Last Day of School Memories

  Tomorrow is the last day of school for most kids here in Oregon, my daughter included.  When I was little the last day of school was always a good time.  My daughter has a full day ahead of her.  We only went to school for just long enough to pick up your report card and tell all your friends, " See ya in September!"  Then the adventures of summer began!  My mom always took the day off and we'd go to Rehoboth and get hotdogs and french fries at Louie's or Grotto Pizza.  Then we'd walk on the boardwalk or if it was warm enough, we might go to the beach.  I always remember that being a very fun day.  Even when I got older,  it was still fun.
  Tomorrow my daughter will "fly up" to middle school.  A big deal indeed.  Her teacher is retiring after 45 years of teaching.  He told me that in the fall he would be headed back to his native Australia.  I'm not certain if he's going back for good or just for an extended vacation.  My daughter wanted him to have a present so she picked out some pens made from recycled water bottles and a leather bound journal that he could write about all his travels in.  The best part she thought was that it would fit right in his back pocket.  I felt like this was her best year of school so far.  Mr. Seggie was indeed revered and achieved "Rock Star" status early on in the year.  I thought the gift of a journal was especially sweet since he just raved about my daughter's math journal all year long.   I wonder what he's thinking about on this eve of his retirement?
  I feel  a little bad that I'm not off tomorrow or Friday, but we will do our celebrating next weekend.  We are taking a trip to the Oregon coast to visit our good friend Pat, who just recently retired and moved into her beach house.   We will ride bikes, maybe take a hike or two and spend time just enjoying our beautiful Oregon coast.  The town where we are going reminds me a lot of Lewes back in the day.  Before all the T-shirt stores, fancy shops and restaurants.  It's like the Old Lewes, when the last day of school was a big deal, and us kids were so excited to be free for 100 days!
Happy Last Day of School to all you "kids and kids at heart" out there.  The best 100 days of the whole year are about to begin!