Another Silver Lining

We met a couple of friends for a walk this morning. Ever mindful of social distance, we planned to meet early at a place we hoped would offer more than enough space for the four of us (and 2 dogs) to walk and chat. That's how we found ourselves in front of a deserted Natural History Museum right around 9 AM.

"It only took me 10 minutes to get here!" Mary reported gleefully.

"And parking was a breeze!" I replied, just as enthusiastically.

It may have been the overcast weather, but the wide gravel paths were practically ours alone as we strolled first up to the Capitol and around the grounds, but the sun was shining and the skies were blue by the time we turned toward the Botanical Gardens. It was hard not to feel anything but lucky to be able to enjoy one of most beautiful cities in the world on a day like this.

After that, it seemed impossible to do anything else except walk the full loop down past the Washington Monument, to the Lincoln Memorial and back. By then? There were a few more people and a little less parking, but we were ready to head home.

Age before...

I got up early, drove to the grocery store, and put on my mask, but when the first set of glass doors whooshed open, I was stopped by a burly young man, also in a mask, his arms crossed.

"Are you open?" I asked.

"We are," he nodded, "but only to shoppers 60 and over."

"Dang!" I said. "I'm 58." (Or... I will be in June.)

"Really?" he replied.

"Yep," I answered, pulling down my mask.

"You can go in, then," he told me.

Inside there were several shoppers all politely keeping social distance. Some wore masks, some did not; most were loading up on produce and lean proteins. I think I fit right in.

Rejoice and Be Glad

The sun was shining in a brilliant blue sky streaked with just a few high clouds this morning when I took the dog out. Cherry blossoms have subsided to pink crab apple and red bud, and the tulips are in full bloom. I even saw azaleas and lilacs that were close to flowering. The air was cool, but the sun was warm, and the birds were going nuts. It was impossible not to feel happy and even a bit hopeful.

Just then we ran into a neighbor and her dog. "This is the day!" she hailed me.

"What day?" I asked. "The day the Lord made?"

We laughed, because it was true, but we both knew it wasn't what she meant.

"This is the day that turns the corner from winter to spring," she told me. "I don't know... I just feel it in the air."

I had to agree.

Banditos' Masquerade

How strange it was to go into the grocery store just a few days ago and see all the folks wearing masks and scarves and what not over their mouths and noses. These were the early adopters of what the CDC is now recommending for us all when we venture out in to public places. Already the price of bandanas has tripled on Amazon, if you can find them in stock at all. Here at home we have a couple of buffs, courtesy of Camp Jefferson, our end of the year activity for the sixth graders (and another casualty of the pandemic). We also have a few bandanas, lots of cloth napkins, and the hair ties to transform those into masks for when we go... not outside (yet), but indoors to public places, when we must.

Could this situation get any more surreal?

Wise Beyond Their Years

Since today was the last day of *school* before *spring break* rather than give my students a quote of the day to respond to I asked them to post their own. In many ways, their replies to that task reveal more about how they are than anything else they've written in the weeks since our world turned upside down.

"You will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory" ~Dr. Seuss 

What lies behind us and what lies before us are but tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -Henry Stanley Haskins 

“The way I see it if you want the rainbow you have to put up with the rain” -Dolly Parton 

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." ~Nelson Mandela 

"Do or do not, there is no try." ~ Master Yoda 

“Fortune favors the bold.” ~Virgil 

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” ~Confucius 

"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have." ~Cayla Mills 

“For a valiant heart nothing is impossible.” ~Jacques Coeur 

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”~Mahatma Gandhi 

“A diamond is just a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.” ~Henry Kissinger.

I think they've got this.

Language Please

Admittedly late to the party, we have started pandemic-watching The Mandalorian, and yes, I totally see what all the baby Yoda fuss is about. There was an even more memorable moment in the first episode for me, though.

In our school district we have a lot of students who are English Language Learners. These kids have the formidable task of learning both a second language and the curriculum content at the same time. As their teacher, I have been to lots of training sessions that provide strategies to help me help those learners.

When it comes to training, teachers can be a pretty tough audience. We expect you to engage us, but please! No cutesy icebreakers or trite introductions. We do appreciate a good empathy activity, though. If you can give us just a sliver of what our kids might be struggling with, you have a captive audience.

And that's where The Mandalorian comes in. (Did you think I'd forgotten?) The show takes place in the Star Wars universe, a place I'm somewhat familiar with, but not a native by any means. Since it was a first episode, I expected to have to pay attention and learn my way; I know how important exposition is, and I was following right along until this bit of dialogue:

"A pauldron would be in order. Is your signet revealed? This is extremely generous. It will spawn many foundlings."

Uhhh

I know 18 out of 19 of the words in those sentences, but I'm not sure if 3 of them (signet, spawn, and foundlings) are being used with a meaning that I am familiar with. As for pauldron? No idea. And I couldn't figure it out from either the language context or the action context.

In short? I was lost.

But I did what most kids do in the same situation. I decided it wasn't that important right then and kept watching.

I just hope it's not on the test!

I Know it Well

On April 1, I'm the loneliest blogger around. All my other slice of lifers have packed up their  white hot keyboards and amazing writing for the year. Sure, there might be a new post here and there, but that month of connection is gone.

Of course, so is the pressure to write something better than just okay. Even so, I'll tough it out for now and continue with my daily writing, because like I told my students (remotely, of course) as they embarked on Day 32 of their 100 Day Writing Challenge: A bad day of writing is better than a day of no writing at all.