Hello 2010!

2009 was a terrific year....Nevy joined us and that trumps any of the orthopedic issues we faced. Here's looking forward to a happy healthy 2010!

Baseball by Ken Burns

We have been watching our tapes of the the Ken Burns PBS Series. I've seen it several times. It is still as powerful as the first time I watched.

We watched 30 minutes tonight and I was in tears three times: when Lou Gehrig made his "Today I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth" speech, when hearing about the antisemitism that Hank Greenburg faced, and again with a story about Satchel Paige and the Negro Leagues. I cry at every story about the Negro Leagues. The injustice and hatefulness are something I cannot hear about without an emotional reaction. This reaction is not new to me but the intensity has changed. Nevy puts a new spin on the old story.

One thing that Burns makes clear is that baseball tells the story of America. The big historical issues America has faced time and again....labor, race, class...are issues with which baseball has also grappled. Watching Burns' documentary has almost made me decide to forgive MLB for the strike of 1994 and the McGwire/Sosa homerun farce in 1998. Maybe it's time to pay attention again.

End of summer vacation

School starts tomorrow....and all I can think about is Lake Michigan. Sigh.....

I hallucinate: Part 2

Actually I did not hallucinate during part two of my root canal. I had done my homework this time around and the medication was just right. When he was finished the endodontist did say that this had been such a difficult tooth that he wasn't sure that this would save it. I decided to think positive thoughts and hope for the best...and so far, all is well.

I hallucinate

No fooling.

I had my first root canal and it was less than fun. As soon as I was given laughing gas, I started to hallucinate. It was mostly auditory....lots of strange unpleasant garbled sounds including a bit of opera and Motown mixed together. When I opened my eyes, the endodontist looked wicked and, even scarier, he had his eyes tightly shut. Worried people kept running in and out. I was truly terrified and tried to raise my arm to shove the evil closed-eyed doctor off but lucky for him, I had lost all control of my powerful fighting arms. They just flopped around in a way that must have been disconcerting but was hardly threatening.

It took a long long time to come around. Really long. They almost charged rent for the dental cubicle. Then the evil doctor came in, looking not evil at all and with both eyes wide open. He gave me the news....we weren't done! It had been over two hours and I was told that I was the proud owner of very unusual teeth....extra long and skinny roots (what irony! My only long skinny parts!)and not only that! Two more roots than most people! Bonus for me!

So I get to go back. This just stinks!

Interesting....

...blogging about murder two days after blogging about Gandhi....

Yesterday's excitement

Pleurisy. It's not as bad as it looks. I was hooked up to many machines and now we know for certain that my heart has a nice steady rhythm. The machine said it did. And my lungs are clear. That's what the X-ray said. I know for certain that, as of yesterday, things were as they should be in some of my important organs. Whew!

(Thanks to Stew for the lovely photo and for being there with me.)

School talk: new parent reception

Whoa! I am not good at small talk!

We had a reception last night for parents of kids new to the program. I was able to stand up and talk to this large group of people about issues in gifted education, no problem. I could do it all day. But when it came time to mingle, I was not a shining star.

I think I told no less than fifteen parents that their child was doing well and now that I think about it, that is a fine thing to say at this type of gathering. Not the time to go deep. What bothers me in retrospect is my forced enthusiasm. Not "Your child is doing well." Instead "Your child is doing so well!" Bold letter indicate cheerleader pep and energy. Not my usual style.

My final social triumph was the father who, after talking with me, grabbed his car keys and said with anger that he would wait for his wife in the car. He did come back to remind me that he is a tax payer and thus, pays my salary. The implication was that this is not money well spent. In my defense, the fellow was a tad angry and odd to begin with. Maybe I should have picked up on those social cues. But when he said, after expounding for quite some time about how rotten public education is, that "I know I'm opinionated but any teacher who lets her kids sit on the floor during school is doing a bad job", I just let it slip. I said "You know, I'm opinionated too and I have a lot of experience in education and on this one, you are wrong."

When I started writing this entry, I was feeling kind of bad about my performance last night. After rereading this, I'm feeling okay. I have more important things to concern me than this. So there.

"Pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and get to work"

I'm home sick today and so I was able to watch the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as president of the United States. That's our president's name and he is an African American. That still amazes me. That still moves me.

The self-proclaimed "skinny black kid" gave an amazing speech, one in which he spoke of the hard work ahead but also of the strength of the American people to face hard work. He spoke of our patchwork population, of our shared history, of our shared hopes. I was moved by his words and by his demeanor. I was moved by the crowd, by the music, by the history.

I know that Obama being sworn in will not right all wrongs, will not fix everything, will not change the way things are. But I think this is a new direction for our country. I know that change comes slowly but I also know that change comes. A woman as Speaker of the House, a black man as President...earlier in my life these would not have been possible. Now they are. Change is possible, change is necessary and I believe that change is on its way.

Why I make doll clothes

Doll clothes are fiddley with lots of stopping and starting. You spend as much time cutting out as you do sewing. You can't get much of a flow going because what you are working on is too small. And the hand sewing! Yikes!

And yet I do it happily. I have been thinking about the reasons why:

1. The doll clothes receiver typically shows tremendous gratitude. (see above photo)
2. It's a small project and done quickly.
3. Dolls are more fun if they have lots of clothes and this is a fairly cheap way to outfit all those children.
4. Doll clothes can last forever. I remember watching my grandmother make doll clothes for my dolls. My kids used those doll clothes and now Samantha has them. What else can you sew that lasts that long? A quilt but that's a huge project...this is fast. (See #2)
5. My grandma made doll clothes for me, I made doll clothes for my kids' dolls, now Kate and I are making doll clothes for Scout. It's a connection with the past.
6. It's a way to make memories.

So as long as we have doll lovers in the family, I'll keep my sewing machine oiled and ready.

Resolutions

It's halfway through January and I feel like it's safe to mention my resolutions. Things feel solidly if newly in place and I'm ready to go public.

First off, I'm exercising. My ankle is bothering me again and that has jumpstarted this resolution. I'm aging and I don't want to add "and infirm" to that statement so I have to put in some effort on this. Exercise comes much more easily for me during the summer when I have all the time in the world but since I plan to work for another ten years and don't want to become the dreaded "infirm", no more excuses. A little time with the free weights, some Pilates learned at the spa, time on my exercise bike, walking when the ice melts...it's doable and it's necessary.

Secondly, I'm going to enjoy my students. I've been letting deadlines and schedules drive my mood at school but this school year things are totally out of my control. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop stuff from happening: ice storms, snow, death, and the all-important swimming PE schedule. So forget it! I'm going to get a kick out of these kids and I'm going to enjoy my time with them. Maybe it's not the "rigor" discussed in gifted education journals but by damn, it's fun and I'm betting the kids will remember that. Let me just mention again that I'm going to teach for ten more years but this time I'm saying, only ten more years. So I'm laughing more and stressing less.

These things feel good. I think I'll keep doing them.

I love snow...

...as much as I hate ice. This is my route to school each day. It's beautiful in all seasons but never more beautiful than right now, after a snow storm. And to make snow even nicer, a young man knocked on our door and offered to do snow removal. The downside to snow is shoveling so this is great. Even greater: it will cost $5 or maybe $10, depending on how many inches we have. This must be how the shoemaker felt when the elves just showed up and did their thing!

Happy new year

2008 was tough. Moving two parents to nursing homes, going off meds, Dad's death, and then the ice storm that will hopefully end all ice storms.

There is so much to look forward to this year. A new grandchild, time with family, vacations and visits, a raised bed garden that I'm planning, using my new camera, maybe a new window in the kitchen...just thinking about how nice that last item would be.

I'm not the first one to say this but I am sincere. Happy New Year to us all.

Off to the spa

2008 has been a rough year and so I do not feel guilty about spending the last few days of this year being pampered at the Heartland Spa in Gilman, Illinois. http://www.heartlandspa.com/ Take a look for yourself!

I'm going with Karen. She has been my spa companion on our two previous spa trips and from past experience, I know this will be fun. And relaxing. And inspirational in terms of getting me back on track in the self care arena.

Good healthy food, lots of activity choices, massages and facials, swimming pool and sauna, time with a best friend....aaaah! Time to pack. And I don't have to pack much because the Heartland provides all clothing and toiletry items. What a great place!

Back home!

Finally! After four full days away from home, we are back!

There is a lot that needs to be done but we're getting there. The carpet in the living room where the radiator exploded is now clean and good as new. Every room is slowly heating up to a comfortable temperature. Faucets run, toilets flush...just a slow drain in the downstairs bathroom and a new kitchen faucet left for Chad to install and then our plumbing will be back in working order. It's good to be home.

And today is December 23! This was not a fun way to spend the days leading up to Christmas but it certainly helped the time pass quickly.
Our giant sympathy-gift poinsettia is maybe our saddest disaster from the big freeze. I should have taken it with me to Kate's....it's looking a bit frostbitten and bedraggled now. But Ellen comes home today and I feel so much better.

Thanks to Kate and Chad. We felt perfectly at home and that's the sign of loving hosts. There were a lot of good moments in this adventure and they were a big part of that.

Still no electricity

We are settled in at Kate and Chad's until our electricity is back on. Weatherwise, it's getting worse. The temperature is falling and winds are rising. Wind on icy branches could mean more limbs breaking, more electric lines snapping, longer without power. Oh dear...




We are safe, we are warm, we are entertained, we are fed. Really, I have nothing to complain about. But it's hard not to worry about what's happening over in our dark cold little house.

Temporary relocation

An ice storm scares me as much as any other storm. It is beautiful but dangerous and damaging. We had a whopper of an ice storm last night and 15 hours later, we are still without power.

Luckily, we can afford to pick up and move to a local motel where there is plenty of power and all the things electricity make possible...like writing in my blog. But I keep thinking about home. Did any more branches fall? We already had quite a few big one down. Is the redbud tree going to make it? It was terribly stressed by the weight of the ice and had developed a crack in its trunk. If it stays this cold for another week like the weather people are saying, will the ice build up do even more damage as it sits on the tree branches for days? Will our pipes freeze? Our house is cold and dark. I don't like that thought.

I'm not a person who dislikes winter but this...this is something different. And scary.

Two hour delay

I feel a little guilty about loving today's two hour delay as much as I do. But there it is...I love this delay.

I need to spend time with my students and this is cutting into that time. However, the joy of coffee and knitting during an impromptu vacation is so strong that it runs over all of my professional considerations.

I'm going to go get ready for school and I'm going to work hard to give my students what they need the rest of this day...but I sure did love my extra two hours to myself.

More Mid December

It's cozy here. No wonder it's so hard to leave home.

Mid December

...favorite and familiar ornaments...