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Yesterday afternoon, not too many hours after my interview, I got a broadcast e-mail that went out to everyone at my old school. One of the teachers in my department is leaving – to be the vice principal at the high school where I had just interviewed.

That would mean I would have an advocate at that school. Even better, it would mean a vacancy at my old school! I have to jump on this one.

I had a teaching interview today. It went very well. The school is beautiful and newish. I liked the people I met who I would ultimately be working alongside. I like that it is a high school, close enough to home, and a job teaching classes that interest me. I am, however, just slightly apprehensive about the population I would be teaching. Don’t get me wrong. I love the strugglers. I have a place in my heart for them over and above a typical student. It’s just a tough group and I have heard about the high rate of teacher burnout at this particular school.

I need guidance.

Finally, I got myself a good haircut! It’s been a long time. I have been wearing my hair longer and going in to have it trimmed and shaped, but I have not had a real hairstyle for years. Yikes. I had no idea how out of control it had become.

I have very thick hair. The strands are each quite thin, very fine and silky. I just have a lot of them. A lot. So, I had the hairdresser thin out my hair and you should have seen the pile on the floor. And still, the hair left on my head looks thicker than most people’s.

It helps to find a hairdresser you like. I have a hard time with that. Often, it takes me years after a move to find someone to cut my hair that I feel is skilled and confident enough to meet my expectations. I had a phenomenal hairdresser when I lived in Morgantown, WV (Spa Roma). Here in Florida I have only found one hairdresser I really loved in the 11 years I have been here, and he was up in Gainesville. So, finding Jennifer up at my corner salon was a surprise and a blessing.

I feel like a new woman. Please please please remind me to never neglect having a good stylist on hand ever again.

Things are getting ready to ramp up in my job situation – I hope. In a week or so, the district will open jobs to others than the displaced teachers. There will be a small period where voluntary transfers will be considered first. Then, it’s open season, so to speak. I have watched positions at a lot of the schools I like come and go and it has been nearly excruciating to not be able to apply for the positions. In a couple of instances, I got as far as drafting a letter and then had to stop myself and remember that even if I did get an interview, the district hiring people would reject the recommendation for the school.

I’m hoping and praying that something opens up at my old school. That is where I really want to be.

It is a shame that when we need the library the most, they really are not there for us. Not only do school workers like me not get paid over the summer, I am also dealing with the loss of my postiin at the school and the reality that a lot of us who were laid off might not find slots this fall. I am sure it will work out in the end, but things are tense right now. I depend on the local library more than ever to ensure my daughter and I have lots to read this summer without breaking the bank.

But, our local government is seeing some of the same financial woes that the school bard is seeing and they have cut library hours drastically. Most branches are only open in the evenings a couple of days a week all branches shut down two days out of the week. You should see how CROWDED the libraries are now when they are open. The irony is that more people than ever are using their servers and they have to fit all those people into less hours. Yikes. Don’t expect a quiet place to study at any of the libraries around here. They are mini madhouses filled with people eating in line for computer access, crowding into the video aisles, and jockeying for the best books in the children’s section. Oddly, the people who WORK at the library are the loudest ones of the bunch, but that’s more appropriate for a letter to the editor than a blog article.

Anyway, you can see how much I rely on the library for our household book consumption. Even with my complaints, I would rather see my daughter spend time reading than doubling up her time on the computer or spending too much time in the hot, Florida mid-day sun. The library is the one local tax-funded amenity I really use and I try to do my part to help. I donate books, help with fundraisers and gladly overpay on fines. It’s just so flipping stressful to go there now and fight the hoards. I have had a stack of books to return sitting on my foyer table for a week. In the meantime, I have actually made two trips to the Barnes & Noble around the corner and purchased some of the books I have been eager to read. It just seems easier. I find that I am avoiding the library for the same reason I avoid the Mall – too many people rudely jostling for position, too many out-of-control kids, and not enough incentive to stay.

On the other hand, my daughter and I are both re-discovering some of the books we already have on our bookshelves. Re-reading is a luxury I rarely make time for and now is the time to remedy that.

Instead of outdoing myself this year, I decided to keep things simple. I invited over several family members and put out a spread of several different varieties of hot dogs and sausages, appropriate toppings, the world’s best hot dog sauce (recipe here), chips, home made pasta salad, southern iced tea, and a crock dull of sweet, rich, home made vanilla ice cream.

We sat and talked, watched the kids play, and looked through the bucket of gems my nephew and niece found when they went gemming last week in Georgia. Something, by the way, that I am very anxious to go when my daughter and I go to visit her Godparents outside Atlanta this summer.

Once evening came, we piled in the car and headed over to Safety Harbor. We were a little late getting started and the fireworks had already started by the time we headed out. Really, the best view of the night was from our car as we neared Safety Harbor. We parked and ran along the sidewalks, making it out from under the canopy of trees right in time for the spectacular finale.

It was simple, no frills, and completely satisfying. Happy 4th of July to my amazing nation, the United States of America.