I thought the school year would never end and now a month of summer vacation has already passed. Summer is my catchup time, as I guess it is for many teachers. It's when I catch up on annual doctor visits, cleaning and yard work and fun times. Also the time when I allow myself to stay up late and sleep-in many mornings. This summer, both moving to a new room at school and teaching a new ASU class have stepped things up a bit. I have committed to some type of work every day I've been out.
I lived the first two weeks of summer vacation vicariously through Sheila's 2 week trip. I've managed to have some fun of my own as well. You'll remember a few posts back that I mentioned that I had been going out with a new man. He is still in my life and we have become good friends. I manage to find the time to enjoy lots of new things with him. He has introduced me to some wonderful new places and activities as well as a really nice new group of friends. We were at the Hyatt at Gainey this evening for KYOT night. Bob won a pair of tickets to see Yani this Sunday evening.
This Saturday there's lots going on here in "my" Valley of the Sun. Bob and I are meeting one of his daughters and her family at the summer concert series at Kierland Commons. It's great Saturday night entertainment until August.
Saturday is also my granddaughter Amanda's birthday. Here's a picture, taken earlier this year, of Amanda and Austin, Darryl's oldest son. I was talking earlier about how time flies, well here is one great example of that remark, as Amanda will be 20. Wow!
Saturday will also be the last night Darryl's dog, Tio, will work the streets for the Tempe Police K-9 division. Tio will retire. He developed
a rare bone condition that has severely limited his ability to work and live a comfortable, happy life. Past months have seen him through a series of high and low physical abilities. Unmedicated he is in pain and has great difficulty moving. The benefits of medication are short term as it damages vital body organs in a short time. . . sort of a catch-22 for Tio, damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. I was terrified of Tio when he first arrived to the McKinney household. I had visions of being torn from limb to limb (a gross over reaction on my part). Tio and I hit it off right away and I am honored to have been on his "well liked, best friend list" throughout the past 3 years. "Love you Tio! I will miss you......very, very much!
