A trip down memory lane

While summer is not officially over, with students (and teachers!) heading back to school, football starting and yes, even the leaves are beginning to change color, all signs point toward the end of summer.

For all the big plans I made this summer, sadly, not all of my dreams became a reality. But that is not to say summer was a total bust. We kicked off the summer by going to Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City. I am not a fan of water parks, but surprisingly, I had a great time, as did the kids, which was most important. It made for a fun getaway for the family and one that I am sure we will make again, if only for the awesome chicken sandwich that I had for dinner one night. It was HUGE and delicious!

Back in 1983, my brother Tim, sister Raeann and I, ventured to Traverse City with Grandma and Grandpa Wellington. Grandma lived there in the early part of the 1900’s when her father was an employee at the State Hospital. I have a picture of grandma and I sitting on the front porch of her old house from that trip, but have only been back to Traverse City once since then and I could not remember where the house was.

Once we got settled in at Great Wolf, I hopped on Facebook and sent a message to a friend that lives up there to see if she had any idea where the house might be. I showed her the picture and said it was on the grounds of the old State Hospital. She responded back saying that she LOVES that area and goes there all the time as they are redeveloping it and said she would look for the house later that day.

A few hours later, I received a message back from her with a picture of her standing in front of the house. Coincidentally, the house was just a few miles down the road from where we were staying.

Before heading out of town, we located the house, which sits in the middle of a bunch of buildings, something I did not recall from my visit 33 years earlier! Unlike last time, the house was boarded up with graffiti on the side. I don’t know what the plans are for the house, but by the looks of it, I am not sure it will be around much longer, which saddens me.

All in all, it was a nice, quick trip down memory lane as I was able to relive a treasured moment from my past.

We opted to stay close to home this summer, but stayed plenty busy. One daughter participated in a dance “boot camp” and both of our girls took part in art classes at the Carnegie Center, which they did last year as well and loved it. We spent time at the in-laws for some fun at the lake, ran through sprinklers, walked in parades to support my cousin, Judie Ratering, in her re-election bid as County Treasurer, visited the beautiful town of St. Joseph for the first time (shocking, isn’t it?), took part in a few Vacation Bible Schools and had some wonderful quality time with our wonderful neighbors up and down the street. And that is just scratching the surface and explains why our summer seemed to fly by and some of the work was not completed. However, the memories we made this summer as a family: Priceless!

As we head back to school, keep your children’s teachers/classrooms in mind when it comes to school supplies. Yes, those supply lists can seem long and daunting and money is not always readily available. Teachers understand that! At the same time, teachers spend on average of about $500 or more of their own money on supplies and other items for their classroom to help ensure that each child as a successful year. Remember, teachers don’t have a say in how schools budget their money. In fact, when budgets need to be trimmed, schools make cuts in the arts or do away with librarians or other personnel as well as slashing money for supplies while at the same time trying to find funding for technology, security, repairs and other related items.

In the course of a school year, students go through supplies pretty quick . Teachers aren’t asking for supplies for themselves but rather for their students, your children, to use on a daily basis.

Submitted by Mark McGlothlen