Saturday, August 9, 2008
Smelling the Roses
My three year old stopped to smell the roses. Literally. Deep purple roses. He stood on tip-toe for a long sniff. Stopping to smell the roses. Imagine that.
Temper, Temper.
I lost my temper and kicked a file cabinet the other night. It wasn’t the wisest thing to do. I rarely lose my temper in an overtly physical way and this incident was particularly costly. The inside of my foot is not black and blue; rather, more of a deep purple and red and incredibly tender. My big toe hurts to wiggle. I thought by the third day the swelling would go down, but it still hurts to walk.
My timing was off. I’m supposed to be training for a 10K and couldn’t imagine running with my foot in its current state. I forced it into my running shoe yesterday to see how it felt. Not good.
My family is not the screaming, kicking and throwing type. We let things fester. My mom lost her temper once. She hurled a coffee cup, hot coffee included, at my dad. She missed and the cup shattered against the wall, leaving a black stain down the side of the wall to the carpet. The stain was removed within the hour and we moved on. They joke about it today.
I ran four miles this morning and cursed my lack of control with each step. This afternoon I watched my boys race down the sidewalk and would typically be running right behind them- but not today.
Temper, temper.
My timing was off. I’m supposed to be training for a 10K and couldn’t imagine running with my foot in its current state. I forced it into my running shoe yesterday to see how it felt. Not good.
My family is not the screaming, kicking and throwing type. We let things fester. My mom lost her temper once. She hurled a coffee cup, hot coffee included, at my dad. She missed and the cup shattered against the wall, leaving a black stain down the side of the wall to the carpet. The stain was removed within the hour and we moved on. They joke about it today.
I ran four miles this morning and cursed my lack of control with each step. This afternoon I watched my boys race down the sidewalk and would typically be running right behind them- but not today.
Temper, temper.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Healthy Educators & Hope
So I had this idea while running. During my first year of teaching I contracted bronchitis, strep throat and my favorite... chicken pox. While chicken pox- or as my son appropriately calls them, "chicken pops"- is a nightmare at a young age, you can only imagine the joy of being 23 and discovering pox in your throat and other more personal and tender places. The bronchitis and strep throat came from my students but ironically, the chicken pox came from the occupational therapist who worked with our students in the Special Day Class.
So here was the idea. Since the elementary teacher in Wichita, Kansas is blamed for everything from the price of gas to the on-going war in Iraq this causes quite a bit of stress. Not only is she solely responsible for the literacy crisis, math crisis, science crisis and lack of accountability with today's youth, but she still has to plan engaging lessons that inspire and motivate young minds. And don't forget the parents- making allies can take some time and energy. Sure, she has summer. But not really. I can not recall taking a full summer off since I was teaching summer school or doing temp work to make extra money which was really just necessary money to get through to the next school year. Given this amount of stress, I questioned what would have helped me as a new teacher and decided, somewhere between mile 3 and 4 of my early morning run, that the answer was so obvious: a healthy mind, body and spirit.
I shared this idea with the 63 students in a preservice course I am teaching this summer. These are future K-12 teachers. I asked how many people run. Very few hands went up. I then shared the idea of the Nike Plus World 10K run at the end of August and how I'd like to start a running club or some sort of organization for future teachers and discussed the benefits of health for themselves and as a model to their future students. The conversation picked up. In the end I promised to start a website (I have yet to figure out how to do that but I'm working on it) and the positive response was overwhelming. I came home to find 4 emails about this future website and building a community and the emails continue to come in two days later.
I believe in healthy minds, bodies and spirits. I also believe that people are hungry for hope and answers and communities. The economy and every day stressors can leave us feeling pessimistic, but even the promise of a website and inspiration elicited personal stories of wanting to lose weight, get healthy and feel good about themselves. As educators, we give a great deal to others which is both our privilege and challenge for we still need to care for the self. I'd like to hope I inspired others who will inspire another generation. We could all use a little more hope these days- along with healthier minds, bodies and spirits.
If you're interested in the Nike Plus World 10K run on Aug 31, go to: http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/humanrace/index.jsp
So here was the idea. Since the elementary teacher in Wichita, Kansas is blamed for everything from the price of gas to the on-going war in Iraq this causes quite a bit of stress. Not only is she solely responsible for the literacy crisis, math crisis, science crisis and lack of accountability with today's youth, but she still has to plan engaging lessons that inspire and motivate young minds. And don't forget the parents- making allies can take some time and energy. Sure, she has summer. But not really. I can not recall taking a full summer off since I was teaching summer school or doing temp work to make extra money which was really just necessary money to get through to the next school year. Given this amount of stress, I questioned what would have helped me as a new teacher and decided, somewhere between mile 3 and 4 of my early morning run, that the answer was so obvious: a healthy mind, body and spirit.
I shared this idea with the 63 students in a preservice course I am teaching this summer. These are future K-12 teachers. I asked how many people run. Very few hands went up. I then shared the idea of the Nike Plus World 10K run at the end of August and how I'd like to start a running club or some sort of organization for future teachers and discussed the benefits of health for themselves and as a model to their future students. The conversation picked up. In the end I promised to start a website (I have yet to figure out how to do that but I'm working on it) and the positive response was overwhelming. I came home to find 4 emails about this future website and building a community and the emails continue to come in two days later.
I believe in healthy minds, bodies and spirits. I also believe that people are hungry for hope and answers and communities. The economy and every day stressors can leave us feeling pessimistic, but even the promise of a website and inspiration elicited personal stories of wanting to lose weight, get healthy and feel good about themselves. As educators, we give a great deal to others which is both our privilege and challenge for we still need to care for the self. I'd like to hope I inspired others who will inspire another generation. We could all use a little more hope these days- along with healthier minds, bodies and spirits.
If you're interested in the Nike Plus World 10K run on Aug 31, go to: http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/humanrace/index.jsp
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
All In A Day
According to my bedside alarm, today is Tuesday- Monday ended 23 minutes ago. According to my internal clock, today does not end until I slip into REM. Therefore, I have kept the promise to myself to post a blog each day.
I came home less than an hour ago. It's been a full day. I woke up at 6:00 am to run, which seems like the wise thing to do after accepting an invitation from a friend to run the Nike+ World 10K run at the end of the month. During my last "official" run- the Honolulu Marathon, I nearly killed myself. Literally. My heart and breathing stopped as I lay in the back of the ambulance on the way to the ER. I could not remember my name or those of my family members, but I remembered how close I was to the finish line and to breathe when the medic hollered to the ambulance driver that "we're losing her". I saw my children's faces and decided it was indeed a good idea to breathe. But that's another blog.
After running, I showered, got the boys ready, took the older one to summer camp, went to the grocery store all before 10:00 am. I appeased anxious students via email, faxed disclosures on two pieces of property in Arizona we're trying to sell, searched listings for the next home purchase, made chicken noodle soup for the three year old, drew a few pictures of Superman and the Mach 5 for the three year old, ate a turkey sandwich and picked up the eight year old before 3:15. The rest is blurry between buying a padded helmet strap before football practice at 6:00, cooking hamburgers, printing mapquest directions, appeasing the three year old who ran into a stucco wall and became the first injury at the football practice and then remembered to attend a meeting at 7:30. Thankfully the coach brought the eight year old to the high school where the meeting was being held for team managers- a job I voluntarily share with another parent. This was after the three year old announced he had to go to the bathroom with no bathrooms in sight. With no time to stop at home for the hamburgers sitting on the counter for the football player, we zipped through Carls Jr drive thru for chicken strips and headed to Long Beach to pick up my niece to watch the boys while I teach tomorrow and my exhausted co-parent inspires educators in Virginia on no sleep following a red eye and 3,500 mile trip from the other side of the country.
This is an average day. It does not end when the clock strikes midnight and I do not abide by the traditional rules of time and days measured and established long ago by our ancestors.
*Note: I fell asleep and eight hours later, am posting from my office. I still contend I wrote it before the deadline.
I came home less than an hour ago. It's been a full day. I woke up at 6:00 am to run, which seems like the wise thing to do after accepting an invitation from a friend to run the Nike+ World 10K run at the end of the month. During my last "official" run- the Honolulu Marathon, I nearly killed myself. Literally. My heart and breathing stopped as I lay in the back of the ambulance on the way to the ER. I could not remember my name or those of my family members, but I remembered how close I was to the finish line and to breathe when the medic hollered to the ambulance driver that "we're losing her". I saw my children's faces and decided it was indeed a good idea to breathe. But that's another blog.
After running, I showered, got the boys ready, took the older one to summer camp, went to the grocery store all before 10:00 am. I appeased anxious students via email, faxed disclosures on two pieces of property in Arizona we're trying to sell, searched listings for the next home purchase, made chicken noodle soup for the three year old, drew a few pictures of Superman and the Mach 5 for the three year old, ate a turkey sandwich and picked up the eight year old before 3:15. The rest is blurry between buying a padded helmet strap before football practice at 6:00, cooking hamburgers, printing mapquest directions, appeasing the three year old who ran into a stucco wall and became the first injury at the football practice and then remembered to attend a meeting at 7:30. Thankfully the coach brought the eight year old to the high school where the meeting was being held for team managers- a job I voluntarily share with another parent. This was after the three year old announced he had to go to the bathroom with no bathrooms in sight. With no time to stop at home for the hamburgers sitting on the counter for the football player, we zipped through Carls Jr drive thru for chicken strips and headed to Long Beach to pick up my niece to watch the boys while I teach tomorrow and my exhausted co-parent inspires educators in Virginia on no sleep following a red eye and 3,500 mile trip from the other side of the country.
This is an average day. It does not end when the clock strikes midnight and I do not abide by the traditional rules of time and days measured and established long ago by our ancestors.
*Note: I fell asleep and eight hours later, am posting from my office. I still contend I wrote it before the deadline.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Middle Generation
Weekend day trips to Carlsbad are becoming more frequent. The round trip from my door to my parents' front door is 110 miles and typically takes two hours, assuming traffic is minimal. Two hours in the car is plenty of time to reconcile my role as one in the middle generation while I periodically glance in the rear view mirror at my boys playing together in the backseat. They are the reason I go to Carlsbad- to bring joy and laughter to my parents who are feeling the lull of retirement and health challenges. I recall trips to Los Angeles from our home in North County, practically the same distance, so that my sister and I could spend time with my mom's parents. This is what it means to be the middle generation.
At 9:00 a.m., an hour after I had planned to leave, I packed the boys, one Batman and one filthy gray back pack, a Batman computer and snacks into the Camry. The three year old wanted to know if he had to go to daycare and squealed in delight when I reminded him we were going to see the grandma and the paw paw in the blue house. I tossed my bag- loaded with clean underwear and shorts for the boys, my laptop and charger and wallet- onto the passenger seat. Two hours later, birthday cake in hand, homemade cards and grins- we greeted my parents and the hours stretched on in true lazy day style of chatting and swimming and made up games on the front room floor with paw paw.
After seven hours, two backpacks, two exhausted boys full of candy and beef Jerky, wet bathing suits and a bag with a laptop unopened make it back into the Camry. My parents thank me individually, whispering how much it means to the other grandparent as if it's a secret as to why these trips have become more frequent. Today we used my mom's birthday as the excuse. Last time it was to bring my grandmother down for a weekend at their house. Next time might be because school is starting soon and our schedules will fill up with pee wee football games, homework, art class and that day job I keep. And despite school starting and a full schedule beginning in September, we'll find reasons- some legitimate and some made up to be legitimate- to make day trips to Carlsbad.
I am the middle generation and while it delights me to no end to see my parents enjoying the boys, I have to admit that day trips are not the answer. We moved back to California after four years in Michigan to be close to family- but California is a long state from north to south and we need to devise a plan to bring the village model back. This is what it means to be the middle generation. It is both my privilege and challenge.
At 9:00 a.m., an hour after I had planned to leave, I packed the boys, one Batman and one filthy gray back pack, a Batman computer and snacks into the Camry. The three year old wanted to know if he had to go to daycare and squealed in delight when I reminded him we were going to see the grandma and the paw paw in the blue house. I tossed my bag- loaded with clean underwear and shorts for the boys, my laptop and charger and wallet- onto the passenger seat. Two hours later, birthday cake in hand, homemade cards and grins- we greeted my parents and the hours stretched on in true lazy day style of chatting and swimming and made up games on the front room floor with paw paw.
After seven hours, two backpacks, two exhausted boys full of candy and beef Jerky, wet bathing suits and a bag with a laptop unopened make it back into the Camry. My parents thank me individually, whispering how much it means to the other grandparent as if it's a secret as to why these trips have become more frequent. Today we used my mom's birthday as the excuse. Last time it was to bring my grandmother down for a weekend at their house. Next time might be because school is starting soon and our schedules will fill up with pee wee football games, homework, art class and that day job I keep. And despite school starting and a full schedule beginning in September, we'll find reasons- some legitimate and some made up to be legitimate- to make day trips to Carlsbad.
I am the middle generation and while it delights me to no end to see my parents enjoying the boys, I have to admit that day trips are not the answer. We moved back to California after four years in Michigan to be close to family- but California is a long state from north to south and we need to devise a plan to bring the village model back. This is what it means to be the middle generation. It is both my privilege and challenge.
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