By Tim Hunt
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About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in add...
(More)About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in addition to writing editorials for more than 15 years. I have served as a director of many non-profits in the Valley and the broader Bay Area and currently serve as chair of Teen Esteem and on the advisory board of Shepherd?s Gate. I also served as founding chair of Heart for Africa and have travelled to Africa seven times to serve on mission trips. My wife, Betty Gail, has taught at Amador Valley High (from where we both graduated) since 1981. She and I both graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, as did both of my parents and my three siblings. Given that Cal tradition, our daughter went south to the University of Southern California and graduated with a degree in international relations. Since graduation, she has taken three mission trips and will be serving in the Philippines for nine months starting in September.
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Thinking back to my childhood days, this is a week that my mother would have celebrated that we were in school instead of on vacation.
Imagine dealing with four kids eager for Christmas and little to do with the big day still three or four or more days away. Instead students are working away in the classrooms in the valley districts until Friday. That’s a gift to parents and challenge for students to keep their eye on the ball.
It will be a stressful time for high school students paying attention to academics—it’s finals week. It important for finish the semester well and then settle into the Christmas spirit. That means focus. I suspect a note on a college application saying finals week fell just before Christmas to explain a poor grade may not carry too much weight.
The bonus is New Year’s week off, a week that business typically is back in full swing as of Jan. 2. Many resort areas, particularly those in Utah and Colorado, tend to get emptier the closer New Year’s Day comes and then there’s the next week. During my bride’s school teaching days, this was a perfect week to ski and find minimal lift lines and open trails.
The same is likely true for warm weather holiday destinations, although it’s been so warm around here that Pleasanton has qualified. Here’s hoping that the New Year brings some significant snow and rainfall. December has been a drought month.
Merry Christmas to you and yours. May you have a blessed and joyful celebration.
