Spinning Plates

After a good fifteen-minute-long rant that I spewed to Mickey on the phone today , she said to me, "It's just a a lot of new things at once. It's all going to work out." I knew she would have a morsel of sanity to calm me down. I also knew I had to tell her that I wasn't on the verge of tears and that I was in fact sleeping at night. These two things normally get turned on (or off) at the first sign of anything stressful. I wouldn't say I'm stressed, just busy. Just trying to figure things out.

I started summer school this week, and while it's something that I've done before, I've also been trying to handle things that I haven't done before. Things that normally a principal or secretary may do. But in my case, neither of those people is present. Welcome to my school! Where I do every job required! Oh, and teach? I can do that too! Would you mind spinning a few plates? Because the hundred I'm spinning may stop and crash to the floor if I spin those too.

Add to this some tutoring I'm doing on the side. Two of the kids just started with me this week, so I've been trying to plan the lessons I'm doing with them in addition to the lessons I'm planning for school. No problem! Maybe I can take this spinning plate show on the road!

I know that things are going to get better, that I will soon be in a routine again. That is, up until summer school ends. In three weeks.

Our running instructor reminded us that we have six weeks if we want to run a race in Flint. Then I saw the date on the application: August 28th. That's six weeks away? That's near the beginning of September. That's near the beginning of school. I don't even want to think about it. Didn't we just bring out the patio furniture?

Although I'm not stressed, I guess I'm feeling a bit behind the eight ball. We're making plans to see Karen and Sara in DC and also go up north once summer school ends. And once those trips take place? Well, it's almost time for school to start again. Funny how that school thing sneaks up on you when you're a teacher. A teacher spinning plates.

On Having Manners

I have been thinking about manners a lot lately. I guess I didn't mention that in yesterday's post. It's that attention span of a gnat, you see. Things come and go in a flash.

I have been amazed lately at the amount of nerve some people have. I grew up in a home where not expecting more than you deserve was the norm. I was taught that you get what you get, and unless you need to speak up because of unfairness, you don't. You don't inconvenience people. You get what you give. You are never entitled to something simply for the fact that you think you are entitled.

Lately I have taken notice of people who exhibit this sense of entitlement, this nerve. I don't know if there has been an increase in this type of behavior or if I am just noticing it more. Regardless, it never ceases to amaze me when I witness it.

I like to be mindful with manners. I say "excuse me" when I bump into someone, say "please" when I would like something, and say "thank you" when someone gives me something. I write thank you notes when someone gives me something. In my mind, you can never go too far with manners. It's a token of respect; of saying to someone, "I appreciate the effort that you're making for me".

A couple things happened to me in the last few days that made me stop and take a little more notice on the subject. Wednesday, I was at the farmer's market (ah, summer, thank you for Wednesday afternoons at the farmer's market) and got in line to buy some cherries. The woman behind the table asked what I wanted to buy. "A pint of cherries, please," I said. Then I looked to my left and saw a woman standing there. Instinctively, I turned to her and said, "I'm sorry, were you in line first?" She shook her head and said no. As I was paying for my cherries, the woman behind the table lowered her voice and said, "I have to give you a compliment. Thank you for asking that woman if she was next. There are some rude people who come here, trying to push their way in, and don't care who is in their way or who is next." I just shrugged my shoulders and said, "Oh, thanks, I don't like when people do that to me, so I wanted to make sure." She added, "Well, people also don't point out the positives enough, so I needed to share that with you." Okay, cherry lady, thanks for the manners lesson. Point well taken!

A few days later I headed to the garden center to buy some last-minute things we needed in the yard. As I left the store, I took notice of the woman who was in front of me in the checkout line, positioning her cart in the parking lot so it wouldn't roll away. She wasn't putting it in a place that carts were supposed to go, she was putting it in a place that was convenient to her. This is one of my pet peeves. It makes parking in the lot an obstacle course, and also makes the store employees go out of their way to collect rogue carts. After loading my trunk, I made my way back toward the store and slid my cart back in place where the other carts were located. As I walked away, I heard one of the employees say, "Thanks miss, for doing that, and have a great holiday weekend." It was nice to hear that, but I certainly didn't expect it. I just did what I thought needed to be done.

Where does rudeness or being impolite come into play? Where does it start? I'm baffled by it. I don't get it. And I guess that's a good thing.

Tangents

I don't know if it's the six months I spent with third graders, or what. My thoughts continue to bounce around my head like a kid in a bouncy house. I tried to sit down and read a book the other day, and I kept re-reading the same page about five times. During the school year, I had the attention span of a gnat, which was only good for reading magazine articles. Now that summer is here, there's really no change from that. Oh well.

So, I'm just going to go with this tangent-type thinking, and list what's been rattling around in this brain of mine. Memories and thoughts that I've been going over as I start preparing for summer school to start, make plans for the holiday weekend, and make travel arrangements to see some dear friends at the end of the month.

-So excited for the flowers and plants that are blooming in the yard. Thoughts of pesto and other basil-based dishes are dancing in my head.
-The moments on the trip to South Carolina when I laughed so hard I cried. Haven't done that in a while, and I loved it.
-The generous gifts that I received and am still receiving from the students in my class.
-Wanting to go to a baseball game, eat a hot dog and drink a beer.
-Savoring the low humidity and low temp days we've had this week. My favorite sleeping weather.
-Feeling so thankful for my friends and family. Their constant support, encouragement, and humor keeps me going.
-Still running. And running further. Not faster, but further.
-Grateful for summer. And having time to think and take things in.

Have a wonderful, safe, holiday weekend!

A Month Hiatus

Call it a sabbatical, of sorts. I've been gone from here for over a month, and believe me, it wasn't intentional. I attended our nephew Blake's high school graduation party, closed out the school year successfully and bittersweetly, started preparing for summer school, drove to Chicago, and then ultimately South Carolina to attend Chris' brother's residency graduation, and now I'm home. Oh, and did I mention that we also had a virus on our home computer?

It's been a busy month.

I'm not complaining. I'm just glad to back in this space. Glad to have the time that summer provides to catch up with everything.

I just got home from Chicago last night. I mistakenly took Amtrak, and I'm feeling the effects of an hour delay getting home. My mind is a pile of mush as I try to unpack, figure out what I want to write about, and figure out what we're having for dinner tonight. I have bits and pieces of thoughts and memories that I need to collect and organize into something coherent. I hope to be back here tomorrow with another post. But in the meantime, here's a video that one of my students made from pictures she and I took throughout the school year. Be sure to turn up the volume - there's music too. Enjoy!

One on One With Kids

It's been hot here this week. Hot, as in, "Hotter than a ____ in a _____." A friend of mine posted yesterday on Facebook that she was "sweating like a Kardashian on Jeopardy". Brilliant.

Our school is not air conditioned. Thankfully I'm on the garden level, so even when the morning sun shines in, it doesn't take over my room. Plus, there are some pretty large trees just outside my window which help to shade the area.

Regardless of all these things, the air gets pretty stagnant when you cram 25 sweaty third-graders in the room, combined with the heat from our computers or the florescent lights. I have two fans in my room to help blow the air around. The kids have gravitated to these fans like flies on fly paper. They like to stand two inches away from them, having their hair blown back, while they squint their eyes like a dog out of a car window. During silent reading time, they pull their chairs around the fan as if it's some kind of prayer ritual. They also like to talk into the fan to make their voices sound like a bad Darth Vader imitation. I have set rules about these fans, but apparently they're following the rule that "rules are meant to be broken". I can turn around for one second, and they're back at the fan.

Today it was my turn. In the morning, as I made my way into the classroom after greeting everyone when they came in, I stopped by the fan. I made all of my morning announcements by the fan. I stood by the fan as I told the usual kids to get back to their desks and stop talking to their friend across the room.

At one point during my fan time, one of my philosophers came over to get some fan air and also to chat me up. We talked about the previous night's homework and how he "knew the answer right away, but his mom made him figure it out!". We talked about the book he is reading, and how it caused him to be late for the bus. (This isn't the first time that reading or being read to has caused him to be late. I think I'll forgive him.) We talked about the ice cream social the night before and all of the junk he consumed and won.

As he stood there talking, I tried to take it all in. This class has been wonderful. Sure, the kids or I have our moments, but all in all, it's been a great ride. Now with just three weeks left, I'm starting to see the end is near. In my past teaching gigs, I couldn't wait until the year ended, and I wasn't too concerned whether I would see the kids again. But this gig has been different. The class is such a great mix of personalities with great attitudes. They care about each other, they (for the most part) respect each other and me, and they care about being in school.

I'm going to miss the one on one time that I've spent with each one of them. Even if it's just to get closer to the fan breeze.

And I Was Running

You know that scene in Forrest Gump, the one where he's running like a maniac, runs across the country, and can't stop? That's not me. The only thing that I have going is the running part. Maybe.

I have started running again. Once upon a time, I was running on a regular basis. It was easy to do when I was traveling for work. I would come back to my hotel at the end of the work day, change into my workout clothes and hop onto the treadmill in the hotel "gym". The gym inevitably was a closet crammed with a treadmill, sometimes an elliptical machine, and a big bonus was a TV to watch while running. I counted on this routine to keep me sane, help lose or maintain weight, and build my confidence in running. I was running about 3 miles on a regular basis.

Eventually the travel ended and I kept up with the running at our local Y, and outside. But all good things must come to an end, I guess. I used the excuse of school and life stuff to stop running. I was always afraid to start again. It's like when you're deciding to get your hair cut short after growing it long. You don't want to deal with the beginning stages again.

Enter in a class called Running 101 at our local running shoe store. It's a class designed to get you the tools and support you need to run a 5K within 6 weeks. Once a week, Stein and I gathered with a group of people to run and then learn about things like running nutrition, or stretching, or core strength. The class is designed in a way that you are expected to be doing regular runs on your own to build up to the 5K mark. It was a great way to get back into it, with a group of people who were in the same boat.

At the end of the 6 weeks, we were running 3 miles on a pretty consistent basis. We wanted to keep going with the class atmosphere, so we decided to try the Running 201 class. Last week was the first time with this class. The people in the group had all been in the class for the last session, so they were friends. We introduced ourselves and were thrown into the reality that is the 201 class. In 101, the goal was to run a 5K at the end. In 201, the goal is to run a 10K at the end.

Gulp.

Our instructor (who was the same instructor for the 101 class) handed me the slip of paper with the route we would be running that night. "There's a 4-mile route, a 6-mile route, or a 7-mile route. It's up to you which one you want to do," she said. Then she turned to me, and said, "Which one are you going to do?" Gulp. Gulp. "I think I'm going to do 4," I squeaked out as confidently as I could. In my head I was thinking, 4 miles?! 4 miles?! I don't do 4 miles. Well, not yet, anyway. Well, I did do 4 miles before. There was that hotel in Golden, CO, where I did 4 miles, or that hotel in Scottsdale, AZ where I did 4 miles. Both on treadmills. Set at 0% incline. With air conditioning in the room.

We started out on the route, and I was feeling pretty confident, with a little bit of fear mixed in. When we got to the turnaround point, our instructor joined us, and ran with us. I could tell that she was having a hard time slowing down to my pace, but I kept trudging along. I kept thinking, I really want to stop right now. But I'm with the instructor so I can't. But I really want to stop right now. Over and over this thinking went, until we got to a pretty large hill, the one we coasted down on the way out, and I just stopped. "You go on," I managed to get out in between huffs and puffs. She eventually caught up to Stein, who told me later, also went through the same thoughts of I can't stop now, but man I want to stop. We eventually made it back to the store, had a nice session with a yoga instructor for some deep stretches, and were on our way.

I think the main thing I have to remember with this class is to do those runs in between. To challenge myself to do something I'm not so comfortable with. To just keep running.

Run, Forrest!

And the List Keeps on Growing

So I'm here. And there.

We're at the 5-weeks-left-of-school mark. The point where most teachers have a split personality. Half of your thoughts are, "Five more weeks of school? I can't. Take. Another. Day." While the other half of your thoughts are, "Oh, #@$%&&! I only have five weeks left of school? I have so much to get done! How will I ever get all of this done with the way the kids are being so squirrelly?" Before you know it, the five weeks have whizzed by, and summer is in full swing. I can't wait.

Until then, I/we have been/will be crazy busy. School stuff, life stuff, and everything in between. So, more lists for blog posts get created in my head:

-Running (again)

-Accolades

-Bureaucracy

-Gardening