Slipping

The house is finally quiet.  The kids are all asleep, and Kim is next to me checking Facebook.  I am slipping slowly into sleep, but I feel compelled to jot some thoughts down here before I allow my eyelids to close for the night.

The last two days have been pure joy...and some screaming from a grumpy baby...but still joyous, nonetheless.  I can still smell the traces of smoke from the fire we had outside this evening.  The girls ran around the yard in search of fireflies while Sam watched the fire, dozing in and out.  Earlier in the day, I ran with Sam in the jogger while the girls biked around Lake Renwick.  We did three laps, totaling close to four miles.  We stopped along the way to throw rocks, drink water, and take a picture with a turtle crossing the path.

Tomorrow we clean and get some things moved around the house. The girls need to get their clothes put away, and I want to have the house in some semblance when my good friend, Amy, arrives.  Other than that, the weekend is about friends, hanging out, cooking, and sharing in some laughs.

Today really hit me that I will not be returning as an administrator next year.  As the summer sun beat down on me, my phone beeped and let me know that I no longer had access to my email account in my old school district.  For some reason, that above all else rattled home the fact that I am done with that part of my life.  I am so thankful for the people I had a chance to work with, and all of the experiences I had.  I am taking a lot away with me as I return to teaching, but I will really miss a lot of it, also.  I will not shut the door on administration, but I know that the next portion of my career in education will focus on returning to high levels of performance and working directly with students and their learning.

So these are my thoughts on a beautiful Thursday evening.  I look forward to slipping into summer and finding myself again.  I have already registered for the Chicago Rock n' Roll Half Marathon and a few other fun events.  It will be nice to just take a deep breath, be with my children and wife, and enjoy some time to focus on life outside of work.  What a world.

-a