Contemplating the quiet

First I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted. Life in May and early June always seems to be hectic. School is over and I have started teaching summer pre-k. I have a very small class this summer, but it gives me time to do a lot of one on one. And I am now the mom of a middle schooler as Jasmine passed the 5th grade.
Right now the house is very quiet since Jas and Greg have gone home to visit his parents. I love going to visit, but I don't have a substitute for the summer and so I am staying here with the cats, gerbils, and rabbit.

8 Years

This week we celebrated Jasmine's homecoming 8 years ago. I don't think I will ever forget the sight of Sally coming out of the terminal with my "baby girl". I remember be handed this very scared and bewildered tiny little girl. I had been so scared that she would fight when she was given to us, but she just was there. I honestly don't think she remembers how she made to where she woke up the next day. So, much has changed since that night 8 years ago. She is an active happy loving child, who quickly settled in to her new routine and surroundings and who quickly became a "Daddy's Girl". She and her Daddy share a similar warped sense of humor. I can only thank God and Benga, her birth mother for giving me the opportunity to be the mother to such a wonderful child. Today we are going out for the real celebration a matinee and dinner at one of Jasmine's favorites Olive Garden.

Jasmine and Daddy at the airport

Busy Times

I could hardly believe when I realized I had not posted in over a month. Life has been very hectic. Jasmine has had her Spring recital for dance and baton. She did a great job with her hoop baton solo. She has been doing some work with the fire baton at her lessons. Last week she did a horizontal toss and caught it with the fire baton. I was lucky to catch it on video with my camera. We have also gone to Savannah and St. Augustine for spring break. It was a lot of fun, but the best part was having time where the 3 of us were together. We hadn't had alot of that the weeks prior. I have started taking an American Sign Language class. I have been signing since I was 11, but I learned with a bunch of other 11-13 year olds from a book, so I don't do ASL, but instead more of a Signed Exact English. If I am signing I want to do it right. We also use sign at school with some of our children who have been diagnosised with autism.
We had a very nice Easter with my parents, sister and her family. Jasmine is going to start back to karate in about a week and it is getting on toward the end of the school year. Oh well, it may be awhile before I post again.
Sherry

Bronze Award

Jasmine has been a Girl Scout now for 4 years. She started out as a Brownie in the 2nd grade and then flew up to Juniors in 4th grade. The highest award a Junior scout can recieve is the Bronze award. Well, my 5 Junior scouts have been working hard since last year to complete all the requirements. The last requirement that needs to be met is the service project. Well, my girls wanted to do something concerning patriotism and the flag. So, they set up a "Patriotism Day". Each girl or in one case two girls set up a booth to meet the requirements of a the patriotism badge for three age levels. They invited other scout troops to come and earn an a badge and get their flag retirement patch. Well, no other troops came, but the girls showed each other their booths as well as the parents and guests including some Boy Scouts who came. We had our flag retirement and put in a flag pole at the Methodist Camp we held it at. The girls had a good time, everyone learned something new and my girls met the requirements of the Girl Scout Bronze Award. I am so proud of all of them.

My Nana

I realized today that one year ago was the last time I saw my Nana alive. She was my father's mother and one of my favorite people. She was pig headed, stubborn, loved to argue, and loving as could be with me. We didn't always see eye to eye and often she would make me crazy. Nana had very set ways that I most certainly did not always agree with, but she did try to see my side while I tried to see hers. Whe I was young, maybe around 10 my Nana promised me she would live to be 100 years old. I was very afraid of losing her. Last February she was diagnosised with liver cancer, after a bout with lung cancer a few months earlier in October. The last few weeks of her life she was with hospice in the home she and my Grandpop shared. She was visited by friends and family so that they could say good bye. And visited regularly by her great grandchildren whom she adored. The last time I saw her was on a Sunday, Jasmine and I had gone over after church to see her. She was pretty lucid, which she hadn't been the day before when I visited. As I sat beside her and fed spoonfuls of juice, I asked her "your not going to be here when I come back again, are you?" She shook her head "no". My sister and I got the call while we were at Girl Scouts the next night. We didn't make it in time. But I knew before I got their that she wouldn't be there. I had released her from her long ago promise the week before. I never would want her to suffer, because of me. It will be a year tomorrow since Nana went home to heaven. I know she has had a good time the past year with her friends and family who have departed this earth before her, but I still miss her something terrible. I will sometimes pull out my cellphone, thinking I have to tell Nana this, only to remember she won't be on the other end of the phone. I know that she is in a better place, happy and watching over us all, but I still miss you Nana.

Love Sherry

Down time

I am so excited that I have a nice quiet day with nothing more than house work and picking up Girl Scout cookies. The last few weeks have been almost non stop on the go. I am thrilled to have a nice relaxing weekend. But I have a ton of laundry to catch up on.

Time machine

I always find it amazing how music can take you back in time. I am listening to some music fromt he 80's. As Nothing's gonna stop us now from the soundtrack of Mannequin came on I was suddenly in the State Theater. Myself and a good portion of the music department were there to see if we could find our choir director, Mrs. M., in the one scene. She didn't have any lines, but we broke out in cheers when we saw her at the table over from the main action in the restaurant scene. I love the time machine that is music.

Start of the new year.

I can hardly believe we are five days into the New Year. On New Year's Eve I did swim for about half hour and then at midnight I just stuck my feet in the pool. I didn't want to put my damp suit back on again, and really wanted to just head home. Jasmine and AJ got the thrill of having a slumber party at Uncle Jimmy's and swimming again on New Years day. Today was the first day back to work and it went better than I could have hoped. Two weeks of no school can sometimes spell bad news for the first day back, but the kids were pretty mellow. Yeah!!