I'm Really Good At Pronouncing Hawaiian Names

"I had the familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with summer."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby 

August has always been my favorite month of the year. Probably because of the warm breeze and Birthday presents. Do you know how the month of August came to be? Julius and Augustus Caesar reformed the Roman calendar and named the two new months after themselves. Augustus is a name derived from Latin origins meaning revered, or exalted. To me, the month of August is filled with a little more magic than the first of January, which often seems bitter and harsh. When I think of August I think of a tire swing, fireflies, and lemonade. At the end of summer everyone is full of sweet thoughts and warm memories.

This summer I hardly had time to breathe. It was quite a roller coaster. I got to go on adventures with old friends, travel around the island working with a group of kids, and spend some much needed time with my sweet sweet mother. Most importantly, this summer I was offered my dream job. After a year as a student teacher, and one year teaching part time, I was hired to stay at Laie Elementary as a full time 3rd grade teacher. Words can't say how perfectly and incandescently happy I am. I know with all my heart that this is what I'm meant to do, and this is where I'm meant to be.

Little Abby's First Day of 3rd Grade. August 15th, 2000

As a former student and current teacher, I live by summers. Specifically the end of summers. Now that summer is over it's time to welcome a new year. Students come on August 4th. My bulletin boards are up, my cubbies have been labeled, and my ducks desks are all in a row. I'm ready. Because next comes autumn, the leaves turn gold, and life goes on.

(And little girls who dress like 45 year old men grow up and follow their dreams.)