the past four weeks

the past four weeks have been filled with:

 *a quick trip to michigan, complete with family time, delicious meals, and a little bit of art preparation. also, feeding seagulls, sunsets, beach walks, and wonderful quiet. i needed that restorative time! even the eight hour drive was great thinking time. here are some more photos from those lovely days:

 

*i've been reading more than usual lately. i read eleanor & park (loved every bit of it) and we are all completely beside ourselves (also a good book). i have a high school reunion coming up later this month, so for some reason that i can no longer recall, i thought it would be a good idea to read my high school journals, too.

 *maybe that wasn't such a good idea? i loved reading about places that were part of my past, and things that happened before cell phones that would be so much easier now with cell phones, and people i had forgotten i had such connections with. there were events at school that had been erased from my memory -- i mean, *school events*, like the bicentennial competition -- apparently my class won third place at the state level, and the teachers threw us a party in the teachers lounge...but i could not remember what the bicentennial competition was.

 *i disliked that i was judgmental about people i barely knew. it is clear to me now that every emotion i felt had been amplified at least five more times than it deserved to be felt. i hadn't yet realized that we are all people navigating life.

 *i stayed up way too late reading those journals. the next afternoon, my friend heather texted me about a going away party for a girl we went to high school with, who was moving to new york the next day. it was a last minute invitation. i went, and it was a really nice evening. my recorded memories about a lot of the people there were fresh in my mind, as i'd just read about them for the first time in maybe 15 years. i'm thankful that heather and i went to steak and shake afterward to process the reading of my high school journals crossed with seeing people i hadn't seen since back then, all happening within 24 hours. i had so many questions and thoughts. the social science part of my mind was working overtime.

*later that week i unwound in michigan, and the day that i returned to school, 1.5 hours into the school day, i was asked to pay an impromptu visit into the freshman english class, so they could interview and write about me. the questions were all about me in high school! where did you go to high school? what did you do in high school? did you play any sports in high school? (no) what was your favorite store when you were in high school? what tv shows did you watch in high school? what was the best part of high school? it was just hilariously funny to me. high school seemed to be following me around.

 *i've thought so much about it. i forgave everyone, including myself.

 *i've been researching a lot of positive behavior support interventions and alternatives to suspension. this is where my mind is now. and i'm getting ready for my first craft fair in several years. there is much to do.