Friday...the end of the week for those with traditional jobs. Jay is working at the fire station today, filling in as Battalion Chief. I hope his day is better than his last shift three days ago. On that day (again, as acting Battalion Chief) an 8-year-old girl died. He described it as a "scoop and run" call. The parents met the ambulance in the driveway, and the EMTs scooped her up and rushed to Henry Medical Center. It was too late. They suspect it might have been a ruptured appendix, but are waiting for autopsy results.

The firemen, EMTs and paramedics who worked this call are all being counseled to make sure they are o.k. That's standard procedure for any call that involves a child or is especially gruesome. Thankfully, Jay wasn't actually working the call. He was in a supervisory position and in charge of taking care of 'his men'. That doesn't mean he was unaffected, though. Just knowing it happened shakes him up. He thinks about our children and how easily it could have been one of them.

I've done a couple of loads of laundry, carried one box to the basement, and changed my hair appointment from tomorrow to today at 4:00. Not much accomplished, and it's already 1:15! I've had several weeks off and had all these grand plans for organization and deep cleaning. It seems like I'd learn that I work MUCH better under pressure. I'll probably spend one entire day practically killing myself to get it all done. If I'd only do a little each day it would be much easier, but I really enjoy having laid-back, spend time with the children, no plans for the day, do what you want when you want kinds of days.

I only have a few days left before going back to work....ugh! Pre-planning begins on Wednesday, the 26th. School starts the next Wednesday, the 2nd. The first day is only a half day for students, but I'll be there ALL day. I still need to plan and prepare three bulletin boards. I HATE bulletin boards! Two of them will go up before school starts and remain pretty much the same throughout the year. The other one will change with the month or seasons.

One other thing I want in my classroom is a tree. Yes, a tree! My theme is monkeys...we're wild about learning! I'm trying to find a large limb that would become my tree and then I can hot glue silk greenery on the branches. It would go in the corner of my room where we have reading groups. Hanging from the branches overhead would be stuffed monkeys. I guess I'd better go scout around the yard for a fallen limb!

Tonight is the final night of VBS. The parents are supposed to come and stay for the entire night, as in 5:30-8:30. This is something new. In the past, the final night was a family supper and then a short worship service. I'm not looking forward to spending 3 hours there tonight. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy church, but not following my child/children around from room to room for three hours. Zane and Kent are in different age groups, so I guess I'll have to split my time between the two of them.

Betty is one of the leaders of Kent's class, and she asked Catherine to help her. Catherine thought she'd be actually helping, but she's just sitting and listening to Betty teach. Then when the children go to their outside activity time, Catherine accompanies them while Betty stays inside. This isn't going over very well with Catherine. She said she doesn't understand why she has to stay outside while Betty is in the cool, air-conditioned building. There are outside activity leaders who are working with the group, so Catherine should be able to drop them and go back inside. She said Betty told her to wait for them. Poor dear!

I suppose I need to go check on the laundry. The dryer should be finished, and there's a load in the washer, plus about 6 more loads piled up and ready to go. How do we manage to go through so many clothes?