Back to School Again

I had really great intentions when I started this last year. But here we are, almost exactly one year since I last posted. That speaks volumes, actually, it was the year from hell heck. That moniker I gave myself, the one that says Sixth and Spectacular???  Wishful thinking on my part.  It was definitely Sixth.  But I don't know how spectacular it ended up being.  If it was, I was too tired too notice.

Here are a few of the layers, peeled back:
1. First year teaching 6th grade after 5 straight years in First grade. New room, new curriculum (obvs), etc.
2. My class went 1:1 with iPads at the end of the First quarter.
3. We were working on accreditation - meetings, reports, etc.
4. I was a Student Council advisor for the first time.
AND
5. I had a group of boys that had to test me every. single. day. for. one. hundred. eighty. days. Not to generalise and say that all the problems/troublemaking in my class should be blamed on boys, but heck ya. It was boys. Rude. Irresponsible. Disrespectful. Smart-mouthed. But,  I've subbed in some 6th grades before that were much worse, so I have perspective.  (I teach in a Catholic school, and even though there aren't Nuns with Wrist-rapping Rulers roaming the halls anymore, there is still a little higher level of expectations for behavior, and our kids are pretty mainstream, so the behavior issues I complain about were more annoying and disruptive than threatening or violent. And I basically liked the kids. )   But looking back, I don't know how I got through it with them, considering points 1-4 above.

 Personally... It was also a really strange year.
6. My mother-in-law (95 years old) moved across country to live with us at the beginning of July because she was miserable in her home, and too too feeble and forgetful to live alone.
7. She lived with us until October when we had to move her into assisted living because she was miserable in our home.
8. In January, we moved her out of assisted living, and back into our home because she was miserable in assisted living.
9. In February we moved her into a group home with more individualized care because she was making us miserable. And she could no longer be left alone - that became apparent when she let strangers in the front door when we weren't here.
10. My dad was in the hospital for over a week in June.

But on a cheerier note:
11. My oldest child, who is studying abroad, came home for a couple of weeks over Christmas break with his girlfriend AKA: new fiancee!  We love her - they have been together almost 10 years, so that was awesome news.
12. We spent Easter break in Las Vegas with my daughter and her husband and my granddaughter.  That was also quite awesome!  My granddaughter changed so much over the last year - she learned to walk, she talks a lot more, she has a mouthful of what looks like a hundred teeth, and she actually won 3rd place in a "running" race - among 1 and 2 year olds!  Apparently dad standing at the finish line with ice cream is a strong motivator for this one.
13. My youngest met a personal goal, and made his high school JV tennis team, and got the coach's award.   He also got his driver's permit and has started learning how to drive (so much for a stress-free summer!)

 Clearly, I had lots to blog about, be no time/energy/inclination. I hope this is a better year :) I have started working on some projects, so I will start writing about those and getting ready for new year!