Time Off for Bad Behavior

I have not died.  I haven’t even been sick, except for a head cold.

I have, however, been away from my blog for a very long time.  A month and a half is like ten years in the blogosphere, I fear.

Since I last posted, way back in November, a few things have happened in my life.  First, I had a mild teacher meltdown.  As in, I can’t do this anymore.  I’ll never make it ’til retirement at this rate.  I work and sleep and work and sleep and migraine and sleep, and, and, and… WAAAAAHHHH!!

So my principal and dear friend Helen smacked me around one afternoon and told me to get a grip.  She also (and this is why I love her) told me that I don’t take care of myself, I have horrible eating habits, I don’t exercise, and I use my migraine as an excuse to not take better care of myself.  She doesn’t pull any punches, and she and I are so much alike with respect to our health, she basically was saying it for both of us.

Then I realized I was about to be a grandmother any day now.  An overweight, out of shape, 52-year-old grandmother.  My mother was 62 when she died.  She did not get to see any of her grandchildren grow up, nor did she even get to know my youngest, who was just a toddler when Mom died.  Of heart disease.  Like everyone else in her family.  She was overweight.  And out of shape.  And made excuses for why she didn’t eat better and exercise.

Another thing that happened is that I had dinner with my son, Nathan.  At 23, he was working as a security guard.  He actually gets to wave hello and goodbye to Jerry Springer quite often as he provides security where Mr. Springer lives.  Which is neither here nor there, but I got to drop a name, so whatever…  Anyway, between a bad ankle and a fairly sedentary job, along with horrible work hours, he had put on quite a bit of weight.  Over the past year, he has lost 45 pounds and has a little more to go.

At dinner, we had a great talk about politics, religion, our goals and plans, and he talked to me about how he lost the weight.  He uses an app on his phone called Myfitnessplan.  Without going into it in-depth, I will tell you he tracks his food and water intake, along with exercise each day.  He also started going to a local gym and noticed that his weight loss slowed, but his waist is getting smaller.  He joined up with a neighbor and long time friend of his, which keeps them both accountable.

I am quite proud of my son.  He is one of those no-nonsense people who aren’t big on excuses, at least not from others.  ;)

So, I’m exhausted from work, about to have a new grandson, and I’m overweight and out of shape.  Gee, what should I do?

Suffice it to say, I’m not a total idiot.  I’ve been tracking my food intake for the past few weeks, and I’ve lost 11 pounds.  I also joined the same gym this week, and have started doing cardio.  Due to my arthritis and bad knees, I’m limited for now to the recumbent bike and the stationary bike, but I can get a good 30 minute workout on each.  I am also learning that I am WAY over my sugar limit each day, so I’m going to have to work on that, and that I get very little potassium in my diet, so I’ve started taking a supplement.

I am also on my Christmas break, so I’m catching up on some needed rest as I start to build some new routines in my life.

And by the way, my new grandson?  He’s exquisite.

 

I Found My People

Last Saturday, despite the incredible amount of work and responsibilities pressing down on me, I got in my car and took off.

Well, to be honest, I had the GPS set.  I’m just not that spontaneous.  I headed north to meet my daughter in the little town of Barberville, Florida for a festival she was attending, volunteering for, and camping at.  I am butchering the name, I think, but it’s something like the Barberville Pioneer Festival of the Arts.

Barberville High School

I had originally agreed to camp with my child for the weekend.  However, the week leading up to the weekend was the most ridiculously exhausting of my school year.  Field trip, bus duty, workshop, tutoring, report card conference night – AARRGGHH!  So I promised my daughter I’d drive up for the day, not realizing at the time that it would take me almost three and a half hours to get there.  I am an idiot.

Had it not been for the fact that my child was waiting on me to bring her some much-needed stuff in the way of note taking supplies and a Coleman lantern, I probably would have backed out.  And that would have been a mistake.

The place was crawling with interesting characters.  The “folkies” who had their guitars, banjos, fiddles, washboards, and the like; the “period folks” dressed in old pioneer garb; the crafters, the beekeepers, the quilters, the weavers, and on and on.

My daughter volunteered in the musical “petting zoo”.  Instruments were available for anyone to pick up and shake, hit, or strum.

dulcimers waiting to be strummed

One of my favorite parts was listening to the jam sessions around the park. There were anywhere from 3 to a dozen or more musicians gathered here and there playing fiddle tunes and old folk songs.  The largest jam session included a man playing a washboard, an autoharp, and a bass in addition to fiddles, banjos, and guitars.

Hard to see, but this was part of the big jam.

 

I’ll leave you with a few more photos of this wonderful event.  I plan on attending next year for the weekend and hope to spend more time with the artisans and musicians who so graciously and unpretentiously shared their crafts.  I haven’t spent a day that relaxed and happy in a long time and I felt like I was finally among a group of people who shared my love for the simple, but most beautiful things in life – a pretty melody, a little history, and a thing of beauty made by human hands.  Many of those participating were my age and older, which reminded me that it is never too late to start doing that which fulfills you.  In fact, I met a lovely couple around my age who just starting playing a year ago.  Now they’re moving onward and upward!

boiling down sugar cane

beeswax candles

winding rope

To Facebook or Not to Facebook

courtesy of fourteencreative.com

For those of us of a certain age, Facebook seems to bring about strong reactions.  My brother refers to it as “drinking the Koolaid”.  I think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread.  Of course, I’m right and my brother is wrong, but that’s to be expected between siblings.

Actually, I’m sure both of us are a little off.  Well, I know we’re “off”.  But that’s another topic altogether.

I came across this link this evening which supports the use of Facebook among middle-aged people.

One of the benefits stated is that you can reconnect with those you’ve lost touch with and I can attest to this.  One of the greatest joys I’ve had recently has been reconnecting with people I went to elementary, middle, and high school with.  I was a particularly shy, unsure child, and it’s great to get to know these people again as a confident, outgoing adult.  We recently spent two days commenting on a fourth grade class picture one of my classmates posted.  It led to great stories about teachers and classmates from long ago!

Another benefit for those of us baby boomers who graduated from college and headed for adventures that took us away from home and family is that we now have a way to stay in touch with the family and friends we left behind.  I have watched my great-nephew grow from baby to toddler to little man from 1500 miles away.  And now I’m witnessing his beautiful baby sister transform from a newborn to a happy healthy baby girl.  My daughters and I have regular conversations, both by phone and by Facebook, whether we’re in the same town or a thousand miles apart.

Facebook has also provided me with an amazing network of colleagues, some from work, some who are family, and some I’ve met through other family and colleagues.  What a great support system  to have!  We share our experiences and I find myself relieved to hear others with the same stresses and triumphs as mine.

If God and I are on the same page, I plan to retire and travel extensively in an RV sometime in the next decade.  This will take me away from my children and grandchildren for months at a time.  I am counting on Facebook, or whatever social networking giant is in place at that time, to keep me in regular contact with my kids, my grandkids, and my local friends.

Like anything, Facebook has its downfalls.  It can be a huge time suck.  If you friend everyone who knows someone who knows you, you can end of with hundreds of “friends” who are total strangers.  And if you aren’t diligent about your privacy settings, strangers will have access to information you never meant to share.

Having said that, TV is also a huge time waster, going to parties where you know one person just so you can say you mingled with lots of people is just as ridiculous, and people who leave their cars and doors unlocked, or fail to shred sensitive documents before putting them out in the trash provide dangerous access to themselves every day.

All in all, I think the benefits make Facebook worthwhile for those of us over 50, especially those of us who have moved a time or two.  I keep in touch with people across the country.  In fact, during our little Facebook elementary school reunion, I had a two-day long conversation with former classmates living in New York State, California, and Japan!  Not bad for a service that is free to use for as many minutes or hours I’d like, twenty-four hours a day.

Just Call Him Grace

I love my son.

 Let me just say that right off the bat.

 He is incredibly smart, laugh until I cry funny, and has a fierce sense of right and wrong.

 

But graceful, he ain’t.

I have no idea what he was trying to put into or get out of the attic.

It’s tricky, because the garage ceiling is much higher than normal – it’s a long way from attic to concrete floor.

But according to his Facebook post, “the boy” felt the ladder going and had time to think… uh oh.

Apparently, he was able to do some stepping on the way down, since his dad has a lot of stuff sitting in the garage, where the attic entrance is located.

His father has also fallen off the ladder while climbing to the attic.

I think as a family we need to proclaim the attic and machetes (a story for another day) OFF LIMITS.

Either that, or I need to become a beneficiary on their life insurance policies!

PS – I blatantly stole the photo from my son’s Facebook page.  I’m 99.999% sure he took the picture himself.  So he gets the photo credit.

Memory Lane

It’s almost time for bed for this little chica, but I have to share the wonderful fun I’ve had the past two evenings.

One of my best friends from childhood, Barb, posted a class photo of our 4th grade class.  What a blast from the past!  Several of my old schoolmates are also Barb’s facebook friends, so an entire thread was developed from this photo.  Who’s the girl in the third row?  Who is that next to Deb?

Some of us have been amused to find their haircuts are still pretty similar.  My own daughters realized that they not only look just like each other, they also look like the 10-year-old me.

The best gift of this thread is that I have reconnected with some smart, genuinely nice people from my childhood.  And now that I’m no longer painfully shy, I am looking forward to sharing great conversations with these talented people!

Looking Forward to Looking Forward

I have been one busy woman.

Like most people these days, it seems, my days seem to start fast and pick up speed until I tumble into bed 16 or 17 hours later, exhausted.  I spend my days trying to cram in 20 hours worth of work, errands and chores into 15 hours – which is frustrating and impossible.

Between my regular job and the two and a half hours at the after school program four days a week I have little time to think about much more than getting through the day, and my weekends are often spent recuperating from the week while nursing a weekend migraine.  I spend a lot of time in bed from Friday evening until Monday morning.

I caught a little break on this glorious Friday.  We had an inservice day, which is still work, but I get to spend the entire day focusing on one thing at a time, and pleasing one person at a time, which is like a vacation on a tropical island compared with a normal teaching day.  So I left work this afternoon with actual energy!  I went to Pier One and found an awesome pair of chair cushions for my wicker chairs on sale!  That got me to thinking about all I could do with paint for the living room walls, accessories and throw pillows, which led me to look at curtain panels, which got me thinking about decorating for the fall holidays, which got me in the car and headed to Michaels, where I bought a grapevine wreath, silk flowers and ribbon!

I am almost giddy at the thought of doing something fun around my home this weekend!  Looking forward is the ultimate energy drink and antidepressant, rolled into one.  Weekend, here I come!

A Little Rain?

 

So, we’re getting a little rain here in Florida.

Radar Short Term VideoCast Long Term

The East Coast has had 3 – 5 inches of rain today.  Here on the Gulf Coast, the rain has just hit this evening.  It’s amazing what a pesky tropical storm out in the Atlantic can do as it passes by on its way north.

The dog took two steps outside this evening, pulled a tight u-turn and trotted right back into the house.  She is not a fan of getting wet.  I personally love getting cozy with a cup of tea and a good book when it rains like this.  It’s the closest thing to snuggling under the covers during a snowstorm that I’m ever going to get in Florida.

The best part is, it’s bed time so the rain and wind can do their thing outside.  Ava, the wonder dog, and I will be snug as a bug in a rug.

Say What?

I had a good laugh today at work.

A student brought me a note someone had stuffed in the desk he sits in when he’s with me.  It was clearly written by two girls, and I quickly scanned it for signs of cursing, backstabbing, bullying and the like.

It was pretty innocent.  Do you like so and so?  The second writer responded with something else innocuous, but hard to read.

The original writer finished with, “You need to write neater.  I can’t read yo handwriting.”

 

I reminded the class that if your own friends can’t read your handwriting in the notes you pass in class, you need to clean it up!

I Surrender

What a Monday it was.  It started with me waking up thirty minutes before I was supposed to be at work.  It kind of went downhill from there.

Urgent email:  ”Do you have your ATD form ready to fax?  I need it this morning.”  Hmm… that will be hard since I’m with children until 2 pm.  And the form has to be signed by my administrator who isn’t here today.

Phone call: ” I can’t test your student today because of x, y, and z.”  Not really a problem, although I can’t return your call because I have kids in my room and I’m actually teaching them until 2 pm.

Phone call on my cell:  I ignored that one, but it was to confirm a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow afternoon and I can’t make personal calls while I have kids, so it will have to wait until 2 pm.

Urgent email:  ”How’s that ATD form coming?  I really need it right now.”  See above.

Finally, 2 pm.  I fill out ATD form, but the secretary is off campus and can’t okay it in the administrator’s place.  Registrar asks if I’ve printed my progress reports yet.  No because they weren’t printing correctly and I had to have our tech person do her voodoo with my laptop.  So I head upstairs to print progress reports one at a time.  I get through about half of them when I realize it’s time to pick up my kids, so they sit unfinished, I haven’t called the doctor back and the ATD form has not been faxed.  I have forgotten to go to the bathroom as well.

I take my kids out for recess, and as we’re lining up to go to dismissal areas, one of mine pounds another child, punching him in the head.  It took three classmates and I to pull him off.  I get a really, really firm grip on both of them and take them to the office as the bell rings.  I want to pound my student personally, I’m so mad at him, but I refrain and decide not to speak and say something I will regret.  I deposit them both, call our Media Specialist, who gets to be our faux administrator because he used to be one, and head out to bus duty.

Bus duty is hot, loud, and smelly.  I leave early to check on the boy who got beat up.  Then I head upstairs to tutor for two hours.

After six I get home and find that my dog would not leave his crate earlier when my ex stopped by to take her out.  Awesome.  She was crated for over ten hours.  Guilt…

 

So now I’ve nuked some nasty side dish and I’m going to bed.  I give up.  Tomorrow will be better.  I’m sure of it.

A Slow Day for Old Women

Last week wore me out.  I don’t know if it was the flu shot I got on Monday, the migraine that lingered all week, or the ridiculousness of my work week.  Today has been a day of sleeping, web surfing, and more sleeping.

Except for the trip to the vet.  Old Ava, the wonder basset hound, had me outside with plastic bag in hand five times by ten this morning.  She wouldn’t touch her food, but made the most godawful gurgling, rumbly, gassy noises.  I made a call to my vets’ office and they told me to bring her in.  I love my vets.  She has a little bacterial infection, so she’s now on antibiotics and something to soothe her tummy.

As my dad said this morning, it’s hell to get old.