Hot hot hot!
It's a hot one out there today, folks, a hot one! When I was finally released from my last class today, I headed out to pick up Jack the dog and head back to the house where I'm housesitting. My real purpose in going out to the house was to do chores, but there's really not a lot of fun in that, so I took Jack on a hike up the hill behind the house. It's a beautiful hike, and while both Jack and I were seriously melting out there, it was worth the trek. The sun beat down on us, but both of us had high energy levels and made it to the top quickly. There were lots of bugs humming along happily, and Jack even managed to surprise a fawn out of the blackberry bushes (and then proceeded to trot down the path after her). Returning to the house was pleasant enough. Watering the plants felt nice, although right now I'm feeling a little wilted. Today would be a great day to go playing in the river. :-)
School is going well. There are only two days left of this set of classes, and we get our new schedule on Monday. While I'm feeling a bit worn out, I really do enjoy school. While a good deal of what I'm doing feels like review, I really am learning quite a bit. My new interest is in children who have behavioral and emotional disorders. Some of the stories I've heard about these kids scare me (for example, the kids who are excessively violent to themselves and to others....these stories would make your skin crawl). And while the knowledge that I will most certainly be working with students who have emotional/behavioral disorders is a little unnerving, it's also something that I'm feeling quite drawn to. I've known for a while that working in Special Education would be a great way for me to make a difference, but I had no idea how much behavioral support some of my students might need. My heart breaks for these kids, and I look forward to being able to put my best effort into helping them. I have one student scheduled to be in my classroom next year who needs a lot of behavioral support, and while I realize it's going to be challenging, I'm looking forward to the opportunity to work with him. I can't wait to see what I will learn after spending a school year with him.
Ok, shower time! I feel as though I should try to get some more housework done, but a cool shower beckons to me! I'm sure there'll be more later. Brook and I are planning on heading up to Seattle for a couple of days the end of this week, and I'm betting I'll have plenty to report on when we return.