Saturday, July 11, 2009

Seret ambitions

There are a number of secret ambitions we harbor deep in our hearts. Today Asher and I both get to scratch one off. We are leaving to Pinecrest. Every year we spend a week with my in-laws at a cabin by the lake. We have said for the last few years we would mohawk our hair for the vacation. Today we did. It will be funny to see the look and expression of my in-laws when we arrive. My wife was kind of surprised when we came downstairs. She decided she probably should have a tatoo to go with her son having a mohawk, but I think that is a bit over the top.

My only regret, if I wasn't starting a new job in 2 weeks, I would have liked to take the sides down to skin. But life is about compromise, isn't it?

Like Nowhere Else

We went to the beach for the second time this week. Tuesday we hit Dillon Beach, and today we went to Bolinas. I have been musing on two things. First, the fact that there are NO signs to indicate where Bolinas is staggers me. Apparently people in the town don't want visitors, so they tear down any signs that point the way off Highway 1. But the more important thing to me was the spell that comes over kids when they hit the beach. Both times, my kids were got so excited and energized to be at the beach. They were sweet and helpful to me and each other. They didn't complain about anything. And, most amazingly, they got along. They just found stuff to do together and actually enjoyed playing with each other. At Dillon Beach, Asher, Ella, and Marley dug sand crabs for 45 minutes. Then they ran the dunes together for another 30 minutes.

Thinking back to my childhood experiences at the beach, it makes sense. Now I am sure I don't remember all my trips to the beach, but I remember a lot of them. Trips to the beach that should seem inconsequential stick out in my mind. Getting up at 5:30 to gather shells with my babysitter. Getting buried by my cousins. Wrestling with my friends. Body boarding. Surfing (or trying to). Spying on the nudie beach. Even now, just focusing on it floods back more memories than it is reasonable to recall. I think I have come to the conclusion that there is something special about the beach. No duh. But more than that. Somehow it registers deep. Just musing. Alright, here is a picture of the kids.

New Adventures

It has been a busy 2+ months. I know this isn't the proper way to build a story, but I'll cut to the chase. As many of you know, I started working for the Petaluma School District as the principal at McNear Elementary. So the next question is "Why?" I have been planning on this kind of a transition for a while. I got my admin credential 4 years ago so I could move into a position as a principal. This will be a higher level of stress, responsibility, and workload, but it is a chance move forward on my career path. Although that is reason enough, the added budget issues in the state and the lack of a contract with my previous job also were strong influences. Every year except for 1 of the last 7 years I have been with CTAP, I received a pink slip in March. So this position should be much more stable.Still, the first one is my main reason.

McNear Elementary is a school of 411 students in Petaluma. It has a very involved community and a great campus. Our whole family is excited for this new adventure. This week, I intended to send out an email introduction to the parents on the McNear listserv. We decided to include a video as well. The amazing thing is that I told the kids a general idea of what they should do, and they ad-libbed the rest. So hats off to them for their creative endeavors. I'll let you know how the year moves along.

Finding Mr. Sutter from Jason Sutter on Vimeo.