I am playing hooky from my routine today as it is still too wet to work in the garden. I decided to head over the pass, workout at the other rehab, wander through a nearby Kohl's then pick up some food at Trader Joe's. Not my normal Saturday.
In garden news, the first bud has opened on one of our six rhododendrons this morning. It is blooming so much later this year as we really are having a late spring. It portends of great colors coming to my garden.
I met Natalie and the kids before Winnie's swimming lesson yesterday, we sat in the little play area in front while the kids played and we talked business. She may be reducing her work load from three part-time jobs to one full-time music teaching position at a school owned by the founder of the school where I got sick. She recently was told that Winnie would be able to attend this very private, very exclusive school for gifted children for FREE, a savings of $35,000 a year, if she was a full-time teacher. The only issue is a long list of students on a waiting list and whether they will make special room for her. I would bet that they would in order to urge Natalie to commit to them for many years. They love her and she is developing major music and visual arts programs for them.
When Natalie worked with me at the school where I got sick, she was the youngest teacher and she hated that distinction. Her opinion was treated marginally. Now 13 years later, she finds herself at a school where they hire young, energetic, first year teachers and she is the senior staff. The woman at the school who was the keeper of the "spiral of education" through the grades has left. She had designed each teacher's curriculum, except Natalie's. Now that she is gone, Natalie is finding that she has to explain the actual teaching processes to these teachers who have not been trained to understand the importance of this spiral and only interested in their own classroom. Talk about starting at ground level! Thank goodness she has the best communication skills I have ever seen in a real person and will be a leader. (Years ago at the other school where I got sick, it was discovered that one group of children had a semester of study of Native Americans for four grades in a row before someone thought to complain. This sort of thing can happen if there is no plan, no spiral of education. Native Americans? Introduction in 1st grade, deeper study in 4th grade and intensive study including travel in Middle School. That is an example of what a spiral would look like.)
Natalie was also struggling with the final day presentation of the year and how she was going to produce the whole thing. I was able to come up with some suggestions and we laughed when Natalie said she wanted to have like a Flash Mob after the ceremony and before the party. She asked if I could come. I wouldn't miss it.
Winnie and Oliver (or I should say the Green Lantern with his mask on) where charming and fun and sweet and thrilled with my surprises of a small box of Gingerbread cookies, a huge flower lollipop and a goodie for each of them. Oliver got a sticker book and Winnie got a small white board, both bought earlier in the day for $1.00 each!
I came home to Michael, energized with all the problem solving and my soul filled with happiness from being around the kids. It was hard to settle in to fall asleep. It was marvelous.
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