Update

Yesterday I received good news. My internship position still exists and everyone has agreed that it is a valuable position. My to-be supervisor, Lee Ann, called with the good news and told me she agreed to cut other programs if necessary to keep me. She doesn't think it will come to that, but I am flattered and impressed. I feel honored that she is impressed enough with my skill set to fight for me and that they value the position enough to sustain it over time. Positions like this aren't super traditional, and it shows that the ESD is working toward some great long-term improvements in how they serve schools. 

In other news, my dissertation is making good progress (*keeps fingers crossed*), and I'm hoping to stay on track and be ready to defend the end of May. While I won't officially graduate until after I finish my internship, I will have jumped all the graduate school hurdles and will be able to put that huge task toward my PhD behind me in a timely manner. 

And in really unrelated news, I want to just say a quick note about how much I've enjoyed going to Ricky's HS girls basketball games this year. They are ranked #1 in the state and have not lost a game. The fun thing is four of these girls have been starters the last three years (since Ricky's been in his job), and we've seen them "grow up" as players and as people. We typically have them over once during the season for dinner, and I am sure we'll do it again this year. It's fun to have a house full of HS girls, but it makes me feel old. ;-) I feel like I know all of the girls on the team, although, most of them (with the exception of the senior starters we've known for three years) wouldn't know me if they saw me outside the context of the school. Isn't that funny how we can do that with sports? While they aren't the Boston Celtics (that Kyle and Laura get to support), they are pretty fun to watch. And I really enjoy getting to relax for a few hours a week at their games. So, let's go Lady Wolverines. Win State!

Oh, and don't forget to cheer for Kris on American Idol. Here's the video of his group round performance from last week--The White Chocolates (He's in the cardigan sweater).

American Idol Hollywood Week The White Chocolates