As it Should Be

I had a moment this afternoon, while walking the dog through relentless rain and mourning the safety and flexibility of working from home that we will soon lose, when all I wanted was to throw everything aside, like the covers in the morning when I get up, and drive cross country in April with my nephew Treat and camp for 10 days in Death Valley. Upon my return, I would go down to the Outer Banks and stay with my other nephew, Victor, on the beach for a couple weeks, until it was time to head to Alaska, where our godson, Josh, will be working this summer. 

Why not? I thought. What's stopping me?

The answer is some variation of 30 years and all the stuff that binds a 58-year-old teacher to the (wonderful) life she has built. 

But these boys! These men-- it has been my joy to take them on some of their earliest adventures, and now it stings a little to be left behind as they go forth and do such awesome things on their own.

Limited Series

As I mentioned in an earlier post, our latest TV binge has been The Crown on Netflix. Four seasons late to the party, we have had the luxury of carrying right on through the show at our pleasure. For us, "binge" means one or, at the very most, two episodes an evening, and so we slowly make our way through this series or that. As we neared the end of the second season of The Crown, I was aware there would be a cast change, and I had grown so attached to Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth that I was not ready to let her go. 

Pausing at the end of episode nine, we watched several documentaries about the real royal family. "Why don't they include this stuff in the show?" Heidi griped.

"Because it's a show," I said. "They have a dramatic arc and too much extraneous information would be confusing."

She shrugged unconvinced.

Eventually, we watched the end of season two and moved on to season three. As I predicted, I could not get behind Olivia Coleman as the queen. "Why did they have to drop a perfectly good Queen Elizabeth?" I griped.

"Because it's a show," Heidi answered. "They have to show time passing somehow."

I shrugged, unconvinced.

Happy Burpday

Pity poor Lucy-- today is her birthday and she had a grooming appointment, not something she loves. It's hard to know if it's the combing, the clipping, the bathing, the drying, or the anal gland expression, but suffice it to say that a spa day? It is not. Even so, grooming is a necessary nuisance which happens regularly, and so Lucy must sigh and go along quietly.

To add insult to injury, she has also been suffering from a bout of indigestion which has her gulping and belching and straining to eat the sweet, sweet grass that only dogs can identify for sure. As closely as we watch her diet, with Lucy digestion is delicate and sometimes difficult. Never a shy dog, last night she woke us up, heaving and hiccuping. "Tomorrow is going to suck!" Heidi growled once Lucy was finally settled, snoring away, stomach gurgling. 

It was hard not to agree, but for the fact that we love her so!

It Seems Only Fair

Last year I realized that if I was going to ask my students to step out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves to do something every day for one hundred days, then I should do that, too. My challenge couldn't be writing, since that has become a habit, so what could I do? 

Back then, in March of 2020, I decided on sit-ups and meditation, and I despite the pandemic (or perhaps because of it?), I am proud to say I made my hundred days and have continued on. Daily diligence is kind of my jam.

What's next? you might wonder, as I have, too. So I decided to throw it out to the kids. Next week, they will get to propose a hundred day challenge for me. And honestly? I can't wait to see what they come up! 

Stay tuned.

A Lifetime

Today was the day when I introduced the 100 Day Writing Challenge to my students. Technically, it starts next Monday, March 1, but with conferences at the end of the week and asynchronous learning, it made sense to go over it now. Plus, I've learned over the years that a few built-in safety nets prevent kids from dropping out if they miss a day or two along the way. 

I wasn't always so flexible, though. When I first started the challenge, I thought the dread of losing everything for missing a day would be more than enough to keep kids in it to win it. After all, I have held myself to the rigorous standard of daily posting since March 1, 2009 with never a miss. But these days I know that what works for me isn't necessarily what's best for everyone, and I really just want the kids to write.

When I was giving the origin story of the writing challenge this morning, though, I did tell the students that I had written every day since March 2009. "What?" one student unmuted to exclaim. "That's longer than I've been alive!"

Home School

 The question of the day today was What is a rule you have in your family that you would change if you could? The answers came in fast, but the first to respond wrote I would change the video games only on weekends! 

"That sounds like you!"I told him a little while later, as we were reading through the replies. "I know it must be hard to wait until Friday for your games."

As he unmuted to answer me, there was murmuring in the background and we could hear his mom talking to him. A little chime sounded, alerting us all to an addition in the chat. "I changed my answer," he said.

I wouldn't change any rules, he had posted. They are all for my own good.

We Shall See

The calendars on the bulletin board were turned to March  2020 and the list of homeroom students was outdated as well when I entered my classroom this morning for the first time this school year. When people insist that it's time to open school now, we bristle, because school has been in full session since September, despite access to the buildings being quite limited. The 50+ hours a week we teachers have been putting in are testament.

But here I am, tweaking my classroom layout and doing a tech check on the equipment I will use to teach "concurrently"-- some students in person, others virtually, all at the same time. I'm also acclimating to wearing a mask all day, which may end up being the most challenging part of the model for me. I do have hopes that being in person, some of the time, will benefit some of the kids, and that the mitigation our district has promised will be enough to keep everyone safe, and I can only do what I can do.

Rumi wrote:

The same wind that uproots trees

makes the grasses shine. 

Time to shine.