J'Espere

      Sometimes things come too close to home. Almost a week ago in Chapel Hill three young people were shot and killed at a condominium complex. They were killed by a man who had a dispute with them over a parking space. Some say it was a racial killing, since they were Muslim. I’m focusing on parking right now and moving to hate crime later because 1. We are not positive of the facts, since it is an on-going investigation and 2. The parking thing at this particular complex is no joke. I know because I lived it.             For several months during my senior year of college and after I graduated, until I moved to New York, I lived with a friend who had a place in the complex. It was lovely. Nice two and three bedroom condos with bathrooms for each. Perfect for college students and young professionals, which is what most of the neighborhood was made of. But the parking situation there was ridiculous. Really, shoul...

     After reading that you are probably wondering how you missed the part where my sweet baby, the one who just celebrated a birthday,   grew up. Fortunately, dear readers, you haven’t. She’s still a little bit, though she regularly grows in her sleep, surprising me and Matt in the mornings with a little extra height, useful for things like trying to turn the doorknob on her own or reaching for things from the counter when she shouldn’t.             She has always had a ton of baby dolls- some from when I was little, some from shower gifts, some from Christmas and then one from our delightful neighbor, who is seven and the official “babysitter”.   This is by far the most important object she has ever owned, besides Lambie and Bunny.   She calls her “Baby” and carries her high on her shoulder, gently patting her back. She has adapted quite well to only using one arm to do many things, such as build...

Over the last seven days, these are actual thoughts I have had or things that I have said, that I think directly connect us to both the joy of Christmas and the stress that goes with it. Merry Christmas! 1. (happened in Target): In the event of a sudden onslaught of zombies, what are my weapon choices? Ahh, the wooden Advent Calendar marked down 30%. 2.  (Harris Teeter) How did I leave without milk? How am I in my car, full of groceries, without the @!)$#K milk? 3. Maybe it's time SL drank more water than milk. 4. Did I really just ask the guy behind the counter to help me find a "lighter oolong tea"? Who am I? 5. I'm going to go for a run. Nah, I'm going to take a nap. 6. Did Mary stress over Hannukah gifts for Jesus every year? 7. There is a Prius with a "I'm a Conservative" sticker. Right next to an Elephant sticker. Oh, irony. 8.  "Yes, I'm looking for fresh cranberries. Not canned. Well, would you mind going and looking?...

Occasionally, it is time for change. There are some fixtures, however, that don’t change. Monday- Friday, barring a plague, I go to work. SL usually goes to bed by 7:30/7:45. In the morning I have oatmeal, then I kiss my baby and head off into the amazing world of librarianship and education. And in the afternoons I go for a run or head to the gym. Until lunch one day, when I heard a co-worker talking about the new barre3 studio that had just opened nearby. Actually, I think talking is not the appropriate word. I think raving better suits it. She was loving it. She is a runner, too, so my ears perked up a bit as I listened to her explain that barre3 truly was the best of ballet, pilates and yoga. And my former ballet dancer and current yoga loving self listened up. I will be the first to say that I was already aware that barre3 was coming to Raleigh. Early on, I had “liked” the Facebook page, and followed some of the health posts. But I had done nothing beyond that. Then, one ...

I have no idea when Mercutio spoke that line, or if he even did. And I would definitely fact check it, but I am actually physically so worn out that I don't even care. We have a plague upon our house. It started a couple of weeks ago when things were going really, really well . Like suspiciously well. I was getting coffee every morning, the days were the perfect weather/daylight balance for running, and I had just discovered this new workout called barre3 (more on that in a later blog). Meals were being eaten at a reasonable time by adults and SL was finally saying "Mama". Did I mention laundry was also folded and in drawers? Because this seems to be an important detail. Next thing I know I am getting one of those urgent calls from our sweet babysitter that SL has a fever and isn't feeling well. There are very few things that are sadder than a sick toddler, and our sweet baby proved it. She was miserable and her nose was an unstoppable faucet. She also still...

I have become obsessed with lunch boxes. There. I said it. It’s out there.   Now we can all move forward into the dilemma that comes with obsessing over something like a lunch box post elementary school.   I think for most people lunch boxes aren’t a big deal, because it’s just lunch. And if you forget lunch you can always run out and grab it. Unless you’re a teacher. And only have half an hour on a good day if everything is running smoothly and on time. If you’re wondering how often that happens, I’m going to go out on a limb and say 70% of the time. The other part of this is that even if everything is going great, and running on time, and no one is sick, injured or otherwise engaged, it’s not like we’re bringing in the big bucks. So for most of us, eating out is both unrealistic and physically impossible.             Of course the upside is we are healthier, right? We’re pulling things out of our pantry and putting toge...

            This year was the most normal I have ever felt on 9/11. I cried on the way to work, but didn’t really think about it once I was teaching, and honestly, not a single one of my students asked about it.   I handled storytime and activities, a research project, finding band aids for small cuts and bruises normally and soon the day was over and I was out on the Greenway running.             13 years ago, I was 19 years old. I was in the process of rushing, and I was in early morning classes, and I was busy almost all the time. That was during the time of my most successful yoga practice too. On the morning of September 11, 2001, I got up early and ran from my apartment to the gym (it was about 1 mile). Once there I was running on the track, listening to a morning show, when it was interrupted in what I thought was a joke at first. There was someone talking about a...