Tree Huggers and Crazy Trains

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!

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Things I Learned Spring Semester

As I come to the end of another semester of Library Science graduate school, I will try to reflect upon the essential learnings of this Spring term.  Yes, things were a bit harried at times, but overall I learned a lot.  Let’s see, here are some gems in order of importance:

1)  I really, really, really want to be a librarian.  I have to guess that most people who are making a carreer change aren’t totally sure it’s the right move; I wasn’t at the start of this program.  I wondered – would I go nutty behind a desk all day after years of being in front of the classroom?  Would I be trained to talk only in a whisper for the rest of my life?  Would I start buying sensible shoes and keeping my glasses on one of those gold chains?  No way!  My classes are so dynamic and exciting!  I’ve learned so much about Web 2.0 tools and technology and all the thrilling things happening in children and young adult literature (This ain’t your momma’s Nancy Drew).  Not only am I applying all my new skills with my high school students, I am more confident than ever that I will be a cool librarian.  To be a teacher-librarian is one part book guru, one part instructional leader, and another part research/technology aficianado.  I cannot wait to score a library of my own.

2)  Apply temperance when registering.  I was a little overly ambitious this semester and took on 7 credits while working full time and parenting.  Sure, I did it; I more than survived, but it was at cost.  I’m tired, a bit fried, and still chubby.  Even though everything vital got done (homework, cooking, projects, laundry), all work and no play makes Sarah a bitch.  My daily schedule looked like this for four months:

5am: wake, crawl to shower

6am: wake up daughter, get her ready, drop her off at nanny’s by 6:45

7:15-3:30pm: force teenagers to read and write

4pm – 7:30pm:  spend time with family, cook dinner and be domestic, put kiddo to bed

8:00-10:00pm: work on grad. school / grade papers

10:01: DIE 

If I had just taken one class, I’m sure I would have fit in a lot more fun, down time and working out.  C’est la vie.  This degree may take me an extra semester or so, but I will take only one class during fall and spring semesters from here on – which is more than managable.  The whole online thing made me a little cocky, but a class is a class.  My professers weren’t playing around! 

3)  Joel McHale from NBC’s Community is my imaginary boyfriend.

4)  If you leave your nailpolish on the coffee table, your two year old will – in 60 seconds of unsuperivsion – paint her whole face and be quite pleased with herself.   Pretty. 

5)  Life is good. 

What have you learned lately? 

Peace,

Sarah

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Bald and Bored

Today my husband’s head was shaved by the students at his school.  Yes, he agreed to it.  Yes, he looks a little goofy now.  But, it was for a fundraiser supporting St. Jude’s Children Hospital, so I think that makes him very strong and heroic… and still a little goofy looking.  The high school senior running the thing raised over $1,300 dollars which is pretty outstanding and quite an accomplishment.  Honestly, it’s kind of exciting to feel like I’m having an affair with a biker.  Yeah, this could work.

Thank goodness they let him keep the eyebrows.

In other news, while effectively procrastinating my two big papers that will end the semester, I have successfully done absolutely everything else in my life including but not limited to: laundry, grading, overdue photo albums, letter writing, cleaning the refridgerator shelves, and making a birdfeeder.  There’s nothing left to do but do the darn grad. school projects.  F%#@.  I should really just get it all done, but I’m feeling pretty over this semester.  Ok, ok, I’ll do it this weekend.  Unless…. you have anything that needs fixing?  Mending?  Kids that need babysitting?  A dog that needs washing?  No?!?!  Come on!  While I’ve been nothing by thrilled with this online degree so far, this might be the downside to virtual classrooms.  Because there is no face to face, no actual professor giving you the hairy eyeball, it is very easy to avoid the work when you aren’t in the mood.  What am I in the mood for?  Scrapbooking.  Take a look at a few of our recent family pictures.

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