Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer . It’s a gray, rainy day, but I’m still having a chilled chai latte, as I’ll be on the go. Our weather is in the sixties, and the clouds are rolling. It’s fun to watch.
This last week was my Spring Break. Of course, Chris and I attended the St. Augustine Celtic Fest. I’m only a tad Scottish, with a lot of other things, but bagpipes seem to speak to me. We enjoyed the music and atmosphere!
Kilts, bagpipes, drums, and Albannach in the background!I love an outdoor music festival on a Spring day!
There were many restful days, and Tuesday I met with other teacher friends for lunch at the cafe in the Avonlea Antiques store. We enjoyed it and spent probably two hours catching up. It’s interesting walking past some of the memorabilia, to include old black and white photos of long forgotten people. Does anyone print out photos anymore?
Friday,Chris was off and we planned an outing to the Jacksonville zoo. I spent the morning gathering tax documents and creating a series page for Detours in Time, as KDP stated there wasn’t one. Not sure how that happened. I felt a little stressed, since I left that for the last minute. However, the zoo was relaxing and fun. Chris is like a kid at the zoo, always in wonder of what the animals are doing. We now both have a membership, and it is so worth it!
Don’t you just love penguins?
Going to the zoo was a great staycation activity!
Today, I’m running a few errands, getting on the bike at the gym, and getting a massage. Work starts again Monday. We’ll see just how acclimated I might be to Daylight Savings time. What are your thoughts on Daylight Savings? I wrote a post on my thoughts this week, if you’d like to visit: Time Change Drudgery or Satiating Sunshine
I used to drive to work every morning with a list of things in my head that I must do when I get there, since nothing is ever completely done. The “list” would stress me out before I even got to work!
Now, I lose myself in a song. Somehow, I’ve grown into the ability to do that. Needless to say, my job as a teacher is stressful. Sometimes in my life, my family life has been stressful. Perhaps it has all worn on my nerves like a repetitive stress type of condition. I am making headway, I think. Why stress about work before I even get there? I enjoy my music, and keep my mind clear. Stress can wait!
Some would say I’m just letting the music hypnotize me, but we often give ourselves over to worry, anxiety. So now, I see I can give my mind to a good lyric, an inspiring melody–one that I’ve chosen. It doesn’t stop me from getting ready once I get to work, and my mind is more at ease when I’m preparing to let kids into class and make them feel welcome. Heck, I can make notes that will be there waiting when I get there. No need to stress myself to remember!
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! It’s a Self-care Saturday, so green Tazo tea is in order! Enough to open my eyes without giving me jitters.
Today is massage day. I’ve been working hard at physical therapy to strengthen my shoulder, so my upper back has gotten slightly tense. I haven’t found time for chiropractor visits in a great while, but I’ll get in to visit next week.
Despite a busy, busy week with PT and candy-filled students being over-energetic, I experienced the value of fun and having a social-life Thursday evening. My boyfriend took me to Painting with Penguins at the Jacksonville Zoo for hors’doeuvres and fun. We painted a background, then took our canvas for the penguins to walk on with painted feet ( washable of course)!
Making his mark on my painting!
Before they brought the penguins in, we learned about them and their changing habitat in South Africa. I seriously feel ready to adopt one now! The event benefits their care and research into their lives and needs at the zoo.
Before, and….After the penguin signature! Such a fun experience!
In addition to the busy work week, and fun event, I found myself being awarded a Gator Bowl Tax Slayer MVT ( most valuable teacher) Award! They came in led by my principal during my morning class Wednesday. It was awesome to be surprised this way! (Balloons and a big check to spend on my classroom are always a nice touch)!
My principal, me, and the Gator Bowl Tax Slayer representative.
I’ll also get two special tickets to the Gator Bowl game. Woohoo! The MVT award is something I could apply for personally, but a friend actually nominated me.
Wow, what a week! There are so many highs and lows to my job. Sometimes it’s really hard to motivate a student. Other times, I get to see the light come on in their eyes, which is so fulfilling! I experienced all of that this week, but I am staying laser focused on the positives!
Have a great weekend, my fellow WordPressers and readers. Keep pressing on!
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. This morning consisted of peach mango V8 juice that contains green tea. I’ve encouraged my son to make a call enquiring about medical insurance costs on his own, so that’s happening in the background.
Yikes! Time flies. He’ll be 26 in April, so it’s time he learns to make these inquiries. Later, I’ll go to the gym with him. His dad works more on weekends now, so I get to go as his guest. Jusy another part of staying active, but I get to bond with my son as well!
Time flies…
Allow me to spiral back now to last weekend. I took him to the gym, then we stopped at a Mediterranean deli/cafe for lunch. It just recently started opening on Saturdays again. I think their food is great, but there were no other customers when we went. That could be good for us, though.
The owner was in no rush, so we had to wait for him to flip some channels and find the football game he wanted. “I’ll be right with you,” he said. He was friendly enough, and he did get to us and our order. Neither of us minded. It’s kind of nice to take a break from the rat race, you know? Did I really have any need to ask him to speed up? Nope.
We sat at a table and waited. When our food was done, the owner thanked us and told us it was just him and the young lady in the kitchen, told us how many years he’d been there, etc. We got home with our food, mine a Greek salad, and I noted the extra pitas they had put in there. Yes, there should never be a need to hurry on a Saturday! I’ll definitely go back again, and I’m glad to support a locally-owned business! In this anxiety-filled world, we should all be in less of a hurry sometimes.
Nor have I forced myself to hurry at all today. Sciatica disturbed my sleep a few nights last week, but last night I slept great and even slept in this morning. I’m finishing this up on an exercise bike at the gym. Sorry, it seems like I’m ‘phoning in” my Weekend Coffee Share! I waa moving so slowly at home, but I don’t mind multi-tasking now. I normally read while on the treadmill anyway; it helps me not to get bored from exercise!
If you’ve been around my blog a while, you’ll know I may complain at times, but I’ll never give up!
I’m going to stick with that attitude this weekend. Make it a great Saturday, and an even better week, my friends!
Good morning, and welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share! I’m sipping a peach mango V8, but there is coffee or tea available. I won’t judge…
I thought of writing last night to work on the character of Ellie. I have left her in a precarious situation. I already know how her story ends. She is a warrior. I just haven’t worked out how she escapes her predicament that I was last pondering. All good things take time, I suppose. Before that, I was composing this post in my head; to quote T.S. Eiliot: “How do I spit out the butt ends of my days and ways…” Sounds ugly, so maybe I am instead painting rainbows out of my doings.
The last week had a few dark and uncomfortable days tainted by reality. I can’t give specifics but it is the nature of my job to sometimes deal with uncomfortable situations. I am so often thankful these days that I started on the journey to grapple with my anxiety and accept the doctor’s diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder a year ago, just 3 months before COVID hit my area of the world.
I lighten the air with fantasy, envisioning talking flowers or animals, as if in a cartoon. I do this for me and for my students. Some days shine with meaning and purpose, while other days, I just respond to my needs. Breakfast, shower, clothing, work, work, work, decompress, dinner, exercise. Sleep. Socialization and emotional connection fits in somewhere, but it is so different in this socially-distanced era.
Friday nights I put my feet up, with my loyal dog at my side. I tire of watching someone else’s stories, though, having them stuffed down my throat, and I picture my own. They cannot be as terrible as the world today. Maybe they foretell of a brighter future, where we build the world we want to live in. Certainly not a world of cyber-bullying, sex-trafficking, or violence. We owe our children better than this. We need to teach them it is not alright, teach them how to turn the tides.
Who will teach the children to dream a new tomorrow, so they can make it true? To create better moments instead of just reacting? At night I train myself not to worry about the future of our children, or unseen threats and my own assumptions. I try, but training takes time. It’s an ongoing work in progress, one step up and two steps back…sometimes, 3 steps ahead, others, going nowhere. That’s okay though.
In the meantime, I love the sound of my dog snoring, love the cool evening air when I let him out and the morning sun peeking through window blinds.
I try to ponder these things and think of nothing else.
Sometimes it works, and my breathing slows.
I try, but sometimes the trying takes time.
Yet, I try, and sometimes the trying is a victory…
So, still, I try.
If all else fails, laugh like no one is watching. Not so glam, but it feels great!
In other news, ‘coronophobia’ is now a valid term, researchers say. I work amongst middle school children daily, and I lean down (masked) when I can’t hear them talk. I social distance as much as possible, but I am not always behind my desk shield. I think I have good days and bad days, so I am not going to adopt that term; however, I believe it is real.
My phobias stem from so many other things, and yes, a healthy dash of hypochondria at times. It may have started with a hospitalization at age eight because I wasn’t eating right. My blood count was very low. I felt so alone for those few days, as Mom had to be at home with my three-year-old brother.
Suffice it to say, hospitals can really trigger me today. I have to be mindful. So here I am, dredging up my past. Therapy can lead to that. You think about why your mind goes to certain places. It is very helpful, though, in framing your thoughts, as if you are taking a picture of a moment that makes you feel triggered, yet you take the looming clouds out of it, because, it was only your mind that put them there and interpreted them as a threat or an ominous portend. I still can put up my guard, but now I can laugh at myself when I am overthinking things.
Thanks for joining me. I’m going to run into the kitchen to get my green tea, and you are welcome to a refill. The ‘cafe’ is playing something by Ben Harper, a guitar solo called “Winter is for Lovers.” Interesting idea on this rainy Valentine’s Day weekend! My ‘bae’ and I will go out for Mediterranean food tonight, and I’m cooking him spaghetti on Sunday. Have a great weekend, send out some love to the world, and stay the course my friends!
pamelascanepa 