Last week was the final week of school for students. In college, I always played Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” after my last exam, and carried the tradition over into my teaching career. This was the first time that I actually had a class during the last period of exams to share the song with, but most had bolted out of the room before the opening riff finished.

This school year has been a wild ride. I taught four sections of 9th Grade Western Civilization, which personally is one of my weaker content areas in my field. While it’s not my favorite course, I do enjoy teaching freshmen because of the energy they bring. I also had an all-star group in AP Human Geography this year. I never seem to fit in as many case studies and current events articles as I’d like in the 12 weeks leading to the AP exam, but it was a unique group of kids that had a lot to bring into the room. There were a number of other personal and professional development milestones along the way, most of which would probably bore everyone reading. Overall, I felt much better at the end of this year than I felt this time last year. There is a lot for me to think and reflect on over the summer, but overall it was a good year.

Friday was an in-service day. After finalizing grades and making arrangements for the senior class t-shirts, I started to pack all my belongings up. Unless drastic changes occur over the summer, it looks like I am finally getting my own classroom! It’s been a long five years as a “cart teacher.” (Even though, I gave up the cart for most of that time and just carried a messenger bag, you get the idea.)

With departure scheduled for Tuesday, a lot of the weekend has involved checking in with others before heading out for the Camino. Saturday, I helped out with the 7on7 tournament at Downingtown for my final coaching duties until camp starts in August. The kids got a ton of experience, and I got a LOT of sunburn. At the end of the day though, we’re in a better spot than we were last year, but still have a lot of work to do.

From Downingtown, I drove to Baltimore to meet up with my two best friends Dave and Nick. For 28 years, I’ve only known Baltimore to be traffic on the way to DC, so it was nice to actually see the city. I probably should go back to see the Inner Harbor and Fort McHenry at some point, but Mount Vernon and Fells Point were very cool. It was also nice to meet Dave’s girlfriend for the first time. She’s very nice and seems to bring out the best in him.

We went to see the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s production of Candide. Alana was working make-up for the show so she got us complimentary tickets. The performance was excellent, and reading the story behind the story was interesting as well. Leonard Bernstein adapted Voltaire’s novel for Broadway a half-century ago. While Voltaire’s mockery of “the best of all possible worlds” and challenge of censorship should have hit home in the age of HUAC, the show apparently bombed out during it’s initial Broadway run.

Traffic on the way home Sunday prevented me from making my cousin’s graduation party, but was able to get a few things taken care of around the house. I then went to my parents place for my last Sunday dinner before the trip. As several of us started to move out of the house, the Sunday dinner grew into a bigger deal. Those of us in the area stop in, along with my grandfather (who celebrated his 90th birthday two months ago) and Uncle Mike.

Usually the dinner conversation revolves around current events and politics. The pace has slowed a little since Mom started fact-checking us with her iPhone, but we still manage to cover a lot in two hours. Recently though, most of the conversation has revolved around family travels. My sister Caitlin took a two-week trip to Great Britain in the end of May. My brother Mike (a rising senior at the Coast Guard Academy) is stationed on a cutter in Bellingham, WA for the summer. My brother Steve (a web editor for ESPN) had a conference in New York and is planning a trip to Disney World with Mom, Billy, and Jack. Uncle Joe called in during dinner to report in after returning from a trip to Rome with my aunt and cousins. (As usual, his travel stories reached a different level.) Oh, and I’m about to start a 500-mile stroll across Spain.

Every week, I’ve been getting grilled for details and updates on planning since I booked my flight in early March. It has been helpful to air out my thoughts and get feedback. Uncle Mike has a ton of travel experience and used to own a travel goods store, Mom is an expert at finding bargains and keeping costs down, and my brother Kevin is an expert in everything. (Allegedly)

It was a nice weekend, and in a few hours I report back to school for my final in-service day. There has been so much else going on, I still have not come to terms with the fact that I leave in 36 hours. Hopefully, I can find some time to squeeze one more post in before boarding the plane.