The First Three Days

I am now officially a Harlandale MS Brave. I was well aware that schools in Texas approach the new school year differently than schools in New York, but I guess I forgot how differently.

Day 1

Arrived at the district activity center along with all the other teachers that were new to the district this year. I was greeted at the door by someone from human resources who had me sign in and then walked me to my assigned seat. At my seat was a really cute place mat with my name on it and a personalized roll of tape. After seeing me to my seat she informed me that there was breakfast being served at the back of the room and vendors passing out freebies in the room next door. I decided to check out the freebies. On my way to the room I passed the assistant director of human resources who greeted my with, "Hey Bronx, how do you like being back in Texas." "It feels good," I lied. I really wanted to say, "It feels hot and it is way too early for school to be starting." After gathering as many things as I could carry, I returned to my seat to find and really nice soft-sided briefcase filled with goodies from the district. As I waited for the event to begin I got to know the other new teachers from my school. I have to admit that I really liked all of them which makes it hard to dislike being back. After the usual introductions we were told to stand. As soon as we heard the opening notes to the song YMCA we knew that this was not going to be the usual boring orientation. The rest of the morning was filled with speakers telling us about benefits, board policy, etc. At 11:30 we were asked to direct our attention to the back of the room. Then the doors were opened and in walked every administrator in the district loaded with gifts for the new teachers on their campuses. (I have to admit, my school got the best stuff) We were then directed to the lunch line where they were serving great B-B-Q. The assistant director of HR was directing the line and as I approached he said, "Ready for some good ol' Texas B-B-Q Bronx?" (I sense a pattern here) After lunch listened to a couple more speakers and were released for the day.

Day 2
The day began at one of the high schools. We were served breakfast tacos and given yet again a big bag of goodies. There were three workshops scheduled for the day which we rotated through. My first one was technology. The showed us how the online gradebooks and attendance reporting worked, followed by a look around the district web site. My second rotation was library services of which my sister Gaye was part of the presentation team. After our second rotation we were told to report to the cafeteria. When we arrived the doors were locked but we were told to wait. After all the new teachers arrived, the doors were flung open and we paraded in to a standing ovation. Each teacher had a teacher from their new campus there to join them for lunch. When lunch ended I went to my third rotation on brain activity and movement. It was an amazing presentation, probably one of the best I have ever attended. After the third rotation we were released for the day.

Day 3
This was the first day with all teachers, not just the new ones. It began with a continental breakfast on our home campuses. Every teacher was given a school T-shirt to wear.(the red one, becasue we got the black one in our goody bag on day one) We then boarded buses to the activity center. There was a motivational speaker, introductions and roll call of schools. Roll call involved the emcee calling the name of the school and all the faculty from that school trying to out cheer the previous school. We viewed several videos about the district including a video of our day 1 dance to YMCA. Now this wouldn't have been a bad thing had there not been someone front and center on the video that apparently looked like me and was really getting into the music. I guess I am going to have to request a copy of the video and look at a few freeze frames in order to convince my campus that I am NOT that crazy woman. We left the activity center to eat lunch on our own and return to our campuses where we did some team building activities which included dancing to Boom Boom Pow.

As back to school goes, it hasn't been too bad. Of course I haven't really done any work yet or had to deal with students.

Bloodbath

If I didn't already believe that we were in a recession, today really brought it home. This morning at a staff development meeting the principal told us that she was about to leave for a budget meeting. At the meeting she would be finding out if she would have to excess 3 teachers. I sighed a little because earlier in the year we looked at our positions on the seniority list (they do things like that in New York) and I was number 5. A few hours later as we sat in yet another meeting she called for the union rep. to come to her office. In that brief exchange over the phone, she had given her enough information to cause her to leave the room in tears. We speculated that she had called her down to be present as she excessed teachers. Moments later the phone rang again one of the teachers in the room was called to the principal's office. Moments later she was seen heading to the restroom in tears. And so it began. Another call, another teacher leaves and does not return. When the principal called to talk to one of the teachers in the room without calling anyone out, I think everyone thought the slaughter had ended. Unfortunately, it continued until 10 teachers, including myself, had been informed that there was no longer a position for them.

Since receiving the bad news thoughts rush through my mind. I will be moving back to Texas to be with my family again. Although I still have a job, I'm just can't see starting over again at a new school. I will be leaving New York and the wonderful friends/family I have here. All of my friends will now be separated to other schools save one who will now face going back alone in the fall. How could the principal have been so insensitive to have handled it the way she did? How can this school continue to be a top-ranked school? How sad for me and my current and former students that I will not see them grow up or be there when they want to share their successes with me. How will I finish out this year or tomorrow for that matter? When will the feeling of sadness leave the halls of the school?

And then there are the things not related to school. I will miss the snow. What will I blog about? I will miss going to Broadway shows. What will I blog about? I will miss meeting celebrities. What WILL I blog about? Most importantly I will miss my friends. Who will my favorite gay husband go to free Tuesday movies with? Or shows in the middle of a work week? Or book signings in Jersey? Or conventions? As I spend the next couple of weeks packing up my New York life, I am sure that I will think of other things that I will miss.

It's funny when I think about it. When I first took this job and decided to make the move, I assured everyone it would only be for three years. It was just an adventure. Here it is three years later and the adventure is over.

Sesame Place

Last weekend was Memorial Day weekend and I had a three day weekend. Erin has wanted to take Alivia to Sesame Place for several months and since she is moving soon I decided that this would be our only chance. On Friday night we decided that we would get up early on Saturday morning, spend the day there and drive back Saturday night. While looking up information on the park Saturday morning, I discovered that the $50 admission was good for two days. It seemed like the only reasonable thing to do was to spend the night and take advantage of it.

About the park: It was the cleanest theme park I have ever seen. The layout, landscaping and rides were so colorful and inviting. It is definitely a park for 10 and under. Older children might find it a bit juvenile. There are rides, shows, a water park, parade and carnival games.

When we first entered the park I didn't think the park was big enough to warrant a two day visit. It was. We did not see a single show. We spent both days on the rides and in the water park. We did see the parade on day two. Furthermore, when the majority of the guests are so young they don't have the stamina for a 12 hour visit in one day. I was so glad they we opted for a two day stay.

We began day one by trying out the rides. The smile on her face told us that she loved them. Her favorite thing in the ride area was Big Bird's Nest. After a couple of hours on the rides, we met Abby Cadabby and then headed for the water park. Alivia is certainly not afraid of water. She loved getting wet with her mom. After a we were completely sure that she was worn out, we left the park headed for the hotel.

Day two was much like the first day except that we got to see the parade and visit with more characters than the day before. We had planned to take in at least one show but quickly realized that Alivia was not for sitting that long no matter who was on stage. Afterall, there were rides to ride, water to get wet in and characters to play with. Without a doubt the most amazing part was when Alivia came face-to-face with Elmo for the first time. Although I have a picture of it, the look on her face is forever embedded in my mind.

If your child is a fan of Sesame Street and you have an opportunity to go to PA, I highly recommend a visit.

Every Girls Dream

Doesn't every girl dream of having two men fighting over her? A 54 year old woman would not dare to dream of such a thing. What a 54th birthday present! A week later and these two men are still fighting over me. If it wasn't so hurtful to Brandon, the one with whom I share a very close relationship and hope to have in my life for a very long time, I would feel flattered. Unfortunately, he is hurt by the attention of the second man. I totally understand why Brandon feels the way he does. No matter what I say to Anthony to try to make him understand that he may have overstepped boundaries, he throws it all back at Brandon. Never having been in this situation before, I just don't know what to do. HELP!

P.S. Did I mention that both of these men are gay?

Leaving

I have been so lucky to have been able to share nearly every moment of my beautiful granddaughter's first 18 months of life. I have wanted to be a grandmother since long before my daughters were prepared to be mothers. I knew I would love playing the role, but I could not have imagined how much I would love it. Now I am faced with the possibility that we will be living 2,000 miles apart. For the past month I have lived every moment with her as if it would be the last time I would see her for a very long time. I have worried even before she is gone that she no longer see me as one of the most important people in her life. Saturday we spent the day shopping. Sunday we went to a street fair (I did let her mother and father go with us :)). I rush home every day from school and we head outside to play, take a stroll or walk to the store. I have an 8X10 of me and Elmo that I need to have framed to hang in her new bedroom so that she will be forced to look at me every day. I am making a memory box that I will cover with things that are meaningful to us and fill with things that will hopefully spark memories in her young mind. I find myself daydreaming about her coming to visit me during summer vacation and reintroducing her to her hometown. As the day of their departure draws nearer I wonder if I can cram in all the things I want to do with her before she leaves. I'm sure that the minute I put them on the plane I will think of something I forgot to do. I remember when my daughters left for college and I felt such a hole in my heart. Is it wrong to admit that although she has not yet reached her 2nd birthday she will be be leaving a much bigger hole? Should a grandmother love her grandchild this much? I guess it doesn't matter whether or not I should, because the fact is, I do!

Secret To A Good Nap

I have recently discovered the secret to a good nap, go to a Broadway show. It started last week with 33 Variations starring Jane Fonda. According to my friend, I actually snored. I was willing to give the show some concessions as it was the first night of previews, but I doubt that a matinee would have kept me awake. I have to say that Ms. Fonda was very nice after the show even asking those waiting at the stage door who were interested to follow her a couple of doors down to join her group for dinner. No doubt she wanted more fan feedback on her performance. We declined reluctantly. A few days later we went to see Mary Louise Parker in Hedda Gabler. This time I don't believe I saw more than 10 minutes of this performance. My friend assured me that I had missed nothing. Unfortunately, Ms. Parker was not as accommodating and even had the stage door manager stop some poor guy from taking her picture from several yards away. Last night we were thrilled to see Susan Sarandon and Geoffrey Rush in Exit the King. I stayed awake the entire first act and actually laughed several times. The unfortunate thing about it was that they were isolated moments that would probably have been just as funny in a stand up routine that wasn't part of a 2 1/2 hour play. I slept through most of the second act despite the fact that I had slept 10 hours the night before. There is good news however. Ms. Sarandon is was one of, if not the, nicest celebrity I have met. She was accompanied by her husband the equally fabulous Tim Robbins who was also very nice. Mr. Rush, although slow at exiting the theater, was worth the wait as he too was very personable. If you are in the New York City area and in need of an expensive nap, I highly recommend Exit the King.

Karma 10/03 - 2/18/09

It seems like yesterday that I drove to Georgetown, Texas to meet my little companion. She was a rescued cairn terrier. It was love at first sight. I took her to a large fenced area where potential adopters get to interact with pets. I carried her from her pen. Her coat was matted with dirt and embedded with more sticker burrs than I could count. The minute I put her down I fell in love. I stood in the middle of the area and she took off for the far corner at break neck speed. Just as it looked like she was going to run into the fence, she turned sharply headed back to me. I bent down to pick her up as she raced toward me. Turning just as she did when she neared the fence, she veered around me and headed for another corner. This routine continued for about 15 minutes. Eventually, she let me pick her up again. I reluctantly returned her to her pen as I went into the office to fill out the required paperwork and begin the long 3 day wait to see if I would be approved. I called on the appointed day and within minutes I was on my way. It was a perfect match from the start. Although she would have many nicknames over the next few years, officially her name was Karma Bene Jefferies. Karma because it fit us. Bene because she stood with her front feet in first position and Bene was a ballet mistress my daughters had worked with. She was super low maintenance (with the exception of an occasional accident. She helped me recover from back surgery as we took long walks together. All my friends and family, even my mother a confirmed anti-house pets person, fell in love with her.

Two years after Karma entered my life, I decided to move to New York. In early August we were preparing to leave for the airport when my daughter's neighbor's dog attacked her. The wounds required a few stitches but were not life threatening. However, she was not fit for travel and with a heavy heart I had to leave her behind. I knew that she was in good hands with Elyse, but I also knew I would be lonely without her. Two months after the move, Elsye sent her to me. What a fun day we had the day she arrived. Our first stop was the dog park at Union Square. I soon learned just how intimidated she was by other dogs. After leaving the park we stopped at a street vendor for lunch. Even a dog has to try a New York City hot dog from a street vendor. On to the apartment, a 5th floor walkup. It didn't take long for her to learn to race up and down the stairs. When I would ring in a visitor, Karma would run down the stairs to greet them. She was a favorite of the other dog owners in the dog park across the street, because she would fly into the nearest lap when the other dogs were playing chase. Before Erin moved to New York, Karma would stay with Mary Beth and her wonderful family. Karma loved them and Mary Beth had two male standard poodles. She even had them believing that she couldn't climb stairs and Marybeth's father would carry Karma upstairs to the bedroom each night.

Then came Alivia. She adored Karma and I believe the feeling was mutual. She couldn't leave Karma alone. Sometimes she would climb into Karma's bed and lay with her. During mealtimes I'm not sure which one of them ate more of Alivia's meals. Even when Alivia got a little rough, Karma never bit or snipped at her. Watching the two of them play gave us hours of laughter. I looked forward to watching their relationship grow and wondered how Karma would deal with it when Alivia and Erin eventually moved.

Yesterday my heart was broken. My beloved pet was taken in an accident that I will never really understand. The wound in my heart is still fresh and I know that the pain will ease with time. But as I am writing this I cannot see myself ever having another animal in my life. There could never be another match so perfect. I love you Karma, Carmel, Beard and I miss you terribly.

What An Idiot

Last night I went to a poetry reading and book signing by Nikki Giovanni in the city at Barnes and Noble. It was great. Unfortunately I left my cell phone. I discovered this when Erin sent Brandon a text telling him that someone had called Elyse from my phone saying that they had found it at the library. Apparently he might not have had a great command of the English language since a bookstore and a library are not the same thing. He told Elyse that if I would call the phone, he would get it back to me. Elyse tried to explain to him that the reasonable thing to do was to leave it at the information desk at Barnes and Noble, but he didn't understand. So what he wanted me to do was call my phone which had the ringer turned off and about 1 hour of charge left. Even though we were already on the train home, I turned around and went back to the store. Sure enough no phone left at the information desk. I tried calling the phone for 20 minutes using Brandon's phone. No answer. When I called this morning and it went straight to voice mail I knew that it was futile to believe I would get it back. I'm sure he didn't write down any of the numbers in my history. Tonight I gave B & N one last call before deciding to go buy a new phone. One of my friends tried to convince me that he was trying to be helpful. I say, "What an IDIOT!"

Nite Nite

I really want to write about the snow we had yesterday, but I won't.

My granddaughter although going through the terrible twos a little early does have her adorable moments, like when she is ready for bed. She knows when she is tired, whether it is nap time or bedtime. If I am home she starts by coming to me for a kiss. Then she waves goodbye, throws me a kiss and runs to her room. She hops onto the rocking chair and waits for her mother to come. I suspect it won't be long before she learns to turn on the music and climb into bed by herself. Regardless of any tantrums she may have thrown earlier, there is not a sweeter child on earth than my granddaughter when she is ready to sleep.

Now That's A New One

Thursday night Brandon and I went to see Morning Becomes Electra. The show was very good despite the fact that it is 41/2 hours long and has two 15 minute intermissions which means 5 hours at the theater. The curtain rises at 7:00 and if you are lucky it falls at midnight. We had a late curtain, but they managed to make up the time. Despite the length, I would highly recommend the show. I would not recommend going on a work night like we did. Furthermore I would not recommend waiting at the stage door (which is really the main entrance) as we did. Why? First Jena Malone was the only member of the cast that stopped to sign programs (it's off-Broadway so no Playbill). Second when Brandon asked to take a picture, her reply was something like, "Um, no, my eyes don't look right tonight." Now that's a new one. Celebs give a lot of weird reasons for not wanting to pose for a picture and some are really strange. I wonder why they don't try, "Not tonight please. I'm sorry. Maybe some other time. But thank you for coming and spending $120.00 to see me perform.

I Love Snow?

I swear this will be the last time that I write about snow. I thought I had experienced every kind of snow. WRONG! Last night and early this morning we had a few inches of beautiful white powder. I loved it. Sometime around mid-morning the snow turned to rain. By the time school was out, every surface was covered with several inches of slush. There was not a single corner that could be crossed without stepping ankle deep in slush. Even in waterproof snow boots you could feel the wet mess. High water pants would have been a welcomed addition to my wardrobe. I didn't think I'd every meet a snow I didn't like. Today I did.

Chinese New Year

I know people get tired of hearing me say, "I love New York," but I do. There are so many wonderful cultural events to celebrate. Today we celebrated Chinese New Year. I made Vietnamese spring rolls for my class which has Vietnamese students. One of them, Preston was the one that informed me that several Asian countries celebrate Chinese New Year. Most of my students had never seen spring rolls before, but they bravely tried them. Most of them even opted for the hoisin sauce. Preston tried the roll and pronounced it better than his mom's. I doubt it. It was sweet though. At the end of the day the parents picked up their kids. As I stood visiting with another teacher, I saw Preston and his mom heading back toward me. It made me a little nervous as his mother does not speak English very well, so she seldom talks to me. I need not have worried though. This is how the conversation went.

Mrs. N: Preston say you make spring roll
Me: I tried
Mrs. N: Preston say he like better than mine.
Me: He is just being nice.
Mrs. N.: How you make?
I explained what I did.
Mrs. N: You fry?
Me: No
Mrs. N: (laughing) Most people think you fry. No, no, no. You make sauce?
Me: I bought hoisin sauce and added some chopped peanuts.
Mrs. N: awww, chopped peanuts. I try and you put garlic in peanut oil and add to sauce.

With that she walked away. As she was leaving, she leaned over and told her son. "Your teacher nice."

Who would have thought that all it took was a little chopped peanuts to make you a good teacher. I love New York.

Beauty of Nature

I know I seem to be obsessed with snow, but it is by far my favorite natural occurrence. Sunrises and sunsets are a distant second. It has snowed for the past four days off and on blanketing everything. The heat from the house melts the snow on the roof which drips off into beautiful icicles. I could take hundreds of pictures, actually I have. You would think after three years I'd be over it.

SNOW!

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I love snow. Today I was modeling writing for my students. We had read Hairs by Sandra Cisneros and the students were supposed to write a piece that followed the writing style that she used. In it she describes different people's hair. The students didn't get it so I decided that they would have to see the process. As I was gazing out the window at the falling snow, I decided to write about snow. I don't remember exactly what I wrote, but it was the first time I reflected upon the fact that there are different kinds of snow. My least favorite is the wet stuff that is mixed with sleet. I love the stuff even though it penetrates my boots and freezes my feet. Next are the big fluffy flakes that cover the ground quickly and make a rubbery scrunching sound when you walk on it. The best kind of snow is when the flakes are minuscule and frozen solid. It is so beautiful that it looks like glitter falling to earth. We had that kind of snow today. This morning as I walked outside in the darkness I looked up at the street light and it took my breath away. The sky was full of dazzling, tiny flakes. I hated that it was a school day. I could have sat for hours and just watched the beauty of nature.

Addendum:

As I sit here three days later watching a quiet snow with large beautiful flakes, I realize that maybe this is the best kind. You can follow the large flakes as they slowly make their way to their target. The scene is enhanced by the fact that there is no traffic and the sky is just beginning to lighten. Takes my breath away.

What I Hate

As much as I love New York, I hate the medical system here. Friday I went to my back doctor, Dr. Bakshi. He thought I was bringing a report from my neurologist, Dr. Belok. I thought they had faxed it. I called and they told me that they couldn't send it because I hadn't signed a release. When I asked why they hadn't called me, they lady said that they were waiting for me to call. Why would I call? I asked them to fax it the day I was there over a month ago.

"Why would I call? Okay send it now."

"Not without a signed consent, but we did send it to the referring doctor, Dr. Greenberg."

I called the referring doctor. "Can you send the report to Dr. Baksi?"

"Sure if we had it, which we don't."

Call again to Dr. Belok. "Dr. Greenberg doesn't have it."

"Oh, well we will fax it over tomorrow."

"But I'm at the doctor today."

"Well you should have called sooner."

Sooner than what? I called four weeks ago!

Happy Birthday!

Today is the anniversary of the birth of two of my favorite men. How ironic. My father was born on this day 85 years ago. Elvis was born on this day 74 years ago. Although clearly I loved my father more, Elvis' music gave me many hours of listening pleasure. I was lucky enough to have seen him perform 4 times. The last being his next to last live appearance. My love of Elvis came from my late fiance Gaylen. He traveled to Las Vegas several times to see him perform at the old International Hotel. Once, he caught a bear that Elvis tossed to the crowd while singing Teddy Bear. Gaylen gave the bear to me. Years later I gave the bear to my youngest daughter who I believe slept with him every night for years. Both men were considered great men. Both died much too young, but the world is a better place because of them.

Happy Birthday Daddy!
Happy Birthday Elvis!

Surprise!

There is nothing cuter than seeing the look of surprise when a child opens a gift. I'm not sure when Alivia started making that face, but we see it several times a day. During gift opening at Christmas, she did "the face" every time she opened a present. I know that eventually she will stop just as she has moved on from other cute things that she does, but we will enjoy it for as long as it lasts. Wonder where she gets it from?

Happy New Year

I think that New Year's Eve is one of the most overrated days of the year. Try as I might, I can't think of a single year when everything went the way it was supposed to. Additionally the only one that really stands out in my mind was the eve of 1972. Gaylen, my fiance who was killed in an auto accident in 1972, my sister and her best friend Ann and I went to Cabinis Field in Corpus Christi to shoot off fireworks. Gaylen and I would become engaged 5 days later. My favorite thing about fireworks is shooting off bottle rockets and lighting Blackcats, holding them until they are about to explode and then tossing them into the air. It was really dark out and in my attempt to find the fuse, I touched the small cylinder with the punk. The blast went off in my hand. The pain was indescribable. Add to that my sister yelling at me all the way home that I was going to be in soooo much trouble and it's a wonder I didn't lose consciousness. After arriving home and recounting the story to my mother, she cleaned up my hand. Beneath the powder marks my hand was covered in large blisters filled with blood. After doctoring my hand Gaylen I went to sit on the couch where I cried myself to sleep.

There were a couple of years as a teenager when I went to parties. As part of a married couple there were years when we went out with other couples. But this year will go down as one of my favorites. One I will not soon forget. About three days before I thought that I would be babysitting while the girls went out. On the appointed evening Erin decided to stay in. I sent her off to the store to buy a basket full of comfort food. Since Elyse doesn't have cable, we decided to rent a movie and buy a couple of card games. By the time Erin returned from the store, Elyse had decided that staying in sounded like a good idea. So there we were, me and my three girls eating chips, dips, roasted chicken salad, chocolate chip cookies and drinking champagne. About 9:00 Erin put Alivia to sleep on Elyse's bed. We played cards and watched movies until 11:15 when we decided to tune in to the only TV station Elyse gets. We sat and watched until the ball dropped, on the delayed broadcast, at midnight. At the stroke of 12:00 central time, we toasted, kissed and hugged. Erin decided that we should go in and give Alivia a new year kiss. Imagine our surprise to find her sound asleep on the floor. I'm not sure when she rolled off the bed, but she must have been sound asleep as she hadn't even cried out. As simple as the celebration was, it was by far one of my favorites.