Day 15: The Under-Caffeination of Erica

My coffee addiction started at an early age. As a freshmen in high school, I transferred from my local public school system to a small private school in Seattle. Private schools have many things, but transportation isn’t one of them. Until I met people and joined a carpool, my dad drove me to school everyday (I believe that is a blog unto itself!). We stopped by QFC and got coffee at Venetos every morning. And when I say we “stopped” I mean we drove the other direction to go get coffee. I loved (LOVED) the coffee granita. Sometimes I also got a sprinkle donut and stuck it right on top of the coffee lid with the straw sticking up through the donut hole. And thusly, I survived high school, and became addicted to cold, blended coffee drinks. When Venetos closed, and Starbucks moved in, I was…(there’s no other way to say this)….pissed. 

I slowly morphed to Starbucks and became a frappuccino drinker. In college, I drank campus coffee (eek!) my first year, and drove my car off campus the other three years to get Starbucks. I had a quick flirtation with iced coffee, and I’ll drink a cool lime refresher in a pinch, but it’s that cold frap (with peppermint!) that I crave. By the time I graduated college the coffee routine was more than caffeine. The actual ritual of getting coffee was part of my day. My first year of teaching I was running late one day and showed up without coffee. My principal informed that I should never, EVER, come without coffee again. Be late if you have to, but come caffeinated! Heard.

One of my favorite teaching stints was teaching a 4/5, about five years into my teaching career. I had taught 4th grade the previous year, and had rolled up with a portion of my students. Starting the year with 1/2 of your students knowing you and your classroom routines is magical.  One day, early in September, one of the fourth graders asked a question.  I don’t remember what it was, but before I had turned around to address it, one of my 5th graders shut it down: Don’t ask her anything until she’s drunk at least 1/2 the coffee, below that green line. (Katie Luna if you remember that far back 💕). It’s not that I’m snappy, or mean, before the green line, but I’m super dull!! ;)

Last week I was thinking that maybe I was getting the virus.  I’m allergic to EVERYTHING; it’s spring, I’m remodeling, I own cats…. So sneezing: check! But there was also this extreme lethargy. I napped. I obsessed about having a temperature. I told myself that I was emotionally drained and allowed the napping and the sleeping in, even though I wasn’t doing a darn thing.  But then my mom brought me coffee from Divine on her way back from work, and honestly the heavens split right in half. CAFFEINE! Apparently apple juice was just not cutting it. ;)

So I have loaded up on coconut milk, peppermint syrup, and a wing and prayer and will be hopefully creating a drinkable concoction in the near future. It will definitely not be the same as all those friendly Starbucks baristas greeting me by name every morning, but this too shall pass. 

💜💜

Day 7: Wherein the Cats Eat

At first I was going to count days in terms of how many days I had been working from home, instead of being in my classroom. But what I'm thinking now is that marking the days of this whole...thing makes more sense because every day seems the same!  So today, Monday, is Day 7.

In Cannon Beach, Day 7 was much more calm than days 6 or 5. The amount of tourists was truly maddening. The beach looked like 4th of July, with cars lined up and down the streets, and the beach packed. Today, happily, it is a much different story. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen Cannon Beach with fewer cars!

I did have to go out today, and for a really good reason: CAT FOOD!  Last week I went to get food from the vet, and they were closed. These complicated felines of mine eat prescription food, so this was a challenge. I was hoping grocery store food would suffice. I mean, I was thinking it must taste good since it wasn't prescription.  Like broccoli versus potato chips. Wrong-o!  Somehow they have taken after me and are collectively incredibly picky. As in, nobody has eaten in three days. Honestly. They've had more treats these last few days than in their whole lives!

I started a new book with my students: Race to the Bottom of the Sea by Lindsay Eagar. I love it so much - pirates, sharks, true love... Happy sigh. I wouldn't say I've gotten the hang of the video thing yet, but I have dipped into the self amused category. After recording, and recognizing the absurdity of the end of the video, I recorded this part and sent it to my Social Studies co-teacher. We had a similar episode in class a few weeks ago.  😂

Tomorrow, perhaps my Netlflix, CBS, Disney+ playlist! 

Day 4: Rachel Maddow and Winnie the Pooh

Two days of computers - ACK! To be fair, we have had a couple staff meetings, but I've also participated in interviews for a few open staffing positions we have for next year. I do love being a part of this process, but such long days!  I sat in front of my computer for just over 6 hours today.  And with the exception of the self-imposed volume problem with my headphones, the day was pretty calm. I know kids keep me on my feet, but I am seeing how literal that is!

One good thing about remote communication is that you only have to have an outfit from the waist up. I went "Rachel Maddow" yesterday with a professional looking top and jewelry, and yoga pants on the bottom. Apparently, according to my colleagues,  this isn't the same term as "Pooh-bearing".  I mean, is Winnie-the-Pooh really naked?  How disturbing? To be clear, I object to this insinuation about my silly ole bear. And also, I'm wearing pants. ;)

Yesterday, to avoid remodel work, I spent the day at school, in my classroom. What I learned was that  none of my furniture is meant to sit in for 6 hours. At the end of the day I was crippled, and there had been no remodeling. So today, I stayed home, and 'lo and behold, it was a busy day!  I haven't been down there, but there was sanding, singing (ha!), and spraying.  And then, late in the afternoon a giant truck pulled up. I announced to my team that I was either getting a fleet of horses, or that my kitchen cabinets had arrived!!!

Winnie and Lanny, of course, helped vector the truck in. :)

The news is bleak, and terrifying.  Find humor and beauty in your days. Be Well! 💜

Day 2: The Desk Job

Most teachers, at some point, have dreamed of a desk job.  We usually fantasize about it when we are writing sub plans, when we're tired, or when we just don't want to stick to a rigid bathroom schedule.  😂  I take it all back! I had to charge my computer twice today! I usually charge it just on the weekends.  And I'm starting to OD on video conferencing. I need to get over that because there's plenty of that in my future. 😉 Needless to say, I take it all back!

One plus on desk jobbing (do you think that can become a verb?), is that you can watch a little television too! Otherwise I would have been real sad eating my lunch without my colleagues. Today during lunch I watched Netflix's "Next in Fashion". It's a reality fashion show like Project Runway (but not nearly as good) with Alexa Chung as the host. The challenge in this episode was a lingerie challenge. Two of the contestants were Japanese and didn't understand the task because of the language barrier.  One of them said, "Alexa, what is the difference between lingerie and underwear?" The Amazon Alexa on my dad's desk fired up with quite a complete answer! LOL!

Today was more planning, plotting, and thinking. I got this sweet photo from one of my families today that made all the difference.

If you have kids learning at home right now, send your teachers pictures like this. 💜 It made me feel connected, and bolstered my confidence in the planning I'm doing. And nudged me to make another video!

Yesterday I had recorded right before Governor Brown's announcement, so I didn't address school closure. One week is no biggie; it's just like Winter Break! But I felt like today,  I couldn't ignore the elephant in the room.  

There's fine line between being honest with kids about something serious, and scaring them. They need to know that their emotions of fear or uncertainty are normal and expected, but they also need to be reassured, so you can't be a complete open book. To that point, today's video took several takes. My first attempt is below. It fell apart at about the 45 second mark. I'm including it because it's real, and raw, and I imagine some of you are feeling the same way. 

Don't worry -the final cut was totally together.  😘 

Day 1 on an Alien Planet

When my remodel started, I planned on writing a blog about it.  It seemed like a great topic: highs, lows, funny anecdotes.... Unfortunately what I found out was that it has been mostly insanity. ;) And not the good kind! There's been a fair bit of stress, and as it turns out, that caps the creativity in my brain.  

And then, this week happened!  It's been a week (or what, two days?) of giant emotions, that roil between fear and confidence.  And not about the virus! Self doubt muddles with my can-do spirit, and comes and goes in waves. 

It wasn't really "game on" until this afternoon (up until then, we were only closed for a week +spring break). The waiting game was actually making me a little more panicky because there wasn't anything concrete and meaningful to do. Late in the afternoon, I decided to continue our class read aloud through video. I'm pretty techy, but videos are not my jam, so I thought I could use the practice. I imagine there are copyright laws, so I trimmed it (for you) so it's just the beginning. Also, good news, you don't have to sit and listen to me read! ;) I mean, you've already read HP & the Prisoner of Azkaban, right? Right?

We're not all going through the same challenges, but we're all facing unchartered territory! The challenge for me will be to recreate our classroom culture digitally.  Fractions, essays, reading comp...it's all important, but those little 5th grade selves are the most important.

This evening our superintendent posted this on Facebook:

If you didn't just burst into tears, read it again! Being believed in is magical.  See you on the blogosphere tomorrow. G'Night!

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