School began after our Christmas Break and within 2 days I was depressed about my work again. I'm ready for the transition from full time work to part time or to change the focus. It may take 5-6 years for this to happen, but it will. I just pray and hope I can do it with grace, intellect, and stewardship.
The middle of the month was most exciting as I got to accompany my daughter and dear little grandbaby to Canada on a short jaunt, while C trained some people on the software Conclusive Systems. I got to be "Nanny"! It was 24/7, but by the second day I was into a schedule with my dear little O. He weathered the trip really well, considering he is such a small mite! Even C and I got into a nice routine and were much more savvy about what we needed to take/leave to travel. We took the plane, the ferry and rented a car. Whew! Believe it or not, the most frustrating and hard part of the trip was using a defunct car seat provided by the car rental agency.......next time, we'll take our own, no matter how awkward that car seat is!
I was able to take O on a walk along the waterfront, which was absolutely beautiful. It filled my heart with nature's beauty and the moist air was good for my sinuses and lungs! Snow capped peaks and the ocean all in one. What could be better?
We left WW with a bit of 'snowy' fog and while we were gone it snowed a couple of inches. It sort of melted and then, last weekend, 9 -- NINE -- inches fell. The school deemed a 2-hour delay appropriate, while all the other nearby districts closed for the day. (And I thought Oak Harbor was nuts! Hah! This place is so backward and out of touch, I can't believe it.) Of course, I was helping with interviews at the district office 9 a.m. Monday morning and those were not cancelled, so at 7 a.m. I was out shoveling my driveway. I worked up a sweat and thought I might have a heart attack. I'm definitely not in shape for shoveling 9 inches of snow off a driveway. However, despite the pulled shoulder and sore muscles, I am so glad I did it, as my driveway and sidewalk have not subsequently been covered with the sheet of ice that preceded and followed the snow storm. (I put ice melter everywhere). Of course, the school and the district office shoveled all the snow from the parking lots to leave the sheet of ice underneath, so Ifeel like I take my life in my hands everytime I walk across them. And throughout the week I've heard no one complain about that....amazing. (My dear friend Barb fell and broke both arms recently.......I don't want the same to happen to me!) And of course, the weirdness that is WW is the same as it was 30 years ago when I lived here going to college. They plow all the snow from the roads onto the middle of the street and on the sidewalks, which block all the bus shelters and leave the sidwalks unpassable. No one has any foresight, here. They don't seem to think past the end of their noses. (Just like the hiring for an assistant in my classes (no I still don't have one, I've had subs all year, which change often). They are trying to fill the gap till the end of the year and not thinking about hiring someone more permanent, who might stay awhile, so we could actually build a good team and have continuity, consistency, build relationships with our students. Okay, don't get me started on That one!
Back to the weather. It was very beautiful and I got to watch it throughout the day Sunday, pile up around my place. Here is a look at my backyard fence (which blew down in our windstorm Jan 4) as the snow piled up. the last picture is the neighbors' fence beside my driveway.
Sunday morning:
Sunday afternoon:
Monday Morning:
This morning we have another 2-hour delay to school starting since the snow melted enough yesterday to leave a wonderful icey sheen when it froze overnight.
I've had kids have melt down tantrums when we walk through that wonderful snow to the bus and they don't get to play in it. A whole playground full of the stuff and the liability for thrown snowballs is too much for the district. The kids have to stay indoors to play. It irks me no end. How are kids going to learn anything nowadays if they can't touch, feel, experience their world around them? Now I'm all for safety, but if we take no risks in life, why is it worth living?
For now, I'm safe, warm, dry, and my car is still trudging through the snow to get me where I need to go. I have plenty to eat, I'm basically healthy and God has blessed me with wonderful friends and family. I hope you, too, are thriving in winter survival.
