Currently...May!

I am once again linking up with Farley for her Currently post (albeit a little late!)....

I am not used to silence at work and so I cherish (and I do mean cherish) the silence at home when I get it. Having a husband and daughter who always like to have something noise making on - radio, tv, ipod etc - it is nice to have the sound of nothing!

We are into our new place in the same co-op. Yeehaw!!!! Moving was incredibly painful. One would think that since I have moved 14 (yep, 14!) times in the past 20 years that it would get easier but this one was probably the most exhausting. Just a lot of effort and work. I am now surrounded by multitudes of boxes that I don't have the energy to deal with when I get home at dinner. I just keep reminding myself that it will all get done. One box at a time!!!!

Ok...now a word about Spring Fever....I don't know if this phenomenon happens anywhere but in education but, OMG, has it ever hit!!!! Mouths move constantly, bodies are restless and tempers are short, short, short! I pop Tylenol like candy to deal with the constant headache of constant noise in the classroom. And I know I am grumpier than I should be. Lately, I would just love to have 5 minutes with no talking, no squabbling, no misbehaving, no silliness. I mean, really, is that too much to ask?!?!

Which leads me to wanting an OFF button. Honest to goodness, I have students who start talking at the first bell and quite literally DO NOT STOP TALKING until home time. Although I am quite sure that they continue talking after 3pm. I am, fortunately, not the one who has to continue to deal with it then! I mean, don't get me wrong, I want students to share their ideas, communicate their understanding, enjoy time with friends etc etc etc but is it really too much to ask that they stop talking when I am trying to teach something? Me thinks not!!!!

As we hit May last week, it suddenly began to feel like we are on fast forward. Time seems to be flying by and, before we know it, summer will be here. At this time of year it never feels like there are enough hours in the day to get it all done. I wouldn't want the extra hours all the time but right now they sure could come in handy!

And my summer bucket list...

Last summer I made a list (on my pinterest board) that was waaaaay too long and definitely overly optimistic. I think I maybe finished 4 or so of the projects.

This summer I am choosing 3 things.

We go to DisneyWorld in July with family. After 5 days there, we are off to see my father's family at the beach in northern Florida for a week. This is a vacation I have taken many, many times but still enjoy. The connection with Dad's side of the family is very important to me and being able to be with them is a link to Dad whom I miss so much. It kind of feels like he is extra close to us in spirit when we go there. And, I'll get a chance to visit his gravesite in his hometown in Georgia which means a lot, too. It is also probably the last time my Mum will be able to make the trip so it is especially important to me that we do it this summer. I am counting the days!

I don't talk about it much but my Mum is dealing with the beginning stages of dementia. This means that her short term memory is progressively getting worse and worse. It makes it quite difficult and often frustrating to have conversations with her about things that are happening now. She forgets what she has been told within minutes and you end up having the same conversation over and over and over and over...well, you get the picture.

So, a month or so ago, I started going to her house once a week for tea and having her tell me stories of her childhood and years as a young adult. I record her while she tells them. She was born in 1930 and grew up right smack in the middle of the Depression and WWII. She was also a rather mischievous child! Her stories are wonderful and give me a connection with her that I can't have in regular daily conversation anymore. I want to get more of her stories recorded and start typing them out (with an eye towards making a book) this summer.

And....my studio. It has been awhile since I had a space to call my own in our house. The new 3 bedroom means that I have a room to set up as a studio again where I can work on all of my art - jewelery, painting, sewing etc - without having to tidy up and put it away every day! This summer I plan to get the studio all decorated and set up just as I want it. And I am toying with the idea of re-opening my etsy store and trying to sell some of my creations again. The shop on Gabriola Island that was selling them recently closed and I got a wonderful package in the mail filled to the brim with jewelery I had forgotten I made! I certainly don't need it all and kind of like the idea of trying an online store again. We'll see what happens.....

So, there's me and what is happening Currently. Jump on over to Farley's to join the linky party!