Big Changes

How are you with change? Is it something you look forward to, or do you run the other way when you see it creeping up on you? For me, change is expected from time to time.... At some point, I just seem to know that something new is in the air, and then I wait to see what opportunity is heading my way.

This year, it happens to be a new job at a new school using a brand new curriculum. Well, actually, the curriculum is thousands of years old, but it's somewhat new to me because it's not what the state and federal departments of education are touting. And I'm excited! This new school is a charter school that embraces the classical approach to education. I'm still learning about it, but suffice it to say that some of the greatest minds who have lived and breathed on Earth were taught using the classical model. And as I learned more about it, I felt at ease because a lot of what I've done in my classroom is a classical approach.

I'm not one to change jobs frequently or without much thought; it was difficult to take that step and say good-bye, but it just felt right. It will be an exciting year for me as one of the founding teachers at this new school. And challenging. But there are times when we just have to strap ourselves in for the ride and see where it leads.

The school's motto is "Where teachers can teach, and students will learn." I like that!

I posted this photo on Instagram last week, and my sister asked if I had taken it at her house. Yes, I had. I hang on to the photos on my phone for a very long time. When I get bored, I'll scroll through the photos to see if one inspires me to play for a while. I'm not sure which apps I used on this one, but I loved how it turned out. With a few apps and cropping tools, it's easy to give a photo a whole new look.

If you thought you heard me sigh around 4:30 this evening, you probably did. That was when I walked out of the school and got into my car. I headed home for a week's vacation, and I am ready for it to begin.

I'd love to get into the attic and pull down all of the Christmas decorations this week. I want to have them ready as soon as the turkey and dressing have been eaten and the dishes washed and put away. Christmas is coming quickly this year.

Between attic exploration, eating delicious food, and getting ready to decorate, I'll be grading essays, too. While I enjoy seeing how my students progress with their writing, part of me thinks that teaching history or science might be a bit easier, at least when it comes to grading.

It's also time to see a few movies. Hannah and I saw Gravity last weekend. I always wanted to be an astronaut, but getting stranded in space would be scary to say the least. If you saw the movie, did you notice Sandra Bullock's toned self? Hmmm. I'm thinking it may be time to start exercising again. The Hunger Games movie comes out tonight, so that one's on my list. And The Book Thief. I read that book several years ago and wrote about it here. I definitely want to see the movie now.

There's nothing like having a few days off to relax and enjoy yourself. I'm definitely getting ready to do just that. I hope you have a great weekend and week, too!

Chevys

It's been a week, and I have to say that I am ready for this weekend. Teaching can be so taxing sometimes. Dealing with all of the different personalities that come with the kids we teach.... Managing paperwork, planning lessons, grading papers, meeting with teachers about the kids we teach. Yep, it's time for the weekend!

Funny how certain students can work their way into your heart though. They don't even have to be the sweetest, best, or brightest, it's just something about them that makes you want to see them succeed. Not just in middle school but in life.

I have one student now who wants to become a counselor, and I can so see her in that role. Unfortunately, she has a long road ahead of her because, from what I can tell, there will be little family involvement and encouragement to get there. It's going to take her own intrinsic motivation and determination - perseverance - to make it.

Another student is the embodiment to me of the book, "Reading Don't Fix No Chevys." This particular student has helped roof houses and wants to work in a field that requires physical labor. He wants to go home at the end of the day with that feeling of accomplishment you get when you work hard and have something to show for it. So, of course, I have him reading poems and discussing theme and figurative language.

He was a little late getting an essay turned in and had to finish it today during a time set aside for completing make-up work. He was working in another classroom, and I had two students in my room whom I don't teach and who are anything but motivated. I finally told one guy (who had been looking at the partially-completed page of a late history assignment for at least an hour) that sometimes we just have to do things we don't want to do. And that it will happen when he gets a job, too. Enter my "Reading Don't Fix No Chevys" kid with essay in hand.

"I'm finished," he said as he waved the paper in front of me.

"Great!" I said. "Now, I want you to be honest. Was this something that you WANTED to do? That you just couldn't wait to jump into?"

"No, Mrs. Johnson, I did NOT want to do this."

"But you did it anyway," I said.

"Yes, I did."

Note to guy looking at the partially-completed page of the history assignment for the 65th minute. "Chevy" finished his work, and he didn't actually want to do it.

*sigh*

It's nearly fall break. (Did you hear that sigh?) We have three days of testing and shortened class periods. Three mornings of not being in my own classroom but on the 7th-grade hall (gasp!). And then, then fall break.

*sigh* I'm ready for that.

Mosaic Monday: Planted

I'm not great as a gardener. Other than African violets, there are few plants and flowers that I can grow well. I did tempt fate this year by buying a type of philodendron for my classroom. I bought new potting soil and re-potted the plant, so it would have room to grow. I took it to school as it if were show-and-tell day. I watered it nervously on Friday before I left hoping that its leaves wouldn't be yellowed by the time I returned on Monday. As I poured water over it bit by bit, I wished the plant could sputter 'that's enough' when I'd given it the right amount. Instead, I guessed, which doesn't seem anywhere near scientific enough at all.

All that to say that I love flowering plants. I found all of these when we were on Mackinac Island this summer. Flowers at nearly every storefront and hanging from baskets along the street.

You really can't be in a bad mood when there are flowers everywhere. 

I'm hoping that my new plant will have positive effects in my classroom, too. It's supposed to purify the air, provide more oxygen, and sharpen my students' focus. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty psyched about sharing the load with Phil this year. If he can sharpen their focus, I promise to give them some ELA and reading to focus on.

I'm joining Mary at Little Red House for this week's Mosaic Monday. If you'd like to see more, just click on over.

It's About Time

You can thank me later. I just deleted a whole post about how I'm not (NOT) going to work ten and a half hour days any more. Of course it took many words and sentences to get my point across, but I finally decided that a sentence or two would be quite enough.

These are a few more photos from my trip to Michigan this summer. I just loved the flowers blooming everywhere and those glass bottles in the window. Even those flowers that had hit their peak and were fading were beautiful to me.

For us, the calendar and temperature may still be in summer mode, but we're back in school already. This summer break had to be the shortest one ever. I could have used a few more weeks (or even a few more days) of down time. I'm already feeling a little bit like that droopy sunflower.

Tick Tock ...

goes the clock.

Is it just me, or does time seem to race past you, too?

It seems that everyday is a rush toward a finish line.

For what? To hit repeat and do it all again the next day!

I'm looking at the calendar and realizing that this school year

is.almost.done

Which makes me a bit nervous

because it's been a crazy, busy year

and I'm hoping that my school kiddos

will be ready for ninth grade and those, uh,

little standardized tests that

come at the end of the school year.

I usually have complete faith in my ability as a teacher

to encourage, motivate, cajole, push, pull, catapult

a student across the finish line.

But this year has been different.

I've been on other assignments off and on most of the year.

My substitute has hung her family pictures at my desk.

(not really, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did!)

 And the weeks are blasting past

like a gush of water from a fire hydrant.

And my child is nearly grown!

As The Steve Miller Band once sang...

"Time Keeps on Slipping, Slipping, Slipping

into the future...."

 

Telephoto Tuesday

Even with this being a three-day weekend, it was crazy busy, and I stayed up late, again, to get things done. Well, maybe surfing education Web sites and updating my blog weren't exactly what I needed to be doing at 11:30 last night, but it was fun anyway. And I did find some great ideas on the Teaching Channel.

I also spent some time tonight uploading photos from my iPhone. I had more than 2,000 photos, and my memory was getting low depleted. That's when I noticed this one, which somehow managed to stay put in my phone until now.

I'm no food photographer, but I loved this big fat eggplant a coworker gave me, and I love this dish, so I thought they would look good together. I guess this is a throwback Telephoto Tuesday, though, since I posted this on Instagram back in the summer when the eggplant was still intact.

Happy Tuesday!

Sometimes, I just need a little pretty...

Usually, when my husband is driving, I'm either asleep or reading, but I happened to look up just in time to see this scene flash past my window. I spun my phone into position and began snapping.

And today, I just needed to sit back and look at it... Or maybe contemplate what it would be like to be riding a horse across that field or sitting with my back against the fence post with a good book in my hands. Or just laying down and napping with the sun on my face and a little bit of hay in my hair. 

Because I'm tired.

I love teaching. I really do. But this year things are a bit different. We have the reaccreditation process to go through and new standards to implement and sometimes people like to reinvent the wheel, which is really pretty pointless since wheels tend to work just fine as long as they can roll on to wherever they are going.

Luckily, my students are pretty much terrific just as they are. They're sitting through 75-minute classes this year, which still doesn't feel like enough time to get everything done. But they've been troopers.

Tomorrow, I'll miss my Teachers as Advisors class for the second week in a row. (We've only met twice, and I've missed them both due to meetings!). And I'll miss all of my classes while working on some school and district goals.

And while I complain a lot little, I know it's going to work out just fine and that I'll be with my students many more days than not this year.

But I do hate meetings.... really, I do.

P.S. After reading Relyn's post, I thought I would add a bit of gratitude here, so you won't think I'm always crotchety. Today after school, I was creating comprehension questions for an article I'm asking my students to read. I had typed about 12 questions and was away from my room when our power flickered off and on a few times during a storm. When I got to my room, my computer was still on and the unsaved document was just waiting for me to click "save." Now that was a moment of gratitude!

P.S.S. I've linked up with Heather of the EO to Just Write. I'm just a day late though.

Yesterday ...

I dropped my husband off to meet a friend and then took myself on an artist's date.

I hadn't planned to do that. In fact, I was in the middle of grading.

A.lot.of.student.papers.

But at the last minute, I turned right

and found myself at one of our city's most historic cemetaries.

I walked and then drove and then walked again.

Looking at beautiful statues

and reading the tombstones,

which go back to the 1700s

and maybe even the 1600s.

Then I looked up and saw her....

and thought she was gorgeous.

As I walked,

I came upon a grave that had been carefully tended

and saw that it belonged to a wife, mother, grandmother.

They had left presents for her and pretty things hanging from the tree limbs.

A big ribbon that floated in the breeze and a dream catcher.

At times I was sad and missed my mother.

I missed going to visit her and watching as she and my daughter

had tea parties in the living room

and went to feed the ducks

at the lake together.

But, even though I was a bit sad yesterday,

it felt good to be out with the sun on my face

and seeing the past and the heartache and knowing

that life goes on. And that we don't know when our last day will come.

So we really have to eek out as much joy from each day that we can.

Even when we do have lots.of.papers.to.grade.

Saying Goodbye

to summer... I know it's not officially the end of summer,

but for me it will come to a screeching halt tomorrow

when I greet about 130 new 8th-graders.

*sigh*

I'm excited about the new year and my new students,

but I'm worried, too. You see, they've changed our curriculum.

I'm supposed to do things differently, even though my students

have done quite well each year. Like, 99% well.

As in they rock our state tests and learn a lot in the process.

My class sizes have increased.

Which means 130 essays to read

and comment on at a time.

I've been in a dither about it all.

Things have changed, and I'm not too keen on change

when I don't see the benefits.

I want to be bright and colorful and cheerful,

but I'm afraid I'm feeling a bit faded already.

Like this flower...

I'm still taking part in The August Break,

which is supposed to mean posting pictures

with less talking I think.

So I'll be quiet now.

I should be dreaming ...

but I'm not. I'm awake at 12:30 a.m. on my first day back-to-school. And this after I pledged earlier in the week to do better about getting to bed on time. I love this time of night though, when the house is quiet, and I can indulge myself with art or photography or writing.

But tonight my thoughts are a bit scrambled because my brain knows it's time to get back to work... real work, which means more than 100 8th-graders will be taking up a big chunk of my time in a few days, and until then, I'll be busy in meetings and getting my classroom back together.

When we were out yesterday evening, I remembered that this church was coming up on my right. I love the way churches look, especially the time-worn ones that have a distinct character about them. Their architecture. Windows. Steeples. Although storm clouds were rolling in, the sun was still fighting its way through. And it won, that sun. Only a few sweet drops of rain fell.

It's so difficult to balance play time with work.... I'm already thinking how busy I'll be this time next week when students are back in school. I've yet to figure out how to get everything done in a normal 40-hour work week, so work spills over to evenings and weekends making it more like a 70-hour work week (without overtime pay of course!)

Maybe not this year. Maybe this year I will finally figure out how to get out on time. I'm hopeful at least.

Hopeful.

Angels Walk Among Us...

Not just heavenly angels, mind you, but everyday mortals who touch the lives of others in immeasurable ways. One such angel is right here with us, my dear friend Peggy, who blogs at Middle Age Ramblings.

If you look through her blog, you'll see what I mean. She's a wonderful friend to young Joseph and his mom, she visited Rwanda, donating cameras to the residents there, gave away hugs in New Zealand, and most recently gifted my classroom with a flip Video camera. Awesome, amazing, generous... that, my friend, is Peggy.

Peggy has a passion for life and a mission to make the world a better place any way she can. How absolutely wonderful it must be to live with such zest! Thanks to Peggy, my students will have opportunities to create short videos based on stories we read in class. No more read a story and answer questions. Instead, they will be able to act out parts, extend the story through acting, and do so many things we haven't had the opportunity to do before. Having the video camera right there in my classroom will make it easy and accessible. I can't wait to get started!

So, thank you Peggy. Thank you for caring about my 8th-grade students and for giving them something to smile about!

For those of you who are teachers and haven't heard about DonorsChoose, go.there.now! The site allows you to post projects that you would like to implement in your classroom. Donors from all over the world search for projects to support, make a contribution, and if all goes well, your project receives full funding. In addition to having friends and family contribute to my projects, I've had total strangers provide substantial gifts to help fund them. These gifts provided my classroom with an Elmo document camera, a laminator, and now a flip Video camera. With salary cuts and forced furlough days, I haven't been able to spend as much money on my clasroom. Thanks to DonorsChoose and people like Peggy, I've been able to use technology and create learning resources to help my students succeed.

** The photograph above is of Peggy while she was in Rwanda. Here, the children are watching themselves on video.

Forgot the birthday candles, again...

Sidney Lanier's, that is. Last year, I really wished that I had brought cupcakes to celebrate his birth. This year, I thought the same thing. Somehow doling out the money to buy cupcakes for 99 students doesn't seem like such a good idea. And bake? Nah.... That didn't happen, either. But it would be such a fun idea, wouldn't it?

We did watch a short video about the poet and read "Song of the Chattahoochee." That's going to have to be enough this year.

Happy birthday, Sidney!

Maybe They're Growing Up...

Or maybe their teachers from last year exaggerated a bit to induce a sheer state of panic among teachers on C hall. Either way, I'm pretty proud to be teaching this year's 8th-graders at my school. In fact, after hearing all of the horror stories about what was headed our way, I'm really happy. They're really not so bad. In fact, I like them. A lot.

What makes things a little more difficult is the fact that we are short one teacher on our hall this year. Instead of dividing our students among seven teachers (or even eight as it was my first four years of teaching), we are dividing them among six teachers. I'm on the four-person team, which means I have ninety-nine students this year. Yes, that's ninety-nine. Or one hundred if I have one more student enroll. Let's keep our fingers crossed about that....

In the meantime, I'm still getting to know the ones I do have, and they're still getting to know me and what I will and won't put up with. Which isn't very much since I have a lot of teaching to do this year.

And I think they've just about figured that out. Maybe.

Today Could Have Been a Celebration....

We've been reading and studying poetry the last couple of weeks, a nice repreive from all of the essay-writing we tackled during the fall. It's such a nice change of pace as we peer into the words of poets past looking for examples of alliteration, personification, and imagery... the magic pixie dust of writing.

This week, as we read about Sidney Lanier, we realized that this is his birthday week, and that today, February 3, is his birthday. Oh how I wish I had thought ahead and bought a birthday cake in honor of this amazing poet. How fun it would have been to bring party hats to school and let my students partake in the festivities. But, I thought too late and wasn't too sure I would be willing to pay for a sheet-cake big enough for 93 hungry eighth-graders. And they wouldn't want me to bake one myself.

But it was a good idea. Maybe next year?

In the meantime, here's a favorite of mine...

The Song of the Chattahoochee

Out of the hills of Habersham,

Down the valleys of Hall,

I hurry amain to reach the plain,

Run the rapid and leap the fall,

Split at the rock and together again,

Accept my bed, or narrow or wide,

And flee from folly on every side

With a lover's pain to attain the plain

Far from the hills of Habersham,

Far from the valleys of Hall.

All down the hills of Habersham,

All through the valleys of Hall,

The rushes cried `Abide, abide,'

The willful waterweeds held me thrall,

The laving laurel turned my tide,

The ferns and the fondling grass said `Stay,'

The dewberry dipped for to work delay,

And the little reeds sighed `Abide, abide,

Here in the hills of Habersham,

Here in the valleys of Hall.'

High o'er the hills of Habersham,

Veiling the valleys of Hall,

The hickory told me manifold

Fair tales of shade, the poplar tall

Wrought me her shadowy self to hold,

The chestnut, the oak, the walnut, the pine,

Overleaning, with flickering meaning and sign,

Said, `Pass not, so cold, these manifold

Deep shades of the hills of Habersham,

These glades in the valleys of Hall.'

And oft in the hills of Habersham,

And oft in the valleys of Hall,

The white quartz shone, and the smooth brook-stone

Did bar me of passage with friendly brawl,

And many a luminous jewel lone --

Crystals clear or a-cloud with mist,

Ruby, garnet and amethyst --

Made lures with the lights of streaming stone

In the clefts of the hills of Habersham,

In the beds of the valleys of Hall.

But oh, not the hills of Habersham,

And oh, not the valleys of Hall

Avail: I am fain for to water the plain.

Downward the voices of Duty call --

Downward, to toil and be mixed with the main,

The dry fields burn, and the mills are to turn,

And a myriad flowers mortally yearn,

And the lordly main from beyond the plain

Calls o'er the hills of Habersham,

Calls through the valleys of Hall.

~ Sidney Lanier 1877

P.S. Happy Birthday!

Photo: Sierra Club

This is when I stop and wonder...

if all of the hard work will pay off. Today is the big day.... The day my students get to show me and show themselves how they have progressed as writers this year. And, oh, how I've worked them! I see myself through their eyes.... glasses perched on the tip of my nose, imaginary whip in hand as I have them write one more time... as I have them add details one more time... as I have them re-read that sentence to make sure it makes sense... one more time.

Since August, I've graded between 450 and 500 essays. The last batch over the weekend after my students had put pen to paper once again for a practice writing test. And as much as I love to write and enjoy seeing my students mature as writers, I'm ready for the push to be over. I'm ready to redirect our efforts toward literature and poetry. Toward rhythm and rhyme.

I bet you can hear the relief in my voice.

And hope.

Hope that my students remember what they've learned so far this year as they face the final prompt tomorrow.

Hope that they will capitalize the first words of their sentences and put periods at the end.

Hope that they will craft interesting phrases and call on imagery and figurative language to help them express their thoughts, their ideas.

That they'll know the difference between persuasive and expository.

And that they'll proofread their papers one last time.

I've been reminded more than once that our scores on the writing test don't affect our Adequate Yearly Progress. That they won't hold us back. That I really could get by without grading so many essays each year... without teaching so much about writing. But, you know what? My students will have to pass the 11th-grade writing test to graduate from high school. And I want them to be ready for it.

I want them to face a blank page with confidence and assurance, and then...

I want them to get out their pens and write.

Looking for Fulfillment...

It's time that I put 'fulfillment' to work for me. That means, today at least, fulfilling a promise to myself and to my students. I have to finish grading my students' essays!

Funny how we put some things off and let them hang over our head like a dark cloud. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy finding out what my students wrote, but having to do something, is what often makes me procrastinate the most. And essays take a.lot.of.time to grade. On the upside... I can choose from a rainbow of colored pens to mark with... I'm using one of my blue Staedtler triplus fineliners for today's grading marathon. And I can sit in my comfy chair in front of the fireplace as I work.



My husband is already up and at it with a full day of activities on his schedule... a work-out, some work at the office, drop off his dry-cleaning, a small bit of shopping as he prepares for a trip. I, on the other hand, have had a leisurely morning although I, too, have a full day of activities to mark off my list. I think this happens when you use January 1 as a day for yourself... doing what you want to do instead of what you need to do can pretty much fill the next day to the brim. (I can almost hear the school uniforms call to me from the laundry room in their wrinkled-sort-of-way... "Don't forget us. We need our wrinkles smoothed away before Tuesday!")

So, I'll be back late today to see what's been happening at your place. Until then, I'm on a quest for fulfillment. And it's got to come from accomplishing a few important tasks today.

Off Task? Shhhh.....

As a teacher, I pack the curriculum into every minute of every hour of every school day. Teaching grammar, writing, and reading in one hour and getting students prepared for not one but three state assessments requires it. So imagine my students' surprise, and mine, when I totally fell off the wagon!

It started in academic support, a 45-minute enrichment class with my homeroom students. They were bickering, and it was constant yapping and yacking as they shot verbal jabs at one another through the air.

"You sound like brothers and sisters," I said, finally, in exasperation. "Haven't you heard the saying that if you can't say anything nice, you shouldn't say anything at all?"

"Huh?" They asked with faces turned towards me expectantly.

I told them to look around the room and think about something nice they could say about every single person sitting in there. Then I had them write their name on a slip of paper, which I put into a cup. After they pulled a classmate's name out of the cup, they had to come up to the front of the room and say something nice about that person. And they couldn't just say "she's nice." Having been the recipients of numerous writing lessons during the past four months, they were required to e - l - a - b - o - r - a - t - e. "Details," I said. "Give us details!"

And they did.

They were able to say nice things about every person in that room. The girl who began the year with attitude written all over her face was complimented on her behavior and on her beautiful complexion. Her smile lit up the room. And another girl who has struggled with friendships and self-esteem had at least seven students clamoring to say something nice about her.

These kids are smart. They weren't about to let their teacher off the hook. They said that I had to say something nice about each one of them. And then the tables were turned again as several of them wanted to say something nice about me. Things like "you work us hard, but we know it's because you want us to be better writers." "When I get here in a bad mood, you make me laugh." "You're not all moody on us."

They've proclaimed Thursdays as "Therapy Thursdays."

I was so proud of them. And a bit worried. Our academic support time had rolled into language arts time, and it was thirty minutes of community-building instead of grammar and writing and reading.

But, you know what?

That was the best lesson I've taught all year.

Stargirl....

I guess you could say that I'm on a literary kick.

Fact is, our school is ordering a class set of books for each grade level, so I've been scurrying around trying to decide on the best novel to read and share with my 8th-graders. I want something that gives me plenty to teach.... characterization, plot development, word choice, and theme while giving the students a good story to enjoy.

I may have found it with Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl.

Written from a teenage boy's perspective, this story weaves its message through a plot that focuses on peer pressure and the need teeangers feel to fit in and conform with their peers. Stargirl, the other main character, is a free spirit, who is more concerned with how others feel rather than what they think. Yet as the characters wade into their relationships with each other and with their classmates, they find that remaining true to themselves is more challenging than they imagined.

The story made me smile... and cry, of course. Don't they all? Yet I think it will soon become the new class set of novels for my 8th-grade classroom. Its theme of being yourself (and being happy with who you are) is one that I hope my students will embrace as they continue their journey into adulthood.

Although I can picture numerous activities to go along with the book, it only took me a couple of hours to read it. So, if you measure time by the seconds rather than the hours, you can probably squeeze this one in!

It's a Balancing Act

Sometimes, I feel like I'm on a tightrope. If I lean a little too far one way, I'm sure to find myself dangling, barely hanging on, until I can regain my balance and stand up straight again. Regretfully, the balancing act is here to stay, and I find myself keeling over one side then the other as I try to balance out my life. Work and home. Family time and me time.

I have never been able to go to work at the scheduled time and leave when the work day is over. Oh, how I want to... how I envy those who are packed up and ready to leave when the last students walk out of the building. Yet I simply cannot do it. Instead, I find myself working late every day and even later on some days than others. The janitor knows me well, as I've often left just as he's getting ready to turn on the alarm system. Three and a half hours after our "official" work day has ended.

So, that's where I've been lately. Either at work or at home doing work it seems. And althoughI had so much fun blogging and visiting during the summer, I knew it would have to end, or at least slow down, when school started.

I was so right.

During the school year, I become so wrapped up in teaching that I have little time for anything else. Cooking? Walking? Out of the question. Just late nights grading or creating or just getting ready for the next few days. There's also more running around with Hannah now that school's back in session. And homework that creeps on hour after hour.

On January 1, I'm claiming Peggy's word, "balance," as my very own. I'm in great need of balance right now. Always have been really.

"Balance" has not been an adjective for how I live my life.

So, here I am squeezing in a little time here to say hello and let you know that I've missed visiting all of you and having you visit me. And even though I have plenty to do right now...

I'm going to hit publish and then spend a little time in your company. That's what I need right now. A little company... at least before I climb back onto that tightrope of mine.