Grid Life

Day 1 on on the Laura Vanderkam time tracker challenge (since yesterday was mostly travel and touring);  Day 6 on Wordle (100%, Baby); and Day 0 of finding ways of minimizing administrative duties. 

My lovely colleague-mentor L had suggested that I disengage and use the sabbatical to good use--and I pared down campus engagement. But just today I got asked to join a search committee and a journal review board--and I said yes. It can't be helpful to anyone if I keep taking on every opportunity that flits across my timeline. 

a better next year

Everyone told me not to do any work over the break: I took their advice; I'm bored. 

This week--with its radio silence on my work email--reminded me how much of my workday is responding to scheduled events and corresponding about projects. I'll need to shift out of that mode over sabbatical so I have something worthwhile at the end of it. I really, really, really need to get in the zone with my writing projects. 

Despite the seemingly universal experience of having 2020 drag and 2021 sprint, I think I ought to compartmentalize more effectively after two years of practicing pandemic panic. That's going to be my big goal for 2022. 

Drove up to the office today to collect some books, water my plants, pick up mail, etc. and I had a lot of time to reflect. (Also feel like I'm on the verge of a big cry--but that could just be from loping through Bewilderment and being too tired to cry at 2 am or whenever it was that I finished it.)

too chicken

 

I'm too chicken to actually go into L and Nu's chicken coop (or you could say it's too chicken-y out there for me). 

But I just had to say hello to Ms. Margaret Hatcher (extreme left, looking directly into my camera).

"The Chicken Daddy"

"The Chicken Daddy" is Big A's name for Nu who spends inordinate amounts of time just doting on the six chicks they got with L. I love seeing how proud and patient they are with the cheepers. 

But they don't want to name any chicks yet because they "don't want to get too attached." That's too much reality for me.

The all-day and all-week rain has been unreal and disappointing. I'm nothing if not stubborn, however, so I've been sitting in the swing reading, drinking lemonades, and eating cherries anyway. 

mixed

Had a welcome breakthrough on a work project and managed to meet a proposal deadline one whole day ahead of deadline.

Took a nap. Woke up because of a horrifying moment in a post-apocalyptic-style dream (someone had tumbled down some stairs because I bumped them and when I went to check on them, I was captured and they started pulling on my clothes... also, my dad was supposed to help me keep watch, but he fell asleep and didn't hear me when I was shouting for help).

I'd planned a "Summer Celebration" to celebrate the end of Nu's 8th grade year.... it literally got rained on after we set the picnic table. 

Ah well, watermelon tastes almost as good indoors too. 

what's up

Behind me, Nu and L are intently listening to our neighbors give them a crash course in raising chickens. I guess what's up... really is chicken butt (and a significant amount of chicken poop). 

It seems like a A LOT of work, but Nu and L are determined to make it work. I've already politely excused myself from from mucking out the chicken coop, which will live in L's yard. I guess I'd feed the little babies whenever there's no one else to do it. 🐣🐥

Little Things

Grocery-store impulse buys are blooming in the tea garden and the hyacinths I secreted away randomly in pots all over the house last month are beginning to frill and flower now.

I'm a bit disappointed though. The last time I did this, it was their scent that alerted me--I'd smell hyacinths and snoop around until I found the blooms. This time around, they seem to be fragrance-free. And it's still lovely to find them and marvel at their easy beauty, but it reminds me a bit of that time when a sinus infection gave me anosmia.

Summer gardens

Earlier this summer, Big A built these planters--one for each of us--to grow veggies. We're all not that outdoorsy, so I didn't know how it would take... but the kids love it.

I have never heard them watch or discuss the weather so much or show so much solicitude for things in their care. It has been so affirming all around.

Today I spent hours pulling weeds and trimming while At and Nu watered and giggled and did some solid work putting some ornamental fencing up so the puppies won't wander in.

My chore-averse kids claim it's more fun than work... And they say:
"From the genius who brought you "Boss Day" comes another fun family idea."
 Me. They're talking about me.

#GardenAsTherapy #EscapeThe News
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Summer Blessings

 Book Club yesterday








Hike #HarrisNatureCenter









Farmers' Market today







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Overflowing

This doesn't even look like Michigan! I even thought that the the little log in the shadows looked like an alligator. All the rain has given the Red Cedar quite the overflow.

I'm having a tough time of it emotionally as well. At and I started watching When They See Us and my feelings are getting to a point where I feel very overwhelmed most of the day.

At DD's birthday lunch today, this came up (at the end after we properly celebrated) and she thought I might benefit from a coach rather than a therapist, because I have to get through this by figuring out what is within my control and learning strategies to cope with what I cannot control.

Anyway... onward, I guess.

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It's a Nice Day to... Start Again

I should have grades done soon, and that will be goodbye to a satisfying four weeks of Spring Term.  My first assay at a travel term, The Empire Writes Back: Cosmopolitan England threw a bunch of non-majors into cultural theory and they took to it in a most satisfying way: looking at The British Museum critically; hypothesizing about Britain's Roman connections; seeing empire in Victorian fiction, reciting poetry at all the landmarks; talking to Sunny Singh and Robert JC Young... I love all those moments and I love all those kids.

It was terrifying too--in all the ways that being responsible for 15 young people can be. But we're all safely back. My secret weapon was taking Nu with me, so that was a little piece of home always with me.

And now... it is summer and time to work on all the projects that didn't get done over the sabbatical.

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Spelling Bee Champion(s)

 

This is DB's picture of the three finalists, and the random seating R to L is also how we ended up in the rankings. As he put it: "Of the around 100 people at the spelling bee last night - it all came down to these three favorite people of mine! Congrats to Maya, Jill, and Pete on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes!"  (I'm the odd one out here, Jill and Pete are DB's much loved family, after all :)

We weren't really going at it Spellbound-style. The event was for Child Advocacy and we'd been in groups up until the final round, and I'd been lucky to have bestie K as well as my CASA director and coordinator on my team. But yes, this did help me cross one more thing of my mental list of things I meant to get to after I moved to America.

* Nu and Big A were going to come to cheer me on, but kids weren't allowed, so they stayed home.

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Umm Om

Made it to an early yoga class in the socks PJ gave me in Philly when we organized the SALA conference two years ago.



I'm not there yet, but... my. socks. were. a. hit.





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Before the Fall

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I just couldn't get them in a row :)

I do, however, love them 

just hanging out there on the white water 

like it ain't no thang...

Still trying to do all the things

before August is here.

Or at least two?

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Bougainvillea

And now the bougainvillea is at it too

I want to ask them to take it a little easy

because I want them to last all summer long!

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O no, not again!

 

 I was beginning to get used to temperatures in the 40's. And I guess it wasn't just me. Both Z and I were late to our coffee date this morning because  we didn't have our coats on us at school drop off and had to go home to grab them.

And I arrived at Chapelure mad as hell mad as well, after I received some intense criticism feedback from Big A on a piece I'd written... I didn't realize until I read it again that--in my hurry--I'd skipped over the supportive and constructive parts to focus on the corrective comments. There's a message in there. Somewhere.

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Conference Banquet

It was a great #SALA2017, and so glad I got to co-chair it with some wonderful and generous people. Here's a picture blurry enough to post without multiple permissions.

First Writing Project Together...

Saved as a Google doc with the super-serious title "BigDogandPuppy Project."

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What's so important, anyway?

no one understands...