So....like....why did the people who supposedly love me, took vows, etc allow this to happen???

So yeah. I was a few pounds heavier in the photo above. That was taken in 08, and I just stumbled upon it this evening. So many things wrong in this picture.....

At any rate, the other day Amanda and the kids came by school at the end of the day; they needed to give me a ride home. Callum and Maira LOVE coming into my school, and it is so funny how Callum has this hierarchy of things he wants to see: The cafeteria is number one on his list. He wanted to compare it to HIS cafeteria. Hilarious. But they love playing 'school,' and they sit down, attentively, and ask me to teach them stuff. So I pretended to teach them about PeteTheCat and stuff. Then they wrote on my board. But, yes, this is a rare look into my world/my classroom. I love when the kids get to see what I do. I think many people would actually be surprised to see what I am like when I teach. I am the most misunderstood man in the world.....haha

So my  junior class just finished reading (one of MY favorite books from high school at good old OAHS!) A SEPARATE PEACE. A classic. It is a 'coming of age' story about two friends named Gene and Finny and the jealousy they have of one another and how boys will be boys, etc. It takes place on the 'eve' of the second world war, and the war plays a large conflict (no pun intended) in the book. Furthermore, TREES play a huge role in the story, as the major conflict involved Gene 'knocking' his best friend Finny out of a tree one day....perhaps on purpose...perhaps not....it is kind of complicated....go read the book. ANYWAY....John Knowles, the writer, uses nature (trees in particular) to convey symbolism and conflict in the story. In my class, we studied Maine trees and all their characteristics, uses, and nuances....then we went out on some of the cross country trails on campus and actually 'got our hands dirty' and looked at trees close up: What is the bark of an oak like? What color to sugar maple leaves turn? What shape to white birch trees take? etc....The kids are comparing a character from they book to a TREE, noting the symbolism and metaphors that exist (For example: Finny is a white birch tree....he has many layers to his personality, just like white birch bark...and his insides are exposed because his layers peel away....and birch trees grow in clumps, all needing other birch trees....and Finny needs people in order to feel important...he needs other people in order to thrive...etc). You should totally take my class! We have fun! haha. Anyway, here is me out on the cross country trails last week, the US FOREST SERVICE'S "Guide to Maine Trees" book in hand....