Bathroom Break

As a teacher, there are many things that either annoy me or hinder the learning that is supposed to occur in my classroom. Sometimes both of these are one in the same. The top of the list has to be the never ending requests from students to use the restroom. It seems like I can't teach for two minutes before somebody is raising their hand and asking to leave the room. As a teacher, I must quickly decide if this is a ploy to get out of the room due to boredom or if the request is legitimate. If I had to guess, I'd say 75% of my students abuse restroom privileges. When students are constantly leaving and re-entering the classroom it's quite difficult to have any continuity to lessons and is downright disruptive. It's a problem that's as old as the educational process itself. What is a teacher to do?

I have jokingly said that we should catheterize the students each day when they come in the door. Knowing that won't happen (haha), what other options are there? Trying to limit trips to the restroom works for a while, but sure as shootin' some little rascal will tell you it's an emergency and do the "pee pee dance" until I relent and send him to the bathroom. We've tried giving the kids popsicle sticks as restroom passes (two per person/per day), but that doesn't seem to work either. I read about one teacher who made the students carry a toilet seat to the restroom every time they went. This practice was quickly halted because it was humiliating to the students (oh brother!). That's why I found the following comic so amusing. As a teacher I've always wanted to do something like this, but obviously knowing I never could. It's okay to dream, though. Right? I think it would definitely cut down on the hundreds of trips to the restroom.

An incredible opportunity

We received a phone call this evening from a man in our church. He told us there was a last minute cancelation for the weeklong missions trip to the Mexican Indian Training Center in Cordoba, Veracruz in southern Mexico. He offered for any member of our family to go on this trip free of charge. Due to work commitments, Tami, Michael and I cannot go. However, Abby has no work commitments at the moment and has excitedly agreed to go. What an incredible opportunity this is. She will travel with a well-trained church team to minister to and help some poverty stricken people in the area. Abby will be part of the team conducting the Vacation Bible School. She is so excited. She is just about ready to jump out of her skin. I am proud of Abby for wanting to serve the Mexican people and for her willingness to give up part of her summer to help people who have so much less than she does. The people who have gone in years past have come back with amazing and incredible accounts of their time there. I know this will be a real life experience for Abby. I cannot wait to tell you all about it. She leaves this Saturday, July 13th (2 days after her 16th birthday) and will return on Saturday, July 20 (Our 22nd wedding anniversary).

Please pray for Abby and the entire team. Pray for their safety, pray the Lord's work will be accomplished. Most of all pray that God will be glorified in all the team does.

The Mexican Indian Training Center is located at the black dot (the one on the land, not in the Gulf of Mexico).

Dreaming of better weather

For all the time I spent yearning for summer to come, I must say this one has been quite a disappointment. It has been raining for most of the last two weeks and the upcoming week doesn't look to be any better. We have barely had any time to get in our pool. It's the same old story... weather is nice while I'm at work, cruddy when time allows for swimming and other leisure (sigh!).

All this ugly weather makes me think of the wonderfulness of San Diego. The following photos were taken from the balcony of our hotel about 3 weeks ago.

Areal Flooding

I cannot recall a summer with this much rain. I'd have to check meteorological records to be certain, but just going straight from memory, I would have to think this is one of the wettest summers on record. As I type this, there are flash and areal flood warnings all across the Tri-state. We were in Northern Kentucky today and came across a road that was covered with rushing water and washed out. Why were we driving rural Kentucky roads in a rainstorm? Well, we were attempting to pick up Abby who is vacationing with a friend and her family at Elk Lake in Owen County, Kentucky. They are currently stranded in their cottage. The dam is the only way in or out of the resort and the dam has been closed to traffic due to high water and safety concerns. I also saw on the news the panhandle of Florida has gotten 19 inches of rain in the last 3 days. That's unbelievable! Earlier this summer there was flooding in the Dakotas and along the east coast. It doesn't bode well for outdoor summer activities, but all this rain does have a few upsides. Everything is staying nice and green. I also haven't had to add any water to my pool this year... the rain has done it for me.

Overdue

It's official. Baby Morton is now overdue. Baby watch intensifies from here on out. We are are waiting impatiently for a phone call at any given moment. Poor Jess. I know she's miserable and more than ready to deliver.

Michigan J. Frog

When we were in San Diego we came across this interesting guy. It reminded us of one of our favorite cartoons, "One Froggy Evening". Ladies and gentlemen, the star of that cartoon, the one and only Michigan J. Frog! Surely you remember this hilarious cartoon from Warner Brothers and Loony Toons, right? The frog who sang and danced for the guy who found him, but only sat and croaked when he tried to show him off to others and make money. If you haven't seen it, look it up. You won't regret it.

Here's what we found in San Diego:

And here's a snippet of Michigan J. Frog himself.

Due Date

Happy Independence Day! Today we remember the forefathers who risked being accused of treason against the crown along with their very lives to sign the Declaration of Independence. Despite our many problems, we still live in the greatest country on the face of the planet. God Bless America.

On a more personal note, today is Baby Morton's due date. Will our precious grandchild decide to enter the world today or will the wait go on? We are so very excited.

Share the wealth

I think this one speaks for itself. Commentary from me would be pointless and redundant.

I'm alive and well

Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.
-Mark Twain

Apparently there are reports on FaceBook today that I passed away. Although this is news to me, I completely understand what happened.

For the third time in less than a month, my tiny school district has experienced a death. The assistant high school principal died of a heart attack today. He was 54 years old. His name was Gerry Myers. Obviously our surnames are similar. The reports on Facebook are saying, "Mr. Myers from St. Bernard school passed away". See the problem? I'm here to tell you that Mr. MEYER is alive and well. Sadly, Mr. Myers is not.

I don't have a Facebook account, so I'm receiving the reports of my death second hand. I sure hope people are saying nice things about me :-)

No Spring Chicken

I've known it for a while. I haven't really wanted to face it, but the fact is undeniable. I'm not a spring chicken anymore. I've noticed that I tire more easily and I take naps whenever I can. It used to be that I would never, ever take a nap. I used to be able to work in the yard almost nonstop. Now I get worn out quickly and take frequent breaks. My summer job is really taking a toll on me this year. The job is physical in nature, but not what you'd call back breaking labor. This kind of work didn't bother me when I was younger, but now my back hurts all the time. Things hurt for no apparent reason and things take much longer to heal than before. I realize I'm still a middle aged guy, but I'm definitely starting to feel my age. Getting old is a strange thing. If you're like me, you never thought it would happen to you. Inevitably it IS happening and there is no escaping it.