Summer Done List

A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with some friends (also teachers), and we were discussing how our summers had gone. I think everyone with a summer break always begins the summer with a long list of ideas about what they'd like to accomplish, including these friends. As the summer draws to an end, it's hard not to get too discouraged by all the things there wasn't time for. Along those lines, one of my friends said she'd been thinking about making a list of all the things she had done instead. I thought that was a brilliant idea! So, since school begins tomorrow, I thought today was a good day to spend a bit of time reflecting on and celebrating all the things that happened this summer (rather than only pining away for more of these lovely summer days!).

When I stopped to think about this, I found myself thinking about things in terms of a few big categories:

Travel
I think this is one area I actually have kept up with blogging about, and we've sure traveled a lot this summer! We got things started with our much anticipated trip to Walt Disney World in May. After that, we spent a couple of days at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. Later in June, we joined Mark's family for their annual trip to Missouri and Arkansas. Most recently, we had our getaway trip to Niagara Falls. Thinking back on each of these trips brings back such wonderful memories!

Professional
One of the things I usually do each summer is some professional reading--books, articles, newsletters, and so on. As it turns out, I did almost none of that this year! But I did find other ways to keep myself plugged in professionally. Right after the semester ended, I submitted a couple of proposals for TESOL 2015. I'm really optimistic that one will be accepted, which would allow me to travel to Toronto, Canada for the conference in the spring.  I also volunteered to be a proposal rater for the first time, so I read and rated a number of proposals for the conference, which was really interesting! I should hear back about my own proposals sometime in October.

Speaking of conferences, I was also invited to write an article for the Adult Education Interest Section newsletter about my presentation on TED talks at this spring's TESOL convention. The article was published just a week or so ago.

In July, I started teaching a 6-week summer session academic writing class for graduate students. This was my first time teaching summer school for BGSU, and it was a really great experience, mostly because of the wonderful students I had. They worked so hard and improved their writing so much!

Once August came along, it was time to start thinking about the fall semester, and my calendar got busy with all kinds of events and meetings, including a couple of presentations. For one, I collaborated with a couple of my new colleagues from the General Studies Writing (GSW) program at BGSU to give workshops to the faculty and grad students about working with second language writers. Both workshops were well-received, and we're optimistic that we'll be able to keep the conversation on this topic going throughout the year. The other presentation was a workshop on academic adjustment for new international students at Global Connections' Welcome Nights (one for grad students, one for undergrads).

Friendships
Obviously, summer is also a great time to connect with friends. This summer was bittersweet on that front, though, because some of our closest friends moved away from BG this summer--first, my friend Julie, then Mark's friend Cory, then my friend Angela. Before the goodbyes, we tried to make the most of our time!

There were some lovely days at the pool (though not as many as other years--we've had a bit cooler weather, and my summer school schedule kept be busy many afternoons).

Angela and I had a few outings, sometimes with other friends, to restaurants, the Swan House, a few of the metroparks, and so on.

Oak Openings Metropark

On the mule-drawn Erie Canal boat.

I also hosted a summer tea, which was a great time to make some tasty food and catch up with friends.

Heath, Fitness, Food
I've always loved food, but health and fitness have become an ever-increasing part of my life over the last couple of years. We're contemplating some even bigger changes on the horizon, but as far as this summer goes, Mark and I have been focused on trying new veggies (and fruits) and reducing the processed food in our diet. We've been shopping at the Farmers' Market down town each week, often bringing home an unfamiliar veggie. So far, we've tried kohlrabi, eggplant, tomatillos, and chayote. I've got some beets in the fridge, too. We've also been exercising a lot, and Mark's discipline has encouraged me to be more intentional about my own fitness practice, so I've added a strength training cycle to my routine.

I've also been participating in a couple of challenges through the "Well Aware" health and fitness programming provided to BGSU employees. One is ongoing through the rest of the calendar year; the other was a 6-week summer program. In the summer program, I came in second place among the individuals and won some prizes! It's silly, but I do enjoy having that incentive. :-)

Other Stuff
Let's be honest--there's been lots of TV and movie watching going on around here, too! Since our Disney trip, we've been watching lots of Disney movies, from our old favorites to ones we'd never seen before. My two new favorites are Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians. I've been enjoying some TV series on Netflix, like "Master of the Glen" and "House."  We also bought a couple of Disney-themed puzzles which we enjoyed working on together.

A couple of weeks ago, Mark and I also finally made it up to the drive in movie theater in Oregon (a town about 35 minutes northeast of here). We saw Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It was a long night since the first movie started at 9:15, but we had a great time (except for the mosquito bites--my feet were so itchy they kept me up at night for a while!). Maybe we'll go back again if we see another pair of movies that we're interested in.

I've also been reading a lot--still thoroughly enjoying the Kindle hand-me-down from Mark's mom. My pace will slow down, but I'll certainly keep enjoying some fiction as school begins--I think it's really important to read things besides student papers!

And, I was able to help plan and volunteer at Global Connections' outreach activities for the international seasonal workers in our area. I think this was my fourth summer being involved with this ministry, and it's really a blessing to me. (If you're interested in pics of that, find Global Connections on Facebook and look for the albums there).

So, I'd say it's been a wonderful summer! I certainly didn't do all of the things on my list, but some things can stay on as fall goals; others will roll over to next summer. All in all, I guess I'm ready for classes to start tomorrow. I'm thankful to be able to continue teaching at BGSU, and I'm feeling more optimistic now than ever about my new department. As it turns out, my teaching load will actually be two ESOL classes and two GSW classes (that's the name of our first-year writing program here, and it's officially my department now). I'm sure it will be a busy semester, but I'm eager to see what God has in store for us.