I'm feeling what I'm sure many are...I'm losing track of days. It's been more than a month since we've entered the "self-isolation" phase of this pandemic, and I think I was like many people and had planned on using this time for self-improvement. Well, I don't see many physical signs of improvement around here; either on myself or my physical surroundings. That is, unless you count my raised garden that a few clusters of greenery (basil, cucumbers, and something else I can't remember). Other than that, my office still looks like a tornado hit it, I still have a pile of birthday treats to get in the mail, and my son off-loaded a bunch of art supplies when he underwent his obligatory "isolation room renovation" (coming soon to HGTV - ooh, maybe I should trademark that idea). Oh, and I have improved on the number of times that I've baked in the last year from "fleetingly" to "almost daily". Cookies, bar cookies, lemon bread, lemon sponge cake, brownies...so there's that.
Something "major" did happen last week, though. As I may have mentioned, we had my mother's cat staying with us for the past month while my mother was recovering from a recent fall. When I took the cat back to my mom's new apartment, I discovered that the cat had chosen a corner of the room in which to do its business. It was gross. I had to throw away an 9'x12' area rug, a basket that contained my special Christmas books, and a futon mattress. Several Lysol sprays, chemical treatments, and new accessories later, the room is back to normal. I don't like that cat.
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I don't know how I managed it, but a blog post from last Thursday went unposted until about five minutes ago. It takes someone with a complete lack of technical prowess to accomplish something like that.
The last 72 hours have been a blur. My mother moved from her independent living apartment to assisted living, and with that came a TON of unexpected twists and turns. The first apartment they had her slotted for was the size of a postage stamp (her bed would not have fit in the room), and her window looked directly onto a parking lot. My mother is a woman who deeply guards her privacy, so this was not a good situation. Some quick wrangling on mine and my sister's resulted in the procurement of a beautiful corner apartment, overlooking the city. All it took then was two movers, plus me, to get ALL of her crap from one location to another. I honestly believe that she has every Christmas CD known to mankind and untold numbers of wash cloths. There was a slight moment of panic on Saturday afternoon when I could not locate my step-father's urn, but I eventually unearthed it (maybe not the right choice of words??). On other fronts, and in true form, I have finally taken time to begin watching "Schitt's Creek". It's an extremely quirky series that just ended its original run last week. It has been on my radar for quite some time because it stars Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara - two of my favorite comedic actors - and I finally bit the bullet last week and began to watch. Time to see if I can get this to post. Fingers crossed for a more subdued week. I'm stealing from (and altering) a Rolling Stones song. One would think that, with staying home all the time, I would have time to actually accomplish tasks. However, that does not seem to be the case. For instance, I have missed the last two days' worth of blog posts. That's not a positive when I'm trying to set an example for myself and others. Fortunately, I'm not frittering my time way binge-watching television or traveling down a subreddit rabbit hole. However, I cannot seem to focus myself long enough to actually accomplish anything. I'm jumping around from task to task, hoping that I can get "just enough" done to feel good about myself. It's not working.
The biggest thing I have hanging over my head is a move for my mother. That's happening tomorrow. Once again, though, it's not a simple task. Because of the restrictions in place at my mother's care facility, tomorrow will be a highly-choreographed series of trying to pack up an apartment while maintaining a 6-foot safety barrier around yourself. Add to that the fact that the apartment is packed to the gills with treasures and trinkets from my mother's 85 years on earth and suddenly I'm faced with a seemingly-insurmountable task. Things are going to get interesting, for sure. Not dwelling on the negative, one incredibly bright spot this week has been the meetings with 7th & 8th grade. Seeing familiar faces, hearing the chatter of discussion - book-related or not - has been an absolute joy. It's nice to be able to sit down and discuss books without the pressure of grades. We can simply talk about books for the sheer enjoyment of it. What a novelty. What a gift. What a joy to have the gift of time to do this. Maybe time is on my side after all. The title refers to two texts I received from my older son last night (Sunday). Our family had just finished a Zoom call with two other families, and there were 20 of us in total on the call (3 of the people popped in for just a moment, so I don't know that you could call them active participants; still, they count).
We call ourselves the "Drodenpriesters" - an amalgamation of the three families' sir names. What started off as casual friendships among six adults in the late 80s/early 90s has exploded into a multi-generational mix. My husband and I brought the first baby into the mix in 1996, and the others followed quickly. At one point, when we took annual vacations together in the early 2000s, and one of the women was invariably pregnant with a child to add to next year's tally. In all , there are 11 offspring. I hesitate to say "kids" because 7 of those 11 are now adults, and 4 of those 7 are now in long-term committed relationships. The family continues to grow. The 90-minute "meeting" was initially conceived as a get-together for the parents, as we hadn't had a chance to catch up in a while. There were loose plans to get the clan together this summer, but we hadn't solidified anything - so this was as good a time as any to continue he discussion. With adult children heading in their own directions, it's harder and harder to get one family together, let alone three. I initiated the meeting with the two other women, and then the three of us sent invitations out to our broods, inviting them to pop in and say hi. What resulted, though, was better than I could have even imagined. Not only did all the kids pop in to say 'hi' - most of them stayed on the entire time. We got to hear about post-graduate plans, chicken coops, jobs, and everything else. Honestly, I could not have asked for a better night. And I'm not the only one who thought it either, based on my son's texts. In this time where we're cut off from so many, I'm making an honest effort to connect with others. Phone calls. Zoom chats. Cards. Letters. Little reminders that I'm not alone. But yeah - I miss everybody, too. I want to use today's space to share a creative idea that a friend did for her son's birthday. We're all feeling the pressure and frustration these days, but imagine turning 7 and not being able to have a party or see friends. Can you relate?! (I'm sure you can.)
To top it off, this friend is in the military and she (and her family) is stationed in Germany. Fortunately, they've lived there for more than a year so they're well established, have a solid friend base, and have made it 'home'. But with all four of her children's birthdays coming - and the youngest being first - she wanted to create a fun solution that would keep him entertained, allow him to "interact" with others, and let him know that he's loved. Enter the scavenger hunt! First, she recruited FB friends to be involved. She then wrote clues that would lead her son to different gifts hidden around the house. There's money, there's candy, there's a hockey game...everything to bring a 7 year-old joy! Enter me. I was given the task of leading the boy to the clothes dryer, where he would be showered with cash! (Ok - $7. But remember when you were 7...$7 was like a MILLION dollars. All the gum it could buy.) Wanting to take it "next level", I decided to show a bit of the desert southwest. So, with the help of my husband, we trekked out to the desert, forged through scrub, dodged a half-eaten ground squirrel carcass, and braved the elements to film the segment. In reality, I walked out my back gate, walked about 30 steps in order to stand next to a cactus (a novelty for kids living in Europe!), and filmed my clue. I did have to dodge the eviscerated rodent, though. (*gag*) What's the point of all this?! Filler, mostly. But no! It's to demonstrate how much our lives are enriched through creativity. In a recent class I took, I learned (confirmed, actually - this is a long-held belief of mine) that the #1 skill employers are looking for now and into the future is CREATIVITY. And how do we become creative? By doing. Sculpting. Reading. Drawing. Playing music. Cooking. Playing games. Dancing. Moving. And yes...writing. *I want to point out that my original headline for this was "A Special Birthday Treat" but now, upon reaching the end, I realized that it wasn't the right fit so I went back and changed it. It's ok to revise one's writing - I wanted to remind people of that. Today's entry will be brief, as there is much to accomplish. I'm getting discussion/meeting times set, and I'm excited to begin digging in to our novels (The Giver and The Hobbit, respectively). From this point on, it's a matter of character. People can choose to keep learning, expand their minds, and prepare themselves for what lies ahead (and it's not going to be easy, I can assure you), or they can stuff off and take the easy way out. I'm reminded of the quote - most often attributed to basketball coaching legend John Wooden: "the true test of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching."Since Mr. Krause made the announcement about grades, people's interest/activity has plummeted. That's sad, because when you get into a job, you don't receive a "grade" for every task that you do. Your overall performance/behavior and the cumulative performance you give determines how successful you are. Just because something isn't our "job" doesn't mean we should ignore it.
Consider this analogy. I'm a quarterback - and I throw an interception. Is it my job to try to stop the person who caught the ball and is barreling toward the end zone? My primary function is to throw the ball. It's not my "job" to tackle. However, since I am a member of the team, shouldn't I be aware of the runner and try to stop him? Many of you who are active in sports are still running, still lifting, still watching your diet. Why? You aren't playing right now - what's the use? The reason I hear is, "I have to maintain my stamina so that when we're playing again, I'm ready." Exactly. Maybe it's yesterday's migraine. Maybe it's the fact that I am REALLY missing my daily hugs. Or...maybe it's the eviscerated carcass of the ground squirrel that greeted me outside the gate this morning on my way to refill bird seed. (Thanks, Coop!) Regardless, I'm a loon* who's off her game.
I have to admit (or did I already admit this?) - I get weepy whenever I get an email from one of my students. Even in the face of this uncertainty, they're pumping out quality work. Q used the word "spiel"; Ishy wrote an amazing haiku. ZachO. (whose name I must write like this; otherwise it self-corrects to "You") pumped out poem after poem after poem and they're all GENIUS. I miss being in the room with all that energy and creativity. Can we capture that in Zoom format? It remains to be seen, and that's today's goal. To set up Zoom meetings and get excited about seeing faces again. So what am I waiting for? *-today's word of the day Well...the word came down yesterday...we will not be returning to TCDS to finish out our year. Instead, we'll finish it from behind screens. I've known the information for 24 hours now and I still don't think that it's properly processed. No more asking Ashley (or Adore...or Gabi...) to change the date for me. No more breaking up the mob behind the lockers before 2nd period (and 5th period...and 6th period). No more asking 6th period if anyone wants to share writing and watch as a dozen hands fly in the air, and I think to myself, 'Well, there goes what I had planned today but who cares - this is more important'.
Now what? We're still officially "in session" even though we're not in the physical buildings. I wish that people would stop saying that school is over - we're still teaching. Kids are still working (well, some kids are still working but that's for another time). Yes, circumstances are different but this is an opportunity to really dig in, make students slow down, and READ WHAT THEY'VE WRITTEN. I've noticed a nasty habit of students blazing through an assignment without stopping to read the directions. Can I tell you how many emails I've had to answer about journals? (Which, by the way, if you're still reading NO you don't have to journal every day - only when asked to do so. However, if you are journaling daily - GOOD FOR YOU! You'll have a wonderful historic record of your time that you will share somewhere down the line. I know it's ok to be sad, and I get so so sad when reading what people have written. I miss those faces. I miss (some of) the talking. And I miss the energy when everyone is into what they're doing. Now my job is to try and find a way to make some of that energy appear online. That's what I need to do...but first I need to stop wallowing. Ok - here we are. The beginning of a new week. I needed some "me" time this weekend and, as a result, I'm flying by the seat of my pants today. It'll be a day of catching up on journal entries, planning what the rest of the semester might look like, and cleaning. Always cleaning.
I had seven wonderful, uninterrupted hours of peaceful solitude this weekend. It sounds funny to be reveling in solitude since that's all we seem to be doing lately, but my husband and son went for a hike on Saturday and that left me with the house to myself. It was heavenly. And what did I do with those marvelous minutes? Cleaned, of course. I wiped down fans, vacuumed the couch cushions, and deep-cleaned surfaces in the way that my fastidious, cleaning-obsessed mother trained me. She could have come through the house with a white glove and I would have passed the test with flying colors. The other highlight of my weekend occurred when "Coop" - our resident Coopers Hawk - dropped by for an extended visit. I stood like a statue for more than seven minutes while I videotaped him hopping around our wall, jumping onto our fountain, and drinking the water. He is so magnificent to observe. I will try to post a video (not that the video is action-packed, but he's beautiful to watch). Ok - on to conquer week two. I'm expecting a bit more from everyone this week, but it's completely doable. I'm trying to mix the practical and the fantastical: practical as in "what can we learn/do that will be useful out of school" and fantastical in terms of "what kind of escape can I provide from the world around us?". Sometimes we need a little escapism in our lives. Today was ROUGH. Not so much from an 'oh my gosh I have so much work to do' standpoint, but an 'oh my gosh the amount of work I have to do requires a lot of mental energy' standpoint. However, I feel incredibly fortunate that I have the time here at home to get through all of the seemingly mundane tasks, in addition to the important ones that I'm having to do. Hopefully that feeling continues.
From the looks of things, people are getting the hang of the online assignments. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading people's journals. I am taking the time to comment on everyone's, so it's, of course, taking longer than I initially thought. They aren't "due" until tomorrow (Friday) afternoon, so the inevitable flood (hyperbole) of emails will hit my inbox tomorrow. Yay - something to do over the weekend. Highlight of the day? I was sitting in front of a large picture window having a video meeting when a large hawk flew right toward the window. It looked like it was going to land on my head. The underside of his wings were striped, and his talons were golden. It was absolutely gobsmacked. And now it's time to hit the hay (idiom). We're almost at the end of week 1, and I have no idea of how long this will last. Numbers of people affected are increasing exponentially each day. But like the title says, keep on keepin' on... |
AuthorI am a teacher. I am a mom. I am a wife. I am an imperfect human being. ArchivesCategories |