Things I Never Guessed about Teachers until I Became One

A teacher's mood has a distinct effect on the way she grades an essay. She's much more likely to let things slide on a good day...

Students who actually try hard all the time are rare, and the few who do are really appreciated.

One little "this is dumb" is sometimes interpreted as "you are a complete failure, and your life's work amounts to nothing."

A student who makes a mental leap all on his own, such as the one made today in my 7/8 Lit class, is like a life ring out of that meaninglessness.

The end of the quarter is incredibly stressful, since everything that has been procrastinated on (i.e. grading) is suddenly due all at once.

Teachers actually talk about more than teaching in the teacher's lounge.

"What do you think?" sometimes means "I'm going to stall for time while I think up a good answer."

Other times it means the teacher has a rock-solid answer, but wants to give you the joy of figuring it out on your own.

She's probably not going to let you know which.

Teaching takes a ton of emotional energy because teachers actually care a LOT about how their students do.

It's totally worth it.

Books Read in 2009

Sooo, Derrick's list (of HUNDREDS) of books read inspired me to publish mine as well. I love book lists! So here, in chronological order by date completed, are the books I read last year:

1. That Hideous Strength - CS Lewis
2. Home to Holly Springs - Jan Karon
3. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
4. The Cathedral - Hugh Walpole
5. Hannah Coulter - Wendell Barry
6. Gentian Hill - Elizabeth Goudge
7. Rest and Be Thankful - Helen McInnes
8. The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart
9. The Return of Jeeves - PG Wodehouse
10. Let Sleeping Vets Lie - James Herriot
11. The Rosary - Florence Barclay
12. The Mistress of Shenstone - Florence Barclay
13. Breakheart Pass - Alistair McLean
14. The Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper
15. Ethan Frome - Edith Wharton
16. Miss Marple Short Stories - Agatha Christie
17. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
18. The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton
19. Kilmany of the Orchard - LM Montgomery
20. Barnaby Rudge - Charles Dickens
21. Carry On, Jeeves - PG Wodehouse
22. The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
23. A City of Bells - Elizabeth Goudge
24. Howard's End - EM Forster

What a great year! And in typing all of those I kept wanting to comment. So here's my commentary.

Firstly, I blame Tolstoy and Dickens for the shortness of my list:) But they were worth it.

Secondly, I think my favorites of the year were The Cathedral, The Rosary, The House of Mirth, A City of Bells, The Scarlet Letter and Howard's End, two of which are perfectly happy, another two of which only attain a "troubled joy" (in the words of Nathaniel Hawthorne), and the remaining two of which are downright tragic. Eeeenteresting... I have yet to fully understand my love affair with sad books.

Thirdly, in my humble opinion I think I have attained a good balance of light and heavy reading:) But that, of course, is by my definition of heavy (anything written before 1900 - haha).

I was skeptical of Wendell Barry at first, but by the end I LOVED that book. He totally won me over. I would have added him to my list of favorites, but I already had a quarter of the total book list on there!

I didn't read anything I didn't like, although the Dickens book, which started out incredibly, dragged a little in the middle. But it redeemed itself in the end again:)

I'm really looking forward to teaching The Great Gatsby.

The Mysterious Benedick Society was the BEST children's book EVER! Really a young adult book, probably, I found it captivating and utterly winning even as a 29 year old.

Speaking of 29 year olds, both The Rosary and The House of Mirth featured a 29 year old heroine. I thought that was pretty cool.

Hurrah for reading! Now I'm all inspired about what to read this year. I'm planning to start Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott tonight. I've only read Ivanhoe, and that MANY years ago, and I just really really want to like his writing since I adore him as a person of history:)

Taking Equality to a Whole New Level

It has come to my attention that there is a form of discrimination that has been going on for far too long, with disastrous effects. It has not been broadcast in the media, there have been no marches on Washington, and as far as I know, no one has had any dreams regarding a new equality on this front.

Until now.

Six score years ago, a great European, whose name I do not know, brought us the modern guitar. This momentous development came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of prospective players of the instrument. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the guitar player still is not free. Over one hundred years later, the life of the guitar player is still sadly crippled by the manacles of small hands and the chains of weak hand muscles. Over one hundred years later, the guitar player lives on a lonely island of simple three or four string chords in the midst of a vast ocean of bar chords. Over one hundred years later, the guitar player is still languishing in the corners of American musicality and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

My friend Lindsay began on her guitar playing quest, one that would no doubt lead to fame and fortune, only to discover that her beautiful little hands were too small to manage the G chord. And only this morning, in my attempt to manage a song realized that I do not have strong enough hands to manage a slide from a barred A flat to a barred G.

It would be fatal for the guitars of our nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This winter of the small/weak handed guitar player's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating spring of freedom and equality. Two thousand nine is not an end, but a beginning. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the small/weak handed guitar player is granted his playing rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

I say to you today, my friends, that even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day guitars will rise up and live out the truth: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all hands are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the stages Georgia the sons of small handed people and the sons of large handed people will be able to jam together at the music stand of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the stages of Mississippi, a state laboring under the handicap of weak hands. will be transformed into an oasis of bar chords and slides.

I have a dream today.

Inspiring isn't it?! I'm sure that this dream of mine will send all guitars immediately into sensitivity training, weeping over their discrimination. They will see the error of their ways, and somehow magically transform into a shape (while retaining their original sound and look, of course) that all hand sizes and strengths can play.

Or..... maybe I should just practice more.

Do I Believe this or Don't I?

Recently I have been so blessed in considering the trustworthiness of God. I can trust Him with everything, whether small (like a minor crisis making me late for school) or big (like my future, or, sometimes even more worrisome, the futures of loved ones). It all comes down to a simple matter of faith: do I believe that God is truly in control, or don't I?

I guess I'm kind of having a Renaissance in my soul on the whole issue of applying faith to everyday life. It's so easy to see a problem and instantly start thinking about what should happen or what I can do. But really I need to go straight to God and then see the problem from His perspective.

And I think this is what the Bible is talking about when it says "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee." If I am really keeping my mind on Him I will not get completely bent out of shape if my weekend plans fall through. They fell through? Well so what? Apparently God had something better in mind. Or even if the plans fell through wrongly, didn't God promise to work all things together for good?

Sometimes I want to mull things over, because they seem like they're big enough to warrant mulling. I should feel an amount of depression directly proportional to the magnitude of the disaster. But that's not how God intends me to face life. I am to be abiding in Him, and He is love, and perfect love casts out fear.

I am to live in that "neither know we what to do, but our eyes are on You" kind of way. Looking to Him is what gives me the proper perspective on things.

These things have been percolating in my mind for awhile, and I was so delighted recently when, frustrated to the limit with one of my classes, and on the verge of complaining to a sympathetic source, I felt checked and reminded to pray instead. And what a wonderful day it ended up being.

God knows, He's in control, and He doesn't expect us to carry everything and figure it out for ourselves. We, like children, can simply look trustingly to Him for the answer, with an assurance that He will work everything exactly according to His GOOD will.

I believe it!

Choir Ladies

So I'm starting to really love some of the women I sing with in my community chorus. They are treasures!

First of all, there's Claire, a very elderly woman whose husband passed away last year. We sat next to each other the other week, and she started talking about the travels she and her husband had gone on through the years. They went all over the place! We had a connecting moment talking about how you can feel such a strong connection with the land your forebears came from. Suddenly I realized this was one of those "The Next Fine Day" kindred spirits, and I brought her a copy of the book the next week. This week she told me she had started the book and was really enjoying it. I knew it!

Then there's Mary. I'm pretty sure she has to be a Christian. She has that spirit about her. She was also a teacher for many years! I feel like she understands it all. In our pre-singing backrubs (best part of rehearsals!) she began rubbing my back and exclaimed, "Uh oh! Teacher's back." I was mystified until she explained it was tight. She definitely gets it.

Another of my favorites is Ada. She joked, when I was first meeting her last year, that I could remember her name by the little rhyme "Ada Potatah," which is what they used to call her in school. Sure enough, I've never forgotten her name! She is a little less of the sweet old lady, a little more of the spunky old lady (I don't think she's really all that old, but you know...). She reminds me of one of my very favorite college professors (Curren, Gretchen) so I love her.

And lastly, and one of the best, is... um... I don't remember her name. Hm. Well anyway, I love her! Her husband was a PC grad, so we talk PC every once in awhile. Love that. She's a little tougher of a lady, and doesn't mind rejoicing aloud when the director ends up cutting the rehearsal short. But she's not rude - she doesn't let too many people hear the joy, especially not the director. She is a polished sort of rough, if that makes sense. Anyway, she's down to earth, with a great sense of humor.

Who knew that choir would provide such great people to interact with! I like this island more and more...

Narcissism is a cool word

Thanks, Greeks. Also I like Caligula (as a word, not a person) and Mellifluous (which I heard on sports radio today!).

But back to the title word...

I was reading over past blogs that I've written, and found myself laughing right out loud. I was absolutely killing myself! Hmmm. Of course, one post I laughed especially hard at was one recounting funny things family members had said. But one of those that made me laugh hardest was something I'd said. I guess no one understands my sense of humor as well as I do, so it makes sense I suppose. Still, it struck me as slightly... well... all the words I'm thinking of are too hard on myself, but you get the idea.

And then I realized the other day that every time I hear a horn beep outside my apartment I assume someone is saying hello to me. Me! This despite the fact that there are about 6 other houses in the near vicinity that could be being beeped at, not to mention countless RI drivers who all deserve a good beep now and then.

I guess it's all a result of the Fall - this inward-looking perspective. But it's nice that being so taken up with self keeps me amused and entertained. Another element of the 'felix culpa' I suppose.

Haha - that cracks me up with its ludicrousness! Yup - still laughing at my own sense of humor.

Good grief.

Happy Birthday, Kimberly!

Today is my little sister's 25th birthday! And on this august occasion, I'd like to say that I love her ridiculously much. In fact, I love her in a very special way - a way that is hers alone. She is, after all, the only little sister in the world that is mine! So I love her in this wonderful friend kind of way, but also a protective kind of way... an interesting combination that comes out to something pretty profound.

I'm not sure when the protective thing started. Perhaps it was the time that she was traumatized by a fire alarm in first grade. I was a mighty sixth grader at the time, and was now getting up to my own alarm. Sadly, my alarm went off for the first time the morning after the traumatic fire alarm, and sounded a lot like said fire alarm. I can practically hear her trembling little voice coming from the bunk below me, and I quickly assured her everything was okay, and she should go back to sleep. Maybe that's when it started, or some occasion like that. Or maybe it's just part of being a big sister. All I know is that I want to watch out for her, even now that she's all grown up. She'll always be my little sister.

Yet at the same time, she has become a peer. I so clearly remember one of our first conversations that went beyond just the sister relationship to the friend relationship. We were visiting the Demmes, and had been out on their boat. On the boat ride home, after dark, the two of us sat up in the bow, and talked about life and faith and grown-up things. From that day to this our friendship has only grown. She is so much fun, and I just love doing things with her or being around her. Being home together is one of the happiest things in my life.

And in some ways, she ends up taking care of me. Perhaps she knows a little bit about what it's like to be a big sister, even though she's the youngest:) In any case, she reminds me of things, and helps me keep organized. But more than that, she is coming into a wisdom and maturity all her own. Just a few months ago I called her in a moment of frustration with teaching, and knew that she would listen sympathetically, but also say something that would help me past that hurdle. Sure enough, she did, and I went back into the school (I'd called from my car on my lunch break) ready to take on the afternoon.

So whether she's the baby sister, the friend, or the peer, she is an amazing girl, about whom I could go on and on and on (I haven't even touched on her passion for God, her awesome sense of humor, her sense of adventure, her love for cowboys - heh heh - or a multitude of other things that make her who she is!), and I'm glad to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Awed

I was driving along down the road on the way home from doing about a bazillion errands, and glanced down to see the ocean through the trees. Suddenly I was just so happy that I am here - living on an island! How cool is that?

And then, as I was thanking God for letting me be here, I thought about how amazing it is that I'm in this place.

This was one of those things I never could have seen coming. As a little girl thinking about my future I had no idea that such a place as Newport even existed.

And then, when I did become aware of its existence (through the Coronet connection) it was just a really cool tourist-y place.

When my friends and I decided to visit Newport for a day and asked directions to Applebees and traveled over completely unknown roads to get there, I couldn't have possible foreseen that I would travel those roads every single day on the way to school before much longer.

And when I was sitting in my office outside of Dr. Delasanta's. checking out yellowpages.com for Christian Schools in RI, I had no idea of the incredible joy that was in store for me in the school that I would find - the only one needing a high school lit teacher.

And now, here I am, at the best possible school, with the best possible students, in the best possible apartment, in my own beloved New England.

INCREDIBLE!

And it just makes me realize that God leads us even when we don't know we're being led. Yellowpages.com? Really? And here I am... So I don't need to worry about what the future holds. I know God is completely in control, that He will get me to the places I need to be, and that things that happen now will fit me for whatever is coming in the future. He's got it!

Treebeard would have liked me

I love old things. Especially old trees. I'm not usually a sympathizer with leftist ideals, but tree hugging is one I'm growing into.

I've liked them as long as I can remember, but there was a sharp spike on the liking-old-trees chart when one of the maples on the Front Lawn had to be cut down. That tree was a part of my childhood. We played Run Sheep Run and Chipmunks in its shade. It was there that Jenny told me she liked the name "Ransome" (random, but true). One summer evening I sat under that tree playing my guitar in a romantic sort of a mood (romantic like Wordsworth, not like Romeo and Juliet).

Anyway, this summer it had to come down, and I was sad.

And now I have this new reverence for old trees. You can't just go out and plant an old tree. They don't just happen. They have to have been happening for a hundred years or more. And where there is an old tree there is a distinct sense of history and security and character and roots and, well, oldness.

There's a spot near my RI house where there's a row of old trees intermingled with nearly-old ones. It makes me so happy, because I realize that someone else appreciated the existence of old trees, and planted new ones amongst the old so that they could grow up and take the place of the old ones when it was their turn to go.

And that was a source of consolation. At least if old trees have to go, there are people who will plant more trees that will one day be old. At least there is permanence in the cyclical nature of things...

And now, I need to go waste some paper or drive my terrible-gas-mileage car around. I love old trees, but I have a conservative reputation to uphold!

Illusions of Grandeur...

Today I apologized to my older students for the fact that I've had no sense of humor this year. One of them replied, "Yeah. Why is that?" I told him it was because my illusions of grandeur had come crashing down. The conversation turned after that, so I didn't explain (not that I could have fully explained anyway, since he's a student...).

The fact is, I have discovered I am definitely not super-teacher, I've just had really super kids. Not that I thought I was super-teacher before - I knew my weaknesses - but I thought I was pretty good.

And then this year happened, in which I have a student I absolutely cannot control. He gets my goat EVERY SINGLE DAY, and I simply cannot handle him.

And then I think about my other students, who give me tons of words of affirmation, as well as occasional gift cards, guitar strings, photo albums, handmade scarves, candles, notepads, and pictures that say "Miss Murray Rocks" on them. What kind of adversity is that?! It's easy to think you're good when your students are as kind and generous as they are!

But this kid's idea of a joke is to mutter "I hate you" and then say he was talking to his imaginary friend (don't worry, I didn't let him get away with it... nor do I think he really hates me. He just thinks that kind of thing is a good joke. I do not.), or to walk as circuitously and swaggeringly to his desk as possible when I tell him to sit down. I just don't know how to reach him, and (this is the worst part) most of the time I don't even want to. I am not super-teacher after all.

In a recent staff meeting, however, I was greatly encouraged, when the headmaster pointed out that the most important thing we can do is love our students, especially those who (like this particular student) have faced incredibly difficult things in their lives. I've thought of that pretty much every day since then, and have found some moments where the two of us could laugh together, or I could interject some affirming word.

Also, I'm greatly encouraged by the fact that today, when I was about to complain to someone and let out a mighty wail, I remembered to pray instead. I've been preaching that to my older students all year: go to God FIRST. And I finally remembered to do it myself. The day ended up so well!

So I guess it all comes down to this: I know I am a good teacher in some ways (I'm not feeling TOO down on myself, don't worry - haha), but I also know I have as many weaknesses as the next guy (or more) and am in desperate need of the help of God to make me the kind of teacher I need to be. I think this is a pretty good place to be.

Illusions out - faith in.

Latest Kick...

So recently I was pretty stressed about school and life and such, and found myself in a bit of a complaining place. When my students are in their complaining place I give them inspiring lectures about how life is 5% what happens to you and 95% how you react to it. But when I am in a complaining place I am totally justified! Haha. No, actually, I realize that I do not belong in a complaining place. No child of God does!

So now I'm trying to be in a thankful place. I remember those notebooks Gerry passed out one 9:00 hour in which we were to write down 5 (or was it 10?) things to be thankful for at the end of each day. I haven't actually picked that up again, but those are the lines along which I'm going to be trying to live.

So in that spirit, here are 5 things I'm thankful for today:
#1. That I only had to take TWO extra classes today thanks to another teacher's illness.
#2. That staff meeting only went for an HOUR.
#3. That I wasn't SO tired that I fell asleep on the way home from school.
#4. That only TWO of my students were on their worst behavior today.
#5. That my landlady called me to see what that noise was AFTER I was all done exercising.

Hee hee hee - I'm totally kidding! My day actually went very well:)

So here's the real list:
#1. That I have the world's best students.
#2. That staff meeting offered a timely and inspiring reminder that what my students need most is love.
#3. That I have amazing co-workers.
#4. My incredibly darling apartment, which has become a place of refuge and refreshment.
#5. That I get to read P.G. Wodehouse tonight!
#6. That my student who missed 2 algebra classes last week easily caught up today (what a guy!).
#7. That my headmaster is pleased with what I'm doing with the high school in Chorus.

Looky there! Two bonuses. Life is good:)

That's Like...

I remember watching this video in Bible School about good learners. It informed us that good learners make connections in their minds with other knowledge. They hear something and say, "That's like..." Anyone remember that video?

Anyway. My students are GOOD LEARNERS! And here are some examples.

Example 1

I just heard from one of my no-longer-at-our-school students, who related to me a recent conversation (which I'll take some liberties with, but leave the relevant part word for word). I will call my student "my kid" and the other kids (who are important only in that they are the backdrop against which my kid shines) "kid 1" and "kid 2."
Kid 1: Dude, practice is at 3.
Kid 2: No way, it's totally 3:30!
Kid 1: Were you even listening?
My Kid (putting his hand on kid 2's shoulder): There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophies.
Kid 2: ??????

YESSSS! My kid quotes Shakespeare to his buddies!

Example 2

In class we were talking about Chaucer's Knight's Tale, and the part where Arcita sneaks across the border dressed as a servant, and serves willingly for 7 years to win his love (sounds vaguely Biblical, eh?). One of my students - just a regular one, not a super-brilliant one - piped up and said, "That's like Odysseus coming back to his country." WHA--? You are remembering such a small detail. And from LAST YEAR? Glory be!

Example 3

In another class we are reading Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," and I was assigning parts and writing each student's name on the board next to his part. One of my less-enthusiastic-about-literature students said he didn't want to be anyone. So I put his name on the board and then wrote "no one" next to it. One of my other students suggested that he be Kent, from last year's The Next Fine Day, since in that book he describes himself as "no one." YESSSSSS!

Example 4

Also in "Much Ado About Nothing," a different kid raised his hand when I brought up the idea of stoicism. "Isn't that kind of like Jane Eyre's cousin? The one who was too much on the side of reason without having the balance of emotion?" Ay ay ay! Who even knows Jane Eyre's cousin?!

I'm pretty sure half of my kids are smarter than I am. But I try not to let on.

People, People, We Need People!

In a recent conversation with a struggling friend, she told me she was trying not to talk to other people in her time of need, but instead rely only on God. This sent up the warning flags in my mind. The more I see, the more I begin to understand the dangers of isolationism. It leads to all KINDS of trouble. So I encouraged her to definitely rely more on God, but not to cut off the people God placed in her life to help her. And she said, Okay, and placed a phone call then and there. Wow! For a second I was a little nervous - she was totally changing her mind based on something I said. It's only me here, not some really wise leader-type person. But then I stopped being nervous, because whether or not it was I who was saying it, it's the truth.

Some of this conviction is colored by my studies in American Lit in college. So many of the great American authors wrote about the dangers of isolationism (look at some of Poe's madmen and Melville's Captain Ahab), and the salvific nature of friendship (see Cooper's Hawkeye and Chingachgook or Melville's Ishmael and Queequeg). It's very convincing to read about.

But some of this is colored by my own observations and experience. I can look back at my college experience and see how my getting together with my Bible School friends every couple of months really saved me from some potentially harmful things. I see how much I miss that now, being pretty much alone here in RI, and how important it is for me to get home and see people again on a regular basis. Sometimes (not right now, thankfully) I have felt starved for real fellowship, and when it came I felt like I was one of Gideon's men, lapping up the water as fast as I could.

Also, I've seen the way that I can stew over something in my own mind, turning it around and around, failing to find an answer. I can see how that could lead to confusion and disillusionment. But a simple phone call, and the ensuing conversation, was like a key that clicked into the lock, and suddenly there was the answer as plain as could be. I couldn't figure it out on my own - I needed someone else to show me that little angle I was missing.

So the point of all of this is that we need other people! That being said, I'm getting off this computer so I can go see my neighbors! :)

Crazy Busy (as they say...)

I am running around like a crazy woman these days - but enjoying it immensely. When I don't have enough to do I tend to waste time, but when I have too much I'm wicked productive. Amazing how that works...

Things occupying my time:

#1. New class - DRAMA! I have to do all kinds of things besides the regular reading and grading, such as blocking, ordering books on victorian fashion, and stressing about when the plays will arrive. I'm loving it though! My high school kids will be performing "Charlie's Aunt" in May (or so) and it's going to be hysterical. Many thanks to Chad for the play idea!

#2. Chorus! I'm singing with a Newport chorus for the second year, and loving it all over again. We sight-read Bruckner last week, and I can't believe how much fun it was. This week, though, we had only one first soprano, so I was going up to all kinds of A's, and I'm sure my vocal chords were starting to seize. Ay ay ay.

#3. Exercise! I'm on a healthy kick for a second, and I've been doing these work-out videos in my apartment. Hahaha! The instructor person, with an incredible amount of cheer and excitement, shrieks out for me to do a "Quick Step Caligulan Grapevine Swing Double Time Loop" and I'm in the strangest contortions, trying to figure out what happened to my right foot... Good times.

#4. Extracurricular Activities! I've agreed to help my dear friend on staff run the Christmas play, and we're having such fun with it! It's a clever series of monologues, basically, about different figures in the Christmas story. It includes a solo for Mary to sing, and after playing through it today and finding it not even close to satisfactory, I've taken on the job of "tweaking" the song. Should be fun.... Um, Craig? Aaron? Anyone??

#5. Grading! Actually, I've always had grading - it follows me around like crows follow an eagle - but I bring it up now because it is what I am supposed to be doing, and it gets the credit for this blog post, since I suddenly decided that in the light of all that grading, a blog was the most sensible thing to be working on.

Hurrah for lots to keep me occupied!

Celebration!!!

I'm an auntie again!!

My beautiful niece, Caledonia Jean, was born this morning.

I got to spend several hours with her and her family today, and enjoyed every second. I'm smitten!

"Christians NEVER say goodbye!" - C. S. Lewis

If death my friend and me divide,
Thou dost not, Lord, my sorrow chide,
Or frown my tears to see;
Restrained from passionate excess,
Thou bidst me mourn in calm distress
For them that rest in thee.

I feel a strong immortal hope,
Which bears my mournful spirit up
Beneath its mountain load;
Redeemed from death, and grief, and pain,
I soon shall find my friend again
Within the arms of God.

Pass a few fleeting moments more
And death the blessing shall restore
Which death has snatched away;
For me thou wilt the summons send,
And give me back my parted friend
In that eternal day.

- Charles Wesley

Yeahhhhh...

This evening my choir sang at a wedding. It wins the distinguished title of "strangest wedding I've ever been to," and I have been to some non-Fairwood weddings...

This one included a lovely reading from the Native American commandments. Huh? I didn't even know they had commandments. They included things like "Remain close to the Great Spirit, in all that you do" and "Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect." Okaaaay.

Then we had the vows: "I will wipe your tears with my hands" and "I will introduce you to my soul." Riiiiight.

The crowning moment was the African wedding blessing that included "may your teeth be white for smiling." I found out later that the groom has done commercials for teeth whitener. Hahahaha.

Ay ay ay. We're not in Fairwood anymore, Toto!

Up and Running!

Hurrah! For the first time since moving to my Portsmouth apartment, thanks to Shawn's excellent counsel (he's the best!), I have internet access! Now I can blog to my heart's content. Ahhhhhh.

And now, my heart is content and I'm going to get some food so my tummy will be content...

Katie and Me (and our grand adventure)

This morning Katie called. She had lots to do and wondered if I wanted to take a vacation day with her. I, who had less to do, nevertheless exuberantly agreed. Into the car we jumped and zoomed away.

We had a fabulous day at the mall (where I used my leftover vacation money to buy my favorite perfume! mmmmmm!) and (mostly) in Portsmouth! I'd never really been there to visit, and we had such a good time being touristy. It is a BEAUTIFUL town - awesome buildings, and lovely light (at least today it was). And on the way home we were able to stop for dinner with Linds which was a blast (everyone needs to see how awesome she is as a biker!).

But the bloggerific adventures came with the toll booth. Booths.

I have moved more and more away from cash, and so, apparently, has Katie. Consequently, as we approached the toll on the way to Portsmouth, we were both scrambling. Fortunately, we discovered the toll was only 75 cents, and I had that on me.

On the way HOME from Portsmouth, however, we were shocked to see the toll was TWO DOLLARS! I definitely had 75 more cents, but two dollars?! Yikes. I emptied out every last penny from my wallet, and went diving amongst the sundry inhabitants of the ash tray, while Katie dived into her wallet to sort out yen, shekelim, and dimes. (We knew there was one dime there because we had flipped it to see whether we should go to Gloucester or Portsmouth... and since that worked so well went on to decide other major life choices like whether Katie should convert to Catholicism.) We managed to scrape together two dollars, and handed the toll booth attendant a handful of change.

She looked old enough that she wouldn't get my humor, and grumpy enough that she wouldn't get anyone's, or I would have briefly alluded to the mayhem that had so recently ended. As it was I gave a cheery "thank you!" (which is weird, actually - why would I thank someone for taking my hard-sought-after money from me?) and drove off, careening wildly through traffic to get to my side of the road...

...where I was shortly greeted with a "Welcome to Massachusetts" sign. WHA....???? Oy vay. I had been so engrossed in our conversation about how awesome the skirts are that we bought at a lovely second hand shop in Portsmouth, that I had totally missed the sign for 101.

Gulp. I cleverly avoided getting detoured onto 495, and managed a turn-around. And LO... we had to go through ANOTHER toll! I was sure that if you went through a toll, after which you were supposed to take an exit, that upon turning around you would hit the exit before the toll. But no. Those Eastern New Hampshirites are tricky! And so we, with out wallets empty of pennies, let alone quarters, were forced to take the "last exit before toll" in order to go to an ATM to get money for the toll booth.

Oh the ignominy.

Especially considering there was a $2 fee for using the ATM.

Back onto the highway we got, and found the exit for 101... right BEFORE the toll booth! "A lying sign!" I shrieked. But no, I should never underestimate the Eastern New Hampshirites. There was a toll at the end of the exit. Phew. The ATM venture had not been in vain.

And before I get 47 comments telling me I should keep more money in my ash tray, I will say that I had more in there, but Kimberly was going to bike to the lake to go swimming, and I, in my best Kendra-esque fashion (hee hee j slash k Kendra!) figured she would probably drown if she went swimming alone, so I decided to drive down and sit on the shore ready to plunge in with my great life-saving skills, but I passed her at the golf course (I imagined the worst earlier than Kendra), and realized I'd have a long time to wait at the lake, and decided to go to the General Store and get a drink because I was really thirsty and it was hot, but I didn't have my wallet in the car since I was just driving to the lake, so I checked the ash tray and found money and used that, as well as the shoes I found in my back seat. So that's why I didn't have toll money.

I found out later that the toll is only 75 cents if you don't miss your exit and go to MA, so that was some consolation at least. I guess. Maybe.

Sigh.

Wharton (as in Edith) and Me

So I just picked up a book I've been I-should-probably-read-that-ing for years now: Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth. Oh my word. I was in love by about page two. It's providential that I waited this long to read the book, because its heroine is a 29-year-old single girl (which is what I am, for those of you who don't mark off my birthday on your calendar each year)!

Now I am loathe, in a way, to bring up the subject of singlehood, because I have a touch of angst (touch of angst?) about people pitying me. So I'll just tuck in here that I'm extremely happy teaching ... love my students ... love my friends and family... fulfilled... blah blah blah. There. Done. No need to pity me. (Although not wanting to be pitied is probably a form of pride. Eeeek! Remorse! Okay, that's all taken care of. Now on with the post!)

This woman is awesome. Both the author and the heroine. My favorite humorous quote thus far is by the heroine, Lily Bart: "Younger and plainer girls had been married off by dozens, and she was nine-and-twenty, and still Miss Bart. She was beginning to have fits of angry rebellion against fate, when she longed to drop out of the race and make an independent life for herself."

Hee hee hee! So very human-nature-y! Um. Just as a note. When I shrieked with inward delight upon reading this, I did not have ANYONE pop into my head at the 'younger and plainer' part, so all of you married people reading this, I was not thinking of you! (Good grief, this post has more provisos than actual writing...)

Also of great interest to me is that while I can understand Miss Bart (except for some of the class issues she is dealing with), the last reader (whom I think might have been Danny) marked some of the passages with great censure. I read one paragraph that revealed Miss Bart's intentions of playing the system until it paid off for her, and I was internally nodding in understanding of the human nature there (not necessarily the sanctification!) when I got to the bottom of the page where the previous reader had written "Hideous." Hahaha - whether or not Danny is the one who wrote it, I think it must have been a male. It's easier to sympathize (if not always agree) with Miss Bart if you are (more or less) in her shoes (barring the fact that hers probably cost 14X more than mine). (What did people do before parentheses were invented?!)

My favorite thought-provoking quote was uttered by the hero, Seldon, whom I hope Lily marries (although I'm sure she won't, because this is, after all, Edith Wharton writing - author of both Ethan Frome and the quote: "Life is the saddest thing, next to death." Yeah, I'm guessing there won't be a happy ending there). He is philosophizing about success: "My idea of success is personal freedom." "Freedom? [Lily asks] Freedom from worries?" "From everything - from money, from poverty, from ease and anxiety, from all the material accidents. To keep a kind of republic of the spirit - that's what I call success."

It's a kind of stoicism, I suppose, and not completely sound, but still I was impressed by the idea of the republic of the spirit. With a slight tweak it can become quite the Christian idea of not being taken up with the things of this world... and learning "in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content." I like it.

And so, with great contentment, I go back to my reading of Edith Wharton's masterpiece. I'll try to let you know later whether I really recommend it. I am, after all, only on page 88.