The Week in Review

 Last week was more pleasant than I thought it would be. I had myself expecting it ti be a bit of a nightmare basing my expectations on the input from others. It ended up being nothing close to what I had imagined it to be.

I should not have expected anything else. Advanced students tend to be more adult like in their behavior. They have goals and are intent on achieving them. Anything that does not get them to their goal is generally ignored. I have what I suppose you could call class clowns but their clowning is usually reserved for times that do not interfere with the subject at hand. No, they are not perfect students so far. But they are extremely well behaved and focused.

I had some veteran teachers try to help the rookie teacher and caution her of unruly students she will face. To be honest, I am left wondering why they are teachers if they really believe the things they were telling me of the students; calling them military brats and spoiled little @$$holes. I understand there are those few who certainly fit the descriptions exactly but, so far, they have seemed to be a rare creature. 

Chao lei is as I knew he would be. He feigns a lack of interest in school when I inquire of his school but every now and then he forgets himself and I can hear the excitement in his voice. Even when he is not so excited to talk, I know better. 

Jun is unashamedly thrilled with school. I need not ask her of her day. Before the door of the car is closed and I have said hello, she is telling me what I believe to be every single moment of her day so quickly, it is often difficult to understand what she says. 

With both of them, it is difficult to not smile as they speak. I hope this does not change. At the least, not too soon.

The sandals are working exceptionally well during the day. My feet are not aching at all. I will need to order more before I wear these out prematurely. It has been many years that my feet have felt as good at the end of the day asa they do now.

School Has Begun

 It is day 2 of high school A "B" day to be precise. The schedule here will require getting used to. I have one set of students on an "A" day and another set on a "B" day. It seems the mathematics classes are one day and science/language are another. I can accustom myself to students having classes on different days since most of my classes are AP classes. Mandarin and Japanese classes are the exceptions. 

I met all of my students yesterday. They were as I imagined they would be on the first day; wide eyed and unsure. I tended to receive rather intelligent questions from them but I have discovered my class clowns already. More may appear after they discover how I deal with these first two.

Jun was unsure of  her preschool/daycare. While not clingy or tearful, she was somewhat reluctant to be left there. Who could blame her? I was leaving her with strangers in a strange place. Today, she was anxious to get there. I almost felt abandoned as she ran to her classroom with such glee and no apparent thought of me.

Chao lei was, well, Chao lei. It is school. He is happy to see his friends that he has not seen much of all summer but now he must settle into the "boring" routine of school. At least he does well being as bored as he claims he is. I suspect he is not as bored as he claims but keep up appearances with his friends.

To be honest, I am somewhat glad school has begun and we are all busy now. It is not that I do not wish to be with my children. I enjoy that very much. It is only that now I have something to do. All day. And with coming deployments, they will occupy my, and the children's, mind. There will not be extended times to dwell on absences.

I hate it when...

 I suddenly awake with a feeling that something has happened and it is not good.

I have not done this for several years. It was more common when Jared first became Navy. I did not know what to expect when he was underway. I thank my former homeland for that. It was only sabre rattling but one cannot expect normal behavior from China sometimes.

I could have understood this type of behavior a week or so ago. Jared was sailing in the South China sea and very near Taiwan. But he is home now. As I woke with a start, I felt him there right next to me. That did not comfort me. 

Still having the feeling, I got up to check on Chao lei and Jun. They were were sleeping and well. Chao lei was easy to tell since he has a slight snore when he sleeps. Jun is more difficult. In the dark, one must feel for the rise and fall of her breathing. She sleeps very soundly. Wherever she falls to sleep is where she remains until she wakes. Chao lei? Not so much. It was somewhat comforting to give each a small kiss on their cheeks knowing they were well.

Still, I could not return to sleep so I got up and checked online base resources for something wrong. Nothing. The Ombudsman's site is usually very quick to post news but it was clear of any catastrophes. It seems all is well and my feelings are unfounded. that is a good thing.

I suppose I will just consider it an overactive imagination that I must ignore, return to my bed, and hope was an isolated occurrence.

Once in a While...

 Sometimes, Jared's trips result in pleasant gifts. Usually, these are gifts from whatever ports of call they have visited. I do not mind them. He puts much thought into them. If he were to go to Hawaii without me, the gift would not bea little grass skirted bobble head doll grabbed from the terminal as an after thought. It would be something well thought out and meaningful. 

On this trip, he did perfectly. Rather than the usual gift fare though, he brought me a package he had ordered and was waiting in the ship's FPO rather than our personal box. He did not want me to see if without him giving it to me since it was for my birthday and they were underway for it.

It is funny to say this considering what the gift was but it was an absolutely perfect gift. It was a pair of shoes. Not just any pair of shoes but a pair of Vionic Platform Sandals.

I am not normally a sandal fan. They tend to be uncomfortable for my nearly flat feet. I tend to require a bit more arch support than many. Without it, my feet ache long before the day is finished. Sandals do not usually have arch support.

Jared's explanation for getting them is the XO's wife has flat feet but swears by anything Vionic. His thoughts were the worst that could happen is I would not care for them and there would be another pair of shoes in the closet not being worn. His choice of color was perfect but I reserved an opinion of the style until after I wore them for a time. To say I was, and still am, impressed with them is an understatement.

I wore them the entire day without pain. In fact, I forgot I had them on. I believe I have my shoes for the new school year. It seems these shoes have arch supports in them and the shoes are designed to relieve many issues related to feet. I am convinced of them.

Jared thinks long about what he gives to me. It seems, according to him, I am difficult to buy for. I believe that to be nonsense. My tastes are simple. I have never, and will never, take for granted any gift he chooses for me. But if I were to rate his gifts to me, this one scores as number 1. They are certainly worth exploring other styles. Jared may regret telling me I do not spend enough on myself.

I wonder if they sell hiking boots?