Weather

This is Suzanne's truck after school today. Yes, it snowed quite a bit while we were at school.

Everything is always a bit more epic with a heavy snowfall.

Teaching was a challenge today. All the high school kids seemed hung over and distracted by memories of their weekends. All the middle schoolers snowball fought every chance they got.

After work I had to pick up my truck from the shop and I had no wallet to pay for it. Cindi had brought my purse, which I had left at her house, to our road and when she got here she saw many vehicles in the ditch so she decided to leave it with a neighbor. Good idea but she couldn't remember which neighbor had it. Boog's wife laughed so hard at the conversation she was listening to me have that she trusted me and let me take the truck knowing I'll pay her tomorrow.

When we got home we received word that we had had a chicken massacre. Four chickens killed by dogs. Awful. Screaming crying children. Oy! The neighbor came down with a shot gun when he heard the racket but was too late. Falcom is still crying. He has learned a lesson about leaving the coop door open. Picking up the chickens I learned that my heart is hardening and I am becoming almost farmerish.

And then the temperature rose and the snow turned to rain and I had to plow our driveway and Valda's.

Good times! It's 10pm and I'm passing out now. (PS Laurie, I'll try to call tomorrow. )
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After school today, Suzanne and - found this group of very cute girls sliding on the 'ice shoot' that runs from the culvert at the school to the road. They were giggling and beautiful in their long skirts and head scarfs.

Tomorrow they feast not for Thanksgiving, but because Friday is the beginning of their Lent. Our friend and school aide Anna told me, "Just be glad that tomorrow is a holiday otherwise these kids would be bouncing off the walls of this school with all the candy we will be feeding them at home!"

I am thankful for holidays!
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Happy Thanksgiving!

OK, I've been busy! Really busy! It has been kind of over the top in a non-coffee drinking or lunching or laughing at Grass Roots kind of way. I have been wanting to write about the commute to my work. Suzanne has been such a delight to travel with each day. We don our snow pants and parkas, face masks and bunny boots and she takes us on her four wheeler down the now snow and ice covered switch backs to the beach and up to the turn which takes us into the village. In the mornings I am usually too cold to lift my head from Suzanne's back to look up and into the sunrise. At this point in the winter it is barely stretching over the mountains anyway.

The school is a house which has been converted into two classrooms and three small rooms, one of which is an office. Suzanne and I enter the office, drop the curtain, lock the door and proceed to strip out of our snow gear and pants and choose from her enormous selection of floor length skirts. We transform quickly from bad ass Alaskan babes, to conservative intellectual educators. (The picture of the cupcakes has nothing to do with the school.)

And the day begins.

I won't lie. as I stand in front of the group of young men, all of them so healthy and young and competitive, and the young women, all of them reserved and seemingly disinterested in the young men, I am in awe. I am amazed that I was ever this age. That I could have ever been so good looking and healthy! That the boys around me were all so good looking! No wonder I was so distracted! And then miraculously I am able to hold their attention! How?

The most amusing teaching moment I have had this week has been when Suzanne was trying to teach them about poetry. She was trying to get them to appreciate the sound that poetry has as it is being recited. They could choose any poem they wanted and then they were to recite it. They were being graded on their ability to perform it. I don't think any of them were nervous to read their selections, but being ESL kids and being high schoolers, they were not embracing the event.

I raised my hand and asked if I could recited one of my favorite poems. Suzanne called on me. I stood in front of them with my floor length skirt on and hair up in a bun and said, "I will now recite Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss." I raised my voice tone intensity that only a Southern Baptist preacher can sustain and said, "I am Sam! Sam I am. I do not like green eggs and ham!"

The entire room turned on tail. Suzanne was laughing on the inside as she looked around at her startled students. When I was finished they said, "Mrs. Greear, you scared us!"

Even at the end of the day, one of my most cocky smart alic-y eleventh graders said, "You know that really startled me when you read that poem! We did not hear it that way in Kinder!" I loved our follow up conversation about inflection and feeling in the art of words, and I loved them seeing another side of me.

On the way back to the car Friday, the Cottonwood trees that line the beach were the landing place of 7 eagles, young and old, directly over our heads looking out into the bay. Fantastic!

As for the members of the Greear/Paag clan themselves...

All of our reliable transportation is in the shop this week. The truck broke down Monday. The Subaru limped into town with Vince on Tuesday night and is now in the shop. The van is out of commission because of the ice conditions on the road. Now we are having to drive the Grey Subaru, which DeeJay decided did indeed need a muffler (and so replaced it). Too bad it is rusted out and has bald tires.

On our 45 minute drive home from Ninilchik last night in that car, when I should have been deeply concerned for my safety, I instead felt a terrific sense of calm. I was transported back to my early childhood when we would be driving at night in my parents Volkswagen Bug. No seat belt, no radio, no inside lights. Just the sound of the road. The rain on the windows. My parents holding hands as my brother slept and I day dreamed. It was a beautiful feeling, although one that I am not willing to replicate with my children at this time on these roads in that car!

Scratch is deteriorating. His back legs have become very weak and he is no longer able to walk up and down stairs. He can not go outside by himself for fear that he will accidental step into a snow covered ditch and not be able to get back up. We have a comfortable bed made for him near the fire and he happily lays there all day. It is sad to think of him this way, and yet he does not cry or show any signs of misery. Well, until he falls down the stairs going outside. Vince and I know we have decisions to make and we are trying to figure it out.

We are traveling to Singapore and Borneo this January! We are very excited to be making our way back to Asia and to explore new sights! I'll write more about that later.

Marina is getting excited for her big month: a birthday and Christmas in the same week! We begin ringing the bell for the Salvation Army in front of Safeway tomorrow! Can you believe it? Seems like just yesterday.

Both kids (all McNeil school kids) will be in the Christmas pageant at school in a little over a week. There will be no complaints from the Fundamentalist Christian groups that this Pageant is anything other than a celebration of the Christian holiday of Christmas! That is for sure!

This is not Marina in the snow...but Marina in bubbles! Did I trick you?

What else, what else...

I took Deejay's senior portraits this past week. Hard to believe that this is the same kid who was once so little. Willie is trying to learn about the balance of time: school, MacDonald's, ski team, family. It is a lot! I think too much. Unfortunately for him (and fortunately for me) he has an F in math (one test in this grade check period. It is not reflective of his true understanding of the subject) but it is enough to curtail his skiing. Whew! He is so tired during the week from all he is trying to cram into his life.
We spent the Thanksgiving with Suzanne at our friend Cindi's house. This is our annual tradition. Cindi loves cooking so I let her! It was a quiet day there, just us and her and Suzanne. The food was great and we were stuffed.

OK, Vince is signaling me that we have things to do and not things on the computer! Today we are setting up our Christmas tree. Willie put on Marina's fairy wings to help him clean. Couldn't let that go without a picture!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

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Since I was a young woman I have been striving to fill my life with authentic experiences. What are authentic experiences? I can only describe them by telling what they are not. Vacationing in san francisco and choosing to dine at Applebee's is not an authentic experience. Going to cleveland and having pastromi at a jewish deli is authentic. The homogenization of our country saddens me and so I attempt to experience the authenticity of a place, where ever I go.

Today, as I was droving the grey muffler less (thanks to deejay in shop class) Subaru in the dark along icy Basargin Road (which was littered with a dozen Budweiser boxes), watching the sun rise over the glaciers to the south, and thinking about the faces that would be peering at me today with their deeply accented voices, I realized that once again I have created an authentic experience for myself.

Yesterday class was disrupted by a coyote running up to school. Then a weasel. Then a little mouse got caught in the trap. Then all the kids hopped on their wheelers and went home for lunch and I thought, "where else?"


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Suzanne and I are in Anchorage for a girls weekend! We couldn't convince Irene to join us and Sharon is the latest victim of H1N1. I am proving to Suzanne what a pain I can be. For instance, I could not tolerate a bad smell in the hall of our hotel that was either trapped in my nose or wafting under the door, and had to move. Long showers and phone calls to family, manicure needs, and indecisiveness about menu items that force me to flip a butter pat. Hopefully, the fabulousness of everything else going on will help her over look these small quirks. Vince thinks she will leave this weekend having a better understanding of his situation. Hee Hee. We test driving cars later!
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Work!?!

Life has become more complex for me as I begin to realize the impact that taking on Substitute Teacher positions is having on my personal and family time. I don't think it is the impact on my time that I am feeling overwhelmed by. Anyone who has been in my home knows that it takes a lot of chaos to plunge me over the edge. Instead, it is intense juggling of children that is stressing my mind.

This week I was asked to sub at a Razdolna Village School. Sounds great. I am an equal drive to these schools as I am from town but it seems farther because there are no houses, no street lights, no pavement. I was all set to go when Falcom woke in the middle of the night vomiting and had to stay home from school. I could not find a sub to be my sub. I had to call Mema who could come to the house but could not drive here. I had to find a ride for Mema. Once I got it all figured out it was fine.

It is not that I foresee illness in all my children's lives starting the day I decide to work, it is just that there is so much involved with organizing this brood and the slightest hiccup disrupts the entire flow of events.

The kids in the village are beautiful and wonderful and ornery. I love their accents and their intensity. The little ones love my fingernail polish. I am glad to be older and to have experiences that have led up to this event. I thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing on my classroom in Saipan: my victories, my errors, my learning curve, the sweet faces that I will never forget. We clicked right through the morning and at lunch they all hopped on their four wheelers and bikes and cruised home for lunch. It was obvious when we were to return to work from the sound of their engines racing back up the driveway. For those of you who may be wondering, no one in Saipan commutes to school on more than their flip-flops.
Because Mothering does not stop simply because the mother has a job, I spent an afternoon developing an emergency back up plan. This plan involves having the kids dropped off at the high school, having them walk across campus and into the classroom of Maygen where they can throw clay for 10 minutes until the school bell rings. To Marina, this is the ultimate supreme master plan of all time! She feels that this is what should occur daily regardless of whether I am working or not!

Meanwhile, DeeJay changed my car tires over to my snow tires and he did a wonderful job! I loved seeing him fully involved and active at something that he is good at!

I then took them to Jerami's shop. Marina sat in the corner working on clay creations. Falcom got right to work. He swept the floor and collected towels. He then was given a mannequin head and a curling iron and he went to work! The curling iron was hard for his left hand to manage and I think we scared him a bit about it being hot and him getting burned so he unplugged it and went for the perm rods. After practicing on his mannequin he rolled up Marina and put her under the dryer. They were both in heaven! Thank you Jerami for making such a great conclusion to our 'Back Up Plan Expo'!

Halloween, Part 2

Because Marina had been planning a Halloween party for two months and then had family members drop over ill with the H1N1 (as well as many friends), we rescheduled her Halloween party for last weekend. Mema's shack was still decorated festively and the party was lively.

It was especially fun for me because I learned that this is 'Celebrating Adoptive Families' month and three out of the four attending families fall under this umbrella. I feel like it was a double exciting afternoon on that count!

This is Maya next to Marina's tippy snowman.
In a SuperMom of the year maneuver (or an 'are you insane?' candy-a-holic maneuver), I walked our former neighborhood and spoke to each of our former neighbors so that the kids would have a trick-or-treating route. They were all wonderful and accommodating. Some were even thrilled to get rid of their extra candy!
Marina's 'Balloon Butt Pop' was a big success as was her 'Stick the Ghost to the Pumpkin' game. Aiden's sticker ended up on the wall map on East Africa. Mindy and Erik were excited to think it was a premonition of a future family vacation!

Thank you Mema for hosting such a wonderful event!

First Snow!

To be read with a note of sarcasm in my voice, "First week of November and we get our first snow? Global warming is working for me!" No! Not really! I mean, Yes, I have enjoyed the no snow and warm weather part, but not the global warming part. Just because I have that bumper sticker, "Alaskans for Global Warming" You all think the worst of me.

Jerami came down with the H1N1 today. (Does he count as a member of my family?) I spent my day in the shop. At 4 Suzanne came in for an up-do because it was the Ritz at the Pratt Museum and she was hostessing! The theme was 1950's. Have I mentioned that I am enjoying working at a beauty salon? Do you love my work?

Then I went to Mindy's where Jenny and Mindy were dressing up as well. Erik put Vaseline in his hair ala Squiggy. He looked great but does he not have a friend who works at a beauty salon and has products other than Vaseline?

I am waiting to hear about the evening and the turn of events. Let me rephrase that, I am waiting to hear about how hot everyone thought our girls looked!

Vince and I then went on a date. We had such an uneventful meal that I could not photograph it. Oh well, not every meal can rock the palate. There is always next time.

The Path of Self-Amusement...I mean Enlightenment

I've been thinking a lot about Mary Poppins. I've always loved Mary Poppins. The soundtrack. The dancing. The mixture of animation and real life players. Dick VanDyke. Great film, but there was always something that bothered me about it: Why on earth did Mary Poppins have to leave at the end? What could she have possibly been thinking?

This question was especially profound for me as a girl. I could never watch the film without thinking, "What the heck? Why do you have to go just because the wind changes directions? I mean really, you have a perfectly good gig here! Kids who love you and who are thriving in your care. A cute boyfriend who loves to dance. A magnificent city scape to surround yourself with. A lovely home to live in." I often cried at the end. Those of you who have known me since I was a small child can attest to my intensity and scepticism. Yes, even then.

Why would I be thinking about Mary Poppins and her messed up decision to open that umbrella? It must be because change is in the air for me, much as it was for Mary Poppins.

Here I have been utterly enjoying myself these past few weeks at my job/non-job and I am choosing to leave it. I am making this choice willingly. Have I lost my mind?

It is partially this woman's fault. Her promise to drive me down to the Russian village and then to take me down the hill on the back of her four wheeler-rain or shine or sleet or hail. (We drove together to the WW this week and she peeked in the window at me as I showed her the peace sign; meaning I'd lost 2 pounds. She then flashed me a thumbs up while she mouthed a profanity at me with a smile on her lips.)

It is also partially Irene's fault as she pointed out so bluntly a couple of weeks ago that, "Your inner social worker can not be suppressed for long. You know you need to go down and be with those kids at that school!"

a full moon in the east

When I was in the Russian village last week I could feel what Irene was telling me. I could see the good work that Suzanne and Andy do and I felt that, for whatever reason, if the Spirit wants me to go there for a little while I would go. This is something I obviously need to experience.

And so, as Jerami and I fool around with the vampire teeth that he had installed by our local dentist for Halloween, and that he will also have to have removed professionally, I can feel the wind changing directions. Oh! How I am going to miss playing around with him when it is time to go! But Spirit requires us to stretch ourselves and to respond to It's call.

When the time is right I will open my umbrella. I might cry. But...Now that I think of it, Julie and Dick VanDyke always knew that she would be back, didn't they?

On a different, non-Mary Poppins note, I pulled up to the house today and found that the Barbies have been doing some farming! You Go Girls!