crawling out of the suck

I don't know when I started calling mid-August "autumn", maybe since I started working in Hawaii's year-round school system? At any rate, Det and I used to joke about my August Malaise, triggered by school starting, but really, the month of July, the last days of it, anyway, sucked so monumentally, that I have totally re-thunk my August tendancy toward depression and overwhelm. I can't go into a re-live of my fast forward summer; suffice to say, we are all safe and sound and well on the other side, now, and I welcome the relief of the mundane, the comfort of friends and routine, and this particularly outstanding pizza which I am eating as I write this. P went downhill to fetch the pizza from Domino's, but the clerk dropped it off the counter and had to make a fresh one. Really...it's the little things.

New school year - new sock, and yes, incidentally, I did get re-hired at my smug little school, with its high test scores and contentious staff. I am no longer a classroom teacher, but am now working as a resource teacher; doing reading and math support. The rules concerning how children having academic problems are referred for Special Ed testing have changed, and now before a child can be tested, they must be taught in an 'intervention program' and data collected on their progress. I am that intervention teacher at my site. I have to say, I'm enjoying this job a lot more than I enjoyed last year's exercise in tolerance and compromise. I like doing my own thing, and while I'd never say this to someone in a position to hire me, in an interview, I don't think I'm much of a team player. The small group work, the data collection, the autonomy of working with the whole school, rather than sharing one classroom, pleases me. I am replacing a very talented teacher, who, last year, ran afoul of the law in an unfortunate way that ended her teaching career. Good person, bad decisions.

The sock is merino/nylon, from Spirit Trail Fiberworks; a small Virginia-based dyer, and purchased at last year's Fall Fiber Festival, in Orange, VA. I figured, since I'll be attending that again, I'd better be knitting and spinning up my stash in preparation. It's a simple garter rib, and mindless enough.


In spite of the appearance of canine harmony, my Life With Dogs has been difficult this summer. I'm becoming a devout student of NILIF approach to taking my pushy Ms. Bossy down a notch, and firming up my leadership for Mr. Juvenile Delinquent/Anxious Headcase, with improving results. Both dogs are being exercised and worked separately, now, and getting a lot more action, and I'm hoping it puts them on the right track.


I hope to write more. I'm feeling more chatty, more like myself than in some weeks.