.
The dogs played themselves silly. Shane and everyone else enjoyed the show! It's hard to compete with the excitement that goes on at Nana and Pop's! We're so thankful they live so close by!
No chiggers (yet), but there seems to be an endless supply of ticks this year. I saw one crawling along the shelves in the garage where I store my tools. He didn't last long.
Shane, Nana, and I went to feed the fish/turtles at the pond by Nana's neighborhood pool.
Afterward, Nana wanted to go on a tennis ball hunt. We didn't find any, but I scaled the fence so that Shane could run around on the actual courts. My climbing evoked an immediate, "I want to do that, too!" The sky teased rain and we left after a while.
Shane and I's next stop was the library. John was on duty. We wanted to give him the gift of a three-year old to brighten an otherwise library-quiet day!
Everything is a ride to a three-year old. I spun Shane in donation carts, hid him in a recycling box, and he took a ride on shelving cart, too. The recycling box turned out to be built more flimsily than I suspected. Mid-swing the bottom gave out! Shane spilled out the bottom and said, "Again! Fix it! Again!" John laughed so hard he had trouble breathing.
I tried to coach Shane to say, "You're recruited!" and enlist random library staff to push him around after that. A few even fell for it! One lady gave Shane a chocolate from her bottom desk drawer. He immediately checked other cubicles for more.
From there we returned to Nana and Pop's. Shane enjoyed some more quality grandparent time reading books and playing outside. Spring weather is great. We'll miss it in the heat, so it's good to enjoy it now!
Shane, Roxy, and I did not get home from our adventures until about 8:15 PM. There was just enough to time to calm down and prep for bed. What a great Wednesday!
I started immunotherapy for my allergies. I'm doing the accelerated cluster shots for the next nine weeks.
There's nothing like someone handing you a prescription for an EpiPen and a document that says, "If you're about to die use this and call 911. Keep a second one on hand if the first doesn't work," to make you ponder a "What if" or two.
Shane had a lot of fun visiting his Pop this weekend. Pop was busy trying to decide whether or not Jama's room would look best in pink or purple with polka dots, but he wasn't too busy to play outside.
There was "baby pine cone" collecting...
...and toy garbage truck filling!
Pop was in charge of driving around the excavator.
If you were wondering where Pop's socks were take another look.
Count the socks in the next picture. Did you find them all? Who knew that socks would be so much fun!?
It was a beautiful spring day for being outside. Shane and Pop went in the backyard next to swing, watch the dogs play, and run through the woods. Shane LOVES visiting Nana and Pop's house!
Several months ago, Carrie contacted the church right outside of our neighborhood and asked if they'd like a donation: Shane's playground.
Shane has largely outgrown it. He's often more interested in digging in the dirt, running in circles, or hiding under the deck. Oh sure, sometimes he'll tell me that the swing set is the Jolly Roger and the set pictured above is Bucky, but the only time he wants to swing is on the church playground.
Well, the church came and picked up the set.
The church is going to be starting a new tot lot. We hope that our set goes a long ways to helping keep down costs as they furnish it. It's an appropriate way to give back since we've been visiting their playground ever since we moved in. We were blessed to be able to contribute!
I will say the backyard feels fairly empty now that it's gone. Carrie and I are still discussing what we're going to do! It was a lot of work tilling, shoveling, and mulching in that area. Maybe it'd fit a large garden bed?
Shane kept saying "I want to go to church! I want to go to church!"
"I hope you feel that way when you're older, too!" I replied.
I think it was a shock for him seeing the playground go away.
He got over it pretty quickly, though. There were rollie-pollie's that had been hiding under the equipment.
Roxy watched from the deck. The only thing that upset her is that she didn't get to lick each and every person who set foot in our backyard.
Shane had his second Daddy-less swim lesson on Tuesday!
Shane was the only student for his first swim lesson, so I was curious to see how he would react to being in a group. He was surprisingly well behaved! Oh, he wandered about sometimes and clearly had energy to spare, but he listened to his teacher and tried to hang with the class!
I was very happy.
Also, I didn't even crack open my book. Twice I've brought it and twice it's laid unread. I'm too busy watching Shane.
I had my phone and took some video this time. The observation area is behind a mirrored window, so there's not much in the way of audio save my occasional comments. I was in a small crowd of other parents and I didn't want to be inconsiderate. It's also far too much work to splice the clips together and add in a soundtrack. These videos may all be the "obnoxious dad reliving his son's childhood in the future" sort, but that's okay. I am that dad and that's why I post these things!
Video 1: The swim lesson begins!
Around 40 seconds in is when everyone starts kicking. Shane soon gets very enthusiastic with it. That throwing himself into things with abandon will probably be a trademark of his as he gets older! Near the end you can see him jumping in the water, too. He did a lot of that. The rest is pretty bland.
Video 2: Lesson in progress
Shane shows no fear of the water. One of the little girls seemed to feel the same. The other two kids were more intimidated. I guess that those Daddy and Me lessons helped. It could also be that Shane has a tendency to charge head first into anything and everything.
I started to get a little paranoid when he was spinning himself dizzy, but I (mostly) kept from reacting. At least I didn't poke my head in and yell "Cut it out!"
Video 3: 19 seconds!
If you didn't really know my son and wanted to know how a lesson went this is the clip I'd show you.
Carrie refers to the pile of stuffed animals at the bottom of the stairwell every morning as "Jack's harem."
"I admire his stamina!" she said. Jack will drag them from all over the house. I normally sleep solidly, but Carrie says she's heard him mewing it up at night!
After two and a half weeks of interviews and no offers, I received two offers in less than 24 hours.
It was a relief.
I was not panicked (yet), but it's a lot of work interviewing all the time. Common knowledge said that "Math + Science + SPED + experience" meant hot commodity, but nine interviews later it didn't seem to be panning out.
The first offer arrived at 4:00 PM on Tuesday. "If I were to offer you a position at _____, would you accept?"
I was ready to be done. I didn't say "Yes," right away, because I was still unsure of exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to talk it over with Carrie first.
The next morning I checked in with a few co-workers to see what they thought about the school. My department chair told me it was a good school and then called them back in front of me to provide a reference. When she hung up the phone she said, "They want you."
Of course, the second offer came in while she was on the phone. There were three opportunities I was most interested in; The two schools tied in the lead were the two offers. Go figure.
I made my decision fairly quickly. I had been praying for help to make the decision when the time came.
I'm happy to say I will be teaching Algebra in high school next year. I'm looking forward to the new opportunity and to trying out block scheduling!
I also got an email from HR. I've been recalled to a Multiple Disabilities Teacher position at my school.
I'm not 100% sure what that means.
One of my coworkers, Shelley, got an offer to transfer to a high school Cat B program and took it. The slot I'm being recalled to must be hers, but it's partly for Cat B students which I'm not currently certified for. I'm not sure the position I've been recalled for is the position I need to be in next year.
I'm left in a gray zone.
I would not have tried to transfer this year if I wasn't de-staffed. However, my mind set switched over the course of many interviews. I think I'm ready to move on and try something new now. I want to try a high school, an alternative school, or maybe just a new school (with a nice commute!). It would help if an offer came my way. My interviews have gone well, but either there's a lot more competition than I realized, the schools I interviewed for had internal candidates they wanted to shift, or maybe I've over-estimated the demand for my skill set.
I plan talk to my Department Chair tomorrow to figure out what my 'recalled' position would actually look like next year. The school I interviewed at today said they planned to make a decision by Wednesday at the latest, too.
I'm praying that I know what I need to do when the time comes. It all feels ambiguous for now.
John visited Sunday night. He brought his birthday Rebel Transport.
That's the set up.
Shane's the star of this story.
I (strategically) didn't let Shane watch any TV until John and I were ready to set up. When we broke out the models, I put on the Little Einsteins. Nothing lasts forever, though.
When his episode finished, Shane ran into the room and announced, "I'm ready to play with fragiles!"
I've been blessed with knowing a lot of great mothers in my life. My wife is carrying on the tradition. After nap, Shane ran in circles shouting, "Mommy! Mommy!" because he was so excited to see her. I do the same thing, but I run out of stamina by the end of the first lap!
Grandpa and Grandma couldn't make it, so Shane had a Daddy Day.
First, we went to school. I had sub plans to write!
Shane loves my school (the glamour has worn off for the students). He gets treated like a rock-star and showered with attention and presents. Today, Shane got a chocolate covered strawberry, silly putty, hugs, fruit snacks, silly putt, a handheld fan, some shiny green rocks, and lots of oohs and aahs. An impressive haul.
When we came home, Shane immediately put his hand fan to work terrorizing the pets.
Jack was the first victim.
We spent the next while playing with Shane's hoard of freebies.
Soon, the great outdoors called. I'm a big believer in little kids belong outside. When I started to look for useful things to do, Shane was excited to help.
I dug out two weed-infested garbage beds with my apprentice. I narrowly avoided getting knocked in the shins by his shovel several times, and managed not to accidentally throw him in the bucket when he'd stand on shovel. Good help is hard to come by!
Shane did do a good deed by pulling up Lisa and Sheryl's recycling can. It only took us the better part of 10 minutes! (Sorry about the shakey cam!)
I must have worn Shane out, because he took a long nap! I was starting to get worried he wouldn't sleep tonight, but then we went to swim class! Traffic made us a little late, but then Shane got to be in a class all on his own. I brought a book to read expecting a break, but I ended up watching the whole time. I wish I had my phone to take pictures, but I left it in the car. We went to Petsmart to play afterwards.
The night ended with some Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood and lots of fish sticks. I cooked them myself. If Shane and I both stay home tomorrow you'll know why (and I'll order pizza the next time Carrie off her feet!).
Schools can make offers as of today. Today's Tally:
New Interview requests: 2
New Interviews set-up: 1
Rejection Emails: 1
"Are you still interested?" email: 1
So, no big news over here. The new interview was someone called me after they heard good things about me through someone else I interviewed with.
When I do get an offer, I hope I know if I should take it. I'm not worried that I won't get one...yet. I am checking my email more than I should because I want things done in my time, but I realize that's not necessarily for the best.
A couple other quick work thoughts:
1. If people around my school were shocked I got de-staffed they should be even more shocked about the other guy that was de-staffed. Alberto has been at my school for 14 years and built the ESOL department there. He interviewed and helped choose the other two ESOL teachers who will now go on without him. Wow.
2. My shortest interview: the Inter-Agency schools.
"Can you teach science?"
"Yes." I said.
"Okay, I'm good."
I'm sorely tempted to ask to join them just because of that! Ha! The rest of the interview was more shop talk as I tried to catch back up on what programs were active and which weren't. The Inter-Agency Schools specialize in catching all of the kids who have fallen through cracks and would normally be forgotten.
John was born on May 4th. It's perfect, because he's a huge Star Wars fan.
If you did not know, "May the 4th be with you" is now officially Star Wars day. John has carte blanche to remind everyone of his birthday every year with a Star Wars reference!
But I digress.
One of my other friends, Mike C, contacted Carrie about hosting a surprise party for John. He also asked if Carrie could make a storm-trooper cake. Naturally my wife agreed. Star Wars and baking are both up her alley. The plan was later revised due to her knee (also known as "Carrie made cupcakes").
Shane loved John's party. He was thrilled that everyone would throw a party for John for his entertainment.
Shane personally greeted every guest. When John arrived, he sang "Happy Birthday" in front of everyone. He did an encore performance with the whole ensemble when we lit the cake. Shane tried to spit/blow out all the candles before John did, too!
Then there was the food. Shane obsessed over the cupcakes from the moment Carrie started cooking.
"I want a cupcake!" Shane said.
"Not right now." I said.
"You can't say not right now!" Shane said. This exchange was oft repeated and followed up with a "I don't want you to say that!" or a "That makes me so sad!"
Shane's a clever kid when it comes to something he wants. He put two and two together pretty quickly later on.
"Please, can I have a cupcake, pleeease?" Shane asked.
"Good manners, but no, Shane. These cupcakes are for John's birthday," I replied. "John gets the first cupcake."
"Then I get the second one!" Shane followed!
I bust out laughing. "Yes, Shane gets the second one!"
"OH BOY! MOMMY I GET THE SECOND CUPCAKE!"
I don't know who enjoyed himself more: John or Shane.
John was truly surprised. He thought that Mike C and I were going to play a round of X-wing. In his mind, he was coming to offer nerd support and loan out some models.
Everyone had a lot of fun talking and catching up. Shane, John, and I snuck out into the TV room to watch some Despicable Me 2 at one point. You've never seen someone almost die laughing until you see John's reaction to Gru in the Eagle's Nest.
Later on there was some X-wing gaming. Mike C played John and then John and I squared off. It was 11:30 PM by the time everyone left and I was exhausted. Carrie went to bed hours earlier with Shane.
