Summer Done List

For a few years, I've been posting my "Summer Done List" to help me make the transition from summer to fall. I imagine it's true for just about everyone else that this summer has been a strange one, but there have certainly been good things, too. 

Work

For the last few years, I've had summer contracts to do my work as ESOL Program Director. This year, most of us who had those types of contracts in the past didn't get them this year due to budget cuts. After a lot of persistent requests, I did finally get the green light for a reduced budget to conduct our placement testing, all of which needed to be adapted due to the pandemic. We got it done, and maybe we'll make some permanent adjustments based on what we tried. The silver lining was that I did spend less time on admin work this summer than I have in a long time, and I enjoyed the chance to step back.

On the flip side, there were lots of additional meetings, town halls, etc. as we heard updates from our university leadership and faculty union, and we all tried to figure out how to prepare for fall. I think anyone else working in an educational setting (and probably lots of other industries) right now can relate to the deep sense of tiredness and anxiety that comes from the unknown and the ever-changing plans. I chose to engage in some strategic procrastination as far as prepping my fall classes. While that's made for a very busy period of time here in August, I do think it was the right call--my schedule only really started to feel finalized a week ago. 

Meanwhile, with fewer admin obligations and class prep on the back burner, I did prioritize some professional development all throughout the summer. Since I love a good routine, I decided to do "Webinar Wednesdays" and ended up watching about ten webinars throughout the summer. I attended two virtual conferences focused on the current teaching context in higher ed: ASU's Remote Summit and BGSU's Fall Flex (I also presented a session at Fall Flex). And I read a few books, including two I would definitely recommend: Small Teaching and Small Teaching Online. The premise of both books is so important: the idea is that we can make a big impact on the quality of our teaching overall if we consistently make small, intentional, and evidence-based changes. This approach makes so much sense to me. 

reading Small Teaching on the back porch

watching a recorded webinar and taking notes

I do need to say: I feel incredibly fortunate to still have my job, given that my university laid off over a hundred faculty and staff in May. A lot of folks in higher ed are struggling right now, either already having lost work or fearing that a layoff is just around the corner. We're also very fortunate that Mark has kept his adjunct job teaching the BGSU drumline this fall (with major health and safety modifications, of course). I'm super thankful to be part of a faculty union which works tirelessly on our behalf. As for future job security, I should get notification of my renewal or non-renewal for next academic year by December 1. 

Mark working with the bases during band camp

Home

Mark took the lead in cleaning out and reorganizing around the house, starting back in early spring. At the time, I was too overwhelmed with reworking my classes for remote delivery to do much with him, but we did tackle some of the areas we needed to do together by late spring/early summer. It was a big project to pull everything out of closets and reorganize, but it was so worth it! Eventually, I also got around to going through the kitchen, too, as well as some old files and school papers from UNM! We were stuck with some big piles of giveaways that we had to hang on to for a while, but when Goodwill opened up again, I took a full car load over and our place looked great! We've been in this apartment for 8 years now, so it needed some serious decluttering and reorganizing.  

This is what it looks like when you pull out all the stuff from all your closets
and put it in the living room...

kitchen clean out in progress

Mark's rearranged office/game room

Mark's rearranged practice room: I love the way the drums look on the shelves on the left!

Another view of the practice room, showing the marimba
(and, if you look close, a set of marching tenors borrowed from BGSU for the summer).

A car full of recycling and Goodwill donations--it felt so good to get it all out of the house!

We also invested in some upgrades to our patio--replacing our original furniture set with something more comfortable for lounging, and adding a rug and some lanterns. So glad we did this--it's been an extension of our home oasis throughout the summer, and I expect to be out here just as much through the fall. 

the old patio set--serviceable, but not super comfy

solar-powered lantern

new patio furniture and rug

me, chilling out back

On the other hand, our apartment pool did not open this summer, and the fitness center has stayed closed as well. Mark and I have been walking a lot, though, so we are getting plenty of fresh air and exercise. 

one of the houses in the neighborhood started
putting out these daily dad jokes, which I love

yucas and lilies in bloom on the corner by out place

I tried a few new recipes, but wasn't feeling very inspired overall on the cooking front. But we found a couple that we'll probably keep in the menu rotation, and we also ordered a lot of takeout/delivery (no dining in for us, even once it was allowed again). Our favorite local ice cream place, the Sundae Station, has had their walk-up and drive thru windows open, and they've been busier than we've ever seen. That's been our go-to date night, sometimes spending 40 minutes in the line before we drive around to an empty parking lot nearby to eat in the car. I didn't venture out to the Farmer's Market this season, but last week, I got a surprise goody bag with some fresh veggies from a friend's garden--it really made my day. 

backyard goody bag from a friend

Friends & Family

Speaking of friends, I haven't really been seeing anyone in person, aside from a few times when I run into someone while I'm out walking (and we chat for a few minutes from a very good distance). But my potluck dinner group, Common Meal, had started meeting virtually in March, and even though we usually take summers off, we decided to keep meeting every other week. It was good to be connected, but I sure do miss the potlucks! We're keeping it virtual for fall again, but someday we'll share a meal in person again. 

My good friend Angela invited me to take a free online class with her on Coursera: The Science of Well-Being. It was 10 weeks, so we started in May and finished in early August. The idea was to learn more about the content, which we're both interested in, but also to experience online learning from a student perspective. Of course, it's a different type of class than we teach, but still helpful.We talked once a week throughout the summer to discuss the class and catch up on each other's lives, and it was so great to have that regular connection. The class was pretty good overall, and I've definitely continued using some of the techniques we did as homework. 

watching one of the class lectures

I also tried to schedule phone calls to catch up with other people I would have normally tried to hang out with during the summer, and while it wasn't the same as hanging out at the pool or going out for lunch, I'm so glad we did something together. Although this season of staying home has surely been easier for someone introverted and naturally homebody-ish like me, I still need these relationships! And I'm so thankful for all the good friends I have and the various ways we've stayed in touch through the last 6 months or so. It'll take continued effort, and I hope I'll keep reaching out even as I get busier again with teaching. 

We usually end up seeing some family at some point during the summer, but not this year. I've kept up weekly phone calls with my Mom and Grandma, though. We've had a few video chats and phone calls with Mark's family, too. Some big family news this summer: our nephew graduated from high school! And: both of our younger sisters and their husbands are expecting babies this November/December! So we've got two new nephews on the way. Very exciting! 

Rest & Relaxation

I think I've always had a "travel" section in past summers, but we didn't go anywhere this year. We had booked an Alaskan cruise for June, but cancelled it way back in March. We both really missed having a big vacation, so we're even more thankful we went ahead and took that last trip to Disney World in January (it feels SO long ago!). 

Still, I've enjoyed some downtime, particularly when I could get my mind to turn away from all the things going on in the world and escape for a bit. Some of the entertainment I've enjoyed this summer:

Books: Liturgy of the Ordinary, Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic, An American Marriage, a few Maeve Binchy novels, Hearts Unbroken, A Skin Full of Shadows, My Plain Jane, Patron Saints of Nothing (lots of YA literature here again!)

Movies & TV: World of Dance, Disney Nature movies, Taste the Nation, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Blackish, Brooklyn 99, My Spy

Coloring :-)

a page from a scripture coloring book

coloring on the back porch, listening to a podcast, drinking iced tea

Miscellaneous

With everything going on in our world--the virus, the social unrest, the election--I also wanted to use some of my time this summer to become better informed and to learn about people with experiences and backgrounds that are different from mine. It seems like there is a lot of work to do in our country right now, and I'm trying to figure out what my role is. Listening and learning seems like a good place to start. The podcast Pantsuit Politics has very thoughtful hosts and guests. (If that one doesn't suit you, Mark's favorite political podcast is FiveThirtyEight). I've been working my way through some of the books that appeared on various anti-racsist reading lists this summer. If this is an area you might want to explore, White Fragility was a pretty good starting point for me, as is the Teaching Hard History podcast (even if you're not a teacher). And I've been seeking out more work of all kinds (non-fiction, fiction, TV, etc.) by black and indigenous writers and other people of color. It seems that we humans are very quick to make assumptions about the world and about each other, and I think it's really important for our society to develop more empathy. And then, for us to continue striving toward more justice and equity. This all seems rather overwhelming, but I can't look away and pretend there isn't work to be done. I'm also feeling the weight of the upcoming election and the importance of being informed and voting. Here's a good place to get started if you need to research what will be on your ballot or find out how to vote this November. Local Board of Elections offices are also great resources. 

On a totally different note, I had a big hair cut in June, and I've been trying to figure out some new ways to style my short hair. It had gotten so long again, but I wasn't wanting to go to a salon, so Mark and I cut it together. I did some research about at-home haircuts and followed some of the suggestions to make the big cut myself, and Mark helped to even it out. It's not perfect, but the imperfections aren't obvious with how I've been styling it. Might be needing an at-home trim in another couple of months! (Note: all the pics below make it abundantly clear how limited my photography skills are...)

pre hair cut

post hair cut

hair donation with a ruler: 10-12 inch ponytails!

short style: side dutch braid ponytail

short style: mohawk braid ponytail

short style: braided crown (like Ana in Frozen 2 :-)

Mark and I also celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary in July. I'm so glad to be his wife, and that we've had each other to lean on during this strange and challenging year. He's really the best. 

Mark humored me with this anniversary selfie
(holding a framed wedding photo)

So, it's been a strange summer, but there's been a lot of good mixed in with the difficult parts. I'm officially back to work full time tomorrow, and classes start on Wednesday. I'm teaching 3 classes this fall, plus my admin duties. It'll be a lot of adjustments--my workload has changed again, I'm teaching first year writing for the first time since 2016, with a totally new curriculum, and in "remote" delivery (so I won't ever see them in person), and I'm teaching a fully-online graduate ESOL class. I feel fortunate that I can continue to teach/work mostly from home, and that my plans don't need to change too much if face-to-face classes fall apart after the semester begins due to an outbreak. (Of course, we don't know how Mark would be affected in that case, so we're hoping for the best. Meanwhile, all of his teaching is happening outside, with masks on, at appropriate distances, so we feel pretty good about that). 

I heard this Aaron Sprinkle song yesterday on shuffle, and I decided it'll be my theme song for this fall, along with the motto to "do the next right thing" (also a song from Frozen 2). It won't be an easy semester, but we'll get through it, in community, with gratitude, and by the grace of God!