A Recap of Past Summers

Today marks the second day of my summer vacation. A lot of people ask me, “So what are you going to do with all your time off?” The tone of the question is generally such that for a moment before I answer I wonder about the question. Are they really trying to make conversation, being truly interested in my summer plans? Or was there at least a hint of sarcasm there. A subtle statement conveying the message, “Teachers just overpaid babysitters, why do you need all that time off?” This was surely the hidden message from one of my neighbors yesterday when I returned the question to him (being very polite as usual). His response was a gruff, “I have to work.”

This being my tenth year of teaching, and thus my tenth summer, I am about over the snide remarks from those who are not as blessed as I am. Anyone who can deal with 100 teenagers everyday deserves something, right? So what am I going to do this year? Well, before I answer that let me recap the past years.

Summer of ‘98

My first year I spent remodeling a house down in Steeleville. I spent endless days digging concrete out of the yard, dug out and installed window wells in the basement windows, and planned for the next year of teaching. It payed off, as we made about 10-15 thousand dollars when we sold that house. Not bad for a summer.

Summer of ‘99

My second Summer was spend building our first house here. Those of you who have built a house, enough said! That literally consumes your life!! Again, spread it out over a few years, and still not a bad investment—a lot more than I could have made working part time. That being said, if it wasn’t for the free labor that my dad and Amy’s parents gave us, we would have never got that job done!

Summer of ‘00

My third summer was the first summer that I felt like I really had off. Well, sort of. We finished the house by building a nice porch and poring concrete. I think that was the summer that I also purchased a riding lawn mower and trailer in hopes of making money during the summer by mowing lawns. I mowed some, but I really didn’t make much money at it.

Summer of ’01 and ‘02

We had two more summers at that house. I think it was 2001 that I taught down at Rend Lake. In 2002 I remember we went to current river while Amy was pregnant with Cassidy. Wow, I remember one of our friends got burnt to a crisp! (hi Nena). For some reason those summers somewhat run together.

Summer of ‘03

In 2003 we sold our house, went on vacation to Florida, and began the major finishing and building of the next house. This too turned out to be a good investment, and was well worth taking the time to do.

Summer of ‘04

Again taught summer school at Rend Lake. I don’t want to EVER do that again. You just don’t make that much money for your time, and you have almost no vacation.

Summer of ‘05

Okay, I must have loafed this Summer. I remember we went to Florida on Vacation. Other than that, I can’t think of anything I did.

Summer of ‘06

Last year I seriously considered changing jobs. Amy and I interviewed in West Virginia for a ministry position, and I interviewed in Florida for an administrative position. I also planted a garden. Towards the end of the summer we began the process of looking for a new house and selling our house.

NOW 2007. So far, yesterday I spent most of the day working on the room we are about to remodel. I mowed the grass, fixed the dryer (heating element), cooked supper, and worked on the jeep. Today, I worked on the room some more, fixed Cassidy’s swing, and am planning to spend sometime with my family tonight. It is starting off to be a full summer! The time is already flying by. I think I'm going to slow down a little bit! Thanks for reading!!