Peer Pressured Into Back to School

I'm in denial right now. I've been turning my head from every back to school ad in the paper and all of the big displays at every store. I get like this every August. I try to hold onto summer so hard, because I hate the inevitable. You know, that season that starts with "W" and ends in "inter"? I don't need to remind you how much I love summer. And August always brings with it a blast of all things summer. The farmer's market is packed with produce. So much so, that I am once again overwhelmed. The days seem to linger, even though the sun is setting earlier and earlier every night.

But yet, September is knocking, like that grim reaper character. Luckily here in Michigan, there's a state law that schools can't start back until after Labor Day. I like that law. But I feel the back to school thing earlier because everyone around me (in other places) is feeling it already. Namely Mickey, who started back to school today for meetings. The kids come tomorrow. Already.

Because Mickey is back to school, I am feeling back to school. Mostly because during the summer, we talk on the phone nearly every day, for an hour on average. Once the school year starts, we usually talk on Saturdays, with an occasional weeknight. It's more scheduled, less summer like. I don't really like it.

So even though I have about 3 weeks until our school starts, I am still feeling like summer is ending. We do have our trip up north, which will be so fun, and will probably distract me from the inevitable. But in the meantime, I am feeling similar to how I did in high school. Back then, I didn't have a curfew (Stein thinks that is insane). But I think my mom was ingenious in doing so. She was giving us our freedom, yet probably knew that a.) we were good kids (most of us - ahem) and we wouldn't do anything crazy and b.) we would be out with friends who had curfews and we wouldn't stay out late if our friends weren't there.

Now that Mickey's back at school, I feel like I need to be back at school. Whoa, wait a minute, what am I talking about? Has this sudden blast of heat gone to my head? I mean, I feel like I need to squeeze out every last drop of summer in the next few weeks.

Pass the tomato salad, please.

Happy

After yesterday's post, I'm feeling a bit like Debbie Downer (say it with me, "Waah, waah"). So to make up for that post, here's what's making me happy lately:

• This recipe, that rivals that Paula Deen one I posted a while back. We had it with some leftover steaks, and a tomato, basil and goat cheese salad (drizzled with olive oil). A great meal to use some of the goodies we got from the farmer's market. It was so good, and perfect with a glass of red wine. Oh, and savored while sitting outside, of course.
• Speaking of sitting outside, I am loving the weather this summer. Everyday I hear people complaining about it. Stein and I keep asking ourselves, "What's not to like about this weather?" We have eaten dinner outside almost every single night this summer. We have gone on walks without breaking a sweat from hot temperatures or too much humidity. We have slept like babies with the cooler temperatures at night. And we have not used our air conditioning since sometime in June. (Now that I just said all of this, I'm sure it's going to change.)
• Re-discovering the library for things for me, not for my students. Things like CDs (Broadway show tunes anyone?!), magazines (to feed my obsession without the cost), and DVDs (haven't borrowed one yet, but they're there!).
• Reading. For pleasure. I finished the 6th Harry Potter, and now I'm reading the 3rd Twilight book. "Candy for the brain" as my mom calls books like those. I love them.
• Feeling like a kid in summer, but as an adult. The luxury of sleeping in, staying in my pajamas, catching up on TV, going wherever, whenever I want. I am grateful to have this luxury, believe me.
• Thinking and planning for our trip up north this month. I can't wait to be in a different place, exploring, eating and drinking our way through towns up there. Again, it's the anticipation that I love just as much as the trip itself.

What's making you happy? Enjoy it! Summer will be gone before we know it.

Frustration

So it's that time again. Target is telling us, Bed Bath and Beyond had a huge sign in front of their store telling us, and even Yahoo's web page mast is telling us.

It's Back to School time.

I'm not ready. I just finished summer school last Thursday, and most annoyingly, I don't have a job for fall. Sure, I can sub like I did last year, but really? I want a real job. One in a real classroom that's mine, where everyday the kids come in, hang up their coats, sit down and we learn. We read, do a little math, I read to them, do a little science, well, you get the picture. I want that.

The job market in Michigan is like everywhere else in this country, only worse. And the job market for teachers? Let's just say it's even worse than that. This May, there were 5 openings in the Ann Arbor schools, and 2,000 people applied. 2,000 people! How do you even begin to set yourself aside from anyone else when there are that many people? Back in the day, it was who you knew. I am very familiar with this system, having grown up in Chicago. But unfortunately, the system is now so objective (barring a few equal-opportunity laws) that everyone has an "equal chance". Yep, as equal and as easy as finding a needle in a haystack.

I feel like I've paid my dues. There was that crazy fifth-grade long term sub job I had nearly a year and half ago, followed by a summer school gig, and then the long-term library and computer teacher stint. A repeat of my summer school gig this summer should only build my experience, right? Well, at least I think so. And all of my friends and family think so.

I'm beginning to think that my time spent in the business world has jaded my switch into the world of education. I look at education so many times as a business and think that many aspects could be better managed and made more efficient with some system changes. But that doesn't happen overnight. If you thought the government was the only place with red tape, loopholes, and general nonsense, think again. So when I don't get a job, or even an interview, yet I have a lot of experience and glowing reviews, I'm at a loss. In the business world, I would have that job, and would be considered for a promotion already.

One person had the nerve to say to me, "So what are you going to do?" Like I would possibly go back to my job in the business world because I couldn't find a teaching job. Well, I left that job for a reason: to follow my passion, to go back to school to get my certificate, and to get a job. Even though all of those things haven't happened, I haven't lost my passion, and I still love to teach.

I will most likely be a sub again this fall, only this time it probably won't be a long-term sub position. I will be in the pool of people who stalk the computer each night, hoping that a teacher somewhere is sick, or faking sick, and needs a sub. I will be one of the people who gets phone calls at 6:00 am even though I already said I was "off" in the system, wanting to know if I could sub for a random person. Honestly, I'm not looking forward to that. My friend Matt told me that he loved subbing. "I always got great ideas when I subbed!" I'm going to sound bitter when I say this, but I have enough good ideas, and I'm ready to use them in a real classroom. Oh, and if I need more, I can search the internet.

Too many people have said to me, "Your time is going to come." Or, "There is a classroom just waiting for you." Well, that time is now. And that classroom is waiting for me to put up bulletin boards and arrange desks. Let's go. I'm ready.

Yep, Still Here

Just haven't had much to write about lately. School is still going well, and I can't believe we are a little more than halfway done. The days are flying by lately, and I think it's because I have a good combination of work and fun in each day. I could definitely deal with this all year!

I know a lot of people around here have been complaining about the weather, but honestly, I've been loving it. It's been great for sleeping, and it hasn't been unbearable in school (we don't have a/c there). It has also allowed Stein and me to sit outside almost every single night. I love that.

We've been eating light meals, or making things that could carry over for a couple meals. I don't want too much to do in my afternoons, okay?! But two recipes have stood out in the past two weeks that were really good, and also used some of the seasonal produce we find all around us now.

Grilled Pizza
This recipe was the one we used, because we had a lot of the ingredients on hand. I bought a pizza dough from Trader Joe's (and the marinated artichokes), so the prep time was really short. It was really good. We thought that the next time we make it, we may put grilled chicken on top as well. There were other recipes on foodtv.com for grilled pizza, so this may be the summer of grilled pizza. Stay tuned!

Potato and Green Bean Salad
Last week I went to the farmer's market and was overwhelmed by the abundance of produce. Remember how I said that summer's farmer's market brings this overwhelming feeling for me? It hit me right in the face that day. Swarms of people stood in lines to grab blueberries, blackberries, tomatoes, and almost every other fruit or vegetable you could think of. But the green beans. Oh, the green beans. And the potatoes. Why did I think potatoes were a fall thing? Regardless, I came home with a sack full of produce and immediately thought, what the heck am I going to do with this? I found this recipe, which worked out perfectly. Stein and I are still trying to decide if we like it better refrigerated or at room temperature. Either way, it's a nice light potato salad that's really easy to prepare.

Happy summer eating to you!

Friends and Fritatta

A couple weeks ago, I had my good friends Regina and Andrea over for coffee. (Well, they drank coffee, and I drank water.) I decided since they were coming over at breakfast time to make some breakfast foods for us to nibble. I decided on a fritatta, since Regina tries to stay away from gluten. I found this recipe to use as a guide, and added some fresh asparagus to it. Since I had most of the ingredients on hand or in the garden, it worked out well. I made a blueberry and strawberry salad to go with it, and Andrea brought some fruit and some baked goodies.

Whenever the three of us are together, the time just flies. So much so, that we eventually look at our watches and realize that 3 or more hours have gone by. We have known each other for three years now. We met in one of the classes I was taking. Regina was our teacher, and Andrea was one of my peers. We have been in touch since then, and our friendships have grown.

This day, we talked and talked, and moved around the yard to avoid the sun, for 5 hours! By the time they left my house, the three of us were sitting in a row along the side of the garage in the only piece of shade in the yard. I guess we should've known how late it was by the amount of times we moved around the yard. But the only thing we were paying attention to was each other. Catching up, telling stories, offering advice. Just what good friends do. What a great morning/afternoon it was.

Finding My Way Back

I started teaching summer school on Monday. It has been great for the most part. Today, which is the last day of the week, was a little shaky, but I think we were all ready to be done for the week. I really can't complain at all, because I have eight students in my class. Oh, and guess what? I teach with my friend Mandi. In the same room. Yes, we have eight kids, and two teachers. Talk about a dream. Talk about an excellent ratio for the kids. Talk about perfect for summer.

In the midst of all of the math, reading, and writing, I am finding my way back to teaching. Although I had the long-term sub gig this year in the media center, to me it wasn't exactly teaching. To me that was more like being a supervisor.

In a regular classroom, you see the same kids everyday. You learn about their families, learn what they love to do when they're not in school, learn about the books they love to read. In return, they learn a lot about you. They learn what buttons they can push to get a reaction and they learn when they have crossed a line.

I didn't have this "learning" in the regular classroom. I saw all of the kids in the school, which meant that maybe I would see each of them twice in a week. I didn't really get a feel for who they were as individuals, and they didn't get a feel for who I was, either. The director of the summer program put it well when he said, "You're a relationship person. You value the relationship with your students which motivates them to learn." I couldn't have said it better.

I'm so glad that I've found my way back this week. It feels right, and it's right where I should be.

How Much is Enough?

You ever notice when you hear about something or read about it, it seems like every other article or news story you encounter is about the same thing?

I've been experiencing that lately with living simple. Or reducing abundance. Or reducing, recycling, reusing. You get the point. I know that this is the result of the economy, everyone is cutting back, taking stock, and looking around to see what's really necessary. I know in our house there are a lot of things that we could get rid of. Things that haven't been touched in years. Things like, why do we need 2 more plastic ice trays sitting in the basement when we already have four of them in rotation in the freezer?

I told you about my friend Lisa (of Lather, Rinse, and Repeat) who turned me on to the excess toys article? Well, lately she took it a step further. She locked up all of her kids' toys in a closet, except for a few favorite stuffed animals and art supplies. She did break down one day and take out the Lincoln Logs, but that's it. And you know what? The kids are fine. Doing art projects and going to the pool have become much more fun than the 500 pieces of plastic strewn across the floor.

So where am I going with this random post? Oh yeah, the picture. In that picture you will recognize the plastic tabs that come on bread products. I think any sane person would probably throw them out when the bread was done. But we (I) save them. Without the risk of being like my Great Aunt Ann, a product of the depression, who had a shoebox full of them when she died, we actually use them. Instead of putting things like frozen peas into another plastic bag, we just cinch the top of the current bag with a plastic tab. Or my oatmeal that comes in a plastic pouch can just be cinched as well instead of being put into another plastic container.

So have we hearkened back to the "olden days"? Has our society seen so much excess that now it is time to pull back the reins a bit? It obviously coincides with the economy, unemployment, etc. I don't know if all the articles and posts about conserving are encouraging me to do things like this. But it just feels good doing it. I know I am not saying anything new here, but: If something can be reduced, reused, or recycled, then why not? It just seems frivolous not to.