Something’s gotta give
I was a pretty big Captain Kangaroo fan back in the day, and my favorite part of his show was story time.
I can’t tell you why, 40 years later, I still remember his reading of Caps for Sale, but I do. There was something about that book that fascinated me. How did the peddler keep all those hats balanced on his head?
Maybe the pre-school me somehow intuited that my future life was going to be one giant balancing act, in which I (like so many of us) would want and need to wear many hats and would have to figure out how to keep them all from toppling off my head.
Because of an unfortunate circumstance, last week I found myself unexpectedly taking over a freshman English class for the rest of the school year. Inheriting a class with only 5 weeks left is a less than ideal situation for any teacher. It’s way too far in to really make it your own, but it’s also way too much time to fake your way through it. (Not to mention, this particular class really needs a teacher who isn’t faking it.)
While part of me loves being back in the classroom, another part feels like I just can’t balance any more hats on my head. This job creates a third professional role (in addition to district library coordinator and literacy instructional coach) in addition to all the roles necessary in my personal life (mom, partner, daughter, chauffeur, laundress, chef, requisitions officer, resources manager, diplomat, CEO, CFO, and a bunch of other things that start with C and end with me). And, of course, there’s my blogger hat.
While we’ve done a few projects lately and I do have some homemaking thoughts rattling around in the head that’s wearing all these hats, making home isn’t something I can devote a whole lot of brain space to right now.
So, Cane and I have to take a break from writing here until this school year wraps up. We’re just fine with that, and we hope you are too.
We’re pretty adamant that this be a place to explore what making a home means in the context of a real (as opposed to Pinterest) life–and in every real life we know well, stuff happens. People get sick, things break down, opportunities that can’t be denied fall into laps.
And choices have to be made. Always.
If I could, I would share a picture of all the faces I’ll be spending time with for the next 5 weeks. Since I can’t, I’ll share one of these two:
Any time I’m in front of a classroom, I always think of them and remind myself that the kids I’m teaching are as precious to someone else as the ones I go home to are to me. And I try to give the ones in my class what I want for the ones in my heart.
If you could see my students, you’d know exactly why we’re choosing them over those of you who follow our blog (much as we truly appreciate you). I know we’ll have plenty of time to catch up with each other later, and there are other bloggers who can give you what you need in the meantime.
But the kids in my classroom? They only have the next 5 weeks to learn what they need to learn in freshman English, and I’m the only one who’s able to give it to them. It’s a no-brainer, really.
We hope you enjoy what’s left of spring, take time to savor all that’s blooming around you in the coming weeks, and check back with us in late June, after school’s out for summer.
If you haven’t already subscribed, now would be a great time to sign up for email notices (about halfway down the sidebar) or to follow us on a reading service such as Bloglovin (my favorite way to follow blogs). That way you won’t miss it when we post again.
Summer fun with my brother back in our Captain Kangaroo days.
Photo of Captain Kangaroo in the public domain: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bob_Keeshan_Hugh_Brannum_Captain_Kangaroo_1960.JPG
Photos from Caps for Sale used incorrectly from others who used them incorrectly. Please don’t sue me.
