In memory of Barry

This probably will not be an easy post to write or read. It's not one of those light, this is what our weekend consisted of, kind of posts. Last November, our family tragically lost my nephew suddenly. I have never written about this, but I really think that he is part of the reason that I blog now. Over the course of the past week or so, I have been thinking about him more and I felt like it was time to write some of my feelings down. I came across a couple of other blogs of moms that have lost children recently and it kind of hit home.

My nephew, Barry, was 15 years old and full of life. We had just seen him the day before at my sister's wedding. November 10th was such a happy day. Most of my family was in the wedding. Barry had grown a lot since I had seen him last. He was 6 foot tall. We didn't get a chance to talk a whole lot that weekend, but I'm glad that Josh got a chance to spend a little time with him. My only regret is not being able to say goodbye differently than I did. You see, my car got hit in the parking lot, and I had to break the news to my hubby over the phone, and I got pretty emotional. I had to drive all the way back to Charlotte in a wrecked car and so I kind of didn't say much of a goodbye to anyone that night.

I won't go into details of what surrounded Barry's passing (out of respect to my brother and his family). It's not important how you die, but how you lived your life while you were here. I wanted to take the time to remember some of the small things about Barry that touched my heart. His mom, dad, and sister knew him so much better than I did, and would have a lot more to add, but here goes. From the time he was so very little, he had the most beautiful, eye piercing blue eyes that you've ever seen. My son, Josh, loved to spend time with him whenever we came to Florence. Barry was exactly 4 years older than Josh. Barry gave Josh his skateboard a few years back. I was touched by his generosity. You see, this wasn't a $20 Target skateboard. Last year, shortly before his death, they were able to go skating together in Florence while we had Danielle's bridal shower. I'm glad they had that time together. Barry was also a self taught musician. He took the time to show Josh some things on the electric guitar. I guess he took after his dad with his natural music ability. I've had to work at it and study it. I remember the one time that Barry came with my mom to visit us in Charlotte. Barry talked to my mom so much (this is what my mom said) that mom got lost and was headed to the uptown Charlotte area. My mom had to call me for help in getting to our house:-) He taught Josh how to "wave board" a couple of years ago. Josh looked up to him. I know from seeing his friends at the funeral that they loved and looked up to him as well.

The pastor at the service said that we would never have all the answers. I've struggled some with the "whys". I guess that's a natural part of life. The verse that helped me through this time is at the bottom of my blog (Prov. 3:5-6). I've had to trust God even when I don't understand. I've had to seek him on behalf of my family. Joey and Paige, if you read this, please know that I am in prayer for you daily. Your son touched a lot of people's lives, including mine.

School

Well, we are into our third school day. So far, I guess things have gone fairly smooth. I couldn't hear the first two days, so I can't say much about the noise level:-) I've been dealing w/ allergies and it makes my ears itchy and a little extra waxy (I know that's gross). I had to go to the dr. and get them to scrape both of my ears out on Friday- that wasn't fun, but at least I can hear now.

My class seems to be really sweet. I've got several sweet boys- that's always nice. We have started full swing with lesson plans this week and it is taking all the teachers a lot of time putting them online and turning them in for subs. I ended up doing lesson plans 3 different ways to turn in for next week (copy & paste in a word document, online for parents/administration, and written out the way that I like it). There's got to be an easier way, but I really don't like the way it looks online.

I know I haven't posted too much lately because I've been crazy busy with school and all the prep. work that goes in before the kids even get there. I'm tired though and still am trying to get used to the early morning- I'm *not* a morning person at all. Hoping this week goes smoothly and that the kids don't get too much louder:-)

First day of work- back to school

Well, today was our first day back. It went well. We had a long meeting in the morning, but it was good. Then, we had lunch catered from Qdoba- yum, Stephanie introduced me to this place several years ago and I really like their food. I'm glad I decorated and worked in my room last week. It made for a much less stressful day today. This has to be one of the shortest summers ever and a lot of the teachers agreed!

Just wanted to say how proud I am of Josh (my son). Yesterday, he made the decision to be baptized. I'm sorry that Jim missed it (he was home with Amber- she wasn't feeling good). Josh started asking questions Saturday night and I had a feeling that he was ready to take that step. He and about 1,000 other people have been baptized in the last 2 weeks. God is doing an amazing thing here in Charlotte- check out their website: www.elevationchurch.org. Well, I need to be getting to bed.

Last Day of Freedom

Tomorrow is my last day off and then Monday it's back to school:-( The summer seemed to pass so quickly this year. I have been going to school all week anyway and organizing and setting up my room, but it's kind of sad to think that summer is coming to an end. I love relaxing and having my summers off. I do love going back to school and seeing all of my friends again though.

I still need to post some pictures of our Palm Beach trip, but I keep forgetting to download them. Josh's birthday is coming up (he'll be 12) and he wants a dirt bike. I'd rather ignore that request...

So, what will I be doing tomorrow to end the summer?? I need to go to the school (only for a half day), and then I'll probably just come home and relax. We have a pool party to go to on Saturday and we need to clean the house.

Summer Goals Revisit

I had a few things that I wanted to get accomplished while being on summer break. I have to say I'm still trying to make the last big project happen. I did take 3 online courses, finished my curriculum objectives for school (in history, science, and math), and now I'm working on organizing all of my classroom books to make it more user friendly. If I can get this done this week, that will be a huge accomplishment. Luckily, the internet has everything and I was able to find some good ideas for book labels and matching book bin labels. This is my last week before I start school back again (boo-hoo).

I didn't get everything that I had hoped accomplished. First, we still need to work on the downstairs bedroom. This will probably happen after I move all my school stuff out of the room:-) I kind of wanted to take a cake decorating class (I know that's random, but I guess I will wait until another time). I also failed to get Amber signed up for swimming lessons- she has made good progress over the summer though- maybe I can check into a fall class...