Friday Feast

Appetizer: What are you proud of?
I am proud of my family, of my insatiable need to continually learn, and of my stubbornness.

Soup: What is the best thing you’ve ever won as a prize?
When I was twelve my grandfather put my name into a drawing and I won a ten speed bike. it was baby blue and I thought I was all that and a bag of chips with the handle bar breaks. When I was in law school I won a mock trial competition and a set of law books with enthralling titles such as Opening Statements, Evidence, and Trial Preparation. I used the bike more than the books.

Salad: Name something you do that is a waste of time.
Bathe my children. Why bother - ten minutes later they are covered in dirt or food.

Main Course: In what year of your life did you change the most?
The year my daughter was born. Before that it was all about me, all of the time. Within six weeks of her birth, I changed jobs to work part time, and went from putting criminals in jail to representing them.

Dessert: Where is a place you consider to be very tranquil?
Any mountain - the Austrian Alps, Mt. Battie and Mount Katahdin in Maine, the White Mountains in New Hampshire, the Swiss Alps. A quiet hiking trail, a picnic of water, fruit, chocolate, and cheese, and cool air.

Oh, the romance . . .

PerfectHusband reads post that is below and then read the comment by the wonderful and talented Ms. Mac. PH turns to wife and says "If you fly British Airways to London and die at least you'll get to ride in first class . . . and I'll get stuck with the bill for it." I die and all he is worried about is the fecking bill for first class. Despite the 80 degree weather here, it will be a mighty cold night at Hexe's house.

Suggestions

Only 46 more school days until summer break. I know I sound like an over-anxious teenager, but in reality I am an overworked teacher who is ready for a break. This year has not been what I expected but I don't know if anything could have prepared me for this year. Every teacher not affiliated with the school where I teach claim that in their multiple years of teaching they have never experienced what I have this year. At least that gives me hope that another school may be a very different circumstance.

I still have not planned my four days away that PH's trip to Arizona entitled me too. I intend to take the four days right after school gets out but I still have not planned it. So far, I have looked at a eco-hotel with cooking classes in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Toronto, and Vermont, as well as whether I could get a direct flight to London (otherwise not worth it for four days). Thankfully, we have miles earned and vouchers from a previous flight so I am not worried about price, but more worried about time. I know previously some of you suggested places in the South but I really just want to escape from the South just to remind myself that there is hope and I will not be living here forever. At least that is what I keep telling myself. So any more ideas - I need to some motivation.

The Mother-In-Law

When PH and I decided to wed, I really didn't consider that cliche that by marrying him I was marrying his family. PH's family is insane - six siblings and all raised by my MIL after a brutal divorce from FIL and FIL has gone on to three additional wives and various adopted children and step-children. Generally, there is no communicating between the various sides of the war, but my house is Switzerland. We host the holidays and invite everyone - while you're here, you put the past shit aside and get along. There is some grumbling but it works, and generally I drink a couple glasses of wine on these days and ignore the passive aggressive bitching.

This is where MIL and I differ. The women is the Queen of passive aggressive behavior, whereas I tend towards erupting like a volcano when I have reached my threshold, and then hashing it out. On top of MIL's "helpful little suggestions," I have come to learn that her children are perfect, and the various spouses are not. As a spouse I take exception to the idea that PH is perfect and any faults demonstrated by him are a result of marrying me. Because of the Queen status, this is never directly stated to me, but hints are given and when that doesn't work MIL tells other members of the family how poor PH has suffered due to my ineptitude. I, in turn, get to hear about how PH's siblings suffer due their spouses incompetence.

I continue to encourage PH and my kids to have a relationship with MIL because I am selfish. Children learn what they see. When I am a senile, obnoxious, old bag, I want my children to remember that they saw me continue to try with MIL and know they have an obligation to still see me. So with that theory in mind, I invited MIL with us to the beach for four days.

Overall, it was good to have her with us. I got sick the day we were to leave for the beach and MIL and PH took the kids for a couple hours so I could empty my stomach before crawling into the back seat of the car between two car seats and riding three hours through Orlando traffic (it was a VERY bad ride). Additionally, MIL did offer and take the children on a few occasions so PH and I had a few hours to ourselves, which was very considerate. It wasn't that the other stuff didn't happen, it did, but some I've learned to ignore and some I save to share with PH. But it was this weekend that I got to see that MIL isn't always going to be around.

MIL is obese - not just overweight - hoarding food, no exercise obese. Her weight impairs her mobility and keeps her from being able to do what she would like to do. At the beach, we stayed at a condo that was no more than a five minute walk from the resort and pool. It was slightly uphill, but PH and I walked with both kids several times and never thought twice about it. MIL always called a shuttle for a ride. One time, she actually waited forty minutes with the kids and me rather than walk the five minutes. Seeing this scared me - I need to get my butt out of the chair and get rid of the twenty pounds that came with the kids. I refuse to let my weight keep me from doing all the activities I intend to do before I die. More importantly, seeing her helped me to understand that even though I will never be "good enough" for her and she will continue to favor one of my children over the other (a subject for another time), she will not always be able to go where we intend to be. If she continues, there will reach a point where travel will not be an option for her. Considering that her grandchildren and children now live on two continents and varying states, I feel sorry for her. I guess this means I'll invite everyone, including MIL to both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.

Photo Tour of the Beach

The View From our Condo.

The Beach.

The Lazy River at the Pool

The Pool

One of the many shells

Proof that we were not alone.

Shaving Cream according to Hew

My Final Resting Spot

Nothing new

After a week, I should have something to write about, but I have nothing. I have been grading like a crazy person and doing lesson plans. Thursday we are leaving for the beach for four days - The kids, PH, and MIL. I hope to more later this week but for now nada. Hope your week is more interesting than mine.

Almost done . . .

Thirty-six papers read. Six to go. Insanity catching up quickly.

Just a thought . . .

After having been married for more than six years, Perfect Husband and I readily recognize each other flaws. I do not adapt easily. I know that change causes me stress which results in me raging and ranting during the adjustment. It is not pretty and I know it.

Perfect Husband also recognizes this character flaw and as recently as last night expressed his concerns about an overseas move. How will I deal with the inevitable feelings of stress at moving somewhere unknown, where it is unlikely that I will speak the language, and I will be working at a new job? (An aside here - Before meeting PH, I did move across country by myself to start a new job at a place where I had no connections and miraculously did manage.)

Yet, was it me snipping into the phone at some poor service worker as to why there was no technical support available ON A SUNDAY to help PH with his new Blackberry? It appears that I won't be the only one needing stress management when we move.

The swing of the pendulum

Received in the forty plus research papers and promptly got the stomach flu that KK had. The flu hit so fast that I actually had to run out of a class I was teaching to be sick. Have determined that I must now be dying as the sight of chocolate turns my stomach.