- Date: Dec. 30 or 31, 2009 (yes, that’s over a year ago.) I’m at home thinking to myself, “I’ve got to write my DZ letter and send it off to Jarby this weekend.”Date: Jan. 1, 2010: Fever, cough, chills- “uhoh, I’ve got the flu: possibly the dreaded H1N1.” All thought of DZ letter leaves my mind.
- Dates: Jan. 1-9: Kelli’s international friends from Australia & Serbia spend the week with us. I’m recovering from the flu and enjoying the girls. Not once did the DZ letter enter my mind.
- Date: End of January, 2010. I think to myself, “I should check my yahoo e-mail.” I’m notoriously poor about checking that one. “Oh, no! I totally missed the DZ letter!
I think this is my 33rd year of teaching. With all the press about failing schools and lousy teachers, I find it a little harder to be a teacher these days. Also, because of budget cuts, the expectations are higher without the resources to back it up. In our district, our paraprofessional hours were cut (crucial in my job), which leaves me short-staffed at the beginning and end of each day. I’m figuring it out and getting by, but I’m doing less meeting kids individual needs and more group stuff. It’s kind of a slow, whittling away of programming. Having said that, I still truly love the kids and take great joy in seeing their progress. I’m also lucky to work in a school with a supportive principal and a staff with a great deal of talent and integrity.
Mike is doing fine. We’ll be celebrating our 30th anniversary this summer. I’ve heard that couples who live together for years start looking alike. Well, I don’t think we look alike, but we do frequently think alike. This Christmas, I decided to surprise Mike with a new TV and he decided to surprise me with a TV. Imagine our reaction Christmas morning when we had two new TVs. Naturally, we kept the more expensive one- the one he picked out. However, they were both Panasonics and the same size. Freaky.
We took a trip to Las Vegas in March. We enjoyed some great shows (the Beatles Love was terrific) and even won a little money. However, Las Vegas about every 10 years is plenty. We enjoy following the Twins and went to a few games at Target Field. We also went to Milwaukee and saw the Twins play there. My cousin lives near Milwaukee and we had a great visit with her when we were there.
Kids: Adam is now an “Actuary” for Allianz Insurance in Golden Valley. He’s living in Uptown and enjoying his life. He continues to surprise us with his hobbies: playing the piano, guitar, & cello. He also did a stand-up comedy routine at a club and produced a short film with a friend and had a premier at the “Riverview” theater in Minneapolis. Kelli is going to school in Mankato. (My kids take forever to finish school!) She’s living in a house with 4 guys and holding her own with them. I’m all for equality, but when she told me she was the only one shoveling after the first heavy, wet snowfall in November, I’m not so sure about that. You would think one of those guys would have felt guilty watching her shovel! I’ve really enjoyed watching my kids grow up and turn into pretty nice people.
I’ve said enough. I look forward to hearing from all of you and I wish you all the best in 2011!
Love,
Lyn (Swid)
Email: lynmalone84@yahoo.com I promise to check it often!
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