This week, temperatures soared into the 90's. It's the end of April. This Redwoods and fog girl is wilting! A couple days ago, I dug out my Clark sandals. Put 'em on, and set out for my day in the blistering heat. Walking across the parking lot towards the post office, I stumbled. This wasn't a geeky Emily stumble, this was a shoe falling apart stumble. Half of the bottom of my left sandal fell off. Stopping, I pulled off my sandal and looked at the bottom. Disintegrating would be the best word for its condition, and the right was in a similar stage of deterioration.
After taking care of my business at the post office (letter 3 to DMV, trying to get a replacement title before my registration needs to be renewed the end of May!Been working on this since January 10th, no less.), I headed to Famous Footwear to get replacements. Which got me to thinking about the history of those sandals. In 1999, I was working at Burnt Ranch School, out in the hot river valley, and I purchased two pairs of sandals for the sunny days out there. Ten years ago. These sandals are the measure of ten years. With them, I walked through a second BA in Psychology, a Master's degree in Education, a tutoring business, envisioning and creating my school (Blue Heron Middle School), thinking about going somewhere to earn my doctorate, visits to Moscow, Idaho; Austin, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona, and Boise, ID to look at schools, a trip to Mexico, a trip to Virginia on Amtrak to take a class on differentiated instruction, numerous trips back and forth to Boise... Lot of miles in these sandals.
It seems fitting that these sandals, which were there with me at the beginning of my quest to better understand schools, learning, and kids, should fall apart now, while I begin my studies at BSU. There are metaphors, analogies, and soliloquies in there, I just know it. But they will have to wait until I'm finished with the three papers due in two weeks! If you have any, please feel free to post them here. :)
The trees are visibly greener each day, and the grass is clearly longer, as well. Amazing how quickly everything changes. I have been getting up early in the morning to work with my horses, before the heat hits. Trying to work with them in the late afternoon/early evening wasn't working; they seemed tired from the heat, and I was, too. I am having a great time with them. Will post pictures soon. Perhaps when Stuart comes up again the end of May, we can get some videos again. The dogs are beginning to adjust to the heat, after adjusting to the freezing cold. I think the heat is harder on them than the cold. I'm working on setting up an umbrella and mister system on the back deck so we have a cool place to hang out during the days, though the house stays surprisingly cool. I make a gallon of "sun tea" every other day, and I am having no difficulty meeting my "8 glasses a day" of liquids, now. My biggest worry recently was tracking down my shorts and other hot weather clothes. Was coming to the conclusion that I had tossed them, or left them in storage back home. Well, lo and behold, I found them in a trunk, where I had put them when I unpacked my clothes in the middle of the snow storm. I thought, "I won't need these until summer, so I'll put them here." So glad I remembered!
Posts
