Dear Family and Friends, Well 2013 is almost over. The snake will be gone and then the year of the horse. That is my year and the 5th cycle of the zodiac so it should be a great year. Last year was not so bad with the announcement of the wedding on the 16th of December, 2012. So after that was only left to make all of the plans. I told my daughter that I would give her so much for the wedding but to leave me out of the planning. That job she and her mother fought over. Even after me warning her to let Danielle plan it and only offer to assist when she asked for her help. But of course, that was not meant to be because someone had expectations of what it should be and yet one had expectations of what she wanted so here in lays the dilemma. I went down over spring break to help her get unpacked from the move into a bigger apartment. I also took down the headboard from her bed that I had redone. In July I went up to New York to visit my best friend and his family. He tolerated me for 9 days and we had a great time, I have to admit it was my favorite trip to NY. School started in August with some big changes. I spent the last year over at Eduardo Mata as the Computer Lab teacher in charge of programs such as I-Station and Reasoning Minds. We opened the brand new building for O.M. Roberts and I got placed back in the 5th grade as a Bilingual teacher of Reading and Social Studies. It was not what I was expecting. I had these same kids with a few additions back in the 3rd grade and now I have to get them shaped up for the STAAR test in the spring. It has been a rough year with only 5 of the original teachers and 5 of the original staff members. Now we have a new principal and she has 3 new assistant principals and depending on whom you ask you get a different response. It is like the blind leading the blind. They say in Spanish “En la tierra de ciegos el tuerto es rey.” which means that in the land of the blind the Cyclops is king. It is a good thing that I know how to use my third eye and seek guidance from the man upstairs. We have made it through the first semester and retirement is looking better and better. I feel sorry for those that are just starting out and don’t have that option. So in January I am flying to Corpus Christi for a wedding and I have been told to behave myself, we shall see, but I don’t think it is me that we have to worry about. Then we shall see what the rest of the new year holds. I hope you have had a good year, a very Merry Christmas, and a Most Prosperous New Year for you and yours.