monday monday monday

So it's already Monday again. Next Monday will be E's last Monday with us! I cannot believe the year it's been. We have had some good times, and undeniably some bad ones as well. But I think in the end we can all say the year has ended on a successful note. I did get upset with some of E's ways the other night: going out all the time, not really respecting curfews, and spending almost all of her time at home in her room on the computer. She argued this by saying the curfew violations were not her fault (truly, are they ever? :-) ) and that she thinks that she is just acting like a normal teenager. So I felt better enough to get me through the next two weeks without another blowup.

However, I can't say the same about the agency. If we ever do this again, and I would, but Kevin is difficult about it, I would use a different agency. It couldn't be worse, surely, so it could only be better. But the agency feels that it is my problem. But there are things that they don't know that I can't really get into on this blog anyway, so I have decided to just wash my hands of them. Not that they have offered us any student profiles to look at anyway. If they did, I would look - how could I not? I made Kevin go to the last gathering and he said they have no students placed for next year. Funny, I'm pretty sure that our school is going to host at least one, but through a different agency. The rep is too far away anyway. Forty minutes is too far to have to travel, which is why she couldn't be bothered to come and see us.

Anyway, enough about that. Megan's meet this weekend was fairly successful. She swam really well in the 400 free Friday night, actually beating her time and winning the whole event, so that was nice. Then she came in second the next day in the 200 free, but I don't really know if that's going to be her official position. The girl who actually beat her is 18 and in college, and therefore unofficial, and the one who is listed as being in first has a blatant error in her time, as I believe it could be in world record contention were it a true time. I wouldn't allow her to go yesterday so she could get some rest leading up to finals, which start on Thursday and run through Tuesday, the last day of school.

And I got the Explorer back! I was so excited. It no longer shrieks along the highway and I can drive it without having to watch the odomoter for overage violations. The only bad thing is the creeping-up price of gas again, but so far it's still manageable, at about $40 a tank. Of course I filled up Saturday and it's below a quarter already, but that includes a trip to Princeton. Oh, and speaking of Princeton, just as Megan was about to swim, they called a lightning delay. That was funny, because it was the same thing that happened last March when someone pulled the fire alarm at Rutgers right before she swam the 500.

In other news, sadly, the baby birds seem to have perished in their nest and we don't know why. They were in there and doing well and then two days later, E noticed maggots all over the birdhouse. Kevin took it apart and found two dead babies. So we don't know if there were more and they got away, or if the evil blue jay ate the parents, or what happened to them. Very sad. I just came from an eternally boring training session for the district's new sub calling system for the fall. I have mixed feelings, so stay tuned until fall to see how this is going to turn out!