Dear, Dear 5th Graders,

Today is the 1st anniversary of my heart surgery. One year ago today, I was on the surgeon's table getting the valve in my heart fixed!

I want to thank you all again from the bottom of my heart for all your help last year. You checked my blog, and wrote notes, and sent all your loving, healing thoughts my way. Every single thing you did made a HUGE difference to me and helped me heal. I will remember each of you and I will always be thankful. Always remember that what you think and what you do really does make a difference in the world - it did to me!

Much love - Ms. Lucas

Hi, Frost Lake 5th Graders!

Hello, hello Everyone!

Are you excited about the new year starting? We've been working really hard over at the school to get everything ready just for YOU!! So, we'll see you on Tuesday - can't wait!! Enjoy the weekend, and see you soon!

All the best -

Ms. Lucas :-)

Welcome Back to School!!

Hi Everyone -

How have you all been this summer? It has been a long, relaxing time for me, and I feel GREAT!!  I am ready to see you all soon!

Me enjoying a neighborhood picnic.

I wanted to thank you again for everything you did to help me get better after my surgery - your good thoughts and notes on my blog really helped me more than I can tell you. I will always hold a special place for each of you in my "new" heart!!

I hope you all have a wonderful year in 5th grade, whether you are at Frost Lake or somewhere else.

All the best to each of you, always -

Ms. Lucas (Sandy :-)

Summer Break!!!

Congratulations, Kids! You are 5th graders!!!
Be good this summer, read ALOT, and come back in the fall!


Lots of Love,


Ms. Lucas (Sandy:-)

Hello!

Hi All,

I hope you all had a great 3-day weekend! Yesterday (Memorial Day) was very beautiful in the afternoon! I like it when the temperature gets up above 75. I lived on the equator for several years, in Malaysia, and I LOVE hot weather. The hotter the better!

Well, things are going along very well here. I continue to do my daily walks and such. I just finished a book titled, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. It is a very interesting, well-written story about a man who fought in World War II (he was in the war from about 1942-1945, when it ended). The things he went through were very difficult, but he survived, and went on to live a full life (he is actually still alive - he is 98 years old now!). His plane was shot down over the Pacific Ocean, and he and two of his friends drifted in the ocean, in two small rafts, for 47 days. Many other very bad things happened, but he somehow kept going. Quite an interesting story.

What are you all doing these days? What are your plans for this summer? There are lots of interesting programs to get you out and doing interesting things. Here are a few links that you can check out - talk to your family about joining in!

• St. Paul Programs - The official St. Paul City page. Click on the link and you can look at a whole book of programs available in St. Paul.
• St. Paul Urban Tennis - Learn how to play tennis at a tennis court near you!
• Sprockets - This website let's you type in your address, and then finds summer programs that are near you!
• East Side Arts Council - provides accessible, low-cost or free arts programs to children and families.
• St. Paul Public Library - Don't forget all the cool things you can do at the library - read, listen to books, use computers - and LOTS of other stuff, all summer long! Don't forget the bookmobile!

I hope you find something you like - there are a lot of other things going on this summer - and you probably have some good plans for yourself!

All the best - I think of you often -

Ms. Lucas (Sandy :-)

Quick Hello!

Hi All,

Well, I don't have much to report, other than I am continuing to recuperate. I am walking every day, several times. It still hurts where they made the incision and did the surgery, but that will get better soon, too.

I have been reading a lot - mostly mystery and detective novels. I am currently reading one titled The Lincoln Lawyer. They made it in to a movie, which apparently was not very good, but the book is o.k.

What are you reading these days? My neighbor, who is also in 4th grade, gave me a book called The Lightning Thief. It was really fun. The setting is in the present, but it's about a boy whose father is one of the Greek gods from Mt. Olympus and his mom is just a human. This causes him quite a lot of trouble, but he seems to handle it.

What else is going on with you there at school? I hope you all are doing your work and enjoying yourselves. Let me know what's going on!

All the best -
Ms. Lucas (Sandy:-)

Home in Minnesota

Good Morning!

Guess where I am sitting in this picture to the left. If you guessed that I am sitting in my own front yard, you are correct!! I am back in Minnesota!

I flew home last Thursday. The people at the airport could not have been nicer. They put me in a wheelchair and pushed me right through security with no problem.

Me in wheelchair

One word here on people in wheelchairs... I noticed that often adults don't make eye contact with you if you are in a wheelchair, but kids almost always look at you and say hi. Maybe this has something to do with your height when you are sitting in a wheelchair - I was a lot closer to the height of most kids than adults - but in the future, I will definitely make an effort to connect!

I was very nervous about flying, but there was no reason to be. The flight was smooth from take-off to touch-down. Thank you, pilots!

Since arriving home, I am doing mostly the same things I was doing in New York:

Walking

Resting

Reading

Eating

Walking

Reading

Resting

Eating

And so forth.

Yes, I know this sounds a little boring - and honestly, it IS a little boring - but this is what my body needs to get better. As my doctor explained, it's like I have a broken bone right in the middle of my chest where they had to cut me open to work on my heart. They can't put a cast on it, like they would if I had broken  my arm or my leg, so I just have to take it easy until it heals.

As you can imagine, sitting still is NOT the easiest thing for me to do, so if you have any ideas for things I could do while I am getting better, definitely let me know!

What books are you reading these days? What are you doing in school? I know you have a few field trips planned before the end of the year. I hope you are continuing to do good work in the classroom so you can go enjoy your well-earned field trips!!

My mom and dad leaving New York

Well, that's all for now. My mom asked me to tell you all hi. I think she misses blogging! Maybe she will start her own blog!!

I hope you all are well.

All the best,

Ms. Lucas (Sandy :-)