June Blizzard hits the Sunny South East of Ireland

Geez Louise, could someone scratch the month of June off the calendar and just fast forward to July. Feels like a blizzard blowing. The temperature today was icy and I feel snowed under.

Today was school Sports Day.  Lots of fun interrupted by heavy rain,  and NO practice for the school concert. I have a one track mind lately. But it's worth it. One child today announced she had bought a gun (toy) with her pocket money. She has decided to shoot all the teachers except me, the reason??? I'm doing her school concert. This child doesn't usually shine in school but this is her chance. She has a few lines and she feels like a star. Moments like this make it all worthwhile!

Saturday: need to do some serious study of my camera manual. I only got the camera at Christmas and still finding my way around it. Why the urgency? In a moment of madness I signed up for a Portrait Photography workshop with award winning photographer Tony Tang on Sunday. Several members of our camera club have also done so. We are expected to have basic knowledge of exposure, shutter speeds, white balance etc. If only my head wasn't like a sieve. Why do I choose my busiest time of year to push myself and challenge my boundaries? I'm intimidated - but I'm still going!!

That's the weekend covered.
Monday: school in the morning followed by a regular run-of-the-mill gastroscopy in the afternoon. Went to see a consultant today. He decided he better do a "scope" just to check out the heartburn I've been having for the past year. Family history is a bit dodgy in this area.

He has an vacancy on Monday afternoon so since I'm heading off for sunnier climes, for two months, I agreed. He was at pains to reassure me. I told him that I wasn't a stressy kind of person. To be honest I'm more worried about my ass hanging out of the back of the hospital gown than what they may see on their camera.

I wish to God someone would have a word with my body and tell it I don't have time to be sick or to have inflamed tendons. I have too many plans. Body thinks it's 90, head thinks its 16. Find the mean and you get my actual age. Maybe its my head they should be examining.

 Tuesday: Back to work and mad preparation for the school concert. They still don't know their words. There is less than 2 weeks left.  One of the classes  is on school tour on Thursday and I'm on tour on Friday. Just as well I'll be leaving the country a week later! But no point in worrying. They are so talented and creative. They always pull it out of the bag just after I've pulled all my hair out. This year I've decided to keep my hair.

Wednesday 100km drive to Dublin to meet my Turkish class to have "our end of year night out" That should be good fun, good food, good company and very definitely a late night before driving another 100km home.

The weekend will be spent writing school reports. I will have to think of lots of inventive ways to say the same thing. Once saw a list of comments like " A photographic memory but the lens cap is glued on" "She would argue with a signpost" " He has been working with glue too much" "Lifeguard wasn't on duty in the gene pool the day your child was conceived" but even I reckon these would be pushing the limit. I want early retirement but not forcibly.

The following week is The School Concert, two nights running, Juniors one night and Seniors the second night.  The smallest ones are always brilliant and the more mistakes they make the better it goes down.  It's the second night that gives me the heebee jeebees.

We also have three family birthdays that week. And two of my brothers and my Mum have birthdays in July. So I decided we should have a 327th birthday party. It was a great idea last January! Still, my Mum will be 85 years young in July and my oldest and youngest brothers are 60 and 50 respectively. Its hard to get my head around my brother being 60. Sounds like he is beginning to get on! I'll be away so I'm having a party for all of us.

Party over and it's the last week of school. Prepare the choir for mass for the graduating class. How did I get the job of being responsible for the school choir. Process of elimination. Next time we have a staff vacancy I'll be clutching my principals legs screaming "Get someone with Music!!!" It would be great if we had someone who can stay in tune and even better could play a musical instrument.

The same day I'll meet the parents of my new incoming class next year. I just found out I will have the Junior Infant Class, the 4-5 year olds. Great fun in store. It is always important to warn them I'll believe half the stories that I hear if they do me the same courtesy! The story I think I  will always remember is when one young man excitedly told me" Mammy is getting a new baby. You know the pills you take to stop you getting a baby? Well she forgot to take them and Daddy is quare mad at her" (Note quare is an adjective peculiar to this region to mean very, e.g. quare good, quare nice, quare bad)

School closes midday 30th June. July 1st I'm on a plane for Bodrum with hubbie and sister-in-law Some days its great to be a teacher......... especially July 1st! I can swap the blizzard for hot, hot hot!