New Things

Work started up again for me on Friday.  It seemed odd that the Powers That Be decided we teachers should come back on a Friday (the students resume next Wednesday), but it certainly made the transition more bearable knowing that I would get a weekend after just one day's work.  

Of course, it also means that we have to put in an extra-long day on Monday for Back to School Night.  That is a less-than-pleasant way to begin what will surely be an exhausting week.

Tiffany and I met up Friday morning to carpool to work.  John normally drives with us too, but he was diagnosed with a brain tumor over the summer and was operated on just last week.  Happily, his prognosis is good, but he is the second teacher at our school to be diagnosed with and operated on for a brain tumor in four months.  We only have sixteen teachers on staff, so the remarkable statistics led to many jokes at staff meeting about the need to get the water tested and/or issue foil-lined hats to the staff.

Anyway, as Tiffany and I drove up the mountain she lamented the number of things she didn't accomplish over the summer.  I thought about my own list and was pleased to discover that I didn't feel like I had any projects left undone.  I certainly traveled, I checked off the housekeeping projects I wanted to do, and I spent the last 1.5 weeks of summer (post-travel, pre-school) trying out new things.

For instance, I taught myself how to sew shirts:

This was shirt #3.  I felt more confident after the first two shirts, so I played around with the sleeves and collar and I tailored the overall shape much more than the original pattern called for.  You can see the difference if you compare it to this shot of shirt #2:

Additionally, Rachel and I together are finally doing something that's been on our lists for a while.  Can you guess what it is from this picture?

How about now?

Yup!  We're taking tap dancing!

After a lot of schedule comparison, we found a class that might work for both of us.  We're going to do a drop-in this Wednesday, which will certainly double the anxiety I'll already be dealing with for the first official day of school.  I took tap in San Francisco (so... 7 years old?  8?) but gave it up when we moved to Germany since that type of dance class was not available there.  Rachel's never taken tap and, in her words, she wants to learn enough to quit having to fake it whenever a tap number comes up for musical choreography.

I'm nervous, as I always am before things that put me squarely outside of my comfort zone, but I'm excited to try it out, especially with Rachel.  I am also thrilled that I had a good excuse to buy a pair of tap shoes.  They make such happy noises!