New Orleans

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We almost skipped the best part of our trip.  Did I mention before that it rained while we were in Mississippi?  Well not only did it rain in Mississippi, but everywhere south of Mississippi, including New Orleans, suffered from torrential downpours.  The Weather Channel sent Mike Cidel to the Big Easy for a few days so apparently the weather was bad!  My friends back home were even sending us cautions! Predictions kept coming of flooding and heavy rains and my spirits kept dropping. I carried on a little conversation with myself and God and decided that it the forecast for the next day continued to look dangerous, we would go to plan B and accept that there was some reason for it.  With peace in my heart I slept well and woke up to sunshine!  The Weather Channel was now showing nothing but typical afternoon thunderstorms so, on we went to Louisiana

We arrived at the French Quarter RV Resort about 1:00 and it promised everything that the campground in Mississippi lacked.  An attendant met us at a code protected gate, directed us to our site, and handed us information.  She told us to set up and then come back to check in.  A tall brick wall with razor wire around the top circled the campground.  I entertained mixed feelings about that!

After checking in we walked across the street and directly into the French Quarter.  We passed the oldest cemetery in New Orleans and walked through a parking lot where a film crew camped for a movie they were filming.

The buildings and street fronts were so different from other cities.  We learned later on a tour that every building in the French Quarter resides in a historical district and the appearance must remain unchanged.  So if a door breaks no going to Lowes and replacing it; it must be custom made. 

We walked down Bienville Street until it crossed the infamous Bourbon St.  We walked a short distance on Bourbon Street and realized it completely met my expectations.  It was crude and dirty in all ways.  A little went a long way there. I expected the entire city to feel that way, but it didn’t.  It is a remarkable place.  Ironically, we ended up eating at two restaurants that were on Bourbon Street.  We found them on the corners as we traveled down the other way.

We continued up Saint Louis Street until we arrived at the Mississippi River where we saw large river boats.  It was a few yards to Jackson Square with a statue of Andrew Jackson in front of the lovely St. Louis Cathedral.  This was the hub of activity.  There were many restaurants, beautiful shops, the aquarium, and horse and buggies lined the avenue.  We arranged a buggy ride with a nice young lady and her mule-Molly.  She gave us a most interesting tour of part of the French Quarter.  In her words, “New Orleans is a third world country surrounded by the United States.  Things don’t work the same here.  Time doesn’t work the same here and laws don’t work the same here.  If you come to that understanding early and don’t expect differently, you’ll get along well in New Orleans.”  No wonder they call it “The Big Easy”.  People remain quite laid back!   After our buggy tour, we walked back through the streets, stopping frequently to watch the street performers.  We had a very nice shrimp dinner at a small restaurant while it began to rain.

 

. We bought ponchos from a store near the restaurant then enjoyed the rest of the evening on our campsite.

Meridian Mississippi

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Mississippi, Mississippi, Meridian, Mississippi, what can I say?  Maybe it was the clouds and rain that set the tone for the entire visit.  Maybe it was the deserted office we arrived to.  Whatever it was, the two days in Mississippi were by far not my favorite.  I will say, the location was a good stopping point with easy access to two different interstates.  There were several “fast food” restaurants very close and at least three Walmarts.  What we accomplished at Mississippi included eating at Olive Garden (which both children immediately commented we could get at home), doing our laundry, visiting two different Walmarts, and contacting ants.  What I did not accomplish was EVER seeing anyone in the check in office except a cat.  We did meet a very nice young man that weed-eats and rides around on a golf cart.  He offered little information about anything else though.  The internet worked-from the steps of the office-not from my camper.  My recommendation, stay only one night to rest then move on!  On the bright side, the leaves were out in full on the trees, I could hear frogs, and the sun was shining when we left!

Chattanooga

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On April 12th, we backtracked out the windy road to I40.  The ride didn’t seem nearly as long this time.  A few hours later, we pulled into the rv park reserved for us in Chattanooga.  This park was much easier to get to, just minutes from I40 and a pull through site too!

Shortly after we set up our campsite we jumped in the car to sight see.  Rock City and Ruby Falls appeared to be the must see sites in Chattanooga so that’s where we headed. 

We drove about six miles from the campground before we started UP the side of a mountain.  We drove higher and higher on a road that was VERY close to the side of the mountain.  I felt as if I was going to tumble right over the edge.  At the top of the mountain was Rock City.  After getting off of the road with a little space between me and the cliff there was no way I was climbing out on the overlook so, on we went to Ruby Falls.

Going underground was nothing new to Kenny but he said the cavern was very different than the coalmines.  Somehow in my 56 years on earth, I had never been under the ground any further than I could dig in the snow or sawdust.  We took an elevator down 200+ feet watching the rock walls stream by as we descended.  After reaching the bottom, we walked back into the mountain until the ground rose 1000 feet above us.  Saying I was amazed was an understatement.  Listening to the guide describe how the cavern and waterfall were discovered sparked the explorer in me.  The founder crawled through a 2 foot opening for several yards before entering into the wide open hidden caverns.   The 140 foot tall waterfall far back in the cavern added the exclamation point to the journey into the mountain.

A short lay-over in Chattanooga allowed me to check off one more thing from my list of things I have never done.

On to Gatlinburg

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We traveled towards Tennessee on I81 then I40.  Following the GPS we exited I40 and started down a road that looked quite adequate.  Shortly thereafter I looked at the GPS route and it looked like a slinky that had been pulled apart, turn after turn and the road narrowed with each turn.  Kenny’s knuckles began to get white on the steering wheel.  Finally the GPS said, “Arriving at destination!”  But we looked and the Smokey Bear Campground was not in sight.  Visions of being stuck on an ever narrower road ran through both of our minds.  About 200 feet further though the sign for our campground was spotted!

The campground was very nice with large sites and the people in the office were friendly.  The only problem? NO tv.  That made Mr. Pethtal into Mr. Unhappy as he was hoping to watch The Masters golf tournament.  He did very well not having a tantrum though, probably better than me if the internet had been down.  It would have been ugly, I tell you.

We had a delicious steak dinner that evening on the patio at Alamo Steak House.  It made my heart sing to be able to sit outside after the long cold winter months.  It smelled and felt like spring! The full bellies canceled out the pain of still not having tv service when we got back to our campsite.  Come to find out, a camper leaving that morning forgot to put down their tv antennae and tore out much of the cable for the park.

Sporting the Blue and Gold in Tennessee!

Sporting the Blue and Gold in Tennessee!

The first full day in Gatlinburg, we drove into town.  Just around the bend from the Alamo steakhouse, we ran into lots of traffic.  Town was closer than we realized.  In the midst of the Smoky Mountains, we came upon a mass of well disguised commercialism.  Walking down the main street, we passed shop after shop scattered with spots to get a tasty treat.  The town tastefully blended together with the feel of a Mountain Lodge retreat.  We had lunch in a small sandwich shop at the top of one of the buildings.  We bought a few gifts including a coon skin cap for our granddaughter.  We could have easily dropped hundreds of dollars as the options were endless.  To round out the afternoon, we stopped in the “Moonshine Distillery” for tasting such flavors as Apple pie and iced tea moonshine.

 

The following day we decided to see some of the mountain beauty that was all around us.  There was a walking trail directly across the road from the campground.  We debated walking that trail, but the thought of wandering around lost didn’t appeal to us much so we chose to take a scenic driving tour.  The drive to Cade’s Cove was again windy but it was beautiful.  Near the entrance to the Cade’s Cove drive there was a lovely picnic area where many people were picnicking and playing around the river.  The drive through the loop took us a couple of hours and we didn’t get out and go through the historical buildings.  It was well worth the time spent though. 

And at the end of the day there is always this:

 

First Stop: Pipestem State Park WV

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“I’m hung up in your mom’s yard.”  That was not what I wanted to hear as we started our spring trip.  We planned, packed and prepared for the trip for weeks.  Now the camper spins its wheels in mom’s yard.  Thank goodness for friends though.  Casey came out with his SUV and pulled us right out!  I hoped that would be the only glitch in our trip as off we went.

We arrived at our first stop, Pipestem State Park early afternoon on April 8.  Surprisingly , the campground seemed fairly full.  It was early in the season for camping in West Virginia.  Although many of the park’s facilities were not opened for the season yet, it looked like a fun place with lots to do.  We enjoyed dinner at the lodge on top of the hill with an amazing overlook.  It would be gorgeous in the fall.  We didn’t turn the furnace on but found out the mountain nights are still cold!

Thursday morning I woke up excited to be heading out of West Virginia.  I had a good visit with the horse handler who was exercising the horses from the riding stable. We parked in their parking lot to hook the car up to tow.  He was training a young dog to be around the horses.  He told me if I left the door open the dog would jump in and want to go with us.  

Our Big Spring Adventure

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Almost thirty years ago, my husband and I, packed our soon to be one year old, our five year old, and a tent into our Monte Carlo and traveled to an army corp. of engineer’s park for our first camping trip.  My son ate his first peanut butter and jelly sandwich on that trip.  My friend Denise fed it to him, and in those days neither of us considered that he might be allergic to peanuts. It was a different time.   At that time, campsites cost about nine dollars a night and $75 would buy all of your groceries and gas for the four day trip.  

Every now and then I stumble upon the group photo we took that day.  There were about fourteen of us there. For many years, that group of people camped together several times each summer.  We cooked together, ate together, and played together.   We built strong friendships. Our children played like siblings.  As the children grew and ventured off in the campgrounds, I worried about not being right with them.  Good advice from one friend joked, “Campers don’t want more kids; they have no place to haul them.”  I learned that campers do tend to watch out for one another. 

Over the years, for different reasons, the group grew smaller.  Children grew up, jobs changed, and interests changed.  My family grew through a tent, two tent campers, a travel trailer, and after the kids quit camping, two fifth wheel campers.  It seems backwards to me that the less people there were, the bigger the camper became.  To be honest I enjoyed the pop-up camper years the most.  Those early years with all of my friends and family topped everything else.

As things seem to go, the more time you spend on something, the bigger your dreams become.  As campers, we peeked at the “old people” in motor homes and dreamed of someday being able to travel and camp.  A few years ago, we started tossing around the idea of a motor home seriously.  (You know what age group that puts us in, right?)    I vowed that if we invested that much in a camper, we would travel further than the state park down the road to use it.  Although we do use it at the state park down the road, this post is about our first trip out of West Virginia, our home state.  Sadly, we travel alone, without our friends.

Home away from home

Why I Threw Away the Standardized Tests

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I've been cleaning.  I retired in June and I've been cleaning ever since.  I am making up for YEARS of pushing everything aside and saying, "Oh, I'll deal with that in the spring,(or fall, or the next decade)."  Somehow, during my children's high school years, I was able to keep up with completing scrapbooks of their school years.  The years prior to that lay dormant in various drawers, boxes, and closets.  As I tidied up (shoveled out) the rooms that had been so gravely neglected during those last two decades every grade school memory I found for either of my kids, was placed in a large box in my closet.  

One bitter cold, dreary week in January, I was so stiff and sore from sitting all waking hours of the week in my comfy chair that I vowed to move around and do something.  After my granddaughter received her report card and a slight amount of grief from her mother, I decided to look at my daughter's old report cards and see how they compared.  The report cards were in the box.  As I sorted the papers in the box into two piles, son's and daughter's, I was lost in the memories of having two young children.  Although it is a cliché I can't believe the time went so fast.  There was a teddy bear covered with coffee that looked like fur.  There were sentences written in beautiful primary script.  There were valentines to mommy and daddy that made my heart sing and my eyes tear up.  I am so glad that I saved them.  There were certificates for excellent reading and most improved worker.  There were report cards with As and Bs and an occasional C.  There were reminders of good conduct and good times. There were pictures drawn of me with bird nests on my head.  I am so glad I saved them.  

Then there were the reports from the standardized tests.  Now, with my oldest, these were not emphasized at school as much as they were with my youngest.  From the fourth grade on however, they stirred feelings of insecurity in my son.  You see, both of my children were blessed with best friends that were very intelligent.  I am talking gifted program and NEVER studying type of smart.  They were the 99% on the standardized tests kind of smart.  You know, where they scored better than 99% of the kids all over the United States that took the test.  Now don't get my wrong, my kids scored average or above on those tests, but when your best friend is in the 99th percentile in everything average doesn't seem real good. 

 I looked at those reports and I looked at the pile of colored pictures and certificates that I was sliding inside of plastic sleeves to place in a binder.   I decided that I never wanted those kids to look through those reports and think they were stuck at "average".  Because you see, although the reports classified them as average, they have never been.  Test scores did not predict their drive or as one teacher said their "schmooze".  You see both of my children have work ethic.  They show up and work hard.  They have people skills.  They get along with their peers and respect their authority figures.  They have morals.  They have earned the admiration of those they worked for.  They find a way to complete the job whether it is helping a child no one else want to be around, or standing in the rain holding a traffic sign while the coworkers sit in a truck and laugh at them, they finish the job.  And I am so proud of them.

I looked at the average reports I received for my phenomenal children and I threw all of those reports away.  I am glad I did.

The Day I Got Paid to Clean Glue Bottles

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I visited a place today where we all have been.  I admit, I've been there many more times than most and I felt quite comfortable there.  Many people would not want to go back due to unhappy memories within similar walls.  I am a retired teacher and today, I taught as a substitute in the school I left last year.  My reasons for retiring at age 55 were varied.  The biggest one being I was TIRED.  I was TIRED to my inner being of feeling like there was never enough time and I never did enough for my kids.

So anyway, today there was time.  I subbed in a first grade class and because I didn't have any early morning meetings or lesson plans to finish, I was able to stand at the door as the kids came in and greet each one with a smile and a "good morning".  I had plenty of time to help with a couple of coat zippers and listen to a few "last night..." stories before everyone was snuggled in at their tables with their morning work. I settled down at the teacher's desk and took attendance, lunch count, and checked to see who was staying for the "after school" program.  I checked notes from parents concerning bus changes for the day and sent one little guy, who was so worried about a lost glove he hadn't even started his paper, to the office with the lunch count (and the opportunity to check on his glove).

When I looked up, I noticed a disruption of sorts.  Children were making trips to the sink getting a bottle of glue from a box, going to their seats and then coming right back to repeat the whole process.  Now, knowing the nature of kids, I wondered what was up.  Trust me it could be any number of issues.  As I started over to the sink, one boy came barreling in my direction asking, "Can I get a tissue to wipe off my glue bottle.?"  I realized assistance was needed when I saw glue dripping from under the orange lid. (Being experienced, I'm quick like that.) I took his glue bottled finished removing the orange tip, got a paper clip, and immediately pushed out a large wad of dried glue from the tip.  I replaced the tip, tried it out and got a gleaming smile when the thick white liquid flowed smoothly out.  Now the work of a 6 year old could begin. 

When I turned around, there was a line of children holding out their own clogged glue bottles.  I cleaned the glue out of several that were clogged and one or two that weren't.  These children were in line just to get an adult's undivided attention for 30 or 40 seconds while they had the opportunity.  There is a little newspaper clipping hanging in our school that says, "Children who are loved at home come to school to learn, children who are not come to school to be loved."  Even if that love comes in the form of getting your glue bottle cleaned.

When I turned back to walk among the students I realized now they were all diligently working.  How frustrating for them and us when our tools won't work correctly.  Now, I am in no way putting down the teacher whose room I was in.  I have been where there is not enough time to meet the "insignificant" needs because there are so many demands to be met. Priorities must be set.  Standards guide the day to day must do lists.  Always in the back of the teacher's mind is the accountability, aka "the tests". I am mindful that all professions have stress and responsibilities.  I know other jobs are hard.  But, no other profession touches the lives of our most vulnerable generation like teachers.  We must find a way to provide teachers time to clean the glue bottles, to keep the tools workable.  She needs time to notice the boy not working and know it is because he is worried about his lost glove because she had time to talk to him as he entered the room.  She had time to talk to him because she was NOT rushing in at the last minute from another meeting that accomplished nothing but documentation to cover the school system's accountability issue. 

How do we do this?  How do we meet the standards set before us and meet the SIGNIFICANT needs of our children?  I believe the only way to meet all the needs is to lower class sizes or lower the adult child ratio by assigning teacher assistance to elementary classrooms K-6.  Where will the money come from?  Well now I am not sure, but if we nurtured these children as they need I can tell you that in 12 years, the money could come from what we use for prisons and rehabilitation programs.  Kids need someone to care. 

Today I cared enough to clean their glue bottles and it sure felt good!





New York City Day Two

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The sun is Shining!

We stayed in New Jersey and I was so excited to see the sun shining.  It was not raining and my coat was almost dry!  The sleeves were soaked where they hung out of my poncho, but it was nothing a few minutes in front of the heater couldn't fix.  I loved traveling with this group, for one reason, I felt like I was surely one of the youngest ones on the trip.  I couldn't possibly be as old as everyone else.  Bahahahaha   We were sort of traveling with a group from Alabama that also were with Diamond Tour Group.  So we ate meals with them.  There was one gentleman with their group that must have been 83, but he was 83 years young.  He had the sweetest southern accent and he knew everyone on both buses.  He greeted every table each meal and asked if we were enjoying ourselves.  What a great guy.  And he did enjoy his Alabama football too.  He said he just enjoyed people and it certainly showed.

As we entered the city, I was excited to be able to see some of what we missed on Saturday because of the rain.  I was so intrigued by the everyday things that were so different from the way I lived.  One of the first examples I saw was a stacked parking lot.

Hope no one is in a hurry to leave

Hope no one is in a hurry to leave

We drove by the homes and streets of many famous people several of whom I had no idea who they were.  But when we passed the exact spot where John Lennon was shot I kind of got the heebie-jeebies.  It looked so small and common yet so awesome all at once.  I would have loved to have seen the inside of those brownstone apartments.  Shortly after, we arrived at Central Park on the opposite end from Saturday.  The first thing we saw was the memorial to John Lennon.  It had a red rose laying on it.  I wonder if someone puts one there everyday or if it was by chance..

Here are some other pictures I took.  Central Park is prettier in the sunshine!  I loved the street entertainers.  I want to go back so that I can spend as much time as I want shooting pictures and enjoying the entertainment.

The next stop on our tour was the highlight of my trip.  We were off to the World Trade Center.  Our guide told us that New Yorkers do not call this area "ground zero" because ground zero speaks of tragedy.  Instead, they say World Trade Center or Freedom Tower which speaks of rebuilding or hope.  As we walked to the memorial we saw that there was quite a crowd, but it was eerily quiet there.  I imagine that like me, each person was rerunning in their minds those horrible visions from television that define for us the day America changed forever. Our guide told us that on the day the towers collapsed it was also eerily quiet as people walked around stunned, trying to make their way home.  Like us, they were trying to make sense of the senseless.  As I looked at the names etched on the top of the fountain, I thought about each of those people memorialized there.  Each name a life lost.  I wondered what they had done that Tuesday morning before work.  I felt their desperation as the tragedy unfolded.  I pondered what they left undone.  I hurt for those they left behind and for all of us left to remember.

We will never forget

We will never forget

Lunch on the second day was on our own in Little Italy or Chinatown.  I didn't realize that those neighborhoods are like right beside each other, literally on the same street.  We chose to eat at a pizza place in little Italy.  I think we may have been the only people in there over the age of 40.  Our guide explained that there are places that young New Yorkers kind of gravitate to (like on Friends!) and that area becomes trendy.   The food was good although expensive.  We had just 3 meatballs from the appetizer menu and bread along with two beers, a coke and a water and the bill was $75.00 for the four of us.  Quite pricey.  I guess what they don't spend on cars and gasoline, New Yorkers can afford to spend on food. 

I loved seeing the Christmas trees bundled up outside on the sidewalk.  I saw a man carrying a tree by the trunk and a little boy about 6 or 7 years old following behind him carrying the top of the tree.  I wish I hadn't been on the bus so I could have taken a picture of it.

Our last stop of the day was to please most of the women on the bus.  They wanted to shop and they wanted to shop at Macy's.  Well, I was excited and thought I wanted to shop at Macy's too, until I got there.  You see, I am the kind of shopper that has to touch everything before I pick out something to try on and there is a lot to touch in a store sitting on an entire city block and nine stories up.  Overwhelmed by the sparkling jewelry on the first floor, I asked where the ladies clothing was.  The response, "Floors two through six"!  I couldn't have touched everything if I had stayed there until today (one month later). I  enjoyed looking at the beautiful decorations and the windows outside.  But just like everywhere else we visited, you couldn't really stop to look for fear of being trampled.

What a wonderful city.  It is as different from my small town as it could be.  I didn't get shot by the mob or mugged and I felt safe the entire time.  I can now relate to my past kindergarten students who followed me with blind faith on a field trip as I constantly counted them and made sure they had their name tags on.  The city was both more and less than I thought.  The entire city spread farther than I ever imagined.  Each part seemed somehow smaller than I imagined it.  The Wall Street Bull, the courthouse from Law and Order, and even the skating rink and Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center lost some of their grandeur when viewed in real life.  Symbols of our society they are, yes.  But as symbols the real beauty is not in them, but in the people.  The people of New York and the people visiting New York are what make it unique and special and large.

My First Trip to NewYork City Day One

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I grew up in a small town, a very small town.  When I was a kid, our town had two stop lights and a gas station on every corner where $1.00 bought 20 gallons of gasoline, a man cleaned the windows, AND sometimes they gave away incentives like a bright green brontosaurus.  Maybe the dinosaur was a nod to fossil fuels, I am not sure. 

Today, neither stoplight remains, and there is one Exxon station and a convenience store where you pump your own gas.  There is one “full service” pump where I go when I am really dressed up.  I will have on my best jeans and a man I have known since I started driving will pump my gas for ten cents extra.   

At around the time I started to drive, I realized for the first time that there were many places where people lived differently than me.  Well, I always knew there were starving kids in Africa but I didn’t know there were people in the United States that didn’t have cars.  I was amazed to learn that they didn’t even need cars because they lived within walking distance of restaurants, stores, and church.  The symbol of all of those places of course was New York City. 

The city that was home to Mary Tyler Moore’s friend Rhoda called to me with promises of fun and excitement at every turn.  The story of The Godfather assured me that if I ever ventured to New York City, I would be shot dead on arrival by crossfire of a mob battle.  The ball at the top of Times Square beckoned me to come and see.

As newlyweds, there was no money to visit the Big Apple.  As young parents, the beach seemed more appropriate than taking our babies where they “may be mugged or shot”.   As the city grew and we aged I became less daring and more intimidated of tackling NYC on our own, but I waited on the chance to go with a group and IT FINALLY CAME!

Here is my picture journey to New York, New York with a few thoughts thrown in along the way.

Rockefeller Center was our first stop of the day.  A light drizzle began as we walked up the street and immediately separated from our guide who like every other person, was dressed in all black carrying an umbrella and walked at the speed of a gazelle.  

Thankfully our trip organizer was able to contact our guide and arrange a time to meet.  We headed straight to Central Park to squeeze in as much "outdoors time" as possible before the predicted torrential rains arrived.

As we left that end of the park, the rain began in earnest and continued throughout the rest of the day.  The people were certainly trying to make the best of the the day however, we passed many people out running, walking their dogs and even a yoga class breathing in and out in the rain.

After the rain started our tour guide opted to give us the opportunity to do some "inside activities" so we headed back to Rockefeller Center to have lunch, shop, ice skate etc.  It was amazing the number of people that were there carrying umbrellas.  It was almost impossible to walk due to all of the umbrellas.  And the rain just wouldn't let up.   

Our bus driver did a great job navigating through all of this...glad I wasn't in charge of that task!

 

tRUMP tOWER

tRUMP tOWER

We met up with our group and ate at a café inside Trump Towers.  It was a very pretty room but the food was not so great.  Everywhere we went, I felt like they were hurrying us along.  I stopped after crossing the street and got yelled at by someone behind me to "don't stop".  I guess in NY you must keep moving even if you have no idea where you are going.

After dinner we went to Times Square.  It was so very crowded that we didn't do much exploring.  That is a spot I hope to return to in the future.

Kenny, Jerry, Denise, and I  walked around to Bryant Park.  There was a Christmas Bazaar set up there that was really neat.  It would have been more fun had it not been raining so hard the merchants were sweeping water out of their booths and the skating rink was covered with at least eight inches of water.  This is what it was supposed to look like.  Now picture it full of umbrellas, ponchos, and RAIN. 

Day one ended quite abruptly.  There had been protesting in NYC for the past week and we had avoided it today.  However, our bus driver heard a rumor that the protestors were on their way to Times Square so he summoned us all back to the bus. 

Even though I was wet and didn't get to do all I wanted to that day, it was all new to me and I had a ball.

My daughter said I looked like a begger

My daughter said I looked like a begger


Playing School

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Max Lucado, one of my favorite authors, said when he was a little boy he loved to come home from school and forget about it until the next day, but little girls come home from school to do it all again at home.  That is certainly true of my granddaughter, Addisyn.  Each time she comes to my house the first thing she asks is, "Can we play school?"  Now being a newly retired teacher, that's not really what I want to play. But she is WHO I want to play with and I do have some neat tools of the trade so, we play school.  I used to have to be the "class", but now she has a new version of our game that seldom changes.  I am her mom and she is in high school, coming to help with my class.  This is our school day in pictures.  You may notice recess was long today!