hello, summer!

a couple nights ago a stayed up 'til 4am scrapbooking. SUMMER is finally here...

it has been nice just being able to stay up late and wake up whenever i want to. such freedoms that have been unknown to me for a while now! i've busied myself with lots of reading (just finished flowers for algernon -- great book), creating, and vacationing. my week down in socal was wonderful, as usual. most of the time we helped david's sis and bro-in-law move into their new house. after finding out what they payed for their awesome house, i started to rethink my desires of purchasing a home in the bay area. it's ridiculously expensive up here, and every time david and i look around at places to live i get more and more discouraged. but, as david says, we'll get there someday. anyway, it was good to catch up with old friends again. yougurtland proved to be a very interesting place to be. my one major goal was to talk to fr. pat and attend mass at interfaith on sunday, and we were able to do both. i told david that one of the reasons i love fr. pat is because he is just so real. tell it like it is, no bs-ing, no sugar-coating, flat out real. i love that about him, and i think i like to see that in people in general. he told me i should basically give my former "boss" (who happens to be a priest) a piece of my mind. when i told him i was scared, he said to write an anonymous letter! he is too funny...

my fam just planned an impromptu vacay to vegas. well, they planned it and i had to book the flights. i was on the computer for almost 4 hours yesterday trying to find a decent price for flights to vegas for 14 (yes, fourteen) people. but it all paid off...$148/person (UAL) on www.cheaptickets.com! the only thing is that we're gonna be there for about a week. what can you do for whole week in vegas?!

got my hands committed to a couple other things coming up soon as well...

1. souvenir program for my dad's group's big event in july.
2. my cousin's debut (a night out in Hollywood, baby!)
3. Liwanag Family Ministry stuff.
4. going back to school.
5. scrapbooking. (i just needed one more for a list of 5 things. i know, i'm weird.)

so, this summer shall be quite interesting. lots to do. lots to look forward to. excited for the days ahead.

welcome, summer!

the end of the line...

well, tomorrow is the day. the last day, in fact, that our school will ever be open. it's going to be bittersweet tomorrow -- although i am ecstatic that the year has ended and i can enjoy my summer, i'm really going to miss my kids. many have told me that i become way too attached to the kids that i work with -- not only during this job but my last job as a behavioral therapist. but really, how can one not become attached? i talk to these children about God and Jesus and Mary and struggles and relationships and life every single day. i share my life's journey with them in hopes that they will be inspired. i am open with them as they are with me. how can one not become attached? teaching is not just a job...it's a vocation, a calling. and in a world where people have become so utterly detached from each other, not only in the workplace but in all areas of interaction, a little closeness wouldn't hurt.

i read dr. seuss' oh, the places you'll go! to my class last friday and struggled to hold back the tears. i hope they couldn't tell. my favorite line in the book: kid, you'll move mountains.

* * *

i had a bit of a confrontation with my "boss" today. he became upset at me for dedicating a page in the yearbook to our former principal, even after i told him that it came from the kids, themselves. he didn't believe me. he then proceed to blame her for the closing of our school. he also said there were others more "worthy" of the dedication page. i sincerely hope he wasn't talking about himself, because that would be a joke. talk about being a shepherd.

i've never despised anyone as much as i despise him. and that is saying a lot.

so, i pray for him as we all are called to pray for our enemies. i have tried to bite my tongue and hold it in for the past 6 months, but i'm afraid that this last day is tempting me to explode in fury if he comes up to me again. please pray for me. and pray that i don't lose it in front of the kids. be a leader, dee...love your enemies.

God help me.