Northern Noise

It's that time of year.  The signs are all here.  The fair is looming.  A few yellow leaves are peaking through the underbrush.  The fireweed has bloomed to the top.  And school supplies are on sale.  Even though this will be my 2nd year out of the classroom, I still start jonesing for my classroom when August arrives. I still have all of my posters, wall quotes, letters - all waiting to go up on my classroom walls.  I've got a ton of great ideas of what I could teach this year.  New books, new ideas, and all the excitement I've always had.  Poor Ali; she's doing her AP English homework and I'm pouncing on her forcing her to discuss theme and symbolism with me.  I tried to assign a second companion reading to compare and discuss, but she told me to go away.  Discussing the relationship of the narrator and theme in A Prayer for Owen Meany just isn't fun by myself.   But, I still have the knowledge and the skill to help people unlock the secrets of literature. 

It's a beautiful morning up here on the hill.  Hubby headed to town so I had the rough task of sitting on the deck drinking coffee.  And the coffee was fun too!  I got one of those Keurig coffee makers where you pop in a little cup and end up with a decent cup of coffee.  No mess, no fuss and - because there's not a whole pot of coffee to drink - moderation.  I have to say that, although I miss my kiddos and having some noise in the house, I'm enjoying time alone with my honey.  Last night we drank sangria, and watched The Wire.  The nice part was that we could turn the volume up and hear it because we didn't have to worry about Jed hearing bad words.  (We try not to encourage his limit-pushing by limiting exposure to colorful vocabulary!) So I'm settling in to the child-less life and enjoying the reprieve.  I'll be very glad to have them home however.  Really.

So... Aileen left about 10 days ago to see family in Georgia, and a One Direction concert.  Yesterday, Bob and I put Jed on the plan to Seattle - by himself.  Mom drove up to get him, it was a straight shot flight, but it was a little hard on me.  I was a little blue yesterday.  The house was quiet and Bob and the dogs just didn't quite fill it.  Jed's having a blast at the beach with his cousins, Ali's at the cabin in the North Georgia mountains, Hannah's at her apartment doing her thing.  But today is a new day.  I got up and didn't have to fix anyone breakfast, remind a boy to feed the dogs, share the television, or even get dressed.  With no kids in the house, every day could be Naked Day!!  (okay, sorry to traumatize anyone... I guess we'll see if anyone still reads this blog by the number of bloodcurdling screams I get in response!) But I've discovered that, though it's been 9 years since we experienced this, I like hanging out at home with m