Top 5 reasons I love summer...

5. Summer school... I know this sounds downright lame... but I love the laid-back-ness of it and the different group that I teach with and... oh yeah... NO PAPERS TO GRADE!!!

4. I can take naps* ...and it is still daylight outside when I wake up. (You know... NO confusion if it is the same day or if it has turned into a new day)

3. Getting tan (Okay... I confess this is solely from countless hours at a ball field... but hey, I'm tan :)

2. Sleeping in* ... so this hasn't happened yet,  but I foresee it in my near future.

1. Traveling...  to see family and friends... to have the time to sit and enjoy everyone and not feel the need to rush off and get back home. This too hasn't happened yet, but it will soon and I just can't wait!!!




*Yeah... so I noticed 2 out of my 5 reasons had to do with sleep... don't psychoanalyze that. 
Just know I am making up for lost time.

If he had to pick one out out of the two...

I know that my ex, R. and I don't always get along... in fact, sometimes I wonder how I ever could stand to be in the same place as him.

Then he does something like he did yesterday...
He walked up to me at the boys' ballgame and said, "Hey. how are you today?"
There was just a seconds pause in my response of saying, "I'm fine." and he caught it.
"I know you better than that, Dawn. What's going on?"

I told him about my dad... and the confusion that I struggled with. He listened intently and told me that he knew I would make the right decision.

Then I watched as he headed out onto the ball field to coach and cheer on our boys... to be fully an intricate part of their lives.  I have told him before that he was a suck-ass husband, but that he is a wonderful father. For my children's sake, out of the two, I'm SO glad that he is the latter.

If he were gone, would you miss him?

I don't have a relationship with my dad.
He was physically abusive to my mom.
He was mentally ill.
On meds, he was fine... but he refused to take his meds.
I wrote him off many years ago.

He has always sent random things to me in the mail.
A receipt
A photocopy of a bill
A book jacket.

I didn't get it.
In fact, when I was young, it royally pissed me off.
I couldn't understand why he couldn't just pick up a pen and write me a note like a normal dad would.

Two days ago, I got and envelope with a flyer in it telling about a stroke clinic at the hospital near his home.
I rolled my eyes and threw the envelope and the flyer away.

Today my younger brother called me... he told me that he had spoken with our aunt (my dad's sister) and that my dad wasn't doing well.  She wouldn't go into detail.  My brother also got the stroke flyer.  He thinks our dad had a stroke and this was his way of telling us.

Who knew I was supposed to crack the code?
What things have I missed over the years because I didn't know this was some Sherlock Holmes mystery that I had to solve??

Father's Day is pushing upon us... my brother says he is going to try to make a trip to see our dad.
I sigh.
He is several states away.
If I ran into him on the street, I wouldn't know him from any other joe.
But deep down, I know he is still my dad... and I'm not sure I would be okay with myself if I let him just "pass on." I'm too empathetic for that.
But, I just don't know if I have it in me to watch someone struggle for their life and then grieve... for someone I truly don't know.

Today is brought to you by the letter B

It's been about three weeks since I blogged...
It's not that I don't have things to say or share. (That's never the problem!)

It is because I have been busy.
Busy with baseball, teaching about bees, baking, and picking blueberries.
In the last 3 weeks, I have gone to 12 baseball games, baked 4 cakes, 5 pies, and 2 desserts, and picked 25 pounds of blueberries.  


The boys have been playing well... They both have gotten to pitch and, of course, sliding to get their pants dirty is always fun!

This year for summer school, I am teaching all about insects.  So far I have taught ants and bees.  Last week I had a beekeeper come talk to my classes.  He even brought in live bees!!  The kids loved it!

Here's are the cakes that I have delivered:
A Pokemon birthday cake

Here's the card that inspired it:

a 25th wedding anniversary cake:

a 2nd birthday cake for my niece:

and a baptism cake for my nephew:

Then a former student has been diagnosed with a rare disease.  Our school decided to do a fundraiser to help offset medical costs. I knew I would be at  a ball game that night, so I baked 5 pies (2 strawberry rhubarb, 2 blueberry, and 1 mixed berry)  to auction off.

The boys and I always go and try to pick enough blueberries to last the rest of the year... we were VERY successful this year!  All 25 pounds were picked in 2 hours!

Sam might have eaten his weight in blueberries ;)

And with that... I think it's bedtime.