mens sana in corpore sano. . . .

It hasn’t even been a week since my summer teaching stint ended, and already I’m thinking about the upcoming school year.

Last Friday, I was exhausted, feeling burned out, desperately needing a break. Is it possible that one week’s time is all that I needed to recuperate?

Ugh. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing. I’ve been working out every day and sticking to a lean, vegetarian diet since the end of the summer semester, so maybe I’m just thinking a little more clearly about things.

A healthy mind in a healthy body. . . .

Maybe that’s what it is. I’ve been thinking so clearly about things lately, and I’m only beginning to establish a solid workout routine. I’ve still got a month to go before school begins. All I can imagine is how I might feel then.

I know I’ll feel pretty awesome if I can fit back into some of these clothes that have been hanging around in my closet for a few years….

So, it’s off to the gym this morning, then some more writing, then family time, then who knows in the evening. Maybe by the end of this weekend I will have devised my year’s curriculum for English 11 Honors.

Oh, puh-lease. maybe I’ll start practicing meditation and just hold off for another week, at least. I’ve been reading Scott Smith’s A Simple Plan, which is such a good read simply because it majors in the basics of good storytelling: plot, characters, conflict. Maybe I’ll just focus on finishing that book this weekend and push aside the curriculum design for at least a few more days.

Eventually, though, I’m going to have to give in. And when I do, I’ll be glad that I had the discipline to take the extra few days for myself. I’m getting so much out of this little self-pampering party I’m throwing right now.

r.

Oh–the new look? It’s because this design supports widgets, and that’s what I’m used to in my very limited knowledge of blog design. I’ll keep playing around with it in the coming weeks to get it to a place where I’m happy how it looks for the “busy season” ahead. . . .

Good day, all:

The four-day break was beyond wonderful with my family, and yesterday HG (my 10-yr-old daughter) and I dreaded the return to the grind. But we reminded each other that it’s all in the attitude in which we approach the Monday-morning return…

I’ve always had a challenge in keeping a healthy balance between work and home. As a teacher, I throw myself into my classes and into the clubs I’m involved in. As I head back to school this morning, though, I’m doing my best to remind myself that I can give of myself fully while I’m there, but I can do that in the concentrated time that I’m supposed to be there, and then I should head back home. Too many days after school have I lingered behind, believing that there was just one more thing (or two, or three) that I had to do.

So: Today I’ll leave school by 3:30, beat most of the rush-hour traffic, and return home to my family, where I can resume this wonderful run of days with them.

As I said, it’s all in the attitude. I’ll work hard while I’m there, but I live more fully when I can spend more time at home…

Here’s to a good Monday to everyone…May it be a happy, balanced one!

It has been a busy 96-plus hours, getting ready for the new school year. Now, at 10:47 p.m., I believe I can say that I am about as ready as I could be.

Well, except for ironing my clothes, collating my syllabi, copying two other documents that I didn’t have to print out, and then about a gazillion more things on my to-do list that sits in volumes to my left.

But there comes a time, you know, when you just have to say you’ve done the best you can, so there’s nothing to do now but let the minutes tick by as you wait for that inevitable first bell at 7:25 a.m.

I’ll take pictures tomorrow morning of my room and get them posted, I hope, tomorrow night. I plan on writing daily in the evenings as a sort of reflective run of posts as the new year begins…

To everybody out there who begins school tomorrow (or who has already begun school), Good luck to you, to your children, and may we all be blessed with a safe a healthy school year filled with wonderment and delight.

It’s official. The meetings are now in full swing, and the big hand is zooming around the clock faster than I can ever remember. I am in the midst of the week before school begins, and I am feeling the ever-increasing pressure to get everything ready before Monday, the first day of school.

I could not be happier. :)

I’m one of those lucky ones who has been able to follow the Do What You Love, Love What You Do mantras in my line of “work.” I wish there were more hours in the day to simply be a teacher.

So, if my posts are coming in a little more slowly, I’ll get back into that groove of posting (nearly) daily. And I’ll try to not make them all about teaching (glow, glow)… :)

I’m going to take pictures today of my classroom (if I can get it cleaned up enough) or, at the very latest, take the pics and post them on Friday (Maybe I’ll try to wrap my T13 around that notion tomorrow…).

So…In the interims of my posts (and perhaps my less than frequent stop-bys at your wonderful sites), know that I am happy and busy and loving every minute of what I am doing…

As Jerry would sing, I’m feeling crazy in the sunlight, yes indeed!

Where in the world did Thursday go?

First, thanks to all for your kind words about the site’s new look. I wish I could take credit for the pic, but alas, I cannot. This is from a template in the WordPress directory (info is at the bottom of this page).

Second, thanks also for your heartfelt words about my sister. Both she and my mother are models of what it means to fight this ugly disease with a positive and determined manner. They have both triumphed in the past, and I have no doubt that my sister will pull through once again.

Ok. One of my things to do before school begins is create my opening week playlist. Here’s the final list of songs that made the cut from an original 24. I’ll list the songs that didn’t make it farther below.

1. The Music Never Stopped (Grateful Dead, 4/30/77, Palladium, NYC)
2. Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith)
3. The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Bob Dylan)
4. Ain’t That A Shame (Cheap Trick, Live at Budokan)
5. Kashmir (Led Zeppelin)
6. Compared To What (Les McCann & Eddie Harris)
7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles, White Album)
8. Nights in White Satin (The Moody Blues, long version)
9. Black Rock (O.A.R., Live, Any Time Now)
10. Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin)
11. Magic Bus (The Who, Live At Leeds)
12. Sugar Magnolia (Grateful Dead, 6/9/77, Winterland Arena, San Francisco)

There’s been much thought put behind the order of these songs. I would call all of these driving, motivating songs in one way or another, and the significance of each is very strong. At this point in my life, I’ve got to keep the music driving me through some emotional times and keep my mind and my heart focused on exactly what I need to do: Teach and Write.
And…Here are the ones that didn’t make the cut (but would make it a great 2-cd set, I think):

1. Champagne Supernova (Oasis)
2. Tomorrow Never Comes (Beatles, Revolver)
3. Unbelievable (EMF)
4. Zoo Station (U2)
5. You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Rolling Stones)
6. Melting (Tristan Prettyman)
7. Positively 4th Street (Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, and Bill Vitt)
8. Dear Prudence (Jerry Garcia, After Midnight bonus cd, 2/28/80, Kean College)
9. You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
10. Born To Run (Bruce Springsteen)
11. Make Me Smile (Chicago, lp version)
12. Walkin’ Blues (Eric Clapton, Unplugged)

If you are interested in me burning a cd for you, just let me know. I’ll be glad to send one in the mail to the first 13 requests….

Enjoy the Friday, everyone!

New routines, new demands, new opportunities, new everything…Today signifies my first day back to the classroom in preparation for the upcoming school year.
I’m one of those geeky teachers that gets a little too excited about all of this….I absolutely love teaching, and this, to me, is one of the greatest times of the year.
My classroom’s a mess, my files all need to be reorganized, and there’s a list of things that need to happen in the next two weeks that will require every moment possible to accomplish.
And I’m loving every one of those moments.
More soon….I have wonderful pics from this weekend’s adventure searching for the perfect place to pick blueberries. I stumbled across a folk duo that I’ll look for again, and you are sure to hear more about them in my next post.
But that’s a picture kind-of post, and the camera’s at home while I’m here at school, so look for that later tonight.
So happy to be back at school!