Narf! I have been away too long. It was the sort of week during which I came home from school and fell asleep on the couch, getting up only to go to bed. It was a spectacularly unproductive week, and again, I am happy to have put it behind me.
Because I have spent much of week being overwhelmed by the negative, I shall undertake to list here all of the positive things, the blessings, the gifts of the week:
Went to dinner last night with a couple who have the potential to be very good friends. They are involved with a church that we no longer attend, but we still see them in the line of things church-y, occasionally. Conversation lasted until well after dinner. It rained and thundered and lightninged! I was giddy; it felt like back east again. [This is a qualified blessing, because many SoCal residents endured hardships as a result of this freak storm -- mudslides in burn areas, evacuations, snow, hail, twin tornadoes, overturned big rigs and freight cars.] Netflix.The 4400 series DVDs.Dynamic skies; patchy sun, dark nimbus clouds, billowing white cumulus clouds, wind, green.Brownies. Twice.LittleKitty cuddled with me under the covers this morning as I lay in bed reading. She hasn't made a habit of that in quite a while. Madeleine L'Engle's newly published novel, written in the 1940's. It was very sweetly her. It felt like coming back to a comfortable place of good memories. Our campus held a Memorial Day ceremony yesterday, and the kids were better than I've ever seen them -- quiet, respectful, cooperative, and in some cases, truly moved. A former student who is in the Navy returned to campus for a visit this week. He was one of those students who earned a low C or D in my sophomore English class, but who could have had an A given his outstanding intelligence and insight. He's one of the students we all know has incredible potential but...we all knew it might take time to be realized. After three years in the Navy, working on jet engines, being patient, watching the demise of his youthful marriage, he is entering Annapolis in a few short months. He's a special kid, and it was good to be visited by him and thanked by him. A number of current students have stopped by my classroom this week after school, God bless 'em, utterly preventing me from getting any grading or other necessary jobs done...but who obviously needed to talk and who seemed to feel better after they left my room. My AP students actually had some decent discussions this week of Ellison's Invisible Man. They are learning and growing after all. I've had my doubts this year. Sunday's graduation party of a friend was tons of fun. We have dinner planned tomorrow with another friend. We have Monday off school. That'll do for now. I'll add to the list as I recall more of the week's blessings.
Purple carpet
Nature's litter
Click to make big and see what I mean by "purple incandescence." I only wish my camera could fully capture what my eye sees.
Ditto on this one.
The rain is beginning.
Windshield rivulets
A recently vacated parking spot
This is what happens in SoCal when it rains.
Today, with patchy clouds, sun, blue, breeze.
Dynamic skies
Purple carpet
Nature's litter
Click to make big and see what I mean by "purple incandescence." I only wish my camera could fully capture what my eye sees.
Ditto on this one. 
Windshield rivulets
A recently vacated parking spot
This is what happens in SoCal when it rains.
Today, with patchy clouds, sun, blue, breeze.
Dynamic skies
10 comments:
I have found this practice of listing good things during hard times is so helpful. For me it's not at all about "cheering up" but about reminding myself of all that I have to be grateful for, which is just a good thing.
I'm so jealous that you got to teach Invisible Man. I have always wanted to teach that book and I could never find a way to put it into my classes. My diss advisor is one of the best Ellison scholars out there and I got to take an Ellison seminar with him. That's something that I am grateful for, but I still wish I would have been able to teach it myself.
Also, I'm especially liking the rain on the windshield photos, though I have to admit that I am totally a sucker for those shots.
like the jacaranda, it is such a magical tree - I now want to check out the invisible man and I think listing good things it a great idea.
glad your kitty is snuggling.
liked all pictures really, the window ones were very cool.
These are all great. Glad you're having such great friend times.
I didn't know an old/new book of L'Engle's had been published, what's the title?
songbird, it's the first book on my amazon widget. it's entitled "the joys of love." she wrote it back in the 1940's, but it's only just now being published for the first time. her granddaughters decided it was time. lena roy (granddaughter) wrote the foreword for it.
scriv -- wow on the "invisible man" scholar! i'm jealous! i could benefit from that. i'd love to hear some of your insights sometime; i haven't gotten to discuss the novel with anyone but high schoolers.
i forget sometimes to look at the good things. i will return to this practice frequently. i tend to be a melancholy and need the reminders.
gawdess -- it is a magical tree! today was one of those kick-myself days, as i went to school to grade and prep sub plans and didn't take my camera. so, of course, when i came out of the room, the sunset was brilliant and orange and leaking all over the day-glo purple of the holy tree, and i had nothing but my eyes and cellphone camera to take notice with. i almost couldn't breathe, it was so beautiful. i will try to extract the photos from my cellphone, but they won't do it justice. just...otherworldly. wow.
yt -- the time spent with friends has been wonderful! yesterday didn't end till after 10 p.m., and the conversation just flowed like a flooded river. we just didn't notice the time passing. does the soul good.
Love love LOVE that purple, can't get enough. :) Glad you made it through the week, hope this one goes better. Wish me luck, we're going up to GA to look at some Jack Russell pups tonight! :)
I would love to sit down sometime and talk about Invisible Man. There was a stretch during the end of my undergrad and the beginning of grad school where I read it every semester for 2 years, counting summer. But I haven't read it since and I've been itching to do so.
Post a Comment