A month before we fly.

Today, I went to the awards ceremony at my children's school. It was for the fourth and fifth graders who have made great improvements during the year. It was also to give the fifth graders a good send-off, because they will be moving up to Middle school in September. The principal was the speaker; he handed out certificates and talked about all the activities that the students had taken part in during the year. It was a fairly emotional assembly; I could tell that the teachers would miss the students, - well, some of them. It made me realise that time is moving on. The Summer holidays are upon us! And we will be leaving in a month. I am going to take my kids to Europe for six weeks to visit family and friends. We will fly into London, stay with my step-brother, then up to Scotland to be with my father for about ten days. Then, back down the country to Yorkshire where my sister and two nephews live. The beginning of August we will travel to Mallorca and stay with my mother's family for two weeks, and then we will fly to Girona where we will meet up with my husband for the last two weeks. He plans on getting some serious cycling in, and I just want to discover another part of Spain. I also hope to visit two friends who live in the south of France; it's the perfect opportunity. I can't wait. I will load up on inspiration, I'm sure. Believe me, there will be tonnes of podcast flowing after the Summer, from all the experiences we are going to have. There are no substitutes for beautiful european countries; I'm really looking forward 'going home' for a while. Travelling with four children, however, makes me feel a little nervous, but then again we will be with family most of the time, so that eases my nerves. One month and counting. We will have just enough time to finish up with baseball season, load up the computer with podcasts for my lovely listeners, and off we will go. I won't take my lap top with me, for fear of losing or breaking it. But, I will have a whole Summer of podcasts ready for you. So, here's looking forward to the Summer holidays! Grammar notes. Related vocabulary: a send-off, to hand out, to load up, for fear of... 1. We gave the newly wedded couple a great send-off before they flew to Paris. 2. A man on the street was handing out free concert tickets. 3. During Thanksgiving, we loaded up our plates with all kinds of good food. 4. I drove extra slowly this Winter, and put chains on the wheels, for fear of losing control of the car on the ice. // //