Just in Time

I stood in the kitchen this morning, looking out the windows toward the East as the glow of a vibrant pink sunrise slowly filled the horizon, glowing behind the branches of the leafless trees at Winter’s close.  It was beautiful; an unearned glory for a day that needed it.

Spring Break starts this afternoon and it’s been a long week - far longer than the 5 days it apparently lasted - and the time off is badly needed by everyone: me, my students, my teachers.  The Winter quarter is often difficult and this one has been no exception.  As the hardships added up, our collective patience thinned, and we arrive at this day with a great need to refresh our reserves.  

When things get tense, I remind myself, my students, and my faculty that we can disagree and still move forward if we can all be people of good will.  It’s not as easy as it sounds.  It requires everyone to step outside of themselves to see that there is a bigger picture.  It has the value of being both a guide in the moment as well as a clear map for moving forward.  It’s worked before and I’m hoping that that charm endures and can guide us into the light this time around as well.

Among the Trees: Finding Solace in the Light

 On my first day back from California, I took myself for a walk at Colonial Park.  New Jersey has had a mild Winter and there were signs of Spring everywhere. 

Since I’ve been home, I’ve kept an eager eye out for additional hints of green and warmth.  When I see them, I feel a tiny surge of hope.  

That’s nice, because it’s been a bit of a hard patch for me.  I’ve had a bunch of small challenges in the past two weeks.  My head knows that they are small in the big scheme but my heart lets the hurts add up and that finds me doubting myself, my worth, and my place in this world.  

I know the remedy:  rest and time outside.  With Spring Break starting at the end of this week, I’ll have the time for both.  There are people who depend on me and people who love me and I know and feel this.  I plan to lean in to the support.  I’m a regular champ at self-care and I have a list of small treats for the coming weeks.  I know the light can be found and I’ll be looking for it in the coming weeks.

Report from the Homefront: Searching for Grace

I had a lot of plans for Spring Break, most of which involved some time away from school and schoolwork.  Then, on March 12, the world turned upside down and so did my plans.  I spent most of Spring Break alternately fretting about the pandemic and planning to teach remotely.  Most days I did both at the same time.  

I was in front of the computer for hours and a little too prone to refreshing news feeds so that by the end of week one, having failed to pace my worries, I was close too overwhelmed.  It didn’t help that I’d gone into the Break at full speed, knowing that a break was ahead.

I was ready for some at-home time though I wasn’t quite ready for the only-at-home time that the month of March delivered.  Daily, I thought about things to write for my blog.  My digital journal is littered with more than a half-dozen half finished posts.  The truth is that I spent so much time in front of my screen planning lessons for school that when the work was done, I retreated to the sofa with a good book.  Day by day, I fell behind.

The more time that passed, the easier it became to dodge this blog.  Plus, it was easier to post on Instagram.  But this blog has seen me through many of life’s anxieties and it seems short-sighted to tap out now, when I know that a few years from now, I will welcome every record of this time.

So today I am renewing my commitment to post writings to this blog.  In the coming days, I will fill in the details of the time since my last post, on March 23.  And I will remind myself, daily, to look for the grace that can be found when I pause and look for it.

Bring Me the Spring Break

It’s been a busy week, as the week before Spring Break always seems to be.  It’s easier to cram days full when I know a break is coming and though I always vow to myself that next year will be different, here we are.

JT gets on a train later today and will be home tonight to sleep in his own bed.  The cats know something is up because I’ve made sure his bed is ready to receive him.  The day promises to be busy but I’m looking forward to a week off so I have a happy spirit and when 3:05 arrives, my spirit will be even lighter.

Here we go………

Food Friday: Lemon Curd

Spring Break gives me the luxury of some unscheduled time.  I used some of mine to make things, including homemade lemon curd.

I followed this Simply Recipes version, altering mine to use just a tablespoon of lemon zest, which I left in the finished curd.  I’ve made lemon curb before and know that I should never stop whisking, but a strainer is a good idea if this is your first time.  I poured the finished lemon curd into small preserve jars.  

The recipe makes a cup and a half, enough to give one jar away and still have some of your own to enjoy.  We ate it with homemade scones and a cup of tea.  It looked and tasted like Spring.  That's happy!

Nor’easter, Round 4

With the regularity of a Netflix series dropping a new episode every week or so, we have had 4 Nor’easter storms in the last 4 weeks.  Today’s storm had the nerve to roll in just as the Spring Equinox arrived and while we are on Spring Break.  We’ve not yet finished the clean up from Nor’easter number 3, so it’s safe to say that I am not amused.  Additionally, I have decided that it’s time for Spring clothes, a decision that Mother Nature thinks I should regret.  

JT and I enjoyed all our favorite snow day routines: late morning luxurious breakfast (crepes with bananas, strawberries, and nutella), an afternoon movie, homemade supper (and tonite he tried an adult beverage…..he’s not much of a fan, it turns out).  Shoveling is saved for tomorrow, because tonight there are books to read and movies to watch.  And tomorrow promises temperatures north of 40 degrees.  These days, we’re happy to let Mother Nature do at least some of the work for us.  Begrudgingly, we acknowledge that the snow is lovely to behold.

But at this point in March, daffodils would be a more welcome sight.  We'll know to appreciate them when they arrive.

Back in the Saddle

Our lovely two week Spring Break has ended and the students return to school this morning.  I expect they will be well-rested and energetic and that’s good; I feel pretty well-rested myself.  April and May, with sunlight, blooms, and warmth tend to make us all giddy with the season.  I’m excited for the coming summer myself, so the children can certainly be excused.  I spent my break getting things done and I’m pleased with the work I’ve finished.  

From here on out the time flies.  We’ve three weeks until Easter and just seven more after that and then the school year closes out.  The chores I completed during the break are a down payment on the insanity that surrounds the close of the school year and I feel rested and ready to face the busy days.

Here we go!

A Much-Needed Rest

The school calendar is so much a part of my work world, that I don’t really understand what it is to work outside the framework of that calendar.  For me, the prospect of regularly-scheduled breaks means that I go full-tilt in the weekend months between those longer holidays.  My work world is the business of looking after the needs of children and our relationship isn’t really give and take.  It’s more that I give and they take.  I’m not complaining, just laying out the facts.  There are adults around me to provide perspective (and much-needed humor and kindness when needed); there are terrific rewards in the form of children making impressive leaps in terms of maturity and their empathy and skills.  

But the core fact remains: my work world is one of giving and I go at it full-speed.  When breaks arrive, I embrace them in the same way that I embrace my work days.  Today starts a two week holiday, one that I very much need.  I’d like a Spring Break filled with sunlight and warmth.  The time change means that I get some longer days; the current forecast suggests that the first week will be frigid and snowy.  I will relax anyway, confident in the knowledge that the next 14 days will help me refuel for the rest of the school year.

Old Man Tree: March 1st

Clearly, February brought no progress in my plan to tear the ivy off the trunk of my tree.  There are signs that we’ll have an early Spring, so I’d best get cracking in the next few weeks.  Happily, Spring Break is later this month and I fantasize that break will provide me some time for this chore.

I always love Spring’s arrival.  It’s a season of tempting promise, with more and more warmth and bits of verdant green that have me dreaming of the lushness that will soon follow.  I’ve garden catalogs with dog-eared pages that fuel my planting daydreams.  There are bulbs with green tips peeking out of the soil.  The amount of daylight is steadily increasing and the coming time change is means a lengthening of the twilight that is my favorite part of the day.  

Though I am anxious to get Spring started, Old Man Tree will move at a more stately pace.  For me, that’s a welcome reminder of the value of patience.  Old Man Tree reminds me that Mother Nature is powerful and enduring, an idea that I find profoundly comforting.

New Bloom Thursday: Week 11

My amaryllis is looking tantalizingly close to a bloom.  It had better get a move on or it will be beat to the punch by the abundant crocuses and daffodils outdoors, both of which are looking close to flowering thanks to the unseasonable warmth we’ve had this week.  Temps around here today will approach 80 again;  a perfect way to transition into the Spring Break that begins at 3:05 tomorrow afternoon.  I’m looking forward to the time off, a relaxed couple of weeks that will set me up for the marathon that is the last two months of the school year.  

I’m always impressed by the stem and flower generated by a modest amaryllis bulb.  It makes me smile every morning.  

Back to It

For the last two weeks, school has been on Spring Break.  For the first week, JT went to Florida with the baseball team.  I went to school on the days he was gone and worked from home  for the second week, with ample time off to get lots of Spring chores completed.  I cleaned the windows, dusted the baseboards, took after my bathroom grout with a bleach pen, cleaned closets and generally got myself ready for the juggernaut that is the last segment of the school year.

Part of getting myself ready involved some relaxation.  I slept in; read some good books; went for walks outside; cooked some new recipes; and relished the extra daylight.

I also swapped out my closet and brought Spring clothes to the forefront.  Gone are the tights, wool skirts and heavy sweaters.  In their place, I’ve got cotton sweaters, t-shirts, lightweight skirts, and warm-weather shoes.  Winter coats, hats, mittens, and scarves were washed and put away.  Spring jackets and scarves have replaced them on the coat rack.

Naturally, today is forecast to be a sunny 41 degrees.  4-1.  I am wearing a linen skirt, a pink cardigan sweater, loafers, and a scarf.  It is as if I am involved in some sort of fake-it-’til-you-make-it Spring experiment.  My pride (and the office area-heater) will have to keep me warm.

Daffodil Optimism

This morning, the promise of time off and spring break lies ahead of me.  For the next 10 days, I can enjoy lazy mornings and free time.  That's the good news.

The bad news is that JT has a particularly nasty cold, full-blown as of last night.  Late last week, it was made clear that I will be teaching an additional class of 10th graders when we return to school.  Some of my time off must be used to plan for that reality.  Our break is shortened by four days (thanks, Sandy), at a time when we are truly worn out and need the rest.  Snow is in the frigid forecast for the next week.

Sigh.

Still, snow forecast not withstanding, I treat Spring as a hopeful time and spring break is no exception.  I've decided to concentrate on the good.  JT can rest now and recover from his cold.  I will think of the new class as a chance to read some extra history books.  No matter how cold it is outside, I will play in the garden and get ready for the vibrant blooms that are just around the corner.  I can at least make a dent in the pile of books and New Yorker magazines that litter the house.  T is planning to stay here for the week and that will be lovely.

There is promise in the air and by golly I will find it.

Flowers & Sunlight

We've spent most of this week enjoying some very nice weather.  I've poured over my garden catalogs and made plans for flowers and plants for the coming Spring and Summer.  But yesterday and today, wet, cool weather has returned and so I've been looking at the pictures I made in Florida, a reminder of flowers, warmth and sunlight yet to come.

We arrived at Disneyworld early enough for me to make some pictures of Cinderella's castle before the crowds arrived.

Red geraniums always look so cheerful.

Epcot had loads of beautiful gardens; this is one of the more expansive beds of flowers.

Daisy Duck is most charming depicted in flowers.

Grandma ran across a Viking in Norway.  Lucky for us, he was a friendly invader.

In England, I enjoyed a cup of tea.

I've yet to determine what these flowers are but they smelled amazing.

My azaleas are still organizing for their showy display but they bloom much earlier in Florida.

My fingers itch to plant some blooms of my own!

Wednesday, 4 pm

 Offered without comment.

One More Reason to Love This Kid

Crazy Hat Day

In a rare display of parenting success, I have somehow been able to persuade JT to try on crazy hats and let me make his picture.  I don't even have to cajole to make it happen, and so I have a growing collection of my charming boy in a bunch of hats.  Disneyworld and Epcot are the perfect place to build such a collection and I took advantage of the opportunity.

He makes a cuter Uncle Sam, I think.

Senor Gigante Sombrero tried out his Spanish when we were at Mexico in Epcot.

I think that this hat is a boar, but I can't be sure.  Germany, you've got some explaining to do.

And here's the boy enjoying a Mickey ice cream bar and wearing one of his many baseball caps. 

I know that some day JT won't fall for my nonsense and will instead roll his eyes and say "oh, Mother" when we come across silly hats.  When that happens, I plan to bribe him with these photos.

Surprise!

JT and I are enjoying our last day in Orlando with my friends A and M, a trip we've been planning since last summer.  M rented a house with 6 bedrooms and given the extra space, decided to add a surprise: they invited my parents to join us.  JT was not in on that trip detail and so when we arrived Saturday he was in for a big shock.  He was wheeling our suitcase into the house when Grandpa called out a comment about finding the right house.   My boy stopped in his tracks and turned to look for the source of this very familiar voice.  Surprise, indeed!  We went to theme parks with Grandma (who has a boundless ability to walk the Disney acres).

We visited the world of Epcot and especially enjoyed the flower displays.

Then the four of us headed west to see the Cardinals play a spring ball game against the Nationals.  It was a real treat for JT to get to talk non-stop baseball live and in-person with his Gramps.

We fly home this afternoon, a bit tanned and a lot tired.  But most happy!

Irony

In each of the Epcot countries, there are stores (duh!) and you can purchase a Mickey Mouse dressed in that nation's traditional costume.  Pretty cute, actually.  But when we checked out the American Mickey we were surprised to find that he was "made in Vietnam."  Oh, America.

 Insert your own ironic comment here.

Real Life Conversations with JT: Crash Test Dummies edition

The backstory: We were at Epcot today, riding the rides and visiting the world.  One of the rides was a car test simulation and there were loads of crash test dummies lying around.  I urged him to sidle over near them but JT could see where that idea was headed.

Mama:  Come over here and let me make your picture.

JT:  By the crash test dummy sign?  I'm not falling for that, mother.

Internet, I think think we've laid to rest any speculation that I brought the wrong baby home from the hospital.

JT and Lady G'ma

We're at the Disney megaplex of power here in Orlando (more on that later, I promise).  Today, JT and I went with Grandma to the Magic Kingdom.  Grandma may be nearly 70 but she can rock the 3-D glasses.  JT took one look at her wearing these glasses and announced that she wasn't Lady Gaga but she was Lady G'ma.

 Indeed.