Tuesday (winter warning postponed) Musings

OK. We received an inch of snow. I was about to say I told you so to the weather man this morning, until I saw the forecast for this afternoon/evening into Wednesday morning. We’re supposed to get 6-8 inches. The last time it snowed this much was two years ago over Valentine’s Day and I didn’t go to work for three days. We were living outside of downtown at the time, and you couldn’t get out of your neighborhood because the side streets were impassable. Fortunately, we live on a main street now, although the parking lot situation could get interesting. Again, I’m not holding my breath because it could miss us. If it doesn’t, you’ll be seeing lots of winter wonderland photos tomorrow.
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I posted this note on Facebook but I thought I’d reproduce it here. I should be grading journals.

25 Random Thoughts About Me

1. I like animals more than I like most people.
2. I adore and am fiercely protective of my younger sister. She is my opposite and yet looking at her, I sometimes feel like I’m looking into a mirror.
3. I believe flowers are mystical, mythical, intimate, erotic, and full of poetry.
4. I feel things deeply and it makes my life difficult sometimes. Emotions rule my decisions and that can be dangerous.
5. I love being outdoors. I love mud and snow and rain and ice. I love walking in the woods no matter the season.
6. Other people’s pain often reduces me to tears, which is why I try to avoid daytime talk shows. I do not revel in others heartbreak.
7. I am an English instructor at a community college and I think it may be some of the most important work I will ever do. My students are damaged and vulnerable, but they are also brave and optimistic. They humble me on a daily basis.
8. I am in constant awe of how many brilliant people I know.
9. I am very interested in organic food, sustaining local farmers, and farmer’s markets. I’ve been this way since I was small. My parents come from a family of farmers (dairy) and I want to make this a more prominent part of my life. I admire and like the idea of being an integrally involved in the entire process of growing food. I cannot wait until I can plant my own vegetable garden.
10. Poetry is the stuff of life and I wish more people loved it like I do. I try to bring it to my classroom everyday. I wish more people read poetry.
11. I love taking pictures. I prefer flowers to faces, but I love experimenting with film and light and angle.
12. I love art and museums. My mother introduced me to art as a young child, because she is a painter. I would like to take oil, acrylic, and watercolor classes. Some of my favorite memories from when I was a kid were going to the Met to see the Matisse exhibit or going to the Cleveland Art Museum to see a Faberge exhibit or going to the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
13. I want to travel more. I spent 6 months in England my junior year in college and that sparked my interest. I like travel writing and I’d like to do some more of that too.
14. I’d like to write nonfiction but I’m scared. Not of the content but of writing prose. I know. I’m a wimp.
15. I could not live life without a dog in the house.
16. I am a daddy’s girl and will always be one. I’m constantly amazed by my father and all of his accomplishments. When I was younger, I worried about living up to the standard he set, but as I get older I’m just grateful I have such a good example for a dad.
17. I cut my face open shaving when I was a little girl. I wanted to be like dad. My mother said she had never seen so much blood.
18. I rode horses/ponies from the time I was 9 till I was about 22. Selling my horse, Cannes, was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. My two older equines, Sprite and Daniel, were best friends. They are buried out behind our barn. When I visit my parents house, I go and stand on their graves to say hello.
19. I don’t like funerals or wakes. Not because they’re depressing, but because they feel fake and somber. I think you should celebrate the life that passed and traditional funerals don’t seem to focus on that.
20. It saddens me to know that we will eventually live in a world where children will no longer feel a book in their hands. Instead, they’ll have one of those reader things they’re selling on Amazon. I’m already mourning that loss.
21. I was in a sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, in college and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I met and kept some really great friends through that organization, so it bothers me when people dismiss sorority girls as superficial.
22. I am intolerant of intolerance of any kind. I can’t stand for bullying. I’m serious enough about this that recently at Target when a bunch of teenage girls were walking behind an overweight woman and openly criticizing her, I said something. They stopped.
23. I’m willing to give people second chances, but after that it is going to be hard to get me back. I never forget.
24. I love writers. They frustrate me and fuel me. I’m glad I know so many.
25. I read The New Yorker regularly. It takes me forever but I learn a lot from it.
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