Spring Break

After reading all of my blog partner's posts about her relaxing Hilton Head Spring Break, I was struck by the difference in our time away.  While my spring break wasn't as relaxed and laid back as Karen's, it was, however, no less fulfilling.  The Lovely Mrs. Prosser and I flew to Orlando to hook up with Meredith, who is student teaching there.  It was an whirl wind, eye opening week for us.

Since enrolling at Ashland University four fast years ago, Meredith has had the goal of being part of their Southern Internship Program.  Originally, she wanted nothing more than to spend her 12 weeks of student teaching in Celebration, the town created by Disney just outside the parks.  Her dream was to teach at Celebration School, and be Cinderella in the summers.  As she progressed through the education program at AU, she began to have second thoughts.  Not only about the Celebration dream, but teaching in general, she hadn't had that classroom experience that helped keep her teacher fire going and she wasn't sure it was the right field for her.  If you've read any previous posts about Meredith, you know that I know she has that "it" factor of teaching that can't be taught, so we knew she was a born teacher she just needed to stick with it.

In the fall this year she had an outstanding experience in Shelby, OH with a cooperating teacher that saw what we have seen all of these years, a natural born teacher.  Here supervisor from Ashland saw it too, and Meredith's fire for the classroom began to see a spark again, then she was chosen for the internship program, and the director, Joe Hendershott, a guy I grew up with, worked very hard to find just the right placement for Meredith.  For the first 6 weeks she taught in Sarasota, FL, just 10 minutes from the #1 beach in the United States, according to the signs.  Her second 6 weeks would fulfill her dream, she was assigned to Celebration School.Ashland's program pairs the students with host families in the school districts and the two families Meredith stayed with could not be any nicer and welcoming to her. 

Each time we talked with Meredith the spark that started in Shelby, grew and her passion for the profession was back.  She loved living in Sarasota with her runs on the beach, the sunny weather, avoiding the horrible Ohio winter, and quickly realized that she is a misplaced beach person.  She really felt it was where she was meant to be all along.  The Lovely Mrs. Prosser and I sensed a contentment in Meredith that we hadn't before and both agreed with her that Florida is where she belongs.

When we met up with her she had just finished her second week in Celebration and they were on break this past week so we were able to spend the whole week together.  As I said, it wasn't a relaxing break, we drove from Orlando to Sarasota to Fort Myers and back to Orlando in the first 3 days.  We visited family, walked on a cloudy beach at Siesta Key on a day of rain, and spent one sunny day on Hickory Island Beach.  Through it all we had time with Meredith.  Time to talk about her plans, time to help her think about her plans, time to look into what she needs to do to teach in Florida, and time to appreciate the independent young lady she has become.  The weather wasn't great, and it was a busy time, but as she dropped us off at the airport yesterday, this sentimental father couldn't help getting a little teary eyed. My baby girl is grown up and grown up good.  We couldn't be prouder of her.

I know there is a beach town in Florida that will have an amazing young teacher next year.  It makes me happy to see Meredith happy.

Spring Break: Counter Point

So I've been reading my friends' emails and blogs from their beautiful Spring Break locales, Hilton Head, Siesta Key, Savannah, Georgia, and I thought it was about time for the rest of us to respond. While I'm happy that my friends are away relaxing and enjoying ocean views, wonderful restaurants, and glorious sunrises, I must admit, I'm a bit jealous too.

One of the drawbacks to teaching in a different district than where I live is that my Spring Break and my kids' Spring Break don't match up most of the time. Fortunately, we've enjoyed the same week for about three years, but not this year, so my kids were home last week and I'm home this week. No trips to exotic places for us, no, we're spending Spring Break in the Spring Break Capital of the World, Hilliard, Ohio! What!? You've never heard of it!? All the cool kids are going there, Hilliard is the new Fort Lauderdale, for cryin' in a bucket!

Let me explain:

While my friends are enjoying beautiful ocean views, I got to see the inside of Great Clips, PNC Bank and a number of grocery stores!

While my friends are dipping their toes in cold ocean water, I waded through the pile of paperwork that goes with filing taxes!

While my friends are watching groups of dolphins swimming, I watched 2 guys hang six new blinds in 10 minutes, it would have taken me 10 days!

See what I mean? You better book your rooms now, Hilliard is selling out months in advance.

Honestly, even though I wish we could have gone away as a family, especially since it's my daughter's senior year in high school, there have been some memorable moments so far.

I 've gotten to see Meredith's excitement of her first "real" job at Panera. She's still in the training phase, but you can expect to see her behind the counter soon!

I got to see Steven's first volleyball match as part of the Darby High School team. A match they won with a 9 point comeback sparked by his awesome serves and enthusiasm on the court in the third game.

I got to enjoy a nice Italian dinner out with the lovely Mrs. Prosser, just the two of us. Something we better get used to with our kids getting older.

All in all, it's been a pretty relaxing week, and I've read several good books that will give me material for the coming weeks, but right now I've got to get to Kohl's, Steven needs some new shirts and socks.

MAN!! THE FUN NEVER STOPS AROUND HERE!!

Slice of Life - Spring Break Begins

Spring break actually began after school yesterday afternoon about 3:45 PM, but since I still had errands to do, lesson plans to prepare, laundry to wash, and no packing had even begun, I didn't think of spring break starting until this morning.

This morning, I woke at 6:00 AM excited to shower, put my last personal stuff in a bag, and get on the road to Hilton Head. Before I jumped in the shower, I looked out the window, and much to my surprise, could see a thick layer of ice covered with 2 - 3 inches of snow everywhere. I had my flip-flops out to wear because that's what I do when I'm headed to a warmer climate; I dress the way I plan to be dressed when I get there. Thus, flip-flops were going to be part of my attire. I guess some "rules" are meant to be broken though, because even with the fantastic pedicure I just received and my toenails looking ever so lovely, I just couldn't put on flip-flops.

What a difference 525 miles can make! The entire day, we drove through rain and sleet, with the temperature never rising above 32 degrees. It was that way in Ohio, in West Virginia, and through Virginia as we traveled down Interstate 77. Then, as we drove into North Carolina, our outside thermometer started to move upward. By the time we stopped for the evening in Columbia, South Carolina, it had reached 67 degrees.

Needless to say, I am now currently in my flip-flops as I write this and when we hit the road tomorrow to finish the last few hours to Hilton Head, I will be dressed for the warmer climate again. So excited to be on spring break, warmer weather and all!!

Spring Break Memories

Some of my fondest childhood memories are from family vacations. Growing up in a small Ohio town, a lot of my friends didn't do family vacations, but my parents always made sure there was a get away of some sort. Long trips to Florida or Wisconsin, short trips to the nearby state park for a week or weekend of camping , it didn't matter, I don't remember too many summers or spring breaks that my family didn't go somewhere. My parents were pretty good at mixing it up, we did Disney, various beaches, and historical sites like Gettysburg. Most of these trips were spent camping in our Wayfarer pop-up camper which cut the costs and provided some excitement like the time it rocked back and forth in what seemed like hurricane force winds in Florida just outside of Disney World. Many times friends were included in our trips, taken along and treated like part of the family. As parents the lovely Mrs. Prosser and I have been trying to give our children those types of memories as well. We have had sort of an informal list of things we would like to see as a family. With Meredith in her junior year, we know our time for this list is running out, and so, we checked another one off this week with four days in New York City. While none of us want to live there, we all agreed it was fun to visit, and I think we came away with some lasting memories, like...

Seeing Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. The kids, especially Meredith have enjoyed the movie version, and since they are both involved in the drama programs at their schools, third row seats were a treat. We also took in Shrek! The Musical, Steven's choice, which was EXTREMELY funny and entertaining, I highly recommend it to anyone going to NYC.


A delicious dinner in Little Italy where we were enticed into the Bueno Notte restaurant by a charming man singing That's Amore and offering free sangria to Kathy and me.


The Statue of Liberty.




Standing where the Lovely Mrs. Prosser's great grandmother first set foot in the United States.





My two great kids getting along, which, as they get older, happens more and more. They actually seem to enjoy each other's company and laugh together often, it makes my heart smile! Being inspired by a beautiful cathedral and saddened by a sculpture damaged by terrorists.






...and having a laugh at Dad's expense when he had a hissy fit because he needed coffee and couldn't find a Starbucks soon enough!
Thanks for indulging me on this sort of personal post, sort of unusual for me, but it was a great week and I wanted to share it with you. Monday I'll return to school for the sprint to the finish and even though it wasn't a relaxing four days, it was energizing and awesome to reconnect with my family.

SPRING BREAK!! WOO HOO!!

KAREN

BILL

We're both on Spring Break this week and as you can see we are having very different experiences. While Karen relaxes in the sun on a cruise ship, I'll be fighting the crowds of New York City. I'll have plenty of time to read on the 9 hour drive, so I'm taking Dear Toni, and The Prince of Fenway Park, I know, I know that's Boston.

Spring Break! WOO-HOO!!

I'm in the "happiest place on Earth." See you next week!

-Bill

Spring Break!

While Bill and his family will be with Mickey and friends, my family and I will be relaxing at sunny (hopefully!) Siesta Key. I plan to plop down on a beach chair, dig my toes into the powdery white sand, slather on some sunscreen, and read, read, read, read! This vacation could not be coming at a more perfect time.
See you all when we get back!