My dad passed away last Friday night at 6:30 pm. He had fought cancer for 2 years. Because of all the busyness of his passing and with my coming marriage in just 6 short days from now I have really found that my heart and my mind has wandered far from my room and from my kids. I guess that there are times when a teacher needs to just drop the dry erase marker and leave the kids behind to focus on other larger life issues. This is one of those times for me. I am still struggling a bit though. In the midst of all of this I still have not given the district benchmark exam. It is something that really does seem to matter. The scores will stay with my kids and with me for the time to come. I was thinking about sneaking back in on Monday and giving the test, but have decided to wait until after the memorial for my dad this Tuesday. It seems that there is always the tug and pull of personal and professional. For the next two days I am walking away from my job to remember my dad... decided...