LAST WEEK OF TEACHING FAVES

 

WHOO!!

As of 2 pm today I am officially retired from teaching Special Education Prekindergarten. I'm planning on doing a post about the reasons and feelings I have on retirement.  But for today I am sharing FIVE of the blessings God brought into my life this past week. I link up with other bloggers who participate in Susanne's FFF.  Head over here to learn more. 

From left to right:  our oldest girl Courtney, Dave,
Kai (new friend from Kansas), Courtney's bff from  college days, Nathanael

fun dice game while waiting for food order

• FATHER'S DAY! Sunday after the 11 am service, Dave and I drove over to Courtney's apartment  complex and picked her and her 2 friends up for BBQ at this fun place.  This is one of our very fave Saratoga restaurants and we wanted to introduce Kai and Nathanael to it. Kai just moved here from  Kansas.  They're only 18. She and Courtney and Nathanael became friends via online gaming and although they are older by 11 yrs, they all get along great.   Kai is currently renting a room from Nathanael and looking for a job.  Since all these "kids" pay high rents, Dave decided to pay for everyone. Nathanael and Kai were very appreciative. We had such fun playing LCR (Nathanael's dice game) and eating delicious food al fresco. It was a gorgeous late Spring day that felt like Summer and we all just had so much fun.  I'm thankful Courtney's friends could join us and I'm thankful for the wonderful man I married who really has shown the girls and their friends what it means to be a caring, generous dad and who represents Jesus well.   (Claire gave him a card the day before as she had to travel to NH to attend a bridal shower).  

image courtesy of google 

• POWER WALK: Monday was a holiday for schools, banks, and libraries. (Juneteenth).  I did a lot of housework and some reading in the morning (Dave had to work) and then headed to my sister Joy's home near Lake George for a good power walk on the Halfway Brook path.  She only lives 1/4 mile from the parking lot.  She and I did the entire 3 miles at a VERY quick pace and I'm thankful she wanted to go.  It's a walk, not a hike, but the  surrounding woods and stream are very pretty. We then spent some time in her backyard as the weather was another perfect day. I was so focused on getting a good cardio pace in that I neglected to take photos and then we sat with iced water on her screened gazebo and chatted for awhile before I headed home.  I'm so thankful to live only 40 minutes south of two of my 3 sisters and for great walking weather!

• AL FRESCO DINING:  All week long we have had dinner on the deck in the fresh air.  Beautiful blue skies, a gentle breeze and sunshine with temps in the high 70s has been the norm this past week. This is a huge blessing to me because once the temps get up towards 84 I cannot stand it. Especially if the humidity levels are high.  I've loved sleeping with the windows open since April and also eating dinner outdoors.  Monday evening I made BBQ pork chops for dave and then for Claire and I,  BBQ Jackfruit. SO good.  I served this with broccoli slaw and a raw veggie platter with honey mustard dressing. Another night, I served Summer-y Salad with Garlic bread and baked beans. I'm so thankful for the deck and being able to enjoy it with our girls when they come over for dinner. 

• GIFTS AND A SPECIAL CARD: One my my fave(sh....we're not supposed to have faves) students...a little 5 yr old boy heading to kindergarten  come autumn, has been in my language group the last year.  His mom gave me a surprise gift bag filled with fun items.  I love every single one of them. Especially the mug: Do Not Disturb.  Perfect for retirement. AND our senior pastor and his wife sent me a wonderful card with a very kind message and congratulations on retiring.  I'm so thankful for thoughtful people who can bring a smile to my face. I'm also thankful for our pastor.  We're in a church of about 350 at the 9 am service and 850 at the 11 am.  Plus we have 2 other sites with between 300-500 people.  It feels good to be noticed by the senior pastor of our multi-site church. 

•  FIXED!!!  Two weeks ago our dishwasher broke.  I woke up one morning to the sound of the motor running and the water not draining properly. My husband had to turn off the power to the appliance and called the place where we bought it. They finally got to us this past week, gave us the estimate and fixed the issue (a busted water valve) on Wednesday. Well, yesterday morning I woke up to water all over the bottom of the sink cupboard.  Dave discovered the valve to the hot water was broken!!  Apparently the service guy broke the valve! He did the job correctly in the dishwasher but broke the hot water valve turning it back on! SO.....back to our house our plumber had to come to replace that (and he was just here Monday replacing something in our bathroom sink pipes).  The blessing??  The plumbing job cost less than $100 and the dishwasher job was far less than we were expecting.  I'm thankful everything is fixed. (yes it's a first world problem but when you're working full time, doing dishes by hand is a pain). 

That wraps up my FFF for the week.  Next week I will be on vacation with my husband and we are going to Vermont for 5 days of exploring, hiking, eating good food, touring this bucket list place (!!!), attending some cultural events, and relaxing! I'm not bringing my laptop on this vacation so I will need to miss the FFF. 

I hope you have something fun and relaxing planned for this first weekend of Summer!!