The Classical Conversations Challenge program that I have been teaching this year has proved to be just that: A Challenge. And not just for the students, but for ME – the teacher. Do you remember being in college, and feeling like your weekly reading/writing load might not be humanly possible? Well, that is how I’ve been feeling about my teaching prep load, and I am barely keeping my head above water. Here is just a sampling of what has to be accomplished in a week’s time:

Read Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington
Read “The Northwest Ordinance”
Read “The Missouri Compromise”
Read ” A House Divided” by Abraham Lincoln
Read “A Question of Slavery” by John Calhoun
Create a government quiz on the above items
Grade previous week’s quizzes
Create a Latin Quiz on The Present System Passive
Grade previous week’s quizzes on The Perfect System Active
Prepare 4 Algebra 1 lessons
Create an outline of the Physical Science Module and prepare experiments
Read 3 chapter’s of Sophie’s World and prep bios/discussion on 3 philosopher’s

and MORE!

I’m not sure why I thought I could fit this into my schedule, but it’s there – until the end of May, and I already committed to teach the same level again next year! The only way I could agree to this is that I have already put in the hard work of preparation this year – like being a first year teacher ALL over again!

So, in the midst of all this, I decided I could also fit it into my schedule to still go on a long ago planned girls’ road trip to North Carolina to see one of my favorite music artists – Sandra McCracken. My sweet friends, Lois and Cindy planned this trip for my 40th b-day. It was also a way to celebrate their recent milestone b-days: Lois turned 35, and Cindy turned 30. One person described our group as “the old lady, the middle aged lady, and the squirt!” : )

I was feeling pretty apprehensive about going on this trip with my current workload, but somehow couldn’t pass it up either!

Lois picked me up in a rented PT Cruiser, and then we headed to the church to pick up Cindy. After we were on the road a little while, a magic envelope appeared with lots of green stuff in it. “It’s magic,” said Lois, “and I guess we get to use it for our trip!”

Our first stop was in Baltimore, MD. We arrived VERY late at night to a warm and welcoming Dan and Jessie – old friends from church. They had everything ready for us – even a special batch of gluten free chocolate chip cookies!

The next morning, we were off again early to Charlotte, NC – our final destination. We stayed with my sweet cousin, Megan, her husband Fred, and their adorable kids – Freddy and Taylor, pictured above. Megan and Fred have an absolutely beautiful home near downtown Charlotte, and we felt like we were in a five star hotel with our comfy beds and in-room bathrooms! I just loved getting to know my little cousins-once-removed I believe it is!? Taylor and Freddy are just precious, and they are eagerly anticipating a new brother or sister in May. My cousin, Megan, is about the cutest pregnant lady I’ve ever seen, and it was really fun to catch up on their lives in North Carolina.

We also got to catch up with some other old church friends, Matt and Mya – and new baby Madeleine. Matt used to lead worship for our church here in MA, but moved to North Carolina to go to seminary. Mya is homemaker, mommy, and baker/cake decorator extraordinaire. We even went to a coffee shop where Mya’s homemade gluten free peanut butter bars, homemade yogurt and GF granola are for sale. You should definitely check out Mya’s website – Flutterbye Cakes. She’ll accommodate any special needs diet!

And then it was the occasion for which we had driven over 20 hours – the Sandra McCracken concert. First, we had dinner here – and I had my first fish tacos – Mahi Mahi – yum. (And they were very GF friendly!) And guess who Lois spotted eating at the bar, not too far from our table?? Yep…it was Sandra! (The restaurant was right next to the concert venue.)

And guess who was just nonchalantly standing near the door of the concert venue near her CD table as we walked in?? You guessed it. So, we got to meet her, got to tell her our favorite songs, and even confessed that we had driven a VERY long way just for her!

Sandra seemed pleased to learn that Cindy, our current worship leader, (in the purple shirt) has used a couple of Sandra’s songs in our services – said she always wonders if her music is filtering down into the churches. She asked if we had any requests, and of course, we had SEVERAL! She was a very sweet (and very tiny!) lady.

We got a shout out from the stage before she sang “Halfway” (I think) – “for some friends who drove all the way from Massachusetts.” And I did have the privilege of getting her water from the bar and taking it to the stage before she began. Yep, we were groupies, and it was great!

Oh – and all those 20 hours of driving? Well, Lois and Cindy were gracious enough to be the only 2 drivers for the rental car. (You have to pay extra for a third!) So… that meant that for most of those hours, I sat in the backseat and read The Northwest Ordinance, et al., re-learned how to factor polynomials and solve quadratic equations, and studied the philosophies of Democritus, Socrates, and Plato! Thankfully, car sickness has never been an issue for me. And thankfully the magic envelope held out not only for fish tacos, and peanut butter bars, but also for plenty of Starbucks stops all along the way!

Leaving you with some new favorite lyrics from Sandra:

Oh, the pain
It makes you feel alive
Oh, the broken heart is the tie that binds
And I pray to God these things will be made right

When the morning shines
On tear stained eyes
Oh, we shall overcome
The Father gave the Son
To break the curse we are under

Oh, the pain that no man can escape
Oh, the sting of death, the empty grave
And I pray to God where comfort has no place

When our tired eyes look through the veil
The colors are so pale, but we raise high the sail
And call the winds to carry us home
Call the winds to carry us home

from “The Tie That Binds”

Oh – if you’ve never listened to her music, you simply must! So thorough, so meaningful, so authentic. Real life stuff. Real life in Christ.

So thankful for friends, cousins, and the Lord’s provision in so many ways.