Author Archives: burpobanter

summer’s last gasp

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It’s pouring outside. I can hear it as I type. It’s the kind of rainstorm that blows in from the Pacific and makes you want to stay inside curled up by the fire. Friday was the same way…one of those wet, cold, gray, just plain nasty days. It is, of course, not a surprise given that like clockwork, sometime right around Halloween the glory that is summer in Portland disappears as Mother Nature casts her wet spell over the region for the next several months.

Jeff recalls that he took the transition hard last year, but I’m the one who is having the hard time this year. It was around last weekend that the local weather guys and gals began sounding the warning sirens: For the first time in some crazy string of time, rain was headed our way; a storm was coming in Thursday night. The buzz began that the end of summer was imminent.

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pace yourself

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Today was the big day: the Jog-A-Thon! Ian did a great job and met his goal exactly by finishing with 14 laps in the 20 minutes. (The track is 200 meters – I’ll let others who enjoy math more than I do figure that one out.)

I volunteered to work the event and was on the morning shift, which worked out quite well since Ian’s class ran just after 9am. There’s definitely a pattern with these little athletes: They come out the gate really strong. As in, really WAY too strong. Then, by the end of the first lap or halfway into the second, they are on their first walking break. So the volunteer/parent mantra of the day is yelling out to the kids, “Pace yourself! Slow down!” Or when they were at the start line at our area – the little pep talk: “Now remember, don’t go too fast or you’ll get tired quickly…you have 20 minutes to run…slow and steady wins the race…” Yeah, well, we might as well be talking to a group of over-eager elementary school kids because… Oh, wait – maybe that was the problem?

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run, ian, run!

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So clearly I’ve been on a bit of a blogging hiatus since the beginning of August. Something got in the way of the time I like to spend blogging. You know – that little something we sometimes call real life. Or, online shopping. One of the two.

Anyway, I should probably feel ashamed that the first time I post in a while it’s to, well, beg for money. But in my own defense, you should know that – though tempting – it’s not for the Burpo Home Decor Fund. Alas, it’s to raise money for Ian’s school.

Of course, at first I was figuring we’d go knocking on some doors this weekend…maybe send out a few emails to family members. Then I read that these low-tech fundraising tactics are a thing of the past…even for cash-strapped public schools. Silly me!

So tonight Ian and I sat down and created his very own fundraising website in honor of the upcoming Raleigh Park Jog-A-Thon. The kids have a certain amount of time to see how many laps they can run around the track at school. Last year he ran 11 laps. This year his goal is 14. Kids accept pledges by the lap, or as the online site where you can oh-so-conveniently use your credit card, donate a flat fee.

Of course, there are prizes the kids can earn based on how much money they raise. Ian decided he wants his goal to be $500 so he can get a limo ride to lunch at the Spaghetti Factory with his principal, Mr. Rutherford. A noble goal, I believe. If the whole school raises $40,000, all the kids get an ice cream party. Woo hoo!

The school always depends on this fundraiser, but this year it might be more important than ever. Beaverton School District cut $37 million from their budget, which included laying off more than 200 teachers district-wide. Every school, including Ian’s, lost their librarian. This year there is a committee accepting volunteers to train to teach kids art literacy. The state of education in Oregon and across the country, really, is heartbreaking.

So what can you do to help? How about giving a kid $5 so maybe he can get a limo ride? Ian thanks you and Raleigh Park Elementary thanks you!

harold and the purple crayon

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My daughter is obsessed. As in, she seems to love, love, love reading (or hearing, I guess is more like it) Harold and the Purple Crayon. It is a really cute and magical book, I must admit.

If I let her, she’ll choose it as the book she wants me to read at bedtime pretty much every night. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. One night I cut it off at the pass as we were headed into her room after brushing teeth: “Elena, we’re not reading Harold and the Purple Crayon tonight.” Her: I want to read Harold and the Purple Crayon!” Me: “No, we read it every night…let’s read something else.” Her: Sniff, sniff. (As if I’d just banned her from seeing her best friend…) “Okay,” she said grabbing another book reluctantly – which, by the way, is usually My Truck is Stuck. Sigh.

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