2024 April 1 - The Beginning and the End

 

As is typical of April, it rained hard overnight. I must have slept pretty well because it was a surprise to me. When I yelled "Go outside" to the dogs, they ran the other direction. They don't do extreme conditions. I still had to go out. Our chicken Chickaletta spent the night in a pen in the kitchen. She has a bad habit of pecking her sisters half to death for no reason, so I've had to separate her. I only have one coop, so she comes in at night. I'm not risking a raccoon attack. 

I was on Spring Break from teaching up until yesterday, so I had slow mornings where I discovered a family of broken raccoons staying in the hole in the back of the garage. The first one was missing a tail, the second one ran with his hind paw up, and the third one ran pretty quick. Despite their physical disabilities, they were all quite fat. I wonder if a neighbor is "feeding the stray cats". 

I have about 5 more minutes to write before leaving for school. I had my version of "huevos rancheros", fed the dogs, cats, chickens. Kelly cat is in position on my lap. She has the sneezes again. The vet says it's probably just going to be a chronic condition since she is somewhere around 20 years old and her immune system is compromised. 

It's hard to be in the moment right now. This spring is especially full of potential energy. I've decided to quit teaching. The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has hired me full time for the summer as an Assistant Horticulturist and I'm so pumped. I was excited she even said I could start after this teaching contract is over. While "finish what you start" is a saying I try to keep, I almost wish I could have quit teaching right then and there. It's hard to keep doing something when your heart is no longer in it. 

There is a little relief about having nothing to lose at work. I am taking some of my sick days, which used to make me feel guilty. I have over 70 sick days even after using up three months worth for brain surgery a few years ago. That teacher guilt is real. Nothing to lose means I can do very light lessons that speak to what I believe education should be anyway. I think education should be based on the natural world, problem solving, and not confined into boxes of disciplines until high school. Therefore, we are going to be growing the cempazuchiles from the seeds saved in the fall Day of the Dead lessons. Every season I tried to show them a plant related to Spanish class. Now we will be growing them. The new moon starts this weekend (along with the solar eclipse April 8th). It will be the perfect week to start our seeds. I was lucky to get a beautiful, classroom with big south facing windows. This school was good to me.

Wellp, that's my first blog post. Here's to many more. 

"Done is better than good" - Writer Elizabeth Gilbert's mom