FInding Joy in Unusual Places

The news out there is not very uplifting right now. The economy, the resulting job market, the crazy political upheaval, being in a profession that is being scrutinized more and more. Yet, the one thing that I have been trying to do is relax, be thankful, and find sparks of joy. I have learned in my older age, that I need to take time for myself. I need to let things go. I need to say no more often. It's liberating. I also need to be thankful for all that I have, including a job I love, a house, food on the table, and family and friends who love and support me.

The joy strikes me at some of the most unusual times and places. A couple weeks ago, Stein and I were out for my birthday. We put our name in at a restaurant and then decided to walk around downtown while we waited. At one point, we went into a store that sells all kinds of trinkets and gifts. It's the kind of store that sells everything from cleaning supplies to wax lips to jewelry.

The woman working at the store was in her early 20's, and had such a fun, laid-back personality. While we were looking around the store, an older man (60ish) came into the store and talked to the woman. They greeted each other like friends. I gathered that he was the owner of the used bookstore next to the shop we were in.

After we bought the things we wanted, she said, "Oh, and now you get a token to play our game!" She then explained that they had a Bozo bucket-type game set up in their window display, and if you made it into the cup, you would win what was in that cup. As Stein stood near the cups taking aim at one of the prize cups, I noticed that the woman and man were outside looking on like spectators. When Stein's token made it into a prize cup, they both started cheering and jumping up and down. That made me laugh. It also made me feel good. It didn't matter that we only won a finger-puppet-like "We're #1 pointer finger hand". It really is the little things.

Hope you're finding and spreading joy in places big and small.

Anticipating

Next Tuesday after school I will officially be on Thanksgiving break. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to the break. Nothing has changed with my class since my last post. They're still great. I am constantly receiving compliments from other teachers. I am constantly telling people that I have to count my lucky stars. And I do.

It's more that the things surrounding my class have really worn me down. Since the beginning of the school year, I have had curriculum night, parent-teacher conferences, national tests for the students, state tests for the students, and report cards. Not to mention after-school meetings for professional development, and staff meetings. Oh, and then "life stuff": out-of-town visitors, dinners with friends, planning for Thanksgiving, keeping up with stuff around the house.

Surprisingly, I haven't felt extremely overwhelmed by it all. Time has flown, but while the time plane is flying by, I can see it's a full flight. I am comforted by the idea that time will go by, things will get done, and anything stressful will end eventually.

I am equally surprised that I haven't felt the effects of the weather turning colder and the daylight getting shorter. In fact, I feel like the change in light and weather has made me a bit more productive. I get home and start to speed up a bit thinking that we're near bedtime. Then I look at the clock and there are still 2 hours left. I feel like it's a gift. (Talk to me in the dead of winter and I'm sure I wouldn't say the same).

May your time be full, and you find a spark of light in the darkness.

It's Time

Time to write again. I'm not promising it on a regular basis like I used to do, but I know it's time. No one has nudged me back into it, thankfully. I just feel that it's time.

We're up north this weekend. In a place that we so needed to be at this point. Things have been crazy at school with testing, conferences, and just the day-to-day busyness of life.

I have been waiting to write about my class, because honestly I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. In one word? Awesome. The kids are great. I have so many moments where I think to myself, "This is what teaching is all about," or, "I'm having so much fun." They're polite, kind, funny, and really insightful. Other teachers compliment them. Other teachers mention good things to me. Believe me, I'm counting my lucky stars...

Back to being up north. Stein picked me up from school after I had my last conference on Thursday night. It was dark already, and while we drove the 3.5 hours heading north, I wavered between having thoughts of why didn't we just stay home tonight and drive up tomorrow?, and, I'm so glad we'll be up there tonight to enjoy the full day tomorrow. Finally, we arrived. And I went right to bed.

The next two days were a blank slate of possibilities. We each had things we wanted to do or see, and we each wanted some down time as well. Last night, our plans to have a nice dinner were scrapped when we had a mid-afternoon snack that ended up to be more like a meal (who can resist being gluttonous with whitefish spread or horseradish-cheese spread on crackers?). We stayed in and ordered a pizza for dinner.

There were walks taken, magazines read, colored leaves whizzing by on a drive, a dinner with friends, shops visited, breakfast at a diner counter, mid-afternoon beers that felt so decadent. One of my favorite things about being on vacation is remembering that not everyone has the day off. That people are working when you're not. I get giddy thinking about that. It feels like I'm getting away with something.

We'll go home sometime today. Maybe meander our way home through small towns and along lake shorelines. What a break this has been. A break we didn't even know how much we needed.

The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker

Growing up in a big city, I rarely ran into people I knew once I left my neighborhood. (Although my mom seemed to run into people she knew a lot.) I got used to that sense of anonymity, and I liked to think that if I did something wrong or klutzy, no one would ever see me again. I liked the idea that not everyone knew my business.

Now I live in another city, but it's a lot smaller. Here I can leave my neighborhood and still run into people I know. The more schools I have taught in, the more my chances are of seeing people I know in most grocery stores. I can no longer just run to the grocery store in my pajamas, I mean, my sweats and a baseball cap. Ahem.

Stein grew up in a small town. So small that most people know everyone's business. You say our last name, and immediately people start asking who you know, Stein, or his siblings or his parents? Or the niece and nephews?

Friday night we went to see our two nephews play football. High school football is a world of its own. I never really got into it while I was in high school, partially because I went to an all-girls school, and partially because my guy friends didn't play football. I never experienced the "Friday Night Lights" of it all: bleachers, bands, cheerleaders, kids strolling the bleachers, kids hanging out. The game was good (they won!), but the people watching was even better. It was Homecoming, so there was a parade of girls throughout the game strutting their dresses and tiaras through the bleachers. In addition to that, there was the usual groups of people who know Stein, know his siblings, and know his parents.

On Saturday, friends of ours had an Oktoberfest party. Of course we knew most of the people at the party since Stein grew up with most of them, and also the hosts were the local veterinarians. At one point a local accident that happened earlier that day was being discussed. The person who was hurt in the accident had to be flown to the hospital by helicopter. When the question was asked whether or not the person had survived, our friend who is the local funeral director said, "I don't know, but I didn't get a call." It was at that point, combined with the football game on Friday, that I felt that small town feeling. The city-girl in me thought it was time to get back to our semi-anonymous city.

Never Forget

On this 10th Anniversary of September 11th, I just re-read what I wrote two years ago, and that post also has a link to a post I wrote years before that. It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years.

Today I sent a message to the District Manager whom I was with when we heard the news. I told her that I will always remember being with her on that day. She wrote back and said, "I can't believe it's been 10 years ago because the memory is so vivid." I agree. The impact that event had on me is so strong. The impact that event has had on our country is so strong. The impact that event had on the world is so strong.

Never forget.

One Year Ago

One year ago this week, I was sitting in a workshop for new teachers, trying to concentrate on the speaker. Thoughts swirled around my brain and kept me from paying attention. I had so many questions at that point, so many unknowns, so many plans. Two weeks from then, I would be standing in front of a room full of students, and as it turned out, many of their parents.

Wow, how much has changed in a year.

This year I have had the luxury of getting into school earlier than last year. I have also had the luxury of being in the same room two years in a row. The work that my mom and I did last year before the start of school paid off. Over the past couple weeks, I have gone into school a handful of times to get things unpacked and organized. Yesterday I hung my bulletin boards and got the room pretty much ready.

I still have some summer left and I'm going to squeeze every last drop out. On Sunday, my Mom and Rich are coming to visit. We have a family reunion of sorts in Chicago the following week. But until then, we'll be up north. I'll bring some teacher books, and I'll bring some books and magazines for pleasure. I'm hoping the latter reading material will be read most. I have a week of teacher meetings and set-up to help me prepare for the start of school. Until then, I'm going to do my best to enjoy.

I look back to last year and smile. Thankful for the preparation, thankful for the experience, thankful to be where I am. Time to look ahead. When I need to.

Post-Vacation

Where to begin? There's so much I want to talk about. So many great memories, such beautiful scenery, such wonderful people. The food, the wine, the leisurely way we broke up our days of travel. Lunches, wine breaks, dinners that lingered for hours. Oh, Italy, I miss you.

I will recount the trip with pictures and sights that we saw in another post. This post is dedicated to Stein.

You know from the other posts I wrote that he had been saving for over four years for this trip. During our Italy trip, he blurted out, "I WILL go skiing this year!" to Chris and me. In the past four years he hasn't taken a vacation. Meanwhile, Chris and I have gone on two ski trips and to New York together. Ooops.

Before we left for the trip, Stein explained to me that nothing would stop us. "If we want to take a cab instead of the metro, we will. If we see a nice restaurant and want to eat there, we will. If we like a bottle of wine and want another one, we'll have it."

I can't tell you how much of a treat this trip was.

Most days started at 8 or 9 in the morning, and didn't end until we literally dropped into bed at midnight. There were cabs instead of trains, dinner in nice restaurants, and many second bottles of wine (don't worry, Chris was there for some of the trip too). On any trips prior to this, I would find myself hemming and hawing about the price of something or whether or not we could do something. Not this time.

This was one of the best vacations I have been on, and no doubt was due to the generosity of my husband. Above and beyond is where he went. And the vacation followed suit.

Reason number 9,678 why I married him.