Well, it’s officially time to go back to work. I’ve just finished getting my things together for tomorrow, the first day back to school since being off this last week for Spring Break. I’ve had such a wonderful week off…working on this blog, catching up on some reading, staying in my PJ’s until late into the day, and doing absolutely nothing work related. One of the great things about going back to school is knowing that there’s not that many more days until summer. On the other hand, there is much (and I do mean MUCH) to do before I can totally embrace the long, relaxing, summer days soaking up the summer rays (… “days”…“rays” …oh gosh, I’ve been helping my students work on their poetry notebook for far too long.) Speaking of the summer sun, when you live in the north you really have to “soak up the summer sun” since we rarely see the sun from October to late March. However, we did have beautiful summer like weather here this last week. The maintenance men even took off the tarp that covers the pool in our complex. That’s always a good sign that summer is on its way. However, just because the pool tarp is off the pool it doesn’t mean the pool water is ready for swimmers. The water is going to need at least another three weeks to completely defrost. As I’m writing this entry I can’t help but laugh at a memory from last May…Will and I saw that the tarp had been taken off the pool and even though it was barely in the 70’s, we were beside ourselves with excitement! We thought we’d get our swimming gear on and at least put our feet in the water as we sat in the sun. Oh, how we were so wrong…we were literally skipping to the pool with giddiness only to see that it looked more like the South Pole than the summer delight we anticipated. We didn’t make another attempt until the middle of June. Even when the pool defrosts the water is still pretty cold, as you can probably imagine. Did you know that they have to use pool heaters throughout the entire summer just so the water will be bearable to swim in? How crazy is that? Well, Will and I have learned (and are still learning) a lot since we moved to NY. Not just about NY but we’re learning a lot about ourselves as well. Don’t worry I won’t get on that tangent tonight…not enough time.

Now what was I saying… oh yes…much left to do in the school year. If you think to pray for us this week, here are our prayer needs: I’m directing a school play and the performance is in two weeks. Please pray that the students have NOT forgotten their lines and that their hearts/sprits will remain positive as they (we) endure the long hours of practice. Pray that God will be working out all the details and that above all else we’ll put on a fabulous performance that will be glorifying to Him. The performances are on May 2nd and 3rd. I’m also the junior class representative, which means that I’m planning the Jr/Sr Banquet this year (the banquet is basically our prom). In the midst of planning and organizing these extracurricular activities I still have to plan lessons, teach, grade papers, and prepare the juniors for their NY state exam in June, not to mention balancing everything at home as well. Please pray that I’ll have enough energy to accomplish all these things and that I won’t become anxious or overwhelmed. Please pray for Will to have the motivation to finish the semester strong. He has a big presentation this week and two more finals until the end of the semester. His last final is on May 1st.

Thanks in advance for all your prayers, and thanks to Him who listens to the petitions of His children and answers accordingly. I’m so thankful He knows what I need even more than I do. Thanks again for lifting us up in prayer. We would not be the people we are today without all the love and support from YOU! We love you more than you know. Good night.