Channeling Captain Random

No, no clear path to follow in this train of thought today...random, random, random!

* My morning routine is seriously going to have to change once we get back to Oz this summer: up with toddler (today at three!), having coffee, reading blogs/news/emails, making breakfast, starting a load of laundry (and folding the load left in the dryer overnight), unloading the dishwasher, making beds, straightening up bathrooms, opening the blinds to let the sunshine in, vacuuming, getting dressed... then going down the to-do list of errands to run or complete. I'm thinking those things aren't going to happen once I'm back to teaching! My solution? My family's least favorite words: "delegate" and "distribute responsibilites." That's going to be a rude awakening...



* I haven't finished reading A New Earth yet. I'm having to complete it in stages due to my mommy routine with the toddler, our preparations for moving, and the time required to really think about Tolle's assertions. I've skimmed through it once, and am now going chapter by chapter, downloading the Oprah podcasts after each one to help me rethink the material. Some of it can be a bit difficult, but it's challenging in a positive way, and feels, at least to me, relevant. I've recognized bits, pieces, even huge chunks of myself in the book in regard to Ego: my material possessions, my job, my role in the friendships I choose, and the goals I've had for my physical health. Tolle describes the imbalance of the world's resources as a result of the "egoic entities" (corporations, governments) whose only goal is to acquire more, have more, take more... And he offers an exercise on familiarizing yourself with your "inner body," (page 52) by focusing on the "feeling of aliveness" in your hands, or just your feet, "going there with your attention to noticing it."

It's a good read. A good think.



* I love encountering new-to-me-terms or phrases. In the latest blog from Cakespy "Donut Speak," the author(s) try to determine which term or spelling is correct: doughnut or donut. There are arguments for and against either, but what caught my eye was the following quote: "Kenneth G. Wilson, in The Columbia Guide to Standard American English, says: 'Doughnut is the conventional spelling, 'donut' a variant used in advertising or signs and as eye dialect.'" Yes, the emphasis is mine. Eye dialect. As a teacher, I flood my classroom with environmental print year after year. Students add to it, and often greet me in the morning with "Teacher, teacher, guess what I saw? That big yellow thing at McDonald's is really the letter M!" and the like. "Quik-Mart" instead of Quick Mart. "Sammies" instead of sandwiches. "Drive Thru" instead of Drive Through.

Eye dialect. I like it.



*Mama Luxe at An Army Wife's Life shared a link to Military Wives' Best Tips for Dealing with a Spouse's Deployment which I thought I'd pass along as well. I've lived in military communities for the past five years, but am aware that there are large civilian communities that might only vaguely understand the enormity of what "those Army wives" (or members of other military branches) go through each time a spouse is deployed. Yes, there are "Army husbands" too!

It's not easy, and yes, it may be that our own family will experience at least one more deployment in the next two years. If I start getting weepy a year-and-a-half from now, you can't say I didn't warn you.



* I'm anxiously awaiting my teaching contract in the mail. Not knowing which school I'll be at or which grade I'll be teaching has pushed me to either extreme of the pendulum swing that mostly encompasses my job: contemplating which scrapbook papers I want to use for my lesson plan book cover, and reading blog articles such as "The Surge Against First Graders," reposted at Schools Matter. Parents might find the lesson plan book cute, but they should also follow the links in "The Surge" article. Really.



* Are there any colleges or universities that require Ethics in Education as a class? Seriously, I'd like to know.

(Here's a bigger view of the cartoon)



I'm off to crochet!