The Past Week

Oh, my dears, what a whirl-wind week I have just been through. Our anniversary weekend, the last days of work, Jane and Ralph in from London for a few weeks, my retirement party and the beginning of the next chapter of our lives.

During the practice vacation we found out that we will need to bring along the pump for Dennis' night feedings. We tried hanging it from a light, which was fine, but not high enough to force the liquid down. And the "j" tube is 1/2 the size of the "g" tube, making it all the more difficult for gravity to do it's work. The liquid food is fairly thick and it was not moving any where. I am glad that we tried it before we headed out for more than one night.

Work was not fun at all. The boss was gone for most of the week, which made me the boss. Long, long ago, when I was a young, thin and energetic teacher, I had been encouraged by many to go into administration. But, I have the temperament of my father (impatient, demanding, always right, and stubborn) and my mother (sensitive, especially when stressed, and personalizing other peoples negative ways) and I knew I would not be suited for the work. But here I was, on my last few days of work, being in charge. Which mostly means, putting up with all of the parents and grandparents of the stinkers at school. And let me tell you, those stinkers do not come out of the wombs of sane women or the sperm of pleasant and intelligent men. By Thursday I was done, and took the last two days off from work as sick days.

The retirement party was a blast. I have had several jobs, at several locations over my 22 years in education. I did not invite anyone in particular, but put it out in the district hotline that a party was to happen. A diverse group of friends showed up, and I laughed a months worth of laughs in 6 hours. There were stories shared about me that I remembered, some that I sure were made up and some that were vaguely familiar, but I am sure they were only partially true. Dennis came with me, and tried to stay until he got food stuck in his mouth and wanted to make a get away. Raquel was his, and my, designated driver, and while he left a bit earlier than I did, he had fun.

I haven't hung out much with Jane and Ralph yet, but they came to the party, too. The four of us are going to Boston in a week together. We will stay in Boston for a few days and then head to Cape Cod. There we will meet up with Donna and Louie, Dennis' sister and brother in law, for the weekend. After the weekend, Hamed and Ashley will join us for a couple of days before we head home. I guess this vacation will be the beginning of the next chapter.

So stay tuned and carry on.

Until later,
Ann and Dennis