Ho Ho Ho

Gearing up for the holidays is never easy when you do not have money. However, I have found that lowering my expectations and truly enjoying the smallest most simplest things fills me up. For instance, this am, I watched the birds on the feeders for a full hour. Coffee in hand I watched as they lined up for a chance to stuff themselves. It reminds me of planes lined up on a tarmac waiting for their turn to take off.

The other part of the holidays that is hard is the week between Christmas and New Years. It is the week that my Mom died of an asthma attack. No matter how many years go by-12 this year-it feels raw and sad.

I will muddle through for the sake of my son. It is important for me to show him the delight in the season. Just this morning, around 6:30am, the clouds cleared enough to allow the full moon to shine down from the eastern sky. He and I stood in amazement at how incredibly bright it looked and talked about the lunar eclipse. I was able to show him with a bowl, a Clementine and a small round sucker why/how the lunar eclipse happens. He thinks I am the smartest person EVER and that in and of itself is the greatest gift I could hope for.

Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and any other I may have missed. Most of all, peace and joy and health to you and yours.

***SIGH***

Maybe it is my age, but if you are giving a group presentation-which means standing up in front of the class and lecturing on your research, how do you present yourself?

Well, let me just tell you that i wish I could have taken pictures! T-shirts, shorts and flip flops were the norm and most appropriate of what I witnessed. I had a hard time not snorting to stifle my laughter when one poor thing stood there in her hoodie, bad eyeliner, baggy nylon gym shorts that she had rolled the waist down on for some reason and mid-calf fake UGGS. Oh my goodness, I so wanted to put a full length mirror in front of her!

Also, how do you not just out loud say, "oh you poor thing" to another who was lecturing on The Papyrus Egerton as she informs us that "it was named for the guy who discovered it who was either Papyrus or Egerton." Again, I almost snorted.

yes, being a non-trad has some very humorous moments.

More later.

Fall Break

I am 2 classes away from my first official break. I have one midterm to complete over break and one more to take after break. All in all I am having a great journey through academia. I have come to the conclusion that the next four years ARE about the journey and I am not going to worry so much about my GPA.

I find myself having to bite my tongue often in class. AND I am also having to not CONSTANTLY raise my hand-even though I know the answer the Prof is looking for...I find myself smiling and nodding and being at peace with what I know and don't know. Oh the wisdom of age!