I was so excited when we stepped off from the plane in Anchorage on May 5. The thrill of being back in Alaska energized me, even though we were a little sleep deprived from the night before in Chicago. Within a couple of hours, we had stopped for a late at the Spenard Road House, which has become one of our regular choices in Anchorage, and we were in our hotel room.
Alice had been great throughout the flight, despite the fact that she had slept only a little. But now, our little Kusko girl was tired out. It was only five o clock local time, but she had had all that she could take. Crash!
In the meantime, I had dropped the word on Facebook that we were in town. I learned that some village friends were there, too. After a few exchanged messages, there was a soft knock at our door. It was our friends Alex and Jolene, along with the younger of their two sons. Their visit provided a warm welcome back home.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Sunday, April 26, 2015
The Circle Goes Round Again
It has been nearly a year since we left, and we are preparing to return. A week from tomorrow, we will drive back to Chicago, a trip we made many times to begin the school year, or a new semester. This time, however, we are returning at the end of the school careers of several of our former students. It is graduation time in Napaskiak.
We have been planning to do this, in some halting way, since we left. We promised to return, for my wife's graduation in Juneau, and for the kids that I first met as seventh graders in Napaskiak. Although my wife just completed her degree program, with a Master's degree in Special Education, the Juneau trip has fallen by the wayside. The commencement at the University of Alaska/Southeast conflicts with commencement in PKA. Guess how long it took to make that decision?
We will be in the village long enough to celebrate Mothers' Day with our friends, and we intend to do some visiting in Anchorage as well.
It won't last nearly as long as we would like, because our lives here don't have the flexibility that used to permit us long, leisurely vacations. Michigan is a more jealous mistress of our time than was Alaska. We need to get back, and we need to go to work, and we need to tend to our responsibilities here. But for a little while, the three of us will go back home again. For a little while...
We have been planning to do this, in some halting way, since we left. We promised to return, for my wife's graduation in Juneau, and for the kids that I first met as seventh graders in Napaskiak. Although my wife just completed her degree program, with a Master's degree in Special Education, the Juneau trip has fallen by the wayside. The commencement at the University of Alaska/Southeast conflicts with commencement in PKA. Guess how long it took to make that decision?
We will be in the village long enough to celebrate Mothers' Day with our friends, and we intend to do some visiting in Anchorage as well.
It won't last nearly as long as we would like, because our lives here don't have the flexibility that used to permit us long, leisurely vacations. Michigan is a more jealous mistress of our time than was Alaska. We need to get back, and we need to go to work, and we need to tend to our responsibilities here. But for a little while, the three of us will go back home again. For a little while...
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Home (?)
We looked at houses what seemed like every Monday evening after work. We would pick two or three of the offerings in our price range. We didn't want them to blend in together too much. We found the one that we wanted on our last set of visits. We thought about it, and looked at it again.
This one was the one. Lots of room, plenty of bathrooms, a playroom for Alice, and a den for Dada. Maybe we were reacting to years of living in small spaces. We bought it.
We have been in since just before Halloween. We have done a few things already. We had the main level painted professionally. We loved the colors that we picked.
I didn't realize, though, how it would feel until today, when we returned from taking Alice to see her grandparents, both in Alabama, and in Southern Michigan. I didn't realize fully that I would walk in and feel like this was home. Calming, and peaceful. A place to rest.
This one was the one. Lots of room, plenty of bathrooms, a playroom for Alice, and a den for Dada. Maybe we were reacting to years of living in small spaces. We bought it.
We have been in since just before Halloween. We have done a few things already. We had the main level painted professionally. We loved the colors that we picked.
I didn't realize, though, how it would feel until today, when we returned from taking Alice to see her grandparents, both in Alabama, and in Southern Michigan. I didn't realize fully that I would walk in and feel like this was home. Calming, and peaceful. A place to rest.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Seven
...months ago today we returned. Did it make sense? Was it a good idea? Should we have done it in the first place? Those questions go through my mind nearly every day.
There are times, like yesterday, when it seems clearer. The days when we are surrounded by family, the people from whom we were separated by distance and time for nearly the whole year. The days when I can look at the Christmas tree that we went with Alice to pick out. The days when Alice wanders into her playroom, and the fact that we have the space and the good fortune to provide her that room (she has already drawn on the walls!).
But there are so many days, when I wonder why we left, wonder what is happening with those that we left behind, wonder what the point of the last eight or nine hours was...wonder why we are here.
As summer went on, we started scheduling a "date night," where Alice would stay with a babysitter, while we went out for a few hours. It quickly became the time when we would take care of things that were really hard to do with her around. Appliance shopping. Car shopping. All of the things that we actually now had to contend with as a practical matter.
Toward summer's end, our focus shifted. We began to search for a home. A place to be. Something permanent. Something that we didn't have in our old cycle of four months here, two months there. A place where Alice could grow up, a place where she could bring her friends, a place where we could gather our large and strange (in a good way!) family. A place of our own...
There are times, like yesterday, when it seems clearer. The days when we are surrounded by family, the people from whom we were separated by distance and time for nearly the whole year. The days when I can look at the Christmas tree that we went with Alice to pick out. The days when Alice wanders into her playroom, and the fact that we have the space and the good fortune to provide her that room (she has already drawn on the walls!).
But there are so many days, when I wonder why we left, wonder what is happening with those that we left behind, wonder what the point of the last eight or nine hours was...wonder why we are here.
As summer went on, we started scheduling a "date night," where Alice would stay with a babysitter, while we went out for a few hours. It quickly became the time when we would take care of things that were really hard to do with her around. Appliance shopping. Car shopping. All of the things that we actually now had to contend with as a practical matter.
Toward summer's end, our focus shifted. We began to search for a home. A place to be. Something permanent. Something that we didn't have in our old cycle of four months here, two months there. A place where Alice could grow up, a place where she could bring her friends, a place where we could gather our large and strange (in a good way!) family. A place of our own...
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
The Story Continues...
My mood was testy as we left behind our totes in the garage and headed for the freeways of Chicago on the morning of Memorial Day. Traffic was, fortunately, light, and we headed east and, ultimately, north to the state of Michigan.
We were heading to Cadillac, where we had traditionally spent our summers during our time in Alaska. The previous summer, however, we had sold our house to the friends that were renting it from us, because we were not moving back to Michigan. My wife's mother and stepdad had moved to Alabama, and we were going to try to spend some time in both places in summers to come.
One summer's experiment with that and an infant convinced us that we were going to have more of a stationary base of operations, so we rented a house in Traverse City, one of the finest places that one could hope to recreate in. Two months off, two blocks away from Grand Traverse Bay. What a fine plan!
And we had knocked it off the table. I was lucky that someone had rented the place for July, so we got that month's deposit back. I was not so lucky for June. Coming back here involved a lot of trade-offs like that. Less income, different benefits, less time off. On the other hand, real weekends off, more opportunities for Alice to do new things, and convenient stores with reasonable prices easily accessible if we needed supplies.
We spent the first week at my wife's aunt's house, and driving around getting some furniture into the apartment that we had rented. We also got about the business of finding all the stuff that we has stashed around here in various locations. The apartment actually had a basement, so that we had some real storage available without renting a storage locker any more. A week of laundromats convinced us to buy a washer and dryer.
Gradually, we began to settle into life back here. We took Alice to the city park, where she learned that she loves splashing water from a fountain. We enjoyed concerts at the pavilion on Lake Cadillac, and began to explore businesses in town that had opened since we had left. We brought Val and Miranda, and showed them what real trees looked like. They got to see Lake Michigan and Mackinac Island, and some of the things that make this part of the world wonderful...
We were heading to Cadillac, where we had traditionally spent our summers during our time in Alaska. The previous summer, however, we had sold our house to the friends that were renting it from us, because we were not moving back to Michigan. My wife's mother and stepdad had moved to Alabama, and we were going to try to spend some time in both places in summers to come.
One summer's experiment with that and an infant convinced us that we were going to have more of a stationary base of operations, so we rented a house in Traverse City, one of the finest places that one could hope to recreate in. Two months off, two blocks away from Grand Traverse Bay. What a fine plan!
And we had knocked it off the table. I was lucky that someone had rented the place for July, so we got that month's deposit back. I was not so lucky for June. Coming back here involved a lot of trade-offs like that. Less income, different benefits, less time off. On the other hand, real weekends off, more opportunities for Alice to do new things, and convenient stores with reasonable prices easily accessible if we needed supplies.
We spent the first week at my wife's aunt's house, and driving around getting some furniture into the apartment that we had rented. We also got about the business of finding all the stuff that we has stashed around here in various locations. The apartment actually had a basement, so that we had some real storage available without renting a storage locker any more. A week of laundromats convinced us to buy a washer and dryer.
Gradually, we began to settle into life back here. We took Alice to the city park, where she learned that she loves splashing water from a fountain. We enjoyed concerts at the pavilion on Lake Cadillac, and began to explore businesses in town that had opened since we had left. We brought Val and Miranda, and showed them what real trees looked like. They got to see Lake Michigan and Mackinac Island, and some of the things that make this part of the world wonderful...
It's Been A Long Time...
It's been nearly seven months. I haven't had much to say. How do you sum up five years of your life succinctly? How can you even make sense of it all, let alone explain it to others? How do you convey the sense of unreality, the feeling that nothing is quite real, that it is all hazy and just a touch out of reach?
For anyone still wondering, we came back to Michigan on Memorial Day. We hit O'Hare Airport at about 8:30 in the morning, and began to sort out the mountain of stuff that we had managed to bring directly with us. My wife's aunt had brought our new Chevy Traverse up to one of the discount lots at the airport, and finding it was very easy. Big Red Chevy with Alaska plates.
Loading it was a little trickier, though. We put two dogs into the same kennel, and broke the other one down. Despite the cavernous space in the Traverse, we could not fit all of the totes that we had brought with us and the kennels. I ended up disgorging the contents of the totes into the back of the car, and leaving three out of four totes sitting next to the garbage can in the parking garage.
The days leading up to our departure were crazed and emotional. We sold everything that we did not take and just left the rest for the next residents of the building. We never did get postage on all 28 totes that we were shipping before we left. Our postmaster was kind enough to permit us to leave 21 of them in a very small building until we could get postage in the Lower 48 and ship it back to him. Our house was filled with people coming back and forth shopping our going out of business sale. Our friend Charlotte Larson was kind enough to come over and take Alice back to her house to play with her little girl, so that we could concentrate on packing and selling, packing and selling. Alice's babysitter, Valerie, and her cousin, Miranda, helped us every day, even though they knew that a painful parting was coming in a few days.
On Saturday night, we were invited to the house of some friends under a pretext. Because my wife was accosted by someone else wanting to do some shopping, I went over myself, with the idea that she would follow. I walked in to the house, and it seemed as if half the village was there. A beautiful going-away dinner, with words of thanks from all. A beautiful quilt that different hands joined to make. Many tears. Nice.
Sunday came, and we wrapped up what we could. Val and Miranda hauled our stuff in a trailer that they hitched to Val's dad's 4-wheeler. Off to the airport with Chelsea and Alice, and three dogs they went. Fortunately, Chelsea went back up to our apartment before she left and found the $800 in cash that I had forgotten there. Damn...I clearly wasn't thinking. I walked to the strip myself, and tipped my hat to one of my now former students who stopped on her 4-wheeler to say goodbye. Hugging Val and Miranda goodbye was as heartbreaking as you could imagine, and nothing that I try to describe will suffice. The plane was waiting as I walked up, so the parting was at least relatively brief. (Good news flash: they came to stay with us less than a month later, and ended up staying for 3 1/2 weeks.)
We had a last supper with our friends the Jungs in Bethel, and then boarded the Alaska Airlines jet in Bethel for the last time in our Alaska sojourn. We were leaving the life that we had known, and heading back to Michigan to see what kind of life we were going to find...
For anyone still wondering, we came back to Michigan on Memorial Day. We hit O'Hare Airport at about 8:30 in the morning, and began to sort out the mountain of stuff that we had managed to bring directly with us. My wife's aunt had brought our new Chevy Traverse up to one of the discount lots at the airport, and finding it was very easy. Big Red Chevy with Alaska plates.
Loading it was a little trickier, though. We put two dogs into the same kennel, and broke the other one down. Despite the cavernous space in the Traverse, we could not fit all of the totes that we had brought with us and the kennels. I ended up disgorging the contents of the totes into the back of the car, and leaving three out of four totes sitting next to the garbage can in the parking garage.
The days leading up to our departure were crazed and emotional. We sold everything that we did not take and just left the rest for the next residents of the building. We never did get postage on all 28 totes that we were shipping before we left. Our postmaster was kind enough to permit us to leave 21 of them in a very small building until we could get postage in the Lower 48 and ship it back to him. Our house was filled with people coming back and forth shopping our going out of business sale. Our friend Charlotte Larson was kind enough to come over and take Alice back to her house to play with her little girl, so that we could concentrate on packing and selling, packing and selling. Alice's babysitter, Valerie, and her cousin, Miranda, helped us every day, even though they knew that a painful parting was coming in a few days.
On Saturday night, we were invited to the house of some friends under a pretext. Because my wife was accosted by someone else wanting to do some shopping, I went over myself, with the idea that she would follow. I walked in to the house, and it seemed as if half the village was there. A beautiful going-away dinner, with words of thanks from all. A beautiful quilt that different hands joined to make. Many tears. Nice.
Sunday came, and we wrapped up what we could. Val and Miranda hauled our stuff in a trailer that they hitched to Val's dad's 4-wheeler. Off to the airport with Chelsea and Alice, and three dogs they went. Fortunately, Chelsea went back up to our apartment before she left and found the $800 in cash that I had forgotten there. Damn...I clearly wasn't thinking. I walked to the strip myself, and tipped my hat to one of my now former students who stopped on her 4-wheeler to say goodbye. Hugging Val and Miranda goodbye was as heartbreaking as you could imagine, and nothing that I try to describe will suffice. The plane was waiting as I walked up, so the parting was at least relatively brief. (Good news flash: they came to stay with us less than a month later, and ended up staying for 3 1/2 weeks.)
We had a last supper with our friends the Jungs in Bethel, and then boarded the Alaska Airlines jet in Bethel for the last time in our Alaska sojourn. We were leaving the life that we had known, and heading back to Michigan to see what kind of life we were going to find...
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
USPS-We Love 'Em
My poor wife is trying to negotiate the USPS website in order to purchase adequate postage for the packages that we are having to mail back to the Lower 48. The Postal Service is not our friend in this matter. They don't want our packages, in spite of the fact that they are the only way in which we can get these packages back to where they need to go. It is going to be more costly than we anticipated. We cannot buy stamps adequate to do the job, because they have to be mailed here. Perhaps more advance research was in order.
I am also treading water in the COBRA system. I need one month of coverage. Our insurer cannot get the packages out until Friday. Swell. And that is by email. Our coverage with the district ends the following week. We are in transit during at least part of that time. I just looove me dealing with some bureaucracy. And this one isn't governmental, which is the bugaboo that we are usually offered. This is the private sector at its inefficient best. I have worked in both arenas, and I would advise the reader not to be fooled by the rhetoric out there.
Moving sucks enough without extra stress.
I am also treading water in the COBRA system. I need one month of coverage. Our insurer cannot get the packages out until Friday. Swell. And that is by email. Our coverage with the district ends the following week. We are in transit during at least part of that time. I just looove me dealing with some bureaucracy. And this one isn't governmental, which is the bugaboo that we are usually offered. This is the private sector at its inefficient best. I have worked in both arenas, and I would advise the reader not to be fooled by the rhetoric out there.
Moving sucks enough without extra stress.
It Makes Sense, Somehow
The soundtrack this morning is the Cowboy Junkies' Trinity Session...music that takes me back a solid twenty years. Better descriptive powers than mine are needed to evoke the emotional chord that these songs strike for me. Perfect for a rainy, quiet, contemplative day. The weather is just a bit raw, and it seems perfect for our last day in this building. Lots of emotions to process.
Things in my classroom are mostly clean, and the records are updated, and the reimbursement requests are finished. I am waiting for a COBRA packet so that I may purchase insurance coverage for the month of June. I have to check out with our school secretary, our maintenance man, and the boss at last. I am in no hurry. Packing can wait. Neither of us are in a big hurry to end this, which poses the question of whether it makes sense in the first place. We have already done that to death.
We are starting to plan our activities and the things that we need to get done upon our return, which suggests to me that we are beginning to make the transition in our heads. I suspect that it is a process which has to happen in its own time.
Being posed in the middle of a change is always a strange feeling, and this one is just going to last a while longer. It can't be helped. But it will be all right, I believe. I might even be sublime, and great, and full of contentment and happiness...I like to believe that.
Things in my classroom are mostly clean, and the records are updated, and the reimbursement requests are finished. I am waiting for a COBRA packet so that I may purchase insurance coverage for the month of June. I have to check out with our school secretary, our maintenance man, and the boss at last. I am in no hurry. Packing can wait. Neither of us are in a big hurry to end this, which poses the question of whether it makes sense in the first place. We have already done that to death.
We are starting to plan our activities and the things that we need to get done upon our return, which suggests to me that we are beginning to make the transition in our heads. I suspect that it is a process which has to happen in its own time.
Being posed in the middle of a change is always a strange feeling, and this one is just going to last a while longer. It can't be helped. But it will be all right, I believe. I might even be sublime, and great, and full of contentment and happiness...I like to believe that.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
The Curfew Siren Sounds Later
It is summer here, now. The curfew siren goes off at 11, not 9 pm now. It has been going off for a couple of minutes now, actually. I will be glad when it stops, so it doesn't wake the baby.
We finished up today, and it went better than I think we feared it would. There was sentiment, and the principal gave us a nice little speech, and people clapped and a few tears were sniffled, but it wasn't bad overall. I think that there was just too much to get done for us to have the luxury of extended sadness. Our kids gave us a couple of big going away cards, so I need to scrounge up a cardboard tube to transport them back to Michigan in.
Tomorrow is a work day. I have a lot of the stuff on my list finished at this point. I suspect that I will not be around all day, but I am in no enormous hurry, so I am not going to sweat it. I shut off the alarm on my phone this morning, and I will be glad not to have to use it for a while.
Thursday will begin the big push to get packed and shipped. We have a few days here before we leave, and we can do some visiting, and maybe get a steam or two in before we leave.
A little wistful, a lot relaxed, and looking forward to the next part of our family adventure.
We finished up today, and it went better than I think we feared it would. There was sentiment, and the principal gave us a nice little speech, and people clapped and a few tears were sniffled, but it wasn't bad overall. I think that there was just too much to get done for us to have the luxury of extended sadness. Our kids gave us a couple of big going away cards, so I need to scrounge up a cardboard tube to transport them back to Michigan in.
Tomorrow is a work day. I have a lot of the stuff on my list finished at this point. I suspect that I will not be around all day, but I am in no enormous hurry, so I am not going to sweat it. I shut off the alarm on my phone this morning, and I will be glad not to have to use it for a while.
Thursday will begin the big push to get packed and shipped. We have a few days here before we leave, and we can do some visiting, and maybe get a steam or two in before we leave.
A little wistful, a lot relaxed, and looking forward to the next part of our family adventure.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Trash Day
They were busy and picked up lots of trash. That is done. Now, we do tomorrow's activities. Assembly and some prizes, followed by games and lunch. Send the kiddies home after lunch and clean up and do some grading. My fifth year here finished. My last, at least for now.
I like the kids in this room. They are reasonably ok, for goofballs. I don't know if they are my favorite group or not. They might be. I have some other favorites, and I know that you are not supposed to have them, but so much for that. I think, however, that this group as a whole is my favorite...I think.
Off to home, kid, and dogs.
I like the kids in this room. They are reasonably ok, for goofballs. I don't know if they are my favorite group or not. They might be. I have some other favorites, and I know that you are not supposed to have them, but so much for that. I think, however, that this group as a whole is my favorite...I think.
Off to home, kid, and dogs.
The Last Dance Begins
So we start the final week in our time here. Change is always a challenge, and especially so when mixed with conflicting emotions. Sadness, excitement, apprehension...so many and more, and often one succeeding the other.
It is impossible to write about some of the experiences that I have had here and the impact that they have had on everyone involved. The lessons I learned here myself were often difficult ones, and the feelings were often raw. Some of them still are. Some of them I will not discuss for reasons of privacy of those involved.
I will not understand all of this for a while, and then maybe not even then. We will see if it is possible to prove Wolfe wrong when he said that you can't go home. Maybe you can't. Maybe we will come back out here. Maybe it will be fantastic and joyful and everything our dreams are made of. Facing the unknown is spooky even if you are certain about the decisions that you have made, and more so if you still have doubts.
Today, we clean up. I plan to harness the activity and energy of my students to turn our classroom upside down and get it as clean as possible. In the afternoon, we have a trash pick-up drive that is mandated for 90 minutes. It comes at the end of the day, so we at least get to spend that much time outside. It looks to be a lovely day.
I had a conversation with one of my former students the other day, the first in several years. It showed me that we have done some good things out here. Maybe a fitting conclusion to our time here.
It is impossible to write about some of the experiences that I have had here and the impact that they have had on everyone involved. The lessons I learned here myself were often difficult ones, and the feelings were often raw. Some of them still are. Some of them I will not discuss for reasons of privacy of those involved.
I will not understand all of this for a while, and then maybe not even then. We will see if it is possible to prove Wolfe wrong when he said that you can't go home. Maybe you can't. Maybe we will come back out here. Maybe it will be fantastic and joyful and everything our dreams are made of. Facing the unknown is spooky even if you are certain about the decisions that you have made, and more so if you still have doubts.
Today, we clean up. I plan to harness the activity and energy of my students to turn our classroom upside down and get it as clean as possible. In the afternoon, we have a trash pick-up drive that is mandated for 90 minutes. It comes at the end of the day, so we at least get to spend that much time outside. It looks to be a lovely day.
I had a conversation with one of my former students the other day, the first in several years. It showed me that we have done some good things out here. Maybe a fitting conclusion to our time here.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Progress Comes Slowly
Packing continues slowly. Small humans can be a hindrance. We are one week out, and everything starts to count now. There are ten totes sitting at the post office awaiting postage, which will be purchased online. Some of the kitchen stuff which we are taking will get packed today. We are now using paper plates left over from the Alice/Daddy birthday feast that was held back in March. Some of out plates are packed, and more will be as soon as we scrounge up some more padding. Rumor has it that we can find some.
It is hard to mark progress in the middle of a mess, but it is unmistakable. We have relatively little time that will be taken up by school stuff this week, which makes things simpler as well. It will get done...
It is hard to mark progress in the middle of a mess, but it is unmistakable. We have relatively little time that will be taken up by school stuff this week, which makes things simpler as well. It will get done...
Friday, May 16, 2014
Friday, The Last
We have now moved towards the end of our time here. Next week consists of Monday and Tuesday only with students. Tuesday is a half day for them and we have the whole day to get things arranged up. Wednesday is a work day, but its length depends much upon how much we get done Monday and Tuesday.
My kids are done with their work, for the most part, and I am done with the grading, for the most part. I have some stuff to get finished, but I suspect today that we will spend most of our time playing with test scores.
We will focus heavily on packing and getting totes to the post office this weekend, and I suspect that there will be some more sales of household goods. My wife told me that isn't going to happen this weekend, though, because we still need to use a lot of that stuff.
We just had teacher appreciation day, which consisted of pizza, and a cake saying "thanks" to us and our Yup'ik teacher, who is retiring at the end of the year. I got my pin from the district honoring my five years of employment here. It kind of feels like a strange dream. It is hard to believe that all of this has happened so quickly. I wonder what the new adventure will be like.
My kids are done with their work, for the most part, and I am done with the grading, for the most part. I have some stuff to get finished, but I suspect today that we will spend most of our time playing with test scores.
We will focus heavily on packing and getting totes to the post office this weekend, and I suspect that there will be some more sales of household goods. My wife told me that isn't going to happen this weekend, though, because we still need to use a lot of that stuff.
We just had teacher appreciation day, which consisted of pizza, and a cake saying "thanks" to us and our Yup'ik teacher, who is retiring at the end of the year. I got my pin from the district honoring my five years of employment here. It kind of feels like a strange dream. It is hard to believe that all of this has happened so quickly. I wonder what the new adventure will be like.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
I THINK This Is The Last Test...
...maybe. We have reached the point in the testing madness that we will threaten you with endless retesting if we think that you are not REALLY TRYING HARD. Sounds like an incentive for positive behavior, eh? Of course, there are the occasional soreheads that I do not mind seeing on the rack, but my baser instincts might not be the soundest reason to do something.
Spring continues to creep in. The ice in the river is long gone. This was a very un-dramatic year here on the Kusko as far as breakup was concerned. That is a good thing. The one potential negative is that part of the reason for that was a very dry winter. That may not be such a good thing in the long run.
I think we now have it arranged to have our car brought into O'Hare airport, so that it is there when we arrive on the 26th. Many thanks to the generosity of my wife's aunt. We will be staying with another aunt when we first arrive, until we can get furniture delivered and the house at least partially set up. Hooray for aunties!
School ends one week from today. In fact, we dismiss kids at lunchtime, so technically we have less than a week to go at this point. We are both finding that the sadness of leaving is beginning to be balanced with the joy of being reunited with our families, who are all extremely happy that we will be sticking around at the end of the summer.
The glories of a Northern Michigan summer are beginning to call. I have always felt that it is the best place that I have ever been to during summer. Now, we will call it home, some of us again, and one of us for the first time.
Spring continues to creep in. The ice in the river is long gone. This was a very un-dramatic year here on the Kusko as far as breakup was concerned. That is a good thing. The one potential negative is that part of the reason for that was a very dry winter. That may not be such a good thing in the long run.
I think we now have it arranged to have our car brought into O'Hare airport, so that it is there when we arrive on the 26th. Many thanks to the generosity of my wife's aunt. We will be staying with another aunt when we first arrive, until we can get furniture delivered and the house at least partially set up. Hooray for aunties!
School ends one week from today. In fact, we dismiss kids at lunchtime, so technically we have less than a week to go at this point. We are both finding that the sadness of leaving is beginning to be balanced with the joy of being reunited with our families, who are all extremely happy that we will be sticking around at the end of the summer.
The glories of a Northern Michigan summer are beginning to call. I have always felt that it is the best place that I have ever been to during summer. Now, we will call it home, some of us again, and one of us for the first time.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
A Fine Day
I sold our Subaru today. It was a purchase that I was originally reluctant about, but it came in handy this year. It was a good little car, too, even if my junior high kids teased me about my junky old car. It wasn't junky. It ran well, only had 59,000 miles on it, and did everything that I wanted it to. It was really great on the glare ice that we had on the river this year, and it was nice to be able to take trips into Bethel to break up the monotony that can accompany village life.
I sold it to a nice couple from Michigan. I hope that they have the enjoyment from it that I did. It was just a little 4-banger with a 5-speed stick, but every time I successfully navigated the river in it, I liked it a little bit more. Godspeed to my little Bethel Beast.
I went over to Bethel at 10 and was back by about 1. The baby went to visit friends, and we worked on packing, house cleaning, and hauling totes to the post office. I got a text calling me to steam, and our 5th grade teacher and I went down to Joe's house. It was hot, and Joe started pouring right away. Ouch, but in a good way. Kevin, the 5th grade teacher, has his administrator's license, and has been offered the site administrator's post in Goodnews Bay. Longtime readers may recall that I went there in my first year for a district NYO tournament. It is a beautiful site, although it is kind of isolated. He will go out there this week to check it out.
At the steam house, he told a story about stalking moose with a camera in the streets of Anchorage that had all of us in stitches. The short version is basically that he had dumb luck in a couple of situations in which he could have had very bad luck. Kids nowadays.
We also found out this weekend that our neighbor will be taking a District Office job in Bethel next year. That brings the grand total of departures this year to five at site. We are going to coordinate resources over the next two weeks with her to make sure that we can get our stuff out of here, and still have something to eat off of.
Now, I have had a good steam, a good dinner, and the baby is home, bathed, and is headed (I hope) to bed. I would dearly love to follow. Tomorrow, we are having a sale. We will see how it goes. It was a very pleasant day.
I sold it to a nice couple from Michigan. I hope that they have the enjoyment from it that I did. It was just a little 4-banger with a 5-speed stick, but every time I successfully navigated the river in it, I liked it a little bit more. Godspeed to my little Bethel Beast.
I went over to Bethel at 10 and was back by about 1. The baby went to visit friends, and we worked on packing, house cleaning, and hauling totes to the post office. I got a text calling me to steam, and our 5th grade teacher and I went down to Joe's house. It was hot, and Joe started pouring right away. Ouch, but in a good way. Kevin, the 5th grade teacher, has his administrator's license, and has been offered the site administrator's post in Goodnews Bay. Longtime readers may recall that I went there in my first year for a district NYO tournament. It is a beautiful site, although it is kind of isolated. He will go out there this week to check it out.
At the steam house, he told a story about stalking moose with a camera in the streets of Anchorage that had all of us in stitches. The short version is basically that he had dumb luck in a couple of situations in which he could have had very bad luck. Kids nowadays.
We also found out this weekend that our neighbor will be taking a District Office job in Bethel next year. That brings the grand total of departures this year to five at site. We are going to coordinate resources over the next two weeks with her to make sure that we can get our stuff out of here, and still have something to eat off of.
Now, I have had a good steam, a good dinner, and the baby is home, bathed, and is headed (I hope) to bed. I would dearly love to follow. Tomorrow, we are having a sale. We will see how it goes. It was a very pleasant day.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Friday and Graduation
My fifth graduation since I began working here, and likely the last. More than one or two of the students and/or local folks are of the opinion that we will be back after a year away. I'm not sure about that. I don't want to be going into this project only halfway committed to making it work. That does not seem like the right frame of mind. If we do make it work, we won't be coming back except to visit.
We went to a memorial feast for one of our elders who died a year ago yesterday. I told his daughter that he was a role model for me. I remember a conversation with his wife before I actually moved here. I think it was on my second visit. She asked me when I was moving here. I don't remember what I said in response, probably something about not having a job. She said that I should be like Jack, and become a househusband. He apparently recommended it highly, if I understood his take on it. I am still working on getting there. I did realize that we would actually be ahead financially if I did and we stayed here. Funny.
My wife is the featured adult speaker tonight, and I am not sure how we are going to handle that. Alice is in the clingy to mom phase right now, and our babysitter will want to be at graduation for her cousin and all around buddy, who is one of the grads. I'm not sure how she will handle it when she can see Mommy, but can't get to her. I am not sure that I want to watch the speech anyway. Too many potential tears there. Leaving here is just tough, and I don't know how to explain that to anybody back in Michigan. I can only think of a couple people there who might actually get it. I don't want to go back and be all sad and mopy. I think that too many people will take it personally. But sad and mopy is how I feel a lot these days.
I just don't have a good way to resolve it that I can see right now. Guess I will just let it ride, and hope that it eases.
We went to a memorial feast for one of our elders who died a year ago yesterday. I told his daughter that he was a role model for me. I remember a conversation with his wife before I actually moved here. I think it was on my second visit. She asked me when I was moving here. I don't remember what I said in response, probably something about not having a job. She said that I should be like Jack, and become a househusband. He apparently recommended it highly, if I understood his take on it. I am still working on getting there. I did realize that we would actually be ahead financially if I did and we stayed here. Funny.
My wife is the featured adult speaker tonight, and I am not sure how we are going to handle that. Alice is in the clingy to mom phase right now, and our babysitter will want to be at graduation for her cousin and all around buddy, who is one of the grads. I'm not sure how she will handle it when she can see Mommy, but can't get to her. I am not sure that I want to watch the speech anyway. Too many potential tears there. Leaving here is just tough, and I don't know how to explain that to anybody back in Michigan. I can only think of a couple people there who might actually get it. I don't want to go back and be all sad and mopy. I think that too many people will take it personally. But sad and mopy is how I feel a lot these days.
I just don't have a good way to resolve it that I can see right now. Guess I will just let it ride, and hope that it eases.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
The Week's End Aproaches
Thursday afternoon. Health class. Our social worker is doing her end of the year presentation to my kiddies. It should be over in a minute or so. They are watching student videos made by some kids from the Lower Yukon School District. I have learned in the past five years that there are some pretty talented story tellers out here. You just have to pay close attention.
The week draws to a close tomorrow. The magic year-end tests have been given, and re-given (in some circumstances), and it is getting increasingly challenging to keep these kids on some sort of track. We need to keep it together for about another week. Lord give me strength-it will keep me from homicide.
She is done. All I have to do is follow. No challenge there.
The week draws to a close tomorrow. The magic year-end tests have been given, and re-given (in some circumstances), and it is getting increasingly challenging to keep these kids on some sort of track. We need to keep it together for about another week. Lord give me strength-it will keep me from homicide.
She is done. All I have to do is follow. No challenge there.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Every Day, It's A Gettin' Closer...
Two weeks from today, I am done here. The kids will be gone on Tuesday, and I plan to have them doing a lot of clean up in here before they get gone. We will have the rest of the afternoon on Tuesday to wrap up stuff. Wednesday is technically a work day, but the custom has been that we can go if our list is checked off. I was out of here last year before 11 AM. I am in no big hurry this year, and there may be a few more details to attend to, but I will likely also need as much time as available for packing and preparation.
Our moving sale continues. My wife had put a notice out for this coming Sunday. I am beginning to wonder if there will be anything to sell left by that time. Folks have been drifting in since the weekend for early bargains, and a lot of merchandise has already moved out.
We were discussing postal matters with our postmaster, who came bargain hunting last night. We are going to haul totes down to the post office Saturday afternoon. He is apparently going to be gone. He will weigh them and then let us know how much postage we will need. We will then go to the USPS website and buy enough for the totes. Easier than carrying cash. Another example of the fact that logistics are always interesting around here.
Time to get back at it. I have to come up with an assignment for writing class. Another assignment, that is. We already have one going. Hump day continues....
Our moving sale continues. My wife had put a notice out for this coming Sunday. I am beginning to wonder if there will be anything to sell left by that time. Folks have been drifting in since the weekend for early bargains, and a lot of merchandise has already moved out.
We were discussing postal matters with our postmaster, who came bargain hunting last night. We are going to haul totes down to the post office Saturday afternoon. He is apparently going to be gone. He will weigh them and then let us know how much postage we will need. We will then go to the USPS website and buy enough for the totes. Easier than carrying cash. Another example of the fact that logistics are always interesting around here.
Time to get back at it. I have to come up with an assignment for writing class. Another assignment, that is. We already have one going. Hump day continues....
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
More Testing
Today is the day that I do catch-up MAPS testing with my junior high kids. The funny thing is that there are almost no exceptions. I think that there are four kids who will be working independently in the library. Nearly every one of them missed one of the tests or did so dismally on them that the result is likely aberrational. So I test, or re-test, as the case may be. These tests determine student progress, so it is thought to be important to make sure that they give their all, so that we get an accurate picture of their status. That can be a serious challenge at this time of the year.
My wife has been asked to address the graduating seniors, and I am helping to edit her speech. That is my night job. That, and Alice juggling. My wife is also working on writing curriculum for a class that she is teaching, so she will need to spend some more time over here tonight.
This is the nature of our existences these days. Run, run, run.
My wife has been asked to address the graduating seniors, and I am helping to edit her speech. That is my night job. That, and Alice juggling. My wife is also working on writing curriculum for a class that she is teaching, so she will need to spend some more time over here tonight.
This is the nature of our existences these days. Run, run, run.
Monday, May 5, 2014
UP and Running
The kiddies are taking their math test. I have tried to create a calm environment, and they appear to be working quietly. It is a joy to watch their faces at a time like this. At least for the moment, there is no frustration, no distress. They are just concentrating calmly and going about their business.
Ah, my first pause of the day. I can control the test in that fashion, and I have one student who can be counted on to go early. She has.
The first wiggles are beginning to set in, and we have a latecomer. I expect at least one more.
Dang. I need to use the bathroom. Poor planning on my part. Of course, we teachers have super-strong bladders.
Current length of visible light: 18 hr. 30 min. That explains a lot of insomnia and a lot of sleepy heads during the day. It will get worse during the next two weeks.
The temps have cooled off notably from last week. The river is breaking up quickly, however. The ice went out at Bethel on the 2nd. They had the annual breakup party yesterday afternoon. There is a fair amount of ice moving down the river, and there was an ice dam in the slough here this morning. I didn't notice much effect, however. It doesn't seem as if there is a lot of backup going on along the Kusko, at least.
I have grading to catch up on. I find it hard to do so while proctoring. The observation part of it requires too much attention. I guess that my wife and I are going to trade off child duties so that each of us can work this afternoon. I might as well get around to some organization, though. More later.
Ah, my first pause of the day. I can control the test in that fashion, and I have one student who can be counted on to go early. She has.
The first wiggles are beginning to set in, and we have a latecomer. I expect at least one more.
Dang. I need to use the bathroom. Poor planning on my part. Of course, we teachers have super-strong bladders.
Current length of visible light: 18 hr. 30 min. That explains a lot of insomnia and a lot of sleepy heads during the day. It will get worse during the next two weeks.
The temps have cooled off notably from last week. The river is breaking up quickly, however. The ice went out at Bethel on the 2nd. They had the annual breakup party yesterday afternoon. There is a fair amount of ice moving down the river, and there was an ice dam in the slough here this morning. I didn't notice much effect, however. It doesn't seem as if there is a lot of backup going on along the Kusko, at least.
I have grading to catch up on. I find it hard to do so while proctoring. The observation part of it requires too much attention. I guess that my wife and I are going to trade off child duties so that each of us can work this afternoon. I might as well get around to some organization, though. More later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)