Summer's coming to a close

All good things come to an end...especially summer...but not before some enjoyment, which includes but is not limited to the following:

1) Ice cream at Ritter's

2) The Detroit Zoo

3) Sunset on the lake

I also have done a bit of reading now that grad school has finished up. One book (originally recommended by a friend and then highlighted this summer by a guest lecturer) is called "Chosen." It's the story of two teenage boys from different Jewish sects growing up during World War II in New York. It's part coming-of-age, part insight into history and Judaism, and there was plenty of wisdom. I've included a few excerpts here:

---

---

School starts next week (for teachers, not kids!), and the emails have started coming slowly but surely. Reality is hitting...and I need to get cracking on some planning. Grad school will also start up again soon. It's going to be another rollercoaster ride this year - hold on tight!

Where a "kid" can be a kid

No, I'm not talking about Chuck-E-Cheese. (Good guess, though.) Nope, today my sister, mom, and I hit up...

Today's trip actually made me think of something I recently read in a book (The Geography of Bliss) - more people attend zoos each year than all sporting events combined. Now, I don't know if I actually believe that - how is the statement qualified? It could mean only pro sports or only college sports - I have no idea. But anyways, it was one of those statistics I read and was like, holy cow, that's a lot of people that go to a zoo.

And, let me tell you, there were a lot of people at the Detroit Zoo today.

Ok, enough of the tangent...to get back to the main point, we basically relived part of our childhood summer vacations - kid's meal (no joke) and all. (And I say this with love and in the very best sense - it was on my list of "must-do's" this summer.)

  

Beautiful butterflies...perky parrots...cute camels...running rhinos...(do you sense some alliteration here?)...gentle giraffes...

 

 

...hungry hippos - just kidding, there actually weren't any hippos, amazingly enough...

Today's visit definitely reminded me how fun it is to just be a kid - and, come the end of August, that's exactly what I'll be doing again for the next 10 months with the students at school. 

Better gear up pretty fast - not too much left of summer vacation...