Oct. 14: Still here

I think the only way to get back to my regular blogging schedule—ha! “schedule”—is to just start. So, here I am. Starting. Playing a little bit o’ catch-up. Rambling, even.

I don’t have time to do lots of the things I love anymore, it seems. I know (hope) this is just a busy time and things will eventually return to the normal that I want. That normal includes talking to Mother Mary several times a week. Reading every night. Getting my laptop’s awful/noisy fan repaired so I don’t have to listen to movies to drown out the annoyingness. Thinking about things that don’t involve school. That’s the big one.

Victor and I took a break from everything on Friday night and saw a local production of Avenue Q, one of the silliest and most entertaining Broadway musicals I’ve ever seen. We first saw it as part of a Broadway in Portland series a few years ago. The one on Friday night was just as good—not an abridged version (I was worried), with just the tiniest of changes to fit in topical humor. It was delightful to laugh for two straight hours.

Not that I haven’t been laughing in other parts of my life. My busy-ness at school, while incredibly stressful at times, is still very much something that feeds my soul. I feel fortunate every day for the people I work with there because they are dedicated and creative and lovely. I am so, so lucky.

Here’s one bit of exciting news: we hosted a costume swap one evening last week. I had sent a press release/announcement to the school district, hoping our event might appeal to people outside our little school. As it was the first time we’d planned a costume swap, we had no idea what the response would be. The press release definitely helped—it was picked up by several news agencies, and we had lots of outsiders attend. And the biggest surprise was when KGW news showed up with a camera (because, really, isn’t a costume swap, like, the best idea EVER? Nowadays parents spend so much on costumes that are worn one time; why not trade them with other people?). I missed the bit they ran on the news that night, and the video isn’t online, so that was a bummer. But otherwise? What a memorable night!

Jogathon is Friday. Our multicultural fair is the next week. Did I offer to coordinate the continent of Europe? Why, yes I did. I might not be very smart.

Overwhelmed? Very much. Happy, though. And needing a vacation like never before.

That’s all the catching up I have time for at the moment. I’ll try to do more in the next few days.