May Days

I was toying around with all sorts of punny little titles for this post... A-May-zing Spring, May I have some more of this month....  May lends itself to silly fun, doesn't it?   There is just something about this month.  The warmth and sunshine filling the air, flowers blooming, baby animals everywhere.  The excitement and emotion of the end of school and the anticipation of summertime. So tantalizingly close. Just makes one feel hopeful and all sing-y.  The days are longer and time feels roomier-- which is a good thing because springtime life is busier too!  Activities and outdoor time and social events and trips to the lake, all added into our usual routine. Pro-tip: t's easy to  fit it all in if you just ignore your housework.  Notice that we are not taking photos of the inside of our house right now.  It's not a great scene.

But look at this!  Who can be inside when May is like this!

And there are margaritas and huge neighborhood garage sales to share with friends...

And your tulips are spectacular!

And there's a pergola to enjoy...

...and a newfound love for hot yoga to nurture.  (who knew?  The Cleveland Yoga Little Italy studio is kind of magic. Also connecting with Hiram alums- and drinks after - helps for sure...)

Morning coffee on the porch is back...and my annuals are gathering in the patio pots...

Heights Tiger 5k -- aka little community festival.  Everyone who was anyone gathered to race and win raffles and eat ice cream and we got a little sunburn from standing on the High School track for 3 hours and it was great.

And more lake!  

Took along a friend ffor this tropical day...

Porch fires continue.... we are so lucky to have neighbors who are also friends.

A grand date-day with my honey--  Open house in a Fairmount mansion, followed by an estate sale full of tiny treasures. 

My dahlia's are planted!  They are doing nothing at all yet.  But we have these schnazzy stakes that make our garden look all sorts of organized.

And-- the long awaited Othello!  Here we are at the run-through.

We are one performance in and all is going great.  Though it turns out being in the chorus for a full-scale opera really just means a whole lot of sitting and listening.  Luckily we are listening to the impeccable Cleveland Orchestra and 6 absolutely amazing professional opera singers, so it is alright. 

Also got to go to a fancy opening night reception in the company of those opera singers, which was fun and awkward at the same time. 

Pre-concert masked selfies are back!  I won't know how to sing in the COC without a mask, should that day ever come.  Which it is not likely to do, as we are seeing YET ANOTHER Covid surge in our area.  The kids' schools just asked today that students begin masking again if possible...At the end of the day, though, I actually don't mind masks taht much.  They seem a small price to pay for health. 

Our baby chicks are getting big!  Not quite ready to move outdoors but they are going on field trips now that its nice and warm out. 

Frances!  Look at that face!

Also, we got new porch lights.  I love them.

After 15 years teaching in Solon I discovered the Henry Church Rock area of the South Chagrin reservation.  It's one of my new favorite spots.  Five minutes from work and so serene and beautiful. I've been treating myself to afternoon walks a few times a week...

Just finished hosting a senior project student at school.  She was sweet and loved working with the kids but it was a little intense having a whole other person to consider during my days.  Back to business as usual this week, and getting into end-of-year prep: progress reports, summmer work, ESY tutoring plans, and to add to the fun, packing up my tiny little room to move to my slightly-less-tiny room across the school.  It will be worth it to have a space all to myself but I will kind of miss this tiny cozy corner and its dark blue wall.  It's been a good two years in here, even with hybrid-remote teaching last year and some challenging kiddos this year-- I'm still grateful every day that I get to work at my sweet little school.  It was a good move for sure. 

Today, after the news of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that took the lives of 19 sweet students just the age of mine - and two of their teachers- I decided to deal with the shock and anger of it all by just enjoying the privilege of teaching these children.  We took it easy on the work and spent more time chatting and laughing together.  This mess of a country we live in, the heartlessness of a society that has decided school shootings are an acceptable price to pay for the right to bear arms, the heartbreak of the loss of these lives...It's too much to dwell on directly.  In the face of this darkness I am focusing on the light that is in each of my students, in my own children, in my friends and family.  Life is so short and precious, so tenuous... we owe it to one another to appreciate each day as much as we are able.

We also owe it to each other to contact our representatives about gun control legislation and increased budgetary support to address mental health, domestic violence and the effects of generational poverty.  And we owe it to each other to vote blue in all of our midterm elections and also to march on the capital and scream in the streets that this is NOT ACCEPTABLE.  

But in the meantime.  Love each other, ok?