Back to School!

How could I not talk about school? I officially began my 19th year of teaching. Wow!!! Has it really been that long? My life has truly been enriched with all the young lives that have sat in my classroom listening to me ramble about who knows what. I have always hoped that in some small way I have had the same impact on them that they have had on me. Yes, the youth of the world are tremendous! My FAMILY has been so patient, kind and generous through the years because they know that when school starts, I am a mother to hundreds. One of the greatest gifts we can give to our children is patience, love, and understanding. Fortunately for me, I was the receiver of these gifts from my own wonderful parents, and so I wish that everyone could feel that peace and security. I must also recognize my colleagues who know too well the joys, heartaches, and frustrations of trying to inspire kids to be excited about learning. I have also been blessed with the friendhip and support of these colleagues. Well, enough philosophy!! FYI - I spent 11 years teaching at T.H.Bell Junior High School. I moved to Roy High School and spent five years there. With a heavy heart and tremendous sadness I left Roy for a new adventure. I am know beginning my third year at Brunswick High School in Brunswick, Maine. Are kids different on the otherside of the United States? All I have to say is Kids are kids!!! I have had the distinct pleasure of being in the same school as my three older boys, and hopefully the last two as well. While this for the most part has been a positive thing, sometimes it was a little challenging, not only for the kids, but for me as well. However, I wouldn't change a thing. Not many mothers get the opportunity to know their children's friends as well as I have. I am so proud of Dylan, Jamie and Kaleb. Moving to a new state was not an easy thing to do, but they have done marvelously well, and they try to set examples for those around them. Brunswick is a school of about 1,200 students. The teaching style was significantly different here. Talk about a culture shock, but I think I have adjusted. The school was built about 10 years ago, and is a very nice facility. Durham Elementary School is a small rural school of about 300 hundred kids in grades K-8. The school is a little old, but they are in the process of building a new one. Yes, Jamie has hated the thought of being at an elementary, but technically she is in middle school until she joins me at the high school next year. Sorry if I have gotten a little long-winded, but teaching is such a joy for me.

Clam Digging

Although we have done this only once, we figured that when you live in Maine do as the "Mainers." Apparently the clam digging is left to the professionals around here as very few people have actually gone clam digging. We are either extremely naive or overly enthusiastic. I think I would opt for the first. After the hour or two we were there, I can see why. It is backbreaking work. It might have been a bit helpful if we had known what to do, but that didn't stop us. After several googled articles and armed with a couple pitchforks and boots, we trapsed into the water with high hopes. We did get about four clams. They were rather large, and not the ones that everyone favors, but we felt like we were experiencing life. Along with the clams, we also brought several muscles home to cook as well. They were actually quite tasty, but not before we got a shock as we were preparing to cook them. According to our googled entries, you are to soak the clams and muscles in clean salt water for about two hours. This should give the clams time to expel the dirt still in their systems, as the water they are in doesn't have any dirt. Placing them in a huge bucket with fresh water to which we added salt, we began to wait. About an hour later, we hear movement from the bucket. What could possibly be moving. When we looked in, we were shocked to see this huge tongue-like thing protruding from the clam and then quickly go back in. Needless to say, we were very fascinated. We spent the rest of the time staring in the bucket. Finally, cooking time! With hope that we wouldn't make ourselves sick, we cooked your muscles and made clam cakes. Yes, we actually ate them, and no, we didn't get sick. We were actually quite proud of ourselves!!!!!

P.S. If you are reading this, you may want to check out Liz's latest blog. Watching the movie from Leah's farewell brought back lots of happy memories!!!!!!!!

Lighthouses!

Maine does have its share of lighthouses. We have a few favorites. First of all, each lighthouse is distinctly different. I have to admit that I was disappointed in a few of them the first time we saw them. Maine has the smallest registered lighthouse on Great Diamond Island called Pocahontas Lighthouse. It stands about 3 feet tall. It is quite amusing. Maine also has one of the most photographed lighthouses named Portland Headlight. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a good friend of the lighthouse keeper and wrote many of his poems there. My personal favorite is Marshall Point Lighthouse. It is not your typical lighthouse, but I do so like the long bridge to the lighthouse. Dylan was watching "Forest Gump" and realized that this lighthouse is in the movie when Forest is running from coast to coast. The majority of the lighthouses are used to this day. The lighthouse to the left is Portland Headlight. The lighthouse on the right is Marshall Point. The lighthouse Jamie is holding (Ha-Ha) is Owl's Head Lighthouse.

Fishing and Tide Pools

I can't begin to tell you the amount of fun we have had fishing on the ocean(especially Jake), and searching tide pools. We have seen all sorts of fun critters. I must admit that watching the hermit crabs scurrying along the ocean floor is great. They remind me of potato bugs when you touch them as they quickly find refuge in their shell. We have found starfish, crabs, worm creatures(There was a weird looking green one on Crescent Beach.), shells, etc. Finding a crab is always a challenge as we go through rock after rock trying to find them. Kaleb has the record for catching the biggest one, as the rest of us were all to chicken to pick it up. The claws are little bit intimidating. Jellyfish can also be a little intimidating. We rarely find those, but we do often see them floating in the water from bridges, docks, and piers.

All TOGETHER!!

On July 19, we picked up Josh, Che and Jase from the airport at 1:15 in the morning. What a long day for them on the plane. Then on July 21 at 11:00 A.M., we picked up Zach and Carly. We were so fortunate to be able to spend about a week together as a family. Yes, it was a little crowded, and a little confusing, but Jake and I enjoyed every minute of it. Jake took a week of vacation, and we took the kids to the Higgins Beach, Boston, and other favorite sites. Kaleb was baptized while everyone was here. What a grand week! It was hard to put them all back on planes and send them so far away. We do miss them terribly. Jase actually knew who we were and not the faces on the computer he talks to every now and then. However, who knows what the future brings! We wished they could have stayed longer and been able to show them more.