The school year ended without much of a hitch (other than my characteristic getting angry at everyone around me for the last 2-3 weeks of school due to stress and my inability to maintain long-term relationships with flawed people... why am I still single??? :). There was one math position open at the end of the school year, so I applied. My interview went a little something like this: "Well, Ms. Matchell, I'm pretty sure that half of the math department would try to poison my coffee if I didn't hire you. So welcome!" There was a bit more formality to the meeting, but that was the long and short of it. Pretty awesome, huh? It was nice to know that not only did people recognize my awesomeness as a teacher and person, but they had all communicated it to the principal! I was really glad to have a promise of a stable income and health benefits.
Summer has been pretty great. I've picked up several jobs here and there to cover my expenses for the summer (substitute teachers don't get paid for the summer, and my contract with the school district doesn't start until the beginning of August). I'm still working at Shop Good a couple nights a week, I have been helping The Spero Project with their books while my sweet friend Maia (who usually does their books) has been taking some much needed vacation time, and I taught three weeks of summer school (taking a note from Thumper the Rabbit, I will say nothing at all about summer school).
I made four trips to Arkansas this summer (so sorry, Camry. You handled it like a trooper). The first was to celebrate school being over (and because I hadn't seen my family in a few months). The second was to take care of my parents' house while they went on a cruise. The third was specifically designed to make me feel older and singler than ever before by allowing me to be a witness to the marriage of a girl I babysat during my junior high years to a boy I watched grow into a man of integrity. Lovely, sweaty outdoor wedding. The bride looked fabulous and I got to see pretty much all the most important people from my life in Siloam Springs. The fourth trip was the week after the wedding to celebrate my dad's retirement from coaching. Some of his former players threw him a surprise party. It was a neat thing to be a part of.
One quick story: has anyone ever told you, "You haven't changed a bit since high school"? Someone told me this at the sweaty wedding, and I know she meant it as a compliment. And then the next weekend I saw my high school self. I was the statistician for the high school boys team during my sophomore, junior and senior years of high school, which meant that I was a part of the team pictures. And part of the decorations for the retirement party was framed team pictures from every year my dad coached. Out of curiosity (don't we always look for ourselves in pictures first?), I sought out my high school years and was faced with the sad reality that I was not the cutest girl in the world during my high school years. Apparently, I had yet to master the art of dressing to flatter my figure and the other art of straightening my hair. But I was young and it was the 90's, right? Let's leave it at that.
And now, after all the blood, sweat and tears (although if I were to list them in order of abundance it would have to be sweat, sweat, sweat, tears and blood) that the summer of 2011 has brought, I find myself with only a week left. New teacher orientation starts soon, then regular teacher orientation, then the insanity begins again! I've forgotten how great it is to be a teacher and get a break every summer. It's been awesome, but I won't be sad to see it go either. I definitely thrive on structure and schedules, which each school year is kind enough to offer me. Although I promised not to begin the blog post with an apology, I will end with one. I'm sorry it took me so long and that I have no pictures to make this more interesting. I'll try harder to be more consistent. You can put as much stock in that promise as you'd like. Deuces.
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