I woke up early at Brenna’s apartment, excited to have an opportunity to volunteer in my daughter’s kindergarten classroom today! Since Brenna wasn’t awake yet, I teleworked until around 0730 (when she came to check on me). I talked to her (very nice) roommate for a little bit and, about fifteen minutes after waking up, Brenna she was ready to leave. On the way to school, we stopped to pick up breakfast (0800) at Chick-fil-A, which had reopened since the previous week. At 0815, I checked in as a Volunteer at Brenna’s school and spent the day in her classroom, assisting her as needed. During several long breaks during the day, I also was able to telework a little bit. Similar to my last visit to Brenna's school (in the Fall of 2021), I was able to assist my daughter during several phases of her work day as she patiently taught around 30 young people (across two class groups) in Math and Reading topics. Also like last time, the kids seemed surprised to learn that their teacher had a Dad. Sprinkled throughout the serious lessons of the day were fun dances and songs, along with lots of special phrases Brenna lovingly uses to get her lively students (most about five years old) to focus. Along the way, I got to meet many of my daughter’s colleagues (who all sung her praises) and enjoyed a tasty lunch from the cafeteria. I read “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” twice, once to each class section. I think the kids liked my storytelling flair! Other highlights included: seeing students from Brenna’s 2021-2022 class, getting lots of hugs from her current students, working on math and reading one-on-one with the youngsters. In the afternoon, I began to get more and more involved in my telework job but, fortunately, the school day was winding down by then. The best part of the day, though, was that I had several chances to tell Brenna how proud I was of her and pleased that I got to witness, first hand, the huge impact she is having on the lives of impressionable young people. By the time Brenna was ready to leave work, I was ready to get back on the highway. It was hard to say goodbye after such a good day - Brenna told me she was really happy that I'd stayed for the whole day. At 1700, I got on I-81 and headed north through northern Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland - along the way, I called my dad (voicemail), Eileen, Mollie and Erin and we had some good conversations. Brenna also texted to tell me she was already missing me and felt very special after watching the way I’d interacted with her students and colleagues (my heart felt great to know that!). I was able to make it almost to the Mason-Dixon Line before I needed gas - I stopped at Liberty in Hagerstown for a fill-up at 1840. Back on I-81, I made good time into Pennsylvania. Once again, I listened to audio books on the way. Since I was making such good time, I didn't stop for dinner. Instead, I ended up eating in my car (leftovers from my hiking trip). The weather was OK (rain had passed through, apparently, but I missed it). I stopped for a bathroom break at the rest area just after passing I-80 and also made an online reservation for a hotel. I'd wanted to stay in Binghamton but those hotels were sold out. Instead, I to had drive west from that city (on I-86) until I reached the Comfort Inn in Apalachin, NY (2250). After such a long day, I was glad to be able to quickly check into my room. Before going to bed, I checked on some last minute telework items and also worked on some Duolingo. My head hit the pillow at 2355 after another great day!
