school's out!

I had just written a great post. Then I accidentally deleted it. It follows, then, that I am now too irritated to post properly. Here's the idea:

• Students went home Friday. Bags, suitcases, milk crates...all lined the parking lot waiting to be loaded into cars, vans and taxis while teachers gathered in the faculty lounge for ice cream and good byes.
• Graduation was Saturday morning. Twelve high school seniors gathered to be cheered, celebrated and supported by hundreds of friends, family and educators.
• My third year of teaching has officially come to an end. I almost can't believe it. We celebrated with a nice dinner at Brassiere Beck; if you like Belgian-esque food, it's worth checking out.
• Year four will be previewed for five days starting June 23rd as I teach generic Social Studies to the incoming seventh grade boys. I cannot begin to express the guilt, joy and relief I feel in knowing I will teach boys again next year. Feminist principles be damned, I guess.
• Day one of summer vacation went exceptionally well. I woke just enough to say good bye to Brian as he headed to work this morning. Then I slept until about 9a, which, for me, is rather luxurious and had breakfast. Later I went back to my house, showered, ran some errands and met Brian for lunch. I walked for awhile before succumbing to the heat and humidity, went home, turned on the AC and spent two hours talking and thinking and reading about whatever seemed interesting to me in the moment. Then I got a pedicure, read for a while at the dog park and headed back home for more reading in climat control. All in all, a spectacular start to the week off.
• I read Atonement today, which I recommend. It's a great story with good characters and a solid message that manages to not be preachy or excessive in its development. Plus it has a rather wonderful ending.
• My couch is being delivered tomorrow. The delivery window makes me think back to student govt days when you'd tell people to arrive at odd times in hopes of entreating them to arrive on time (8:07am? Must be something...). At any rate, it will be nice to have a couch, even if I rarely use it. Without one, the apartment seems less like somewhere a 27-year-old professional lives and more like somewhere a college intern is squatting. And no one needs that.