Wandering Mind

I'm finding myself daydreaming a lot lately. Knowing there are 2 weeks left in school has made me jump into planning mode. Our garden is pretty much planted, we have new landscaping in the front of the house (no more white trash), and we're thinking about adding brick pavers to the backyard. It all sounds so grown up to me as I just listed all those things, but I guess I'm a grown up...

In the midst of all of this garden work, my mind has been wandering aimlessly in all directions. There are things that I want to do differently next year in my classroom. There are trips to plan both around here and abroad (hello, Italy!). There are books that I would love to read. There are friends whom I would love to catch up with. There are recipes I want to try. There are things around the house that I still need to catch up on (shredding party, anyone?).

I can't wait to have some time. Time to reflect on the past year, time to enjoy my favorite season, time to plan for future gatherings and school years, time to enjoy my friends and family without having 10 other things on my plate.

I'm going to wander wherever my mind and spirit takes me. I can't wait.

Mork Calling Orsen, Come in Orsen

Yes, that's a Mork and Mindy reference. For those of you out there who never heard of the show, or weren't a TV hound like me, this was the TV show that started it all for Robin Williams. He was an alien (Mork) who arrived from outer space in Boulder, CO in an egg. As I write this, I realize just what a crazy twisted concept that was. And yet it all made sense.

The title of my post is the phrase that Mork would use to call "home". Orsen was the leader and would guide Mork through his confused life on earth with alien wisdom.

I'm feeling like Mork right now.

My last post was a preview of what was to come in the last month or so of school. Yet, as I'm in it now, I was a little off in my prediction. I should've said magnify the craziness by about ten. And then double that.

In addition to the neverending to-do list and event calendar, my class has gone off the deep end. They're done. They're done with elementary school. They're done with patience. They're done with listening. They're done with self-control. So while the end-of-year plates started spinning as predicted, a few more started at the same time.

The only saving graces in this whole thing have been two trips out of town. Chicago and Boston. Chicago to see family for a get-together, and Boston to see friends and the Cubs play the Red Sox at Fenway. On both occassions, there was a lot of eating and drinking. And a lot of laughing. And did I mention eating and drinking?

I continue my life as a pinball in the midst of these crazy weeks. Being hurtled from one crazy event to another, adding just one more event to my to-do list, telling a student to be respectful, packing a bag for a trip, unpacking the same bag and doing laundry, organizing a field trip, planting flowers, watching the skies open up again to rain.

Sometimes I wish I had an Orsen to call to explain it all to me and offer some wisdom to guide through this chaos.

But what fun would that be?

In the Blink of an Eye

May is always a month that whizzes by for teachers. Beginning sometime in March, dates are decided for important things like field day, ice cream socials, and farewell celebrations. The dates are penciled into calendars and while the snow drifts by the windows, teachers dream of better weather and the events ahead.

Yet when May finally arrives in all of its blooming-spring glory, it's almost like a shock that we're finally there. The dreams that were created 2 months ago and seemed impossibly far away, are here.

This week I experienced my first, oh my gosh, it's May already and I have so much to do and can I get everything fit in and wasn't it just March when I wrote this event in the calendar and it's really only 3 weeks until Memorial Day and do I have to actually teach when I have all of these meetings and events and farewells and and and and.

I have been attending a tech integration class for professional development. It has been a series of classes that has met four times over the course of the school year. When we first got the schedule in September, I almost laughed at the May date. That far away? I don't know if I'll make it until next week! And yet there I was, yesterday, sitting in that May class. I could hardly believe it.

It's around this time that teachers realize that the remainder of the year is so short compared to what we've been through. There's a sense of accomplishment to flip back in the calendar and see what has already been done, what we've endured. And yet, there's a bittersweet feeling too. Happy to be close to summer, but nostalgic about the year behind. Looking forward to sending kids on their way, but knowing this group will never be together as a whole again.

Blink.

10 Things I'm Loving Right Now:

Hey, I'm not trying to cop out of writing a long post (did you hear that, Bre?), but I was inspired by Soule Mama to write some things that I'm loving right now. Things that are making me happy. Things that are carrying me through these days of relentless rain, grey skies and crazy politics and world affairs.

1. Daffodils that were planted blindly in the fall are blooming in all of their yellow glory. The tulips planted nearby are not far behind.

2. A class full of mindful students who really do care. They just sometimes have a weird way of showing it.

3. Planning a trip to Italy. You'll have to pinch me. Again.

4. A wonderful, lazy, casual, spontaneous, low-expectations weekend.

5. Catching up on sleep from said weekend.

6. A family dinner shared with Stein's siblings and their families. Good food, laughs, wine, and great conversation.

7. Dyeing Easter eggs with our niece and nephew. Preceded by a homemade waffle breakfast. A tradition that continues to evolve.

8. Looking forward to seeing my Mom and Rich in a few weeks after not seeing them for over 6 months.

9. Signs of Spring around town: U-M students moving out of dorms, people wearing shorts and flip-flops in questionable temperatures, Magnolia blooms waiting to burst.

10. A calendar that tells me that there are 8 more weeks left in school. I waver between, "Wow, that's a long time." To, "Crap! I don't have enough time to get everything done!"

Things that are keeping me sane. Hope you're loving a lot right now, too.

Erica, Phoebe, Adam, and Stuart

There was one summer when we were left to our own devices (vices? what is it?) that we somehow became obsessed with the soap opera, All My Children. When I say we, I mean Mickey, Rick and I, with an occasional comment thrown in by our brother Bryan. I don't know where we picked up this obsession. My mom, as far as I know, was never a soap opera watcher, but the three of us became entrenched in that show like housewives from the 50's. I even had a job one summer where my boss had a TV radio, so we would sit and eat our lunch and listen to the show.

Mickey, Rick and I would talk about these people as if we knew them. We discussed their choices, and predicted their futures. We rooted for some of them like best friends would, and hoped that the bad guys eventually would meet their demise. My mom couldn't care less about this show, so she ignored us when we would talk about it. Yet by ignoring us, she didn't pay attention to the names and would suddenly perk up the next time when we mentioned someone was in danger or on their death bed, or someone suddenly returned from the dead. "Who are you talking about?" she would ask with a worried look on her face. We would start explaining it to her and then she would say, "I can't believe you're talking about these people like you know them. It's a TV show."

Fast forward to recent years, when Mickey and I have become obsessed in the same sort of way with blogs. I think I may be to blame in this situation, when I stumble upon a blog that one of my regular-read blogs refers to, or I find through a google search. I usually tell Mickey about it, and then we start following those blogs regularly. When Mickey and I talk on the phone, inevitably part of our conversation will turn to blogs. "Did you hear that Soule Mama is pregnant? I am so happy for them!" Or, "I love that craft project Shivaya Naturals did with her kids. She's so creative." Or, "Did you see that Pioneer Woman has a contest? Maybe we could win and get to stay in the Lodge."

These people become like celebrities, in that we follow their lives through their blogs and get to know them as we read more about them. One post I did a couple years ago caught the attention of one of the bloggers I follow and she commented on it. I called Mickey immediately. "Heather commented on my blog! She read my blog!" Recently, one of my favorite bloggers, David Lebovitz, visited Chicago, and one of my friends Kathy, who writes the blog Stresscake, got to meet him. She wrote a hysterical post about meeting David, sitting next to him at a breakfast, almost spilling water on him, and spending the rest of the time talking with him. I was so jealous. A couple days later, David wrote a post about Garrett's Popcorn in Chicago. I made a comment on the post, and the next day I noticed he responded to my comment! I immediately emailed Mickey and told her my good news.

I guess once a groupie always a groupie. A geeky groupie, at that.

Random Dinner

Going along with the theme of random for this week, here's a random dinner I thought up at the the last minute (sorry for the poor photo quality - taken with my phone in poor lighting).

Stein hasn't been feeling well, so all he wanted was soup. I was in the mood for something a little more hearty. I remembered we had some frozen pot stickers in the freezer, but knew that a meal out of pot stickers probably wasn't the most healthy option. I decided to have a salad, but knew that I would need a dressing that went with the pot stickers and the salad. Peanut sauce! But then I needed a recipe for a peanut sauce that wouldn't be too thick, like most satay sauces are. This one did the job.

I didn't have sesame oil or ginger on hand, but it still tasted great. I also used sriracha sauce instead of the "chipotle pepper puree" that it calls for. It was just what I wanted. A little bit of sweet, a little kick. I also found some leftover brown rice in the fridge so I threw that on, along with some frozen edamame to put on the side. From start to finish, I think it took me 10-15 minutes. Perfect.

Random Bits of Randomness

~Despite the low temperatures, I am very excited that spring is here in all its long-houred, newly-budded, Dairy Queen-opened glory. I am also looking forward to spring break next week. I'm trying to keep my expectations low and unplanned for the break. There may be some books read, or not, there may be some organizing, or not, and there may be some lunches with friends, or not. I love that it's just brimming with possibilities for whatever.

~Today is the birthday of the girl whose father draws little pictures in her planner. When she opened her planner so I could check it, there was a note from her dad that said, "Happy Birthday! Today is one of the best days of my life! I love you." How wonderfully sweet.

~The kids in my class continue to make me laugh with some of the things they say. For example, one of my boys was talking to another boy, and when he one-upped the other one in a joking way, he said, "You wanna eat those apples?" Instead of "How 'bout them apples?"

~We had a wonderful time in Chicago this past weekend. We were in for our friend Linda's birthday party (Hi, Linda!). We ate at four new restaurants (2 dinners and 2 breakfasts) while we were there. All of the places were delicious in their own way. I always go back to this when I reminisce about a trip, but my favorite parts were just hanging with the people I love to be with. Whether it was around a table at a restaurant, sitting around the living room, or walking around the neighborhood, it just felt easy and comfortable.

~I checked out 5 Italy guidebooks from the library. Yes, 5. I'm trying to narrow down the areas we want to see. Definitely Rome. Definitely Florence. Definitely the Cinque Terre. Amalfi Coast? Milan? So exciting to just dream.

~Did I tell you how excited I am to be on break next week?