Real Life Conversations with TLE: Fruitful edition

The backstory: T and I were talking about fruits, when the topic of kiwis came up.

T: Kiwi is a hybrid…..it’s a mix of a strawberry and a banana.

S: That does’t make any sense.

T: Yes it does…it’s like yellow and blue makes green.

S:  I am consulting the Internet on this one.

Kiwis come from a vine that first grew in China and they were once known as Chinese gooseberries.  There are many variations of the kiwi, though none are the result of a strawberry and banana hybridization.  Her knowledge of fruit taxonomy could use improvement,  but her ease with the language of bullshit is one of the many reasons I love her.

Heat + Sunlight + Rain = Peony Blooms!

This weekend, JT is working problems to study for his math final exam. I'm enjoying the garden and the results of one of my favorite equations.

That’s happy!

Real Life Conversations with a Teenager: Why Are You This Way? edition

The backstory: Though he is often a very pleasant companion, sometimes I’m reminded that living with a 15 year old is still a landmine, as was the case when JT and I discussed the 10th grade summer reading list.  It requires the students to read two books and then choose a third from a small list of classics that seems exceptionally appealing to boys (we’re talking All Quiet on the Western Front, A Farewell to Arms, David Copperfield).

Me:  It looks like a pretty good list.

JT:  The second list is short.

At this juncture, because his tone suggests that the short list is a grave injustice and I am aware that teachers often blow off the third summer reading book, I cheerfully encourage open rebellion.  I do this because he’s a teenager, a sect known for sometimes enjoying a flouting of the rules.  And because a short reading list of decent books seems just fine to me, a point I made when this conversation began.

Me:  So read something from the long list instead.

JT (in an exceptionally scornful tone that suggests he is being raised by a simpleton who understands very little about formal education):  We’re. supposed. to. read. from. THE. SHORT. LIST.

Me (now trying to figure out how this seemingly short throw-away conversation has turned into yet another example of how I don’t get it):  Got it.

A quiet descends.  But the boy might be just as mystified as I am by how this conversation played out because few minutes later, he crawls into his bed and calls, “Good night.  I love you, Mama. See you in the morning.”  As I have for years, I reply, “Not if I see you first.  I love you, son.”  And all was quiet on the Sassafras House front.

The Exuberant Rhododendron

Once Mother Natures turns on the tap of Spring, the blooms and blossoms she generates are simply splendid.  Case in point: my front yard rhododendrons.  They had a bit of a tough winter, thanks to all the cold and snow.  But this Spring, they’ve come to celebrate the warmth.  They flank the front steps and are lovely.

Mother Nature gets to be garish and showy.  

With blooms like this, who can blame her?

Peony Days

A few years ago, T and JT gave me a peony for Mother’s Day.  I’ve always wanted a peony plant and it’s lovely to have one so enthusiastic about blooming.  On busy May mornings as I walk to the car for a long day, I stop to check out the plant.  Last week, the showy buds were getting ready.

This week, things are coming along quite nicely; there are peony flowers in my future.

That’s happy!

Garden Ready

I planted some zinnias seeds and tomato plants two weeks ago and this past Saturday the rest of my summer garden got planted.  The plant store on the Friday night of Memorial Day weekend was surprisingly quiet and I rolled my cart through the aisles filled with happy thoughts of the blooms and fresh produce in my future.  A nice collection of plants came home with me.

The backyard garden is now planted, awaiting sunlight and warm temperatures.  There is a lot of cleanup and weeding still to be done and I may put a few more seeds in the ground.  But zinnia seedlings are well on their way, tomato plants are in cages, and the growing season has begun.

The front yard got some trimming and the front porch got a few more pots of flowers.  Indoor plants have come outside for the summer.

Extra warm temperatures are forecast for this week.  Soon enough, I will be picking the things that I have grown. That is most happy.

Real Life Texts with KO: Infectious Disease edition

The backstory:  Not for the first time, my sister and I had an exchange about our favorite brand of underwear.

Me:  Today’s troubling news…Nordstrom undies are no longer called Shimera.  Now brand is just Nordstrom.  I cannot approve though I did enjoy the sale price on a color that wasn’t hideous. Half woot.

KO:  They can call them whatever they want as long as they don’t call them discontinued.  Maybe someone finally tipped them off that Shimera sounds like a disease?

My shimera has been under control for years, thank you.  The undies can be found here and seriously, they are worth every penny.

Preparing

Since I switched jobs, I am on a 12-month contract.  Though there is still plenty of time off, I don’t have the three months of summer vacation that I enjoyed as a teacher.  That is not to say that summer is all work and no play.  In fact, summer days at a school without students is an easy pace.  Though my to-do list is rather long, I get a lot of things done a great deal more quickly.  

The work day is shorter, no work comes home for the evenings or weekends, and I take days (even weeks) off.  But the loss of 3 months of seemingly endless time that was summer vacation meant making a transition in my own thinking.  Rather than assume relaxation would just happen, I make intentional time for it.   The month of May is filled with the expectant spirit of a well-earned break in the offing.

Life outdoors and my cheerful front porch is the center of summer relaxation for me.  For my summer schedule, I’ve established a morning tradition of sitting on the front porch reading a book while I enjoy my first cup of coffee.  The porch becomes a sanctuary on summer mornings and in May I plant the flowers and clean the porch so that it is fresh and welcoming for the summer that lies ahead.

I enjoy getting the porch ready for summer and it provides two benefits in the busy month of May.  First, I get some time outside to plant flowers and otherwise embrace nature.  There will be plenty of that in the summer as well, but after a long winter and in the midst of the frenetic pace of the end of the school year, the time outside is a pleasure.  The second benefit of my summer preparation is a reminder to live in the moment.  May is beautiful around here and it’s good to stop and enjoy its blooms and blessings.

Real Life Conversations with JT: Common Sense edition

The backstory:  Growing up in California, my awareness of electric storms was pretty minimal.  As it turns out, it really doesn’t ever rain in California and it wasn’t until I moved to Tennessee that I learned the basic rules of thunder and lightening.  I next made my home in Nebraska, smack dab in the middle of tornado alley, and the rules of storms get meaning real quick in a place like that.  New Jersey has electrical storms, but not as often as Tennessee and Nebraska.  My prairie-born boy hasn’t been paying attention to the rules, as T and I learned on Saturday evening, when he came in from the outdoors and made an announcement.

JT:  There is a storm outside. 

Me:  It does look rather ominous.

JT and and T then looked out the windows at the darkening skies.  

JT:  I think that there was thunder or lightening.  Whichever one is silent; I saw that a few times.

Me:  Well, that’s the one that should bring you inside son, so good call on that.  

Then T explained to him that electric storms should bring a boy inside and tornado warnings should get him to the basement.  And T and I congratulated ourselves on keeping him alive this long.

  

Real Life Conversations at School: Laugh More Often edition

The backstory:  My 7th graders are creating American history-themed amusement parks as their final class project.  By necessity, this means discussions of their favorite amusement park rides.  Student G has even greater ambitions.

G:  You can rent all of Hurricane Harbor (a local water park) for yourself and I’d like to do that some day.

S:  For yourself?  Wouldn’t that be….(and here I pause to consider my word choice…..I’m thinking of lonely or overwhelming or quiet or something but G quickly filled the gap).

G:  Awesome?

At which point I burst into laughter and the startled class started laughing along with me.  When we caught our breath R said, “You’ve never laughed like that before.”  I think that I laugh like that all the time but now I’ve made a mental note: laugh more often with the 7th grade.