I'm moving very slowly this morning. Last night's class was very long and very intense. Is it because it's summer and sensei wants to take more time? Is this the way it's going to be from now on? I wish I could answer those questions. We had close to a 90 minute class last night, which, during the summer is not a problem, but will be once school is in session again. The time that class normally ends came and went, and we were still working out.
There were seven or eight students last night, and I worked with each of them at least once. One sempai commented that I was really moving from my center, so my techniques were more effective. I was working with this same second kyu on one technique where we were breaking a katate tori (wrist hold) three different ways, then quickly stepping into an irimi nage position. We did not do the irimi nage, but simply moved into position where we would begin the technique. This is when he said what he did.
In our next technique, we took one of the katate tori breaks, and used it to follow through with the entire irimi nage. I worked with a shodan who comes to us from another style. He is very centered, and despite his demeanor, can really "put the hurt on." Every time he threw me he just about twisted my head right off. I tried to turn my head the way I've been taught, but his technique forces my head the opposite way, so I'm looking in the absolute wrong way. When he throws someone, it really hurts. I'm getting used to it, but I am not a fan of being his uke.
At the end of class, we - and I can't remember the Japanese/Aikido term, as my brain is still pretty empty from last night - broke into partners and uke did shomen uchi five times and nage would go through five different techniques. It's only now that I remembered that I could have done kaiten nage. It was on my test - eight different ways, no less - but I completely forgot about it last night. We haven't worked on that technique in months, but I have to keep all the techniques I know top of mind, so I can use them all in class.
My MIL would like to come to class one day to see what I do. I think a Saturday class would be best. I'm not getting home until 9:30 at night on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I think that's a bit late for her. On the other hand, Saturday classes are even longer than the weekday classes. Still, what's one Saturday out of one person's life? I think it will be fun.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
The girls fell asleep very early last night, considering it's summer vacation. They were both completely out well before 8:00. MIL went to bed soon afterward, and I could hear here snoring from the hall. I feel sorry for the girls. They both complain about her snoring, but there's really nothing that can be done; we only have two bedrooms. We live in the epitome of the "not so big house."
I love my little house, but I do wish we had larger bedrooms. Even two feet in either direction would make a huge difference in our nighttime comfort. Hell, one foot. Out oldest complains that she want her own bedroom, but Lu and I both know that they'd still end up sleeping together every night. Our old house had four bedrooms on two floors, but this smaller house feels bigger.
But I digress. . . Now that my MIL is here, my wife has gone into overdrive. Normally she tries to stay very laid back, but once she's in the same room as her mother, she wants to do everything herself. I just try to stay out of the way. I also ask if there is anything I can do, but the answer is almost always 'no.' The last time MIL was here it was the same way. I'd try to be helpful, but Lu said she could take care of everything. Later I heard that MIL wondered why I never helped around the house. I could have started a huge argument, but I don't do conflict (hence the Aikido - fight by not fighting). I am afraid this year will be the same. One difference this year is that MIL is going only staying about half as long as before - about six weeks. I hope things go well. So far, so good, despite the bit about wanting to do everything herself.
MIL promised that she would get each of our girls a Nintendo DS. We bought the "Lite" version, since the more expensive versions had features I didn't think the girls needed. They picked them out today; Gaby got "World of Zoo" which doesn't seem challenging at all. Isadora got the (relatively) new "Alice in Wonderland" game, which, for a six-year-old, seems very challenging. I pause when my oldest daughter chooses to take the easy way out. I don't say anything, and I support and love her with all my heart. I just know she has a lot of growing up to do in that area. I'd like her to be more willing to take on a challenge. I do have hope, though. I see her sense of empathy growing solidly where I saw so little not long ago. I have hope - lots of hope. She's going to be okay, I know it. I have to learn more patience.
Anyway, they played their games for most of the afternoon. I didn't want to buy the games until Gaby returns from Girl Scout camp, but I was overruled by, well, everyone else. It's tough being the only man in the house.
I finally heard from my student teacher. Although 'finally' is not exactly right, since I wasn't expecting to meet her until the first day of school. We'd both like to meet, but she says she works every weekday and plays in some softball league on the weekends. She was willing to take a day off work to meet me, but I don't want to make her miss a day's pay just to see me and talk. We're going to have to work something else out.
I love my little house, but I do wish we had larger bedrooms. Even two feet in either direction would make a huge difference in our nighttime comfort. Hell, one foot. Out oldest complains that she want her own bedroom, but Lu and I both know that they'd still end up sleeping together every night. Our old house had four bedrooms on two floors, but this smaller house feels bigger.
But I digress. . . Now that my MIL is here, my wife has gone into overdrive. Normally she tries to stay very laid back, but once she's in the same room as her mother, she wants to do everything herself. I just try to stay out of the way. I also ask if there is anything I can do, but the answer is almost always 'no.' The last time MIL was here it was the same way. I'd try to be helpful, but Lu said she could take care of everything. Later I heard that MIL wondered why I never helped around the house. I could have started a huge argument, but I don't do conflict (hence the Aikido - fight by not fighting). I am afraid this year will be the same. One difference this year is that MIL is going only staying about half as long as before - about six weeks. I hope things go well. So far, so good, despite the bit about wanting to do everything herself.
MIL promised that she would get each of our girls a Nintendo DS. We bought the "Lite" version, since the more expensive versions had features I didn't think the girls needed. They picked them out today; Gaby got "World of Zoo" which doesn't seem challenging at all. Isadora got the (relatively) new "Alice in Wonderland" game, which, for a six-year-old, seems very challenging. I pause when my oldest daughter chooses to take the easy way out. I don't say anything, and I support and love her with all my heart. I just know she has a lot of growing up to do in that area. I'd like her to be more willing to take on a challenge. I do have hope, though. I see her sense of empathy growing solidly where I saw so little not long ago. I have hope - lots of hope. She's going to be okay, I know it. I have to learn more patience.
Anyway, they played their games for most of the afternoon. I didn't want to buy the games until Gaby returns from Girl Scout camp, but I was overruled by, well, everyone else. It's tough being the only man in the house.
I finally heard from my student teacher. Although 'finally' is not exactly right, since I wasn't expecting to meet her until the first day of school. We'd both like to meet, but she says she works every weekday and plays in some softball league on the weekends. She was willing to take a day off work to meet me, but I don't want to make her miss a day's pay just to see me and talk. We're going to have to work something else out.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Thursday and Saturday
Missed Tuesday - I admit I sort of wimped out. I had a slight headache that used for an excuse not to go, then I felt terrible because at about 8:30 I remembered one of our members tested on Tuesday. She's headed to Switzerland to teach English for the second time in as many summers that I know of. She took her fifth kyu test, and I am told she did very well. So she goes to Europe as a yellow belt.
Thursday came around, and I was determined to go. Our regular sensei taught class. We worked on some advanced techniques, since there are no tests in the near future. I felt good about being there, but I was less successful with the techniques. One technique started similar to a shiho-nage, but then there was another irimi step, and then we were supposed to pull uke through so that we were both facing the same direction and nage would pull uke backwards and down into a fall. I was not so good on that one, as it felt much more natural for me to pull the uke backwards to the incorrect side - when I should have pulled uke through on my left, it felt much more natural for me to pull my uke to the right. I fixed the issue, but then I felt like I was tripping over myself.
Saturday's are different. Each Saturday I promise myself I'll leave later than the Saturday before, and each Saturday I get there way too early. We got into the dojo late, because no one had the key. Today we had two hours of weapons, rather than one hour of weapons and one hour of open hand - or vise versa, depending on who is teaching.
At one point during class we talked about adding the naginata to our weapons regime. Some thought is was a good idea, other thought not because it was a "woman's weapon." I mentioned that in ancient paintings of samurai, they were shown on the battlefield with katana and naginata. Besides, I said, when it's time for the coming zombie apocalypse, I'd like to know how to handle a naginata. I love my katana (so okay, it's a bokken), but I'd like to be able to use both effectively.
Thursday came around, and I was determined to go. Our regular sensei taught class. We worked on some advanced techniques, since there are no tests in the near future. I felt good about being there, but I was less successful with the techniques. One technique started similar to a shiho-nage, but then there was another irimi step, and then we were supposed to pull uke through so that we were both facing the same direction and nage would pull uke backwards and down into a fall. I was not so good on that one, as it felt much more natural for me to pull the uke backwards to the incorrect side - when I should have pulled uke through on my left, it felt much more natural for me to pull my uke to the right. I fixed the issue, but then I felt like I was tripping over myself.
Saturday's are different. Each Saturday I promise myself I'll leave later than the Saturday before, and each Saturday I get there way too early. We got into the dojo late, because no one had the key. Today we had two hours of weapons, rather than one hour of weapons and one hour of open hand - or vise versa, depending on who is teaching.
At one point during class we talked about adding the naginata to our weapons regime. Some thought is was a good idea, other thought not because it was a "woman's weapon." I mentioned that in ancient paintings of samurai, they were shown on the battlefield with katana and naginata. Besides, I said, when it's time for the coming zombie apocalypse, I'd like to know how to handle a naginata. I love my katana (so okay, it's a bokken), but I'd like to be able to use both effectively.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
My Day
My darling daughters helped me celebrate Father's Day. They wrote personal cards, mostly, "I love you, Daddy." These are priceless to me. I have a bulletin board behind my desk at school that is filled with notes from my daughters and my students. Both are constant reminders of how I am loved.
Money can't buy this kind of feeling.
My wife made me feel wonderful just because she always makes me feel wonderful.
Money can't buy this kind of feeling.
My wife made me feel wonderful just because she always makes me feel wonderful.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Farmer's Tan
Our Aikido dojo has classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. We work out in the common room of a Baptist church. Today there was an unexpected meeting of some sort of disaster relief group in that same common room. We didn't ask, so I don't know what disaster they were trying to relieve.
My daughters decided to come with me to the dojo today, and we got there a little early. When we arrived, I met a woman and a man coming out of the building wearing bright yellow t-shirts. She asked if I was with the Aikido group. I said I was, and she proceeded to tell me the story about the room. My daughters and I sat on the bench just outside the door and waited for some of the others to show up. Little by little they did. It was very close to ten A.M. when we finally had a quorum. Call it "quits," or have class outside? We had class outside.
It was a bright, sunny day today in southeastern Wisconsin. It was also hot. It's still hot. Class was two hours, the senior student who often teaches weapons class used me for technique demonstration for the first hour, so I was moving non-stop. I'd help demonstrate, then practice with a junior student; demonstrate, practice, demonstrate, practice. I am tired.
Gabriella, my oldest, sat in on the class for a while. She used my wooden sword (bokken, or bo), as well as my jo staff. I never got a chance to work with her, but a few of the beginning student did, and they told her she did a great job. The day's instructor also worked with her, and had equally good things to say. She wants to join the dojo when she becomes 16. If she's still interested at that time, I'll have her join. It will be a great father-daughter thing for us to do.
My feet also hurt. I wore a pair of athletic shoes, but no socks, since I thought I'd be taking them off when I changed into my gi. Due to our outside practice, I wore my shoes for most of the two hours we were outside. This was a huge mistake, as the shoes rubbed my toes and my ankles. I took off my shoes for about the last half-hour of class, but it was too late. Now I have some minor irritations on my feet and ankles.
After class I took my daughters and went to Sam's Club to buy frozen cod fillets; sore feet and all. My wife adores those, and we've been out for a while, so she's been craving these for some time now. She practically doesn't eat meat any more, so I wanted her to have something nice to eat.
I also cut the front lawn of our neighbors as they are out camping. I did this right after I came home from class, then I took another shower.
I got my Father's Day gift early. We went to Target and I bought one of those Tomtom GPS systems. I read some on-line reviews of this model after I brought it home (which is typical for me to do it afterwards), and as basic systems go, it received very good reviews. It normally sells for about $160, but was on sale for $94. After I applied my $25 Target gift card that I received from one of my students, the final price was $69. I thought that was a good deal.
It's not that I go so many places that I'm going to use it all the time, but we have to take Gabriella to Girl Scout camp in Delavin, Wisconsin. I have no idea where that is, so the GPS will come in handy. I also have to take a Supervision of Student Teachers class at a private university north of Milwaukee, and I don't know how to get there, either. So I think it was the right time to buy one.
Speaking of Father's Day gifts, both my daughters decided to "make" me some sort of gift. This was done this afternoon, and all done with a great deal of secrecy. It started when they found these small Christmas gift bags. I'm not sure how they came to be in our possession. They probably held gifts that I received from students either this year, or in the past. Now they both keep walking around the house carrying the bags with them. They keep telling me not to look inside, and that I'm going to love my gifts. I already love them.
My daughters decided to come with me to the dojo today, and we got there a little early. When we arrived, I met a woman and a man coming out of the building wearing bright yellow t-shirts. She asked if I was with the Aikido group. I said I was, and she proceeded to tell me the story about the room. My daughters and I sat on the bench just outside the door and waited for some of the others to show up. Little by little they did. It was very close to ten A.M. when we finally had a quorum. Call it "quits," or have class outside? We had class outside.
It was a bright, sunny day today in southeastern Wisconsin. It was also hot. It's still hot. Class was two hours, the senior student who often teaches weapons class used me for technique demonstration for the first hour, so I was moving non-stop. I'd help demonstrate, then practice with a junior student; demonstrate, practice, demonstrate, practice. I am tired.
Gabriella, my oldest, sat in on the class for a while. She used my wooden sword (bokken, or bo), as well as my jo staff. I never got a chance to work with her, but a few of the beginning student did, and they told her she did a great job. The day's instructor also worked with her, and had equally good things to say. She wants to join the dojo when she becomes 16. If she's still interested at that time, I'll have her join. It will be a great father-daughter thing for us to do.
My feet also hurt. I wore a pair of athletic shoes, but no socks, since I thought I'd be taking them off when I changed into my gi. Due to our outside practice, I wore my shoes for most of the two hours we were outside. This was a huge mistake, as the shoes rubbed my toes and my ankles. I took off my shoes for about the last half-hour of class, but it was too late. Now I have some minor irritations on my feet and ankles.
After class I took my daughters and went to Sam's Club to buy frozen cod fillets; sore feet and all. My wife adores those, and we've been out for a while, so she's been craving these for some time now. She practically doesn't eat meat any more, so I wanted her to have something nice to eat.
I also cut the front lawn of our neighbors as they are out camping. I did this right after I came home from class, then I took another shower.
I got my Father's Day gift early. We went to Target and I bought one of those Tomtom GPS systems. I read some on-line reviews of this model after I brought it home (which is typical for me to do it afterwards), and as basic systems go, it received very good reviews. It normally sells for about $160, but was on sale for $94. After I applied my $25 Target gift card that I received from one of my students, the final price was $69. I thought that was a good deal.
It's not that I go so many places that I'm going to use it all the time, but we have to take Gabriella to Girl Scout camp in Delavin, Wisconsin. I have no idea where that is, so the GPS will come in handy. I also have to take a Supervision of Student Teachers class at a private university north of Milwaukee, and I don't know how to get there, either. So I think it was the right time to buy one.
Speaking of Father's Day gifts, both my daughters decided to "make" me some sort of gift. This was done this afternoon, and all done with a great deal of secrecy. It started when they found these small Christmas gift bags. I'm not sure how they came to be in our possession. They probably held gifts that I received from students either this year, or in the past. Now they both keep walking around the house carrying the bags with them. They keep telling me not to look inside, and that I'm going to love my gifts. I already love them.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Heart and Home
I dwell in the past too much. My principal says that I am an extraordinarily thoughtful teacher. Sometimes thoughtfulness gets in the way of progress.
My life, my wife, my children. All are amazing. There is nothing to dwell on. There is only goodness and love. This morning my lovely wife brought me coffee in bed. She made an amazing dinner today. She puts up with me and my Aikido dojo. I still have over 10 weeks of vacation ahead of me.
I still need to learn some fundamentals of project based learning. I have two books by Tarry Lindquist, who seems to hit the benchmark when it comes to these practices. I just have to put it all together, with what little I have. Kind of like trying to build a car with only a handful of nuts and bolts.
My life, my wife, my children. All are amazing. There is nothing to dwell on. There is only goodness and love. This morning my lovely wife brought me coffee in bed. She made an amazing dinner today. She puts up with me and my Aikido dojo. I still have over 10 weeks of vacation ahead of me.
I still need to learn some fundamentals of project based learning. I have two books by Tarry Lindquist, who seems to hit the benchmark when it comes to these practices. I just have to put it all together, with what little I have. Kind of like trying to build a car with only a handful of nuts and bolts.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
I am Working on My Aiki Spirit
Last night's class was exhausting and exhilarating, and I was glad to be back on the mat. It was a crowded mat, too. There were probably 15 people plus instructor(s). I am still in awe that of all the people there, I was the third one to line up. Only our Nidan instructor, and shodan sometimes-instructor were ahead of me when we lined up. The three other people who would have lined up ahead of me were not in attendance last night.
We started out fairly easy with a ki exercise that worked into a gyaku-hanmi shihonage omote and ura. I worked with a college student (4th kyu) who had also missed quite a few classes over the last few weeks. We were both quickly out of breath, although I felt my endurance start to come back as the class went on. He and I worked together on the next technique, too, but we added another college student (newly belted 6th kyu Melissa) to our group. We took turns, but kept getting confused with our rotation. None of us is particularly adept at doing the three-person nage/uke rotation.
I also had the opportunity to work with a brand new member of our dojo. Normally new members are pretty lost most of the time. They don't know the etiquette, or the routines, and have trouble picking up the most basic of Aikido techniques (although Aikidoka know there is no such thing as a "basic" technique). Last night, however, was a very different story. Our new member is (was) a practitioner of Tai Chi. First of all, he had an amazing amount of power. His ki, or in his case chi, is already very well developed. Secondly, he picked up the technique very quickly. By the third time he practiced the four variations he was seriously taking my balance. On the ura, he was pulling me around his center and hurling me to the ground. Of course, I helped him with that, so I'll take my bit of credit. He's good and it was a lot of fun working with him.
I am disappointed that I missed an outdoor weapons practice we had a couple weeks ago. The church where we practice had a wedding reception or something going on in the common room, so practice was moved to a nearby forest preserve/park. I enjoy weapons class, and I seem to have a knack for using weapons, both the bokken and the jo staff. I even enjoy working with them when I'm not in class. I'll go out in my back yard and practice suburi.
Finally, Aikido is good for my Aiki spirit. It was toward the end of a very long and difficult time in my life. I was having some very serious personal relationship issues. She came into my life unexpectedly, and made that difficult time even worse. I have never been treated so badly before, or since. The Aikido helps me deal with the feelings I still carry. I would like to forgive, but I am not in that place yet. It has never affected any part of my daily life, but if you were to ask, I'd immediately tell you that, no, I haven't forgotten, nor have I forgiven. I would like to be able to forget. I'm not sure about the forgiving part, though. Maybe I'll never get the one without the other.
We started out fairly easy with a ki exercise that worked into a gyaku-hanmi shihonage omote and ura. I worked with a college student (4th kyu) who had also missed quite a few classes over the last few weeks. We were both quickly out of breath, although I felt my endurance start to come back as the class went on. He and I worked together on the next technique, too, but we added another college student (newly belted 6th kyu Melissa) to our group. We took turns, but kept getting confused with our rotation. None of us is particularly adept at doing the three-person nage/uke rotation.
I also had the opportunity to work with a brand new member of our dojo. Normally new members are pretty lost most of the time. They don't know the etiquette, or the routines, and have trouble picking up the most basic of Aikido techniques (although Aikidoka know there is no such thing as a "basic" technique). Last night, however, was a very different story. Our new member is (was) a practitioner of Tai Chi. First of all, he had an amazing amount of power. His ki, or in his case chi, is already very well developed. Secondly, he picked up the technique very quickly. By the third time he practiced the four variations he was seriously taking my balance. On the ura, he was pulling me around his center and hurling me to the ground. Of course, I helped him with that, so I'll take my bit of credit. He's good and it was a lot of fun working with him.
I am disappointed that I missed an outdoor weapons practice we had a couple weeks ago. The church where we practice had a wedding reception or something going on in the common room, so practice was moved to a nearby forest preserve/park. I enjoy weapons class, and I seem to have a knack for using weapons, both the bokken and the jo staff. I even enjoy working with them when I'm not in class. I'll go out in my back yard and practice suburi.
Finally, Aikido is good for my Aiki spirit. It was toward the end of a very long and difficult time in my life. I was having some very serious personal relationship issues. She came into my life unexpectedly, and made that difficult time even worse. I have never been treated so badly before, or since. The Aikido helps me deal with the feelings I still carry. I would like to forgive, but I am not in that place yet. It has never affected any part of my daily life, but if you were to ask, I'd immediately tell you that, no, I haven't forgotten, nor have I forgiven. I would like to be able to forget. I'm not sure about the forgiving part, though. Maybe I'll never get the one without the other.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Alice Cooper Sings
Today is officially the first day of my summer break. Friday was the last day for the children. We had our awards assembly, then a short party afterward before we dismissed at 11:00. At the awards assembly I said that I have two daughters at home, but at school it felt like I had nine. I had to take several very long pauses in order to keep the tears from flowing freely. I really loved this class. Funny though, some of the parents told me that the students thought I couldn't think of anything nice to say, which was why I was taking so long to speak. Kids.
I got rave reviews from my principal on my end of the year report card comments. I am thoughtful and diplomatic, I was told. There were a couple of parents who I'd really like to tell them a thing or two about their precious children.
Yesterday was the teacher workday, as prescribed by our contract. What's not prescribed by my contract is how many days I'll spend this summer putting together lessons for next year. So yesterday I organized my room and turned in grade sheets and my classroom inventory list. I usually have kids do my inventory the week before school is out. There is lots to do, but some kids need the diversion.
The kids had a terrific last week, too. In what turned out to be a truly authentic task, I told them that I had to update my classroom web site and that they were going to do all the work for me. They broke up in to teams, and each team took a different subject or classroom activity. Some worked on disciplines like math or science, while others wrote about our field trips or the fourth grade musical. They also looked over the CDs I had and chose photos to go along with their writing. What made it extra special is that I said I would give them credit for writing. So on the bottom of each page, I'll write the first names and last initials of the students who wrote that particular page. They thought that was great.
Which leads me to my final bit here. This summer I am going to make an attempt at putting together some project-based learning activities for next year's class. I'd like to integrate the curriculum, but it's going to be a challenge in a number of ways. First, my math is set in stone. We use the U of Chicago Everyday Math program. The best I can do is work in the quarterly skills into whatever project we might do, if that is even possible or practical. Second, my science and social studies curricula don't fit together well at all. Science comes in kits from our district, and while I can fit water and ancient history together in first quarter, after that, it gets tricky. Finally, if I try to work reading chapter books in to my plan, I am again tied in only to those literature sets that the district has on hand. I am familiar with the book sets the district has on hand, and it is not a pretty picture.
Finally, I guess I forgot, I am going to the dojo tonight for the first time in at least two weeks. The end of the school year always does this to me. I am looking forward to practice, but worried that I can keep up. My lovely wife and I worked in our front garden on Sunday, and my hamstrings are still very sore.
I got rave reviews from my principal on my end of the year report card comments. I am thoughtful and diplomatic, I was told. There were a couple of parents who I'd really like to tell them a thing or two about their precious children.
Yesterday was the teacher workday, as prescribed by our contract. What's not prescribed by my contract is how many days I'll spend this summer putting together lessons for next year. So yesterday I organized my room and turned in grade sheets and my classroom inventory list. I usually have kids do my inventory the week before school is out. There is lots to do, but some kids need the diversion.
The kids had a terrific last week, too. In what turned out to be a truly authentic task, I told them that I had to update my classroom web site and that they were going to do all the work for me. They broke up in to teams, and each team took a different subject or classroom activity. Some worked on disciplines like math or science, while others wrote about our field trips or the fourth grade musical. They also looked over the CDs I had and chose photos to go along with their writing. What made it extra special is that I said I would give them credit for writing. So on the bottom of each page, I'll write the first names and last initials of the students who wrote that particular page. They thought that was great.
Which leads me to my final bit here. This summer I am going to make an attempt at putting together some project-based learning activities for next year's class. I'd like to integrate the curriculum, but it's going to be a challenge in a number of ways. First, my math is set in stone. We use the U of Chicago Everyday Math program. The best I can do is work in the quarterly skills into whatever project we might do, if that is even possible or practical. Second, my science and social studies curricula don't fit together well at all. Science comes in kits from our district, and while I can fit water and ancient history together in first quarter, after that, it gets tricky. Finally, if I try to work reading chapter books in to my plan, I am again tied in only to those literature sets that the district has on hand. I am familiar with the book sets the district has on hand, and it is not a pretty picture.
Finally, I guess I forgot, I am going to the dojo tonight for the first time in at least two weeks. The end of the school year always does this to me. I am looking forward to practice, but worried that I can keep up. My lovely wife and I worked in our front garden on Sunday, and my hamstrings are still very sore.
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