Janet's Blog

Finally, the end of the longest week ever!   School started yesterday, but teachers started on Monday, and we had an open house for our students and their families for most of the day on Wednesday.  It was not enough time to get ready for the new school year. Victoria has pitched in to make my week much easier than it could have been.  She painted lines on the playground, helped move classroom furniture and playground toys, and stuffed folders with essential information for all of our students' families. The first two days of school went well.  The inevitable criers settled in within a few minutes of arrival, and were smiling by the middle of the morning.  My aides and I worked so hard that we were exhausted by noon on the first day, but our students were enthusiastic and generally well-behaved. We feel especially blessed to have two new foster grandparents, a husband and wife team, in our preschool program this year.  It is always a joy to hav...

One of the first weddings I ever remember attending, when I was three or four years old, wasn't a real wedding at all.  It was a mock wedding, in celebration of my Great Aunt Ella's and Great Uncle Henry's Golden Wedding Anniversary.  I seem to remember a huge tent that was set up in their farmyard, with dozens of friends and family members in attendance.  Back then, in the late 1950's, fifty years of marriage was something to celebrate! Since Aunt Ella and Uncle Henry had no children of their own, several of their nieces and nephews, along with a few in-laws, got together to provide the entertainment.  I don't remember who pretended to be the bride and groom, but one of my uncles was the preacher, and I seem to recall that my Aunt Marilyn was the flower girl.  And, I know for sure that my mom was the soloist, because Mom intentionally sang a horrible, off-key rendition of "Oh Promise Me," a wedding song that was very popular at the turn of the twentieth...