iPhone

It's completely pathetic how dependent we are on technology.  And by "we", I mean ME! 

Yesterday my iPhone just randomly stopped working...like it worked on the drive to my dad's work, and didn't work on the way home from my dad's work...won't turn on, won't charge, won't even read the charger.

I about had a heart attack.  I had to drive home from Bridgeview without a phone, and today I have to spend the entire morning without a phone.  Why does this feel like a cataclysmic problem?  Why did Randy leave me a note this morning that said, " email me before you leave, and calll me when you get to Orland via payphone.  Don't leave there without a phone!"

Well, there are a few reasons, and I'm going to tell you all about them.

1.  We  are part of this new generation that doesn't have a house phone.  When I don't have a phone, I have no connection to the outside world.  If my child chokes or something similar, I have no way to connect to the outside world except to run outside my house.  This gives me all sorts of anxiety.  The only reason I can really think that this makes me so anxious is (tangent) one time my dog got out of my house in the freezing cold, and my phone was dead, and I literally ran out into the street and flagged down a police officer with no coat and bare feet.  I was that piece of trash. 

2.  My phone isn't just my phone it's a LOT of things

• It's my only connection to my best friends.  Allison and Ashley aren't living in my area right now, and they are the first people that I talk to when I am feeling mad/sad/upset or whatever.  And right now I have no way to contact either of them. 
• It's my connection to social networking, which I am clearly addicted to.  I only update facebook, twitter and instagram through my phone.
• It's my book!  When I'm bored I read, and I am usually only bored when I am waiting for something.
• It's Finn's entertainment...Finn has books, games and various other things on the iphone, and if he throws a fit, it's a sure-fire way to get him to calm down.
• It's my iPod.  It's the way I listen to music in the morning, in my car, and any other place I'd like,
• It's my notepad/to-do list.  I have my to-do list, schedule and notes on my phone.  I don't have them anywhere else.  Finn and I have gymnastics this morning, and I had no idea where/when/what to where because all of those notes were saved within my phone.

I'm sure there are more, but it's depressing me to think about this.

3.  I went to the AT&T store and they wanted to charge me $450 for a new iphone, and that's a "discounted" price.  Are you effing kidding me?  I literally cried when I left the store because I didn't know what I would do until I get a new phone.

So, I called good 'ole Apple, and I have an appointment at "the genius bar" at 12.  Maybe they can fix my phone, and maybe they can't.

And maybe I need to spend some time thinking about the fact that my phone is so important to me.  It's a bit sad.  

The start of summer

So far, summer is just as good as I remembered it :)

Finn and I have taken a long walk each morning, usually ended that walk by going to the park.  Then we head out on our errands for the day...or we go to the pool (Papa's pool that is), or we go play outside.  It is really fun.  I was prepared for this, I was prepared for the laziness, fun and general lethargy.

I wasn't prepared for boredom.  I have been so ever-loving busy for the past 10 months of my life.  I have not had ONE day in which I did not have to accomplish something, and most days I have to do about 50 jobs.  A 'typical' day is (WAS) as follows:
6:00 (on a good day) wake up and feed Finn, get both of us dressed and ready to go
7:00: Drop Finn off at Laura's and head to school
7:15: Walk down to the photo room and set up the darkroom (and check mail)
7:45:  School
10:00:  Plan period--run to Target/grocery store/ etc. and get errands done for the day
10:30: Back to school
3:30:  Leave school and pick Finn up and bring him back to school with me
5:00: Officially leave school with Finn, pick up dinner
5:30:  Get home, do laundry, feed Ella, straighten up, eat dinner.
6:30: Bath, read stories, play
7:45:  Get ready for bed, and read/play with iPad
8:00: Finn goes to sleep (?? usually??  He has no sleep schedule)
8:30: Finish laundry, shower,  get things ready for tomorrow, straighten up more
9:30: crash into bed/read/finish any school work

So, now like 90% of that list is gone, which I am ecstatic for, but it's WEIRD.


So, last Sunday I had that day...that day I had been waiting for...the day to do NOTHING!  I was just sitting around at home playing with Finn...and I was bored.  I didn't have a photoshoot, I didn't have papers to grade, I didn't have pictures to edit, or a book I had to get through before Monday.  I just was there.

And I felt bad, because this is what I have wanted for so long.  And I felt bored by it all.

Already, I am getting back into the swing of things...finding things to do with Finn: playdates with friends, music classes, photo shoots, etc.  And that feels good, but what does it mean?

I am rambling, I know...because I am at school right now copying files and packing things up...and I can.


So, those are my thoughts for today.

"Na" means "yes"

Yesterday was my last "official" day with students at Munster.  For those of you who don't know, and most people know at this point--I won't be returning to teaching this fall. 

This is for a lot of reasons, and I don't want to get into it right now because it doesn't matter.  It's been a really difficult year for me in a lot of ways, and I know that this is the right thing to do for my family. 

However, this week was a really hard one for me too, because no matter how much these kids annoy me...they are my second family, and I really do love them. 

Tuesday was our journalism banquet, and I was reminded  through all the senior recognition, staff reminiscing and senior byes how truly amazing these kids are--how talented, fun, passionate, and funny they really are.  I cried...more than was socially acceptable.

Wednesday, I had to tell them that I won't be returning next year.  It was one of the hardest things I have had to do in a long time, and I cried the entire way through my speech.  It was really hard, but they were really understanding, and supportive (which almost made it worse).

And then Thursday happened.  It's no secret that out of all my students--my Crier students are some of my favorites.  Thursday was the last time that this staff--one of the most celebrated, and award-winning staffs that Munster has ever seen--would be together.  We read a letter from one of the most verbose, emotional students I have ever known that brought even the largest and manliest of us to tears.  Then, they presented me with this box.  It was full of red starbursts, Dove chocolates, panera gift cards, a hand-made bracelet, a photo album, and a hand-written letter from each student on my staff. I wish I could fully explain what this means to me, but I can't.  The fact that these kids know me well enough to know how special each one of these items would be, the fact that they know that I only eat red starbursts, and sat that and picked out all of them from a bag...they will never know what that really means to me. 

It's acknowledgment of what I did for the past year, that when I left Finn it was for a reason.  That what I did meant something, not just to me, but to them too.  I can't explain how happy, sad, and overwhelmed it made me feel.

After that, we decided to do a bit of staff bonding, and we sat in a circle and dubbed in "Circle of emotion" time...where they talked about their favorite memories on staff, and then talked about what this staff meant to them, and how it shaped who they are as individuals.  I listened, and cried, and remembered how amazing these kids are.  It was great...and terrible all at the same time.

Now, you may be wondering about the title of this post, well one day last week, I was begging asking one of my students to make me these amazing cookies he makes (crownies).  I said "You told Finn that you would make them."
He responded, "I know, but I told Finn that I'd make chocolate chip cookies."
Me: "I know, but he asked me PERSONALLY for crownies."
Him:  "No, I said 'Finn, do you want chocolate chip cookies?' and he said 'Na' and 'Na' means 'yes'"

And I stopped in my tracks.  Because I am telling you with 100% certainty that there are very VERY few people who know that "na" means "yes."  It reminded me of what we are here at the Pub...an insanely dysfunctional family.  Full of crazies, and big opinions, and loud mouths, and a lot of fighting and a lot of love.

I don't think I'll ever love a group of students like I loved this one.  They are special, and I can't wait to see what they do.