sol25 March6 10 Minutes

Many fellow slices are sharing 20 minute sections of their day.  
I'm sharing just 10 minutes!

The wind was raging even though the rain had not yet started, as I landed in the parking lot with just 20 minutes before my appointment.  My fridge was a barren wasteland after a pre-garbage day purge. While I planned to abstain from meat that day, there were no eggs, no cottage cheese, and not even any peanut butter as sources of protein to be found in my house!

One of those mini-carts designed for those of us who live alone scooted across the parking lot towards me and I grabbed it before it caused physical damage to my car.

I grabbed a box of greens, on sale, and a couple of oranges, on sale. I snagged a box of tea and a bag of coffee, on sale, along with some oatmeal. I debated the extra cost of cottage cheese with pineapple, and decided on plain, on sale. I grabbed a bag of baked Lays in spite of the cost, and splurged on a can of on sale crab claws from Canada before heading to the self-check out line.

As I loaded my goods, I realized that in just 10 minutes, I had:

• saved my car from cart-inflicted-damage
• filled an almost entirely healthy cart
• prepared for Lent
• reflected on the economic challenge of grocery shopping today
• splurged on crab claws for the last time, for at least a while
• worried about how those with families, like my children, are coping
• spent a lot of money!

sol25 March 5 Her Story***

 

On day 4 of the March SOL Challenge, Sally at wrote to a love note 

to her infant granddaughter about her own Writing Hobby!

 I am borrowing her format to write a note to one of my own.

Dearest,

     You are no longer a little girl and not yet a big one, but you have been around long enough to understand what make people tick. You know who needs to run to stay sane and who needs to eat dessert in order to smile. You have been watching and observing your Meme for long enough to notice that your Meme has way too many books and spends way too much time reading and writing. Back in the day when I was juggling my own kids, jobs, commutes, sports teams, laundry, and caregiving, you would still have found a book and a notebook on my nightstand. 

    You are at the beginning of your own story, but I smile proudly as I see you immersed in the Babysitter Club or filling blank journals with your own stories of families and lives so different from your own. When you sent me your first graphic novel, I stopped what I was doing and savored every word. When you admitted you were writing on your Mom's I Pad, I acknowledged that karma is real.

    Your own story may take you to places and experiences I cannot even imagine. You will not likely hold tight to your grandmother's "dish" or "quilt" like I did. Yet, you might just someday find this blog and smile as your read your Meme's mutterings. I suspect you will smile when you walk past a garage sale and see a worn copy of the The Boy Who Wouldn't Swim or Charlotte's Web. I suspect those seeds planted as we shared stories may fester into those of a lifelong reader and writer. It is exciting to watch you writing your story. 

With Love,
Your Meme

sol25 March 4 Does You Tube Know?

 

I woke up in a sweat, kicked off the covers, and headed to the shower. "I must have misread the forecast," I thought as I abandoned my usual fleece for a tee.

As I reached the stairs, the steam pipes were clearly humming and my heart increased in response. I hurried to the thermostat where the 78 degree indication justified my sweat. I instantly decided to turn the heat off remembering the scene a few years ago when that 100 year old steam pipe in the basement blew spewing a century of waste everywhere. 

"I'll have to figure this one out after class," I thought as I sighed deeply and grabbed my fleece.                              

Wondering, worrying if the problem was the pipes, furnace, or the thermostat?                        Wondering, worrying if I could really fix it or if I would need to get a service call.                        Wondering how long if would take to get a service person to come?
Worrying how much it would cost.                                                                                                Wondering if I could fix this mess?                                                                                                Worrying if my pipes might freeze before I fixed the problem? 
Wondering if I should skip my favorite early morning Aquacize class given this mess?

Worrying, wondering about the problem during every single step, every stroke, every move.

Wondering as I showered, dressed and drove home.

Worrying as the temperature had already dropped 15 degrees in my old house.

Hoping You Tube holds the answer?

sol25 March 3 They Come in Threes

 

"I am heartbroken to share," the note began.  I knew the next words without reading them. 

I sighed, deeply, and apologized to my mother who claimed these events came in threes even though even she knew there was no scientific evidence! 

I spent many years quietly disproving her personal "life-theorems" based on lore!

I went outside day after day with long wet hair on bitter cold winter days and did not catch a cold!

I've dropped spoons again and again without a visitor to my home!

I've walked under ladders and cuddled with black cats, more than once!

I've broken the 5 second rule with peanut butter sandwiches, shrimp cocktails, and steaks!

Yet, her message, once again, was loud, clear, and sadly accurate. I put the times for the wake and funeral into my calendar for the third time in as many weeks. 

Looking up to the heavens, I suspect, by now, my mom would be on the Welcome Wagon and they would soon be commiserating about their daughters. She will  be missed.

sol25 March 2 I Am Concerned

 

On day w of the March SOL Challenge, 

I am reflecting on who I am:

I am 

Proud: Mom, Meme, Sister, Auntie, Cousin, 

Appreciative: Friend, Professor, Teacher, 

Wanna-Be: Beach-Bum, Writer,

Grateful for: Great Literature, 

Modern Medicine, Strong Faith. 

Year 14, SOL March Participant,

Hoping to write and remember

The magical small moments.

I am

Passionate about:

 Using my gifts to serve others,

Thinking critically about all things,

Remembering that history should

Guide us to not repeat mistakes.

Concerned about:

Socio-political decisions

Impacting those with the least authority,

Challenging beliefs about our fragile planet,

My generations legacy.

SOL25 March 1 What Lies Ahead?

 

I was going to write an introductory slice, but then life happened,

So you will have to infer something about me, for today.

Like lemmings pulled to a familiar green sign off the highway, the train of aging Priuses and well worn mini-vans made their way in the days after the announcement. 

 

If they were lucky enough to score a wagon, they filled the belly with paint, paper, crafts, thread and the remaining Singer machines.  They pulled patterns from the bins without worry about the price or sizes and loaded skeins of yarn in all colors as if their lives depended on it.  They waited in line fingering reams of fabric.

Throughout the store, people talked softly, respectfully, as one might at a serious event such as a wake. Even when the check out system crashed, there were no complaints, only subdued resignation. It was as if people were returning "home" one last time and shopping as if after a generation of supporting home sewers and crafters, the "mother-ship" was soon closing its doors for good.

I know we will be able to "get stuff" online; however, I am not sure how those of us who love the feel of fabric and yarn will "get our fix." 

Yet, my sadness was amplified 100 fold as I waited in the long check out line and read about the forceful end of diplomacy.  I was consumed with fear as threats and punishments break relationships but do not change behaviors.  I was filled with images of bullying and the damage it does on every level of society. A few tears fell down my cheeks because I am very worried about what lies ahead. 

sol25 February 25 Signs of Hope***

 

February has been a hard season,

Bone-chilling cold,

Life-changing losses,

Moral-compass challenging news

Every single day.

I've tried avoiding 

Social media, evening news

Sharing my thoughts.

Afraid.

Saddened.

Scared.

I've been searching 

For signs

Hope.

As the sun emerged, snow melted,

Two signs emerged:

A grandchild's picture

Depicting

Hope through the ages.

A friends message

"One child, one teacher, one book, 

and one pen, can change the world." 

Malala Yousafzai

I am hopeful March

Will bring change.

sol25 Vestiges of the Pandemic

As I read about another "everyone back in office every day" mandate, I could not help but think of discussions, not that long ago, about the power of Zoom to change working environments, permanently. I could not help but think of the empty parking lots at the train station, month after month after month. I could not help but think of the plummeting real estate values for office spaces or the demise of "We Work" pop-up places for start-ups. I could not help but think about the moms and dads in shorts and Crocs, coffee mugs in hand, lazily walking their children into school long after the pandemic.  

I could not help but think of my own grad students in Texas, Manhattan, Queens, and Upstate New York who join together every week. Zoom has provided a means to a master's degree while working; however, I could not help but think this will change, like everything else, someday soon.

While I hope to never experience the isolation and loss of life we all felt five years ago, there are at least a few people longing for the work-from-home-in-sweats-walk-your-dog-midday vestiges of the pandemic era!

sol25 T - 37

 

There is snow/ice event headed my way in hours, long before my arms will have recovered from the last shoveling event! Then, there is another snow/ice event headed on Wednesday night and my arms ache just thinking about it! The local forecasters are also suggesting another event on Sunday and then next Tuesday. One after another as if we had requested snow and cold!

For three years, snow and ice had skirted my little spot on the map as if we had a protective forcefield around us! I dutifully pulled out the SAME bag of "safe" for pets ice melt every year and then dutifully returned it to the garage intact. To be honest, I was feeling a bit smug about the lovely if unusual winters.   

The first storms of this season passed me by, but the past month has been brutal! I've worn my boots every single day! I had to scour multiple stores in order to find another bag of "safe" ice melt. 

I was feeling "down" until I thought about my Littles sliding down that hill again and again at "take-your-breath-away-speed." If I am honest, that is what I really want to remember about winter weather!  I thought about the snow day video with my Littles dancing in the middle of a Thursday as if it was normal. Then, I got a request to come "see" my Little's new snow fort. 

If I am honest, snow is annoying and shoveling is not fun, but the joy snow provides is immense for those not burdened by shoveling. Plus, Spring is 37 days away.

 

sol25 February4 We Are Finally Starting

 

Towards the end of my undergraduate experience, I lost the bulk of an academic scholarship to a changing focus on increasing the diversity of the student body. As a headstrong young adult who had earned a 4.0 for the many semesters, I turned my head and walked away, finishing my degree elsewhere. I did realize I had many opportunities not available to others, but my heart was still sad.

Years later, I was a finalist for a fantastic teacher-leader position in a prestigious district with a salary I could have only dreamed of previously. I went to the wire with interviews, writing samples, demo lessons, but lost the position to a person who was equally qualified and filled diversity boxes in the world of elementary schools. To be honest, this time I did fully understand the need for teachers and administrators to reflect the student bodies they lead, but I still felt sad. 

In spite of a few bumps in the road, my own professional journey has been a great one. These days, I am proud to work with an increasingly diverse group of teachers and wanna be educational leaders. My students include first generation Americans, second language learners, career changers, special education students, and former members of the Armed Forces. Each and every one of them aspires to create educational environments where ALL students learn to be effective and reflective members of society who read critically, write responsibly, and create substantially. I am in awe of their passion and honored to lead discussions where we challenge the "status quo" and critically examine educational decisions. After each class, my heart is full of hope for the future of education. 

It has taken leaders with vision, quite a bit of legislation and an entire generation. These days, our schools are finally starting to reflect the beautiful tapestry of our society.  Yet, these days, I am concerned about the future.