I did it and it goes against all that I believe in. I drove a mini-van on a road trip! I don't know, maybe I'm a better person for it, but I had told myself it was something I would never do. I showed up to leave for the Middle School field trip to Antelope Oregon and was told I would be driving a mini-van of students on this trip. We have enough students to fill two buses and then about 10 more, so rather than take another bus, the school district rents vans for the overflow. One would think that one would need a special permit or something, but I guess I was just the one who seems crazy enough to say "Sure, how bad could this get?" Yeah, so paybacks really are hell!! Try spending four hours in a mini-van (!!!) listening to show tunes and six Middle School girls singing full bore the whole time. Whoo hooo!! I discovered this great phenomenon as we were driving, though: If you leave the Columbia River Gorge, you will encounter this yellow stuff called sunshine. Sunshine, blessed sunshine!! I almost forgot all about you!! So we get to Antelope and the place we stay is called Wild Horse which is where the Rajneeshe compound used to be. Now it is a Christian youth camp- a weird dicotome, I know. This field trip is a huge reward for the students. It was rough for me once we were there. I had to make sure the zip line would be fun...in fact I had to go down twice to make sure it was ok. Then after everyone was blinded by the whiteness of my legs, I hung out by the pool and just chilled. Have I mentioned how tough my job is?? We spent the night, repeated activities of the previous day and then headed back to the dreary drizzle of the Gorge.
This week has been more field trips with work. Yesterday and today I was in charge of a student with an authority defiance/agression disorder as well as ADHD and adolescent hormones. What was I saying about paybacks? As a culminating activity to an ancient Greece study unit, we went to the Greek Cuisina in downtown Portland. Awesome food!!! Wow!! The kids did some Greek dancing and had a chance to break plates. Good times. Today, though, I accompanied the squirrel to the Portland Zoo. I'm certainly thankful that my kids don't have behavior disorders or academic difficulties. I guess that's the best part of my job--greater appreciation for my guys.
Speaking of my perfect children, portfolio night was last week. Older C scored 2 points below the max on state math testing. He also had a band concert tonight and they really sounded great! Younger C is also a genius...reading and doing math above grade level. This really gives him a leg up for next year.
So now we have 1 1/2 days of school left and I will be leaving on Tuesday the 10th for the Middle School Washington DC/New York trip. Then I will just hang out with my own kids at home...I'm really looking forward to that! Ciao, babe
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4 comments:
The mini van I could handle. The singing I could not.
You didn't mention that you looked like a lobster when you got back from Central Oregon and your husband had to keep his distance for the next week. DMP
wow...a mini-van. what dweebs drive those?! The zip line, pool and sunshine sound worth it. Please take pics in NYC/DC to post. AND have a great time!
DE
You know, it was just a matter of time. It all started on the mean streets of Helena, when Mom and Dad bought the Teleporter. If we still had our minivan, I would let you drive it during the reunion. However, it is a thing of the past. I'm sure we could scrounge one up for you. My college has a really cool 16 passenger van with an 8-track player that I may reserve....
Generally speaking, Van contract hire will work out as cheaper options than vans both in terms of fuel economy and tag price.
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