Sigh . . .

There's this episode of Little House on the Prairie that haunted me from the first time I saw it. As the show begins, a litter of puppies are being taken from their mother (to be drowned -- Laura or someone saves them, I don't remember it all, just that first scene). As the wagon drives away, with the puppies in a gunny sack on the back, the mama dog watches fornlornly, a sad expression on her little doggie face as she realizes she'll never see them again . . .

Well, tonight I'm the sack of puppies, whining a little, leaving the mama dog of my summer behind, with its shimmering freedom, not to be seen again. (Well, not this summer anyway . . . 190 working days, and whoo-hoo! A new summer!).

I'm packing my teacher bag (which has served as my beach bag all summer -- it's very versatile!), making my to-do list, trying to decide what I want to wear tomorrow.

I'm very aware that I have to be up at 6:00 A.M.

But I'm excited, too. I'm loving the way our high school faculty seems to be finally coming together as a cohesive unit, with the addition of some fantastic new people to an already strong group. I've been waiting four years to see this.

But I wouldn't mind just one more day to sleep in, either.

Goodbye, summer!