Tree Huggers and Crazy Trains
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 |As I welcome a hundred or so new teenagers into my classroom and prepare myself for a new semester of graduate school, I can’t help but look back at this simple, glorious summer longingly and give thanks. It sure was swell. See, it felt as though the crazy train stopped dead in its tracks and let me off for a few weeks. As a family we said goodbye to our jobs, our house in the burbs, Denver traffic, (oh and Starbucks) and went home to northern Michigan. Now, I don’t mean to be cliche; I hope this blog doesn’t come off corny or holier than thou as I go on about our summer of relishing the simple things in life – please know this gal loves her Indian take out and The Gap – but, it was really fulfilling to walk away from it all (cell phone reception included) and just be someplace else.
There was this one moment that I think can sum up the entire experience: sitting down to dinner in my mom’s backyard – I was soaking wet from a swim in the lake – I realized that everything we were about to eat we found ourselves. My husband caught the salmon the night before, the redskin potatoes were from our neighbor’s garden, and I picked all the blueberries in the blueberry crisp. Pretty cool moment there. It felt like everything else sort of melted away. I think I’ll make that memory my new happy place. So long, Tom Petty concert ‘01 and summer camp ‘87. You’ve been replaced.
A few other highlights from the trip included watching the litter of gray fox pups that lived under our deck, looking up to see a bald eagle fly straight over my head on a morning jog, sleeeeeeping in, and kayaking until my arms were jello. Did I mention sleeeeeping in?
Even with all that fun stuff, I am happy to be back and ready for school/work to commence. Sure, it feels like I’m climbing right back on the crazy train again, and I know the semester might get hairy with 7 grad. credits, but it’s my kind of crazy. CU Online helps me make this wild ride possible. Also, one of my classes this time around is a field study where I will log 80 internship hours. I am excited to get out there and get in the action. After a year of functioning online and doing all this book learn’en, it’s great to know that online education can still be interactive and hands on. Do you hear… a train whistle? Uh oh. Here comes the crazy train. All aboard. Let’s see if I can teach high school, take a full load of grad. school classes and keep my family alive. Choo choo!
girl? I’m sure it evolved gradually – the losing of all baby qualities, but last night it hit me hard: Audrey is a full-fledged GIRL. She does things like saying, “No, Mama!” and then putting her own shoes on (the wrong feet). Last night she went pee-pee in the potty for the first time and then told Nana and Papa all about it on the phone. We finger-paint, play dress-up, put dollies to bed. It’s absolutely the most fun I’ve ever ever had. So why am I kind of sad? It’s not that I want her to be a baby again. Honestly, she was a rough newborn and infant; there were hundreds of sleepless nights and crying jags (for both of us) where the only thing that kept me alive was knowing it wouldn’t last forever. I don’t want her to stay a baby; I don’t want her to grow up; I want her to stay exactly where she is until I’m ready for her to move on. Wouldn’t that be fabulous? I think I’m terrified that I will blink my eyes again, and she’ll be in braces and having me drop her off three blocks from her school so as not to be seen with me. Boooohoooo! Boooohoooo! Ok, [sniffle] I’m cool. I probably have plenty of time before she asks for tattooed eyeliner and her nipples pierced. Let’s get to pre-school first. I just can’t believe what a funny, smart, brave little person she is becoming, and I want to hold on to each moment, each discovery, and gobble it up.
