I wake up and struggle to convince myself that it really is important that I climb out of bed. Really, it's a must. (I usually fall back asleep, which is why I have no less than four alarms set for any given day.) By 7 a.m., my boss calls me to confirm that we will cancel classes for the day. Yay! But instead of getting to turn off any remaining alarms and saunter back to Lala-land, I instead need to notify all of my students. So, one by one, I call my students and let them know. Inevitably, this results in several return calls and texts as my students (very responsibly) confirm that their receipt of my message. Sometimes, I brave the cold air outside of my mountain of blankets to make coffee during my multiple calls!
The other day, Mom and I escaped the snow and ventured to a local oasis (read: garden store) and wandered through the rows of plants. There weren't any roses, but we certainly stopped to smell the gardenias and some incredible frangipani-scented soaps. I bought another African Violet. I bought my first few African Violets two years ago, at the genesis of my horticultural escapes. (Those were my 25 cent words for this post!) Sadly, the other two violets contracted mites, but my purple one has flourished and bloomed repeatedly. I hadn't realized how much it had grown until I saw my new burgundy violet next to the purple one!
This coming week, several coworkers and I will venture north for a conference on Adult Basic Education (ABE), which includes adult ESL. Sadly, most of the sessions seem to be focused on other aspects of ABE, but I'm certain we will be able to glean some new information and practices. I love conferences, so I'm looking forward to it. Additionally, I just found out that there is a Barnes and Noble bookstore in the conference center, which makes me doubly happy.
Jut to paint a picture of my current setting, I have to tell you that I can barely focus as I type. I'm at my sister and brother-in-law's house, borrowing Internet access to post this. My sister is attempting to do homework for graduate school while my niece is watching a cartoon. The result it is that we are both being subjected to what sounds like an operatic version of "Pop Goes the Weasel." I admire mothers everywhere for their ability to tune out extraneous noise. She seems to be more productive than I am at the moment. This might be the end of this post. And remember, tonight we turn our clocks one hour forward! Well, I will. Depending on where you live, you might not be doing so tonight!
