Where is time going? Week 8 of the spring quarter? It goes so fast… (That is wistfulness you hear. So it is in springtime.)
I had a bug this week – just for 24 hours – but it made me slow down a bit. Nevertheless, this still felt like a pretty packed week.
My teaching semester ended and I graded many papers. Not completely done but getting there. I also started prepping for the summer semester. I did a little more writing for my proposal. I confirmed with a few people that I’ll be teaching Journal to the Self again starting next week — I don’t really have time for this and it’s not “worth it” from a time vs. money perspective…but I just want to do it again!
Yesterday was Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day and it was actually quite hilarious to see so many kids on my commute. Some people grumbled that they should have worked from home that day, but I liked commuting with the kids. The novelty of it made me realize how few kids I actually see in a given week which somehow feels kind of wild to say as a frum woman but it is true!
I finished the next three Betsy-Tacy books, which are so, so wonderful, and I had so many thoughts as I was reading them. It was such a wonderful trip to turn-of-the-century Deep Valley/Mankato, MN. The children have minimal extracurricular activities (Tib takes dancing, Betsy’s sister Julia takes piano lessons) and zero summer plans, yet they are never bored. They have so much freedom to indulge their creativity and imaginations, and they do. Adults without children (Mrs. Benson, Mrs. Poppy) take a genuine interest in them and build out their village. Betsy’s mother, Mrs. Ray, is a big believer in children having private spaces (this is mentioned at least twice), like Betsy and Tacy’s clubhouse in the piano box, and Betsy’s “writing office” on a bough of the backyard maple tree. I want to give my children a Betsy-Tacy childhood!
All in all, I loved this reread more than anticipated (I said the same about rereading Harry Potter) and I do plan to be”H reread the next four books either over the summer or fall.
This week I also listened to Mary Poppins, by P.L. Travers, on audio (via the Libby app). This book is admittedly odd (lol) but also touched me a few times, which was unexpected. I hope to listen to the others in the series.
And that’s it for now. I hope you have a restful and wonderful Shabbos and weekend.
I will leave you with this tidbit:
Don’t you know that everybody’s got a Fairyland of their own?
–Mary Poppins, by P.L. Travers
Thank you for reading!
(Photo credit: AXP Photography/Pexels. Cherry Tree Lane?)
