Groundhog Day!

This will have very little to do with Groundhog Day, but since that day is today, I felt like marking its passage somehow. Apparently the groundhog saw his shadow, but I slept through the news coverage of it all. Such is Thursdays, one of the few days I get to sleep in.
But here are some Things I've Been Loving Lately:

1. THE WEATHER. We have somehow been blessed by the mildest winter (so far) that I can remember. There have been days of cold, but not the unbearable chill that seeps into the bones and you can't shake until you're home in sweatpants and with hot tea. And every time someone mentions how awesome the weather is, or how much they miss winter, I throw up the trusty Karma Kap and hope that nothing changes between now and April.

2. FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS This album is in my car, on my phone, and on my computer. It has been playing on repeat for the past two weeks. Their sound is unique, and I find it impossible to be in a bad mood when I'm bopping around my room (or car or back space at work) to their music.

3. THE PARIS WIFE This is next month's book club book, but I'm flying through it, often staying up entirely too late to read just one more page (or screen, since I'm a Kindle reader). I studied Hemingway intensely in my undergrad schooling, and I was familiar with his war background, but I never read anything about his writing life. This novel, written from the point of view of his first wife, captures a young Hemingway trying to break into the writing scene. Most of it is set in Paris, the creative capital of the early 1900s, and I've learned fascinating details about an artist trying to provide for his family.

4. BECOMING A TEACHER. There are so many distractions in the journey of becoming an educator. My classes have lots of work required, there's always the challenge of balancing time, and the talk of most teachers in the field currently is negative (Tennessee is currently employing a really restrictive teacher evaluation system). But I'm constantly reminded that all those things are just what I said - distractions. Ultimately I love children and spending time with them and that lightbulb face they show when they understand something. That is what I must remember as I make posters and type my notes to turn in as a grade for grad school. I have a passion, and while it's been quite a journey to realize that I'm called to be a teacher, I can't let the little things stand in the way.

So here's to a decent 2012 thus far!
 


All thoughts and opinions are my own and true to my experience.