Back to blogging after an extended layoff caused first by lack of time, then by lack of electric power, and then lack of internet. But, now I'm back in the saddle. It's amazing how disconnected I felt even though I only didn't have internet for 5 days.

School district orientation was this week; I only had two days of orientation, as compared to the entire week for some of my peers in the Corps, and I am thankful for that. Despite the fact that it was well-organized, the orientation was still boring and repeated information I already knew. I was surprised (as well as disappointed, perhaps?) to hear the quality of the questions my peer teachers were asking. It seems like 70% of them did not need to be asked; they could have been answered just by listening and thinking more carefully. I hope this lack of thought does not bode ill for my students.

Since I have missed the news for the past few days, here is my commentary on what I have just read. Although I am a Red Sox fan(atic), I still feel bad for A-Rod. Sure, he plays the game like a pansy and Babe Ruth would eat him if they were teammates. Sure, he tried to slap the ball outta Arroyo's hand during the 2004 ALCS. Sure, he's not clutch, and is totally over-rated and over-paid, but the guy has hit 451 career home runs! And he's 30! Nobody else had 375 homers at age 30! And yet he gets booed at the Stadium. Just shows how little Yankees fans know about baseball- they really gotta stop booing the guy. Also, I believe he leads the league in 2-out RBIs. So, although he does choke in the big games, his status as a major run producer and scorer cannot be doubted. That said, I'd take the TRUE 2005 AL MVP (Big Papi) over A-Rod any day.

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There's a blog entry that has been swimming in my head for awhile. It's a long, rambling river of thoughts about family - how it is made, how it is retained, what it does, what it means. I don't have the time or energy to write that blog right now, maybe I won't have the energy to write it for awhile or even ever. But the key is this: everyone needs a support system, and we are most likely to call that support system "family."

My biological family has always been my primary support system. All issues, hopes, dreams, goals, fears, challenges, and celebrations run through them. The greatest effect my parents have had on me - what I would call their greatest achievement as parents - was getting me to believe in the importance of education and family. Over the years, my family has changed and grown. I have picked up many "uncles," "aunts," and "brothers" along the way, and I am happy for it. Since moving so far away from that family - biological and otherwise - it seems I have grown closer to them (as evidenced by last month's phone bill). I lean on them for support and advice in all kinds of situations, but more importantly I depend on them to provide smiles and laughter. The responsibility to keep me smiling rests the most heavily, and is fulfilled most consistently, by my "brothers," one I’ve known for 20 years, five others I have only known for two years (but it seems fifty times that long). I shudder to think where I'd be without them.

I also shudder to think of the "family" situations of my students. Not only biological families, but also the emotional support system "families." Do my students have what I have? Do my students have what I need to survive?