Summarizing September!

September has been a very busy month for me. Even though I have been busy and have had a lot going on, it is a different kind of "busy" down here. The first exciting weekend was actually at the end of August when the football season kicked off down here with the 106th meeting of the Bisbee Pumas and the Douglas Bulldogs. This is one of the oldest high school football rivalries in the U. S. It was exciting as it was also the inaugural game on the new turf at the football stadium. Cameron came down for the game was very excited to be able to go out on the field with me before the game and then sit on the sidelines during the second half as it rained quite hard!! Unfortunately, Douglas lost to Bisbee and also the lost the "Copper Pick" for the year!
The week before the game, I got a call from the Fire Chief asking for permission to have the fire department on the baseball field so that the firefighters on duty could watch the game! Of course, I said yes!! Then he asked if the local med evac helicopter could do a fly-by in honor of the helicopter team that had been stationed here in Douglas. The helicopter crashed near Marana in August and all were killed. The fly-by was awesome!

Labor Day brought a wonderful weekend up at the cabin with family and friends. The weather was wonderful and the creek is absolutely beautiful and full of water. Did have one little accident when a
root jumped out of the ground and tripped me. I feel flat on my face and had quite a bruise on my chin!
I have been anxious to get settled in here at 858. It has taken almost the whole time I have been here to get things ordered and in place. I had to order a new bed and furniture for my room upstairs and get rid of some of the old furniture. There is still a lot to go through from 93 years of continued occupancy in the same house!! Then the room needed to be painted, which took another bit of time. (Things move a bit slower down here.) I wanted to get a television upstairs, but found out Cox doesn't have HD down here. It took quite a bit of convincing (plus buying a new television for downstairs) for me to convince Teresa to go with Direct TV and a satellite dish on her roof. Thank goodness they put it on the roof of the garage.

When I ordered the bed, I measured the area where I wanted to put the bed. I am not much at decorating or seeing how things fit, and the bed actually fit where I wanted it in the nook in the front bedroom. What I forgot to do when I measured it was to measure to see if I could get into the bed!! When it was finally delivered, I had the guys put it in the nook. They didn't say anything to me and put it there. Well, I could barely get into it--plus it is a bit high!! The first night I slept in the bed after sort of squeezing and jumping into it. I got up in the night for just a minute, and when I went to get back in the bed, SOMEHOW I fell between the bed and the wall. Since the bed was truly squeezed into the space, I couldn't move it and I was literally wedged between the wall and the bed! I knew that Teresa would not be able to hear me fall and I usually leave before she gets up so I wasn't sure how long it would end up in this very uncomfortable position! The best part is that the pugs looked down from the bed at me, but then laid back down and went back to sleep. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to be rescued by our district security person when I didn't show up the next day. It would be a bit unflattering way to have to be saved, so to speak. I was finally able to crawl backwards (which is quite difficult) and get out of bed. The day after work, I called Mary's nephews and they came and moved the bed for me!!!!!

September 16 is a very big holiday around here as it is Mexican Independence Day. This year was the 200th anniversary of Mexican Independence and the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. The Mexican Consulate asked to have a display of artwork at the district office from around the world depicting students' interpretations of these events. These came from children all over the world. We had a little celebration with the Mexican Consul and Board Members just prior to a Governing Board Meeting. One problem that we will have to address for next year is that we had very high student absenteeism on September 16.

One afternoon about 3:30 I was in my office and received a call from a former student from Gilbert. He is a seventh grader this year and was in the Autism program. I absolutely love this young man and was so touched that he called me. It absolutely made my day!! I promised him that I would go visit him the next time I am in Gilbert.

Last week, I got out to an elementary school and to one of the middle schools. At the middle school, I went to each classroom and introduced myself to the students. It was so awesome and the kids were great! I got to several classes at the elementary school, also. I am going to go to two school each week and I am very excited about that. I told the kids that after all of the years that I have been in education, I always could go out and see kids in a matter of minutes. Now that I am at the district, there aren't any kids right there and I really miss that!!

On Thursday I had a visit from a reporter from a Tucson television station. He came to do an interview with me as the new superintendent. He did a lot of reporting on the previous problems here in Douglas and tried every way he could to trip me up. It was nerve-wracking to say the least, but I have had enough experience with reporters and that helped. The only difference this time is that I was being filmed. I am hoping that it won't even be aired as there wasn't anything "inflammatory" with what I said.

This weekend I went to the cabin again with my friend, Carol. It was another relaxing weekend and everything was beautiful up there. I love being able to go up there whenever I want as it is just an hour's drive. I intend to spend a lot of time up there!! (A little side story about that is that I haven't had a bathroom upstairs as things sometimes move slowly in Douglas and we had to get it repaired. So it was nice to finally have a bathroom, even though it was an outhouse!! Came home to the new bathroom upstairs--thank goodness!)

Last Thursday I was invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony and then to the VIP tent for the Cochise County Fair. I would have gone no matter what, but that invitation was special to me. My mom was very involved on the Fair Board for many years and was still on the Board when she died eight years ago.

Diego is here now having relieved Pancho who went back to Gilbert after several weeks. Of course, Lucy is here all of the time. They love being in the front yard and seeing everything that is going on in the neighborhood.
Can't believe that I have been down here two months now. Every day I realize what a great move this has been for me!! I think Teresa is enjoying having me here and I know that my being here is really a good thing for her. She is doing very well, but she is 88!!

I always think of the quote that my dear friend, Wally Delecki, uses often--"Life is either a daring adventure, or it is nothing (Helen Keller)." Who thought this daring adventure would occur at this point in my life??? I am so glad that it did!!