I don’t recall the last time I went a month without blogging, but it’s probably in the range of January 1997, the month before I started blogging. Of course, I also don’t recall a month as busy as this last one. Items meriting attention:
• Elisha took her first steps yesterday. I thought it would’ve happened a few weeks earlier, but she just kept plopping down and crawling whenever we tried to get her to take a step. Now that she’s got a little vertical mobility, I’m certain she’ll be a terror in no time.
• The school year has three weeks left. Good year on the whole, though Erin’s had some real classroom management challenges in the Read 180 class. Much better now than at the beginning of the year in that respect, and she’s done well adapting to teaching the class. She’ll probably teach it again next year (as it requires little outside of class work on her part—a rarity in teaching high school English).
• Erin has signed up for two weeks of classes at Western Oregon University (formerly WOSC) following the conclusion of the high school year. That will give her another 8 credits, pushing her to Masters +35. The next and final pay column in Salem-Keizer is at Masters +45, so she’s getting closer.
• Jonah had a great birthday and birthday parties (plural). He joyously turned three, though when asked he continues to claim that he’s now “sixteen.” Thanks to all who helped make it a great time for him.
• Elisha’s baptism at Queen of Peace proved another great affair, with family and friends flying and driving in from distant lands. It turns out to be part of a last hurrah for Fr. George Wolf, our long-time priest, as he will be transferring to a new parish soon. Nonetheless, Elisha (aka Boo boo, ‘lisha, Chubby Lumpkin, Coo coo) handled the baptism and the attention with aplomb (in as much as babies handle anything with aplomb), and I think everyone was much impressed by the end of the day. Or perhaps she already has me twisted around her little finger. I dunno.
• My business is booming. I now have almost 30 active customers, and that’s been keeping my on my toes. Since I’m with the kids during the mornings (and some afternoons), keeping the business going has gotten increasingly difficult. On the brighter side, I love helping people, and most folks are now in a position where everything is running smoothly. So maybe summer will setup as the slow period I always wish it to be.
• Sold my first computer about a week ago. Pretty cool, though for me the best part was that I got to unpack it, set it up, and play with it. “It” being a MacBook Pro. Biggest problem: Now I want one too.
• I’ve been remodeling the garage. I need to finish up the insulation and get the drywall guys in so that I can put up some cabinets. I had hoped to get this accomplished by the end of school, but that deadline is increasingly in doubt. I’m still going for it, though.
• I don’t think I mentioned it at the time, but we’ve donated our 1986 Mazda 626 to a local charity. With luck, they’ll have it crushed into a small cube. My parents have decided for now to go with only one car, so they generously gave us their 1991 Honda Civic. This is a step forward for us in several key respects. Most notably, the Honda actually runs well and doesn’t have a tendency to die on the road for no discernible reason. Admittedly, the Civic doesn’t fit into our long-term plans, but in the interim, it’s a great car for Erin to get back and forth to school, and the gas mileage rocks. Big thanks to Mom and Dad!
• For some reason as yet unknown to me, neither Honda nor Toyota has produced a hybrid minivan or, alas, even announced plans to do so. Thus I suspect our next vehicle will be strictly gas-powered. I would estimate our purchase of the vehicle to be somewhere within the next 12-15 months.
• I shall try to blog and podcast(!) more this summer. Hope you’ll stay tuned.