Hurricane cleanup & subbing

My husband has been gone this week on a Sophomore class trip (with his school) to the coast of East/Southeast Texas for beach cleanup and boardwalk rebuilding. This area was hit badly by hurricane Rita this past summer, and on up to 100 miles inland. These folks have kind of been "forgotten" because the damage that Katrina did and the consequences of the other problems that arose again and again after Katrina got much more press. Rita victims have turned to alternate sources of aid.

Hubby said that his eyes have been opened this week. It has been six months since the hurricane, and it is still a disaster down there. It rained on him and the students and other chaperones most of the week. I hoped they realized that they get to come home to a nice house with running water, unlike some of the folks they have helped this week. Even though camping and eating in the rain is miserable, I hope it helped them to have more compassion for those who are still doing without...all across the coastline from Texas to Florida, because of the various hurricanes last summer.

On the fun side, they found a dead alligator on the beach and collected some of its bones. Hubby wants to use some of them in the next hand-crafted mandolin that he makes :-). This will likely be his "Texas" mandolin, made from mesquite and/or bois d'arc wood.

While The Hubster was gone, I ran the afterschool program for him. What an interesting time! Glorified babysitting, actually. Thankfully, I've had some help. This is not the first (nor do I suspect the last) time that I've filled in for him.

It is enjoyable, actually, to have this odd contradiction of homeschooling and also volunteering at my husband's school. These people are a little like family. Many of them have seen my children grow up from infanthood. I have been on trips with some of the classes as a chaperone. Some of the teachers have taken my kids along on field trips and school trips, giving them apprenticeship opportunities as well. They have been a tremendous blessing in our lives for about sixteen years.