Today, it’s early and my attitude is shot all ready. So, we’ll do a little mind dump here, getting me back on track! Right? RIGHT?
#yeahsurewhateveryousaydude
*sigh* Even my hashtags are sarcastic! 🙂
Anyway, I am:
- happy that last night, I ran my first mile, without walking, in a long time! I’ve written I’ve dropped some weight and that my blood pressure fell because of this, helping me keep off meds for another year. I’ve plateaued a bit with my weight, and much of that comes from my not making consistant exercise part of routine. I loved to run and miss it. The mile was s – l – o – w, but it got done. On a side note, I also rowed 500 meters (rowing machine) and biked 23 miles (spin class). I love Mondays because that is scheduled for me. I just wish I had that routine each day!
- tired of listening to Democrats and their “F Trump” nonsense and even more tired of Republicans and their “F Biden” tomfoolery. How about you look at the WHOLE SYSTEM and figure it out. It’s not one man or one party, it’s the whole lot of them are corrupt. Now, like I tell my sixth graders, what’s the plan for fixing it? I have not a clue, I’m just a teacher, but something has to change.
- tired of the anti-masking hysteria. It seems daily we have a new video of some kind of “freedom” moment from some school board meeting. I swear, Braveheart could have been filmed today because of all the those freedom cries!
- anxious because I volunteer to be a club sponsor of Lego League and now, I might be regretting my choice a little bit. We are a Leader in Me school and have been working to create some after school club opportunities for our students. A student approached me about wanting to start this and asked me to be the sponsor. Now, we won’t “compete” this year, but I saw how much work the paid coach, and that’s not what I want. I want kids to build and code and have fun doing so. Plus, I have ZERO CLUE about what this is truly all about. We’ll see where this goes.
- melancholy about my parents and their move. We went down on Sunday to pick up a few more things and just see the place for one more time. The buildings are pretty much all cleared out and the house is almost empty. Thursday, they sign the papers, selling the property and that will be that. They are happily puttering around their new place, which is what I hoped for, but yet, seeing the house as empty as it was, it was a sigh and a tear moment.
- excited to try club basketball again. I was burnt out two years ago and stepped away. I was approached by a parent who’d coached the upcoming girls about taking her position because they were losing kids that “didn’t want to work hard.” I thought, if they don’t want to work hard, they aren’t going to like me either, but I digress. I’m an average coach on a good day, but I also coach a crapton of fundamentals. I’m not the “play guy” which I guess could be a bad thing, however, my girls can see situations and work off the defense. We’ll see how it goes.
- frustrated about the lack of small campers in our area. Look at different sites, if I want a 30 foot camper that sleeps 25 and could survive a nuclear blast, those are around $5,000 and I could find one here. However, If I want something small and more compact, they are considerable more money and found hours away. We happened to be in Twin Cities visiting my college roommate and his new girlfriend when one came across my email. We made connections and thought we’d be driving home with a camper. Nope. Totally misrepresented it. It smelled like an outhouse and we weren’t willing to purchase a project like that one. So, we continue to look. And look. 🙂
And this one just showed up:
I am flabbergasted. I was sitting here, minding my own business when our secratry comes in and hands me a gift certificate to a local car dealership. She said it’s part of a thing where people nominate teachers who have made an impact. I was floored and might have shed a tear or two after she left because the previous class was a giant sh*tshow. So, to whomever nominated me, you gave this old man back a little bit of faith in what he does.
And if you’ve made it this far, how are you doing? Any “I am” statements you want to share? 🙂
September 28, 2021 at 2:08 pm
I love this post, Darin! Seriously! Your mind wanderings resonate with me in so many ways. I got back into running last October for exactly the same reasons as you and I feel proud to see better BP numbers and some weight loss – so BRAVO to you!! It is a BIG deal. I, too, feel this – “like I tell my sixth graders, what’s the plan for fixing it?” – well, I’m retired and no longer teaching, so I can’t tell my sixth graders this, but I am so saddened by the lack of imagination – what do we want this world, this nation, to look/feel/run like? My goodness. Depressing. Anyhow – congrats on your surprise gift certificate…I know it was well deserved!
September 29, 2021 at 9:06 am
You see the health numbers doing well and think, “damnit, now I have to KEEP trying,” because there’s a birthday today and the workroom is loaded with pastries. I cracked and might have eaten one, maybe. However, the overall goal, well within reach, so we’ll make things happen!
As for fixing things, oye, I’m not even sure anymore. Somedays, I’d love to live in the mountains off the grid. Yet, that’s not a possibility, so here we are!
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
September 28, 2021 at 3:18 pm
I feel a lot of this post, Darin. Every day, when I open the local paper, I’m greeted with a school board article that deals with masking. We have a mandate, issued by our Governor, in our Commonwealth. YET, it’s hotly contested and debated at school board meetings. Two towns over had a 4.5 hour board meeting that dealt with masks again last night. It’s insanity! Whatever happened to talking about EDUCATION, which is what really matters, at these meetings. I could go on… but I’ll spare you.
September 29, 2021 at 9:08 am
I’m right there with you. At a recent board meeting, members were threatened in open session, then on Facebook. I’m afraid this has always been here, but it’s not been normalized and until pushback happens, this will only continue.
Good work is happening, but it’s been overshadowed by this foolishness.
But I’ll spare you! 🙂
September 28, 2021 at 6:27 pm
what I appreciate about you as a writer is that is always a straight shot from your head and your heart. So many things roll around in our minds and you give them voice. I am glad that the universe sent you a gift today, consider it the tip of the appreciation iceberg.
September 29, 2021 at 9:11 am
I always enjoy it when you stop by because your comments help me see my writing and my life from a different perspective. Thank you!
I’m glad the universe sent me a little gift as well. It made my day for sure.
September 28, 2021 at 6:55 pm
Whew, that’s a lot! I have my mind dumps in the morning. I’ve also picked up running-ish again, but once I get going, I seem to do something wrong that causes discomfort and overall feeling that my body is crooked-and creaky. Is it worth it? We’ll see how long I stick with it this time. I default to walking. Congratulations on your nomination. It sounds like you do much more than the average.
September 28, 2021 at 8:00 pm
Yeah, iit gets to be a bit much and I’ve not do this in a while. Lots of tomfoolery bouncing around in there for sure. The nomination was a bit of a shock. I’m hoping that others will be nominated as we need some more good news! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by and reading! 🙂