In this whirlwind we call the “last week of school,” there’s a lot to pack in. My first graders and our two partner classes made teddy bears and they are the cutest things you ever saw.

We had a Teddy Bear Parade around the whole school on Thursday and the happiness was heartwarming. That night was the Coffin School barbecue organized by our parent group, Community for Coffin, and the line of hundreds went around the corner at the Junior High.

It was fun to see our kids and their families smiling and eating and just plain catching up. And, it was chilly enough for us to wear our brandy new “Coffin Elementary School” fleece vests (also provided by CFC.) What a lucky person I am to work at such a special place; but, school’s out for summer.

Molly Bogart graduated on May 12 from Susquehanna University, one of 35 summa cum laude candidates out of the graduating 500. Her degree is in political science with a minor in Spanish. Beth, Kim and Rob, as well as my sister Tracie made the trip to join Hannah, Bruce and me for the weekend.

On Saturday we attended the Baccalaureate, which took place in the beautiful campus chapel. The chaplain was retiring and so it was especially meaningful for many of the students and faculty as he was clearly a well loved and much valued thread in the Susquehanna tapestry.

He spoke eloquently of the challenges of navigating this life and no one could have left feeling anything but hopeful and uplifted. The music was incredible and the acoustics in this place are unbelievable. I doubt that I have ever heard anything as beautiful. The graduation ceremony itself was lovely; the speaker was Allan Goodman, President of the Institute of International Studies.

When all was said and done, we took pictures, laughed, cried, visited some of Molly's favorite haunts, then hit the road, two cars and a truck full of an undergraduate career, taking home a much different person than we had dropped off four years ago and, I would add, a lot more stuff.

Two friends, Kara Eichelberger and Kirstin Berger, came home with her and braved the early May cold for a few nights on the island. Molly then headed to Orono for a week to attend the Maine NEW Leadership Institute for women interested in government, politics, law, etc. She loved it. This summer she will be working for the Maine Department of Education in the Migrant Education Program. Kudos to Molly.

My cousin John Ayer has been at our cottage for the past two weeks. Weather notwithstanding, I think he’s had a nice time relaxing and catching up with museums in the area, notably Owls Head Transportation Museum. Have you been there? Check it out.

My grapevine isn’t up to snuff, but I gather that Carol and Peter Burvill are in residence and the Woolsons have arrived from Arizona. Congratulations to Allan Hutchinson on his engagement. Looking forward to meeting Ruscka.

Is there a columnist out there who would like to take over for a few weeks until the Ladies Improvement Society meeting circulates the sign up sheet? I’ve got things scheduled for the next couple of weeks … Carol? Sue? Molly? Beth or Rob? Pat? Susan? Sara?

OK, summer. Any time now.