tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64668932024-03-14T01:52:59.636-07:00Oasis of SanityWife,Parent,Student,Teacher,Volunteer,Writer,Cook,Crazy.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.comBlogger1882125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-22053547026419184632023-04-10T01:59:00.001-07:002023-04-10T01:59:32.894-07:00Closing Time It's not that I've stopped writing. I've just stopped writing here.Life is just as crazy as it ever was, but it's not making me crazy anymore. Here's why. Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-72569127814263742462021-12-07T20:34:00.001-07:002021-12-07T20:34:45.763-07:00How time does go by It's twenty-four years now.It was a typical day, really, and I couldn't understand why I was crushed with sadness on my drive home, until I recognized the date. Every year, it's the same. Love you, Dad.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-18857468709846840342021-06-16T23:19:00.004-07:002021-06-25T03:13:09.093-07:00döstädning "Swedish death cleaning"Apparently, there's at least one book out there about this, and I've seen multiple articles, though I've never bothered to read much past the headlines. It's a simple idea, really: If you were gone, as in dead and gone, not just on vacation, would the things you're leaving behind be a burden? As the daughter of a dedicated pack rat, I am opposed to Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-52765032771293169522021-05-31T16:44:00.001-07:002021-05-31T18:29:44.063-07:00suddenly, summer! Technically I have one more day -- maybe an hour or two -- before I can officially declare it summer, but I'm jumping the gun anyway: no more classes! As far as I'm concerned, that's summer. The entire school year was a surreal experience. Most individual days seemed very, very long, but by the end, I had a constant feeling of Wait, what? It can't be over yet!I was very Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-45593437658259191442021-04-05T16:09:00.001-07:002021-04-05T16:09:05.367-07:00All downhill from here I didn't mean to go so long without posting. The temptation is to say there's nothing going on, because really, it's just the daily grind and then some. It's life.In one week we went from low 60s to mid-to-high 90s - spring is here! Today is my first day of spring break week, finally -- Easter was yesterday. It was a good day, but busy-busy leading up to it, Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-83683150139752096782021-01-14T23:58:00.000-07:002021-01-14T23:58:19.448-07:00still here Wow, that was a quick 6 weeks. What happened?I worked like crazy to finish all my grading before Christmas break began, and I was a very good girl and worked hard on my planning in the first few days off. So when the offspring arrived I had plenty of free time, which was lovely. DD came down from Flagstaff with her cat and stayed for the better part of a week, and DS2 flewJoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-20827965622424616692020-12-05T02:13:00.001-07:002020-12-05T02:13:48.468-07:00all grasping at something DD came down from Flagstaff for the weekend specifically to put up our Christmas tree and decorate the house. I told her bluntly when she was here for Thanksgiving that I need help, and so she came down. There's a sweetness to it that is tinged with worry for her, she's fretting about what to do after graduation this spring. DH is pushing her towards grad school but she isJoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-76639317478249239792020-11-22T17:37:00.004-07:002020-11-22T17:37:46.688-07:00slacker I am compelled to write again because that last post was so dire I don't want it to be at the top any more.I don't exactly know why it was a such a hard week last week, and that day in particular so bad (beyond the typical exhaustion). It really was bad, too. But the next day was better, and now I'm more or less back to whatever "normal" is these days.Friday work ended early so Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-24135535387713215022020-11-19T00:35:00.019-07:002020-11-19T22:34:12.001-07:00snappedSomething broke in me today. Most school days, I get up with the alarm and say my prayers and then check my email before I'm really "up." I'm not exactly still in bed but I'm not out of it yet, either. Somehow that makes getting bad news even worse, because the opportunity to just give up and go back to sleep is so very present. Of course I didn't. The bad news: one Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-44091218728953425992020-10-25T18:39:00.001-07:002020-10-25T18:39:40.800-07:00gone Friday was an easy teaching day but became a hard day when communication with some parents didn't go well. Apparently, "many people are upset with my communication style," which was news to me. I told my admin, you can take the girl out of Boston but you can't take the Boston out of the girl. I'm direct but I try to be as kind as possible. There are times, though, Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-78859903472254786642020-10-20T20:49:00.000-07:002020-10-20T20:49:33.225-07:00attenuated I am stretched so very thin right now. I had this conversation with my partner teacher today. We are both in the same place, where every night we are frantically preparing for the next day. I haven't entered any but a few grades in the online grade book for going on three weeks now, but I'm so exhausted by the prospect that I'm writing this instead.This week in Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-52151163457503425372020-10-06T22:06:00.000-07:002020-10-06T22:06:26.118-07:00shingles?Man, I am cranky. Like I want to yell at everyone and everything. I did, in fact, yell at DH after dinner today for doing something he does all the time: challenges me on a detail when I have just, in fact, said I wasn't sure about said detail. I had already warned him I was super cranky, so I quite loudly asked him to give me a break and could he just knock it off for once. I Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-86641088298156360752020-10-04T00:36:00.000-07:002020-10-04T00:36:15.735-07:00You can get used to anything. Last Monday, I realized it had happened. We'd survived 2 weeks of in-person hybrid teaching and were about to embark on Week 3 when I caught myself mentally ticking off the things I needed to do, with no extra anxiety or irritation.You really can get used to anything. Now we've been through three weeks of this insanity, and we're adjusting as we go because it doesn't seem Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-87092948264201778752020-09-13T22:03:00.001-07:002020-09-13T22:03:37.370-07:00Week 5 already! Well, that time went by even faster than usual.I am once again in the first-year-teacher mode of developing curriculum for every single activity. We've survived three weeks of virtual school, and one week of hybrid, with about 2/3rds of our students in the classroom, and one-third still at home. The amount of technology I have to wrangle for each class is formidable, made worse Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-12015849288414254042020-08-09T21:21:00.007-07:002020-08-09T21:23:45.293-07:00one week outVirtual school starts a week from tomorrow! I have a vague feeling that I should be doing something right now, but I don't want to, so I'm not. Tomorrow the only thing we have scheduled is a virtual training on a new resource, and I'm sure a jillion other things will pop up, too. I'll get to it tomorrow. Last week was exhausting simply because I went into school every day.Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-70453517743864043772020-08-05T02:10:00.003-07:002020-08-05T03:55:44.894-07:0057 plusSpent most of my birthday helping my new colleague getting her classroom in order and downloading my brain about all the stuff that will be helpful for her to know. She is coming from the same school I worked at, so we compared war stories while we moved boxes of books and basically put things away. Tomorrow (later today, really) is our "Nitty Gritty" day -- long meetings where we go Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-3584091086004298672020-07-28T22:59:00.000-07:002020-07-28T22:59:48.334-07:00photo diaryJoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-47861099949071749482020-07-17T02:03:00.001-07:002020-07-17T02:05:00.644-07:00mouth math
2 new crowns = 1 new smile 😁
When my new dentist asked me, Do you like your teeth?, the only thing I could honestly answer was, It's complicated.
I did (do) like how my teeth are strong and healthy and easy to take care of, all that is true. But did I like the way my teeth looked? I can honestly say it has been a very long time since that was true, before Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-89061362322481785802020-07-08T00:17:00.002-07:002020-07-08T00:17:53.860-07:00holding upWe were supposed to be on the East Coast this week! Alas, it was not to be. I am still struggling to get my mind around the fact that we are still in this pandemic-lock down situation. When we started this back in March, I never imagined it would still be going on in July! I'm tired of it, and I want my regular life back.
/whining
Really, we're all fine, even if I Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-86662795477358220812020-06-22T19:49:00.000-07:002020-06-23T00:56:39.267-07:00don't look nowLiterally, don't look.
A lot of running around today, starting with a very early (7:15AM!) eye appointment. Yay me, the eyes are still doing fine, no changes noted, everything's stable and working fine.
Then home for just a bit, then out again to meet my principal, briefly, to sign my catechist certification paperwork. Then to the post office to mail the paper work off. Then groceryJoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-21094028268967849492020-06-20T14:12:00.000-07:002020-06-20T14:12:51.181-07:00a whole month gone...The world has gone crazy, and I don't know what to make of it, so I don't say anything.
Here in my own little world, for me, things are fine. I finished school without incident, and we were able to have a "physical distancing" graduation Mass for our students three weeks later than we normally would have. It was great seeing everyone again, but sad at the same time that we Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-48772196363570726262020-05-21T00:12:00.001-07:002020-05-21T00:12:58.735-07:00dislocatedAfter being away from school (buildings) for 2 months, we're (teachers, no students) finally back this week. It feels exactly like coming back at the end of the summer and getting ready for a new school year, but we're doing the exact opposite: closing up our classrooms for the summer, and doing all the end-of-year stuff that is mostly a waste of time and resources. But the Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-68257844009747057492020-05-19T01:08:00.000-07:002020-05-19T01:08:21.308-07:00now is the springtime...An eventful week-and-a-half.
On Friday I worked like a fiend to get all of the rest of the year's assignments developed and scheduled, so I wouldn't be crushed over the weekend as I have been for most of this distance-learning experience. So Saturday I slept late but then drove up to Flagstaff to bring DD home for a little Mother's Day visit. The weather was absolutely Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-64368399589233521472020-05-08T00:34:00.001-07:002020-05-08T00:34:28.867-07:00nopeI took the T3 for just a few days and noticed many more palpitations and no slacking of the hand pain, so I've ditched it. Well, it's still in the cupboard, but I'm not taking anymore.
Last night's insomnia was the worst, and I'm blaming the T3. I think I got maybe 4 hours of sleep? Ridiculous, just lying there, listening to all the parts of my body saying "ow" at various Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466893.post-9147610590754964032020-05-03T17:30:00.000-07:002020-05-03T17:30:36.379-07:00desperate measuresSo the painful hands have been a round-the-clock thing since I posted about it, and it sure feels like it started more than a week ago. I swear I haven't been doing anything more strenuous than typing, and that doesn't seem like it should make my hands kill me all day long.
It would be one thing if it were just a little morning unpleasantness, but this past week they've been hurting Joanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.com0