Teri Parris Ford's Blog

Being Careful...

We enjoyed a nice first week of January with frigid weather, light snow and no kids. Erika warned me not to go back to hot yoga which I did heed. Poor Jessi got the flu after new year's celebrations but tested negative for COVID. I've been told to wear surgical masks at school instead of fabric ones. Once the kids come back, I'm thinking I'll double up with both. It seems so crazy we are back to way life was a year ago, feeling like the pandemic is in full force. Even with vaccines and boosters, life seems a little scary. I am back to going grocery shopping at the crack of dawn in order to avoid people and only getting food to go.  The big question is not just when but how will this pandemic end!?

Happy New Year!

After 2 weeks of together in Rochester celebrating the holidays, Jim and I went out to breakfast and then I drove back to Madison to get ready for life, work, and reality. Living in Rochester is nice, the house is wonderful and being with Jim everyday is fun but it's not quite home yet. I was happy to be back in Madison and even happier to find that school had been put off for 3 days due to the uptick in cases from omicron. I am not excited about going  back to virtual school but I'm hoping it will only be a few days or weeks.

Vacation is almost over...

Jessi and Cody left yesterday. We went out to breakfast in Rochester and then drove up to Minneapolis for the day. We took them downtown to the Nicollet Mall which isn't really a mall anymore. The maze of skyway bridges and paths between buildings in the city is very cool but so many shops had closed or were closed that it was not quite as fun as we had hoped but we got a great walk in-- over 5 miles total for my day. After the xmas weekend Erika and Kelly left Sunday afternoon for a getaway to Minneapolis and then back to Madison. Monika left on Monday morning, leaving Jessi and Cody to spend a few days with just Jim and I playing games, watching movies and going out to eat. It was so much fun!! 

I have a couple of days to clean up after xmas, relax and enjoy the last few days of my vacation. I plan to return to Madison on Saturday after bringing in the new year with Jim. On Monday I return to school without students. Omnicron is keeping students at home. We will go back to virtual classes on Thursday. I'm not sure when kids will return. It will reek havoc on my curriculum! Oh well.

Merry Christmas 2021

Everyone came home late Christmas Eve. Monika drove up from Madison around 3pm, in time for an Indian dinner out. Erika and Kelly drove over from east Wisconsin after a day of festivities with Kelly's family. Jim drove up to Minneapolis to pick up Jessi and Cody from the airport at 10:30pm. By midnight all three girls were happily in bed in our new home. Of course Balt got me up at 5am for breakfast and a short walk but what surprised me was everyone was up by 8am in the living room ready for Christmas to begin. When they were little, they'd get up at the crack of dawn but then once the teens hit, the hour got later and later. We've turned a corner in holiday timing! It was a very festive time. I made 2 batches of cinnamon rolls, one vegan and the other with eggs, butter and milk. The taste test revealed very little difference, the vegan rolls were fluffier, less dense, but just as tasty. I noticed a difference in gift giving. The girls used to be recipients of many gifts mostly given by Jim and I, sometimes other family sent in (grandparents, etc). This morning's gifts under the tree were mostly from them given to each other or to Jim and I. I tried to limit myself with one big gift to each daughter so they ended up with more from each other. Anyway, the morning was wonderful and seemed more about giving than receiving-- a nice metamorphosis. 

By noon Monika and I were working on lunch. We had 3pm movie tickets, so we ended up a bit pressed for time. The meal was so good, everyone was raving that our Christmas meal was so much better than our Thanksgiving meal. The ham came pre-cooked, the turkey did not. While the girls had asked to go to a 6pm showing of Spiderman, I saved over $30 buying tickets for the earlier showing. We were in heated dreamlounger chairs though, which was key. The early show was great, two thumbs up, and it offered us plenty of time for a rented movie at home. Finding a movie we can all agree on is no easy task in our household. We ended up on Krampus, a 2015 horror comedy that hit the spot. Monika was in only because the actors in it. I knew I'd be asleep through most of it, so did not abject to the horror. I have a feeling Krampus will become a traditional part of our holiday! He's a bit more fun to celebrate than St. Nick.

Winter Greetings!

The Extended Version of the Holiday Card 2021!

This year's card was festive and inclusive! "Happy Everything." I love it. Our family has had a really good year. I sent out a few printed holiday cards with a short recap of 2021 on the back, but here is my extended version just for the blog and my friends online. My kids like me keeping the information short and sweet-- sweet it is! But I can't resist giving you more details:

2021 started in the midst of a global pandemic that we are still in, so we were all home, staying as safe as possible. Jim and I were both teaching from Madison. While he had converted an upstairs bedroom into an office, I was going into the school to teach art remotely to students with take-home art kits and all lessons online. 

Erika purchased her first home at the end of 2020. She spent most of the year working with seniors. While she enjoyed her clients, she did not receive great compensation or any benefits. Late in August, Erika asked me about opportunities in the school district. After a short email to my principal, a whirlwind of interviews and paperwork proceeded. Erika became a cross-categorical teacher in September with an emergency license. For me this was the most exciting thing to happen all year. I absolutely love having Erika working in the same building as I do. I love my job and getting to have lunch with Erika once or twice a week is the icing on my work-cake. In January she will begin working on her masters in special education at the UW-Madison with most expenses paid either by the state, the school district, or the university. 

Jessi continues her work as a US Navy helicopter pilot at Norfolk, VA. She is out at sea a couple of weeks at a time. I love visiting her home so close to the beach. I got out there three times this year. After getting the J&J vaccine at the top of March, I was emboldened to visit her for my spring break. I enjoy helping her out with projects and walking Balt on the beach. At the end of May, Jessi and Cody, who had been engaged for a couple of years and dating since their time at the Naval Academy together, were secretly married on a rainy day in Virginia in order for Cody to be ensured a spot in Norfolk as a jet pilot once he finished flight school in Texas over the summer. They both want a big wedding with friends and family; however, between their busy schedules and the pandemic, they decided to elope this year and party later.  We are still hoping to figure out a way to celebrate in a big way soon. Cody moved into Jessi's house in September and we all celebrated Thanksgiving together there.

By the end of spring our whole family was fully vaccinated, offering us all a feeling of being able to visit each other with a lot less fear. Schools were opening up and I welcomed students back into my classroom which certainly made work a lot more fun. With the end of the pandemic in sight, we knew Jim would be back in his classroom in Minnesota in the fall. The unfavorable real estate market made us unsure about our hopes of buying a second home in Rochester, but we got lucky in July and moved in in August. I had stored quite a bit of my mom's household in a Uhaul box over the year, so we were able to move in with most everything needed for the kitchen, dining room, bedroom and bathrooms. It was a lot more than Jim needed or wanted, but it certainly brought me a feeling of home I needed. 

Monika received a scholarship to go back to school in the fall for computer programming. She decided to leave her position at SOM Yoga Retreat Center in Michigan at the end of the summer. It has been quite a treat for me to have her back home, especially because she is a great vegan cook. She brought with her a new pet, Perry Parris, my mom's cat, who had been staying with a friend. Peter, our 17-year-old family cat crossed the rainbow bridge in September, so we are back to three cats in the condo. After a few scuffles, they all seem to be getting along finally. I often wonder if Perry remembers my mom. I know my mom would be so happy to see him so comfy in Monika's room. 

Jim and I turned 56 this year, Monika turned 25, Jessi turned 27, Erika turned 31, and Balt turned 11! While our family has not been touched by illness, the pandemic has affected us all. I keep wondering when things will go "back to normal" and think: we are in the midst of creating a new normal.  We will look back on this transitional time in history, I think, in awe. I personally have so much to celebrate this year and feel so blessed. The gifts of love, peace and happiness have been poured out this past year to our family. May your holiday season and 2022 be filled with love, peace and happiness.

 

I'm on VACATION!!

I came home from work today utterly exhausted and very ready to be on vacation. I don't think I'm busier, especially not as busy as when the girls were in high school. I'm just a lot more tired at the end of my day. There is not a lot of physicality to teaching, (unless you are coach or gym teacher maybe) but there is a busyness that ebbs and flows. For me when yearbook deadlines hit, newspaper layout happens and grades or projects need attending to, things heat up; especially when all of those things happen at once. This week was one of those weeks when there was a lot on the hopper and I am so glad the week is over. Better than just a weekend ahead, I have two full weeks off with no school work to think about. I have so much to prep for for next semester, but I'm not even going to think about it. Note; the photo is for the yearbook spread-- we are all taking staff photos from movie or tv show posters and mine is from "Bad Teacher" 

 

Hello Perry!

We have a new cat in our household! Perry actually came to us for a few days after my mom passed away. Monika had promised my mom to care for her cats but with 4 cats already living in my condo, I could not add a 5th and 6th! So I set out to try and find a home for them that was not mine. Monika also set out to find a home for them, hoping to find someone who would take them in but later give them back to her when she could take them in. Although my mom wanted to keep her brother cats together, we found it impossible to unload 2 cats together. I unloaded one, and Monika found a temporary home for the other one. That was almost a year and a half ago.

When Erika moved out, I got down to 3 cats and then earlier this fall, when Peter was put down, we got down to 2. Monika had moved back home, so she set out to get her grandma's cat back. Her friend had taken such good care of him and was reluctant to give him up but the arrangement was set up to be temporary. Now Perry is with us, 2 other cats; Lewy & Marty, Balt, me and Monika. He's figuring his way. He's come to find that Balt ignores him and Lewy isn't bothered by him. He doesn't get along with Marty but they are getting better. The occasional growls are less and less. Perry isn't a fan of Jim's like Peter (who adored him). He sleeps with me when Monika is out of town, which I find interesting since all the other animals are in the room. I think my mom would be happy. 

It's the Holiday Season!

I drove up to Rochester to help Jim get things decorated. I decided this year to take all of our Christmas decor up to Minnesota and not do any decorating in Madison. It just did not make sense to get two trees and Monika says she just not into Christmas anyway. I will miss having lites up at the condo but I don't want to buy another set. So Jim and I went out for a wonderful lunch and then went to Menards for a few extras. I ended up putting the lites up -- multi colored in front, blue in the back deck. Jim had the tree already set up, so all we had to do was decorate it. I went through all the old decorations and tossed things that were broken or torn. Balt had chewed up a few of my handmade ones and as endearing as that was, I finally threw them out. I have a nativity scene and my mom's and decided to donate them all but Monika asked me to keep them. It was a very nice evening preparing for Christmas. 

December Count Down

Once December hits, the days are short and the count down to winter break is on. This past week flew by and now we only have 2 left. The semester has been really great. After the craziness of last year, this year feels wonderful at times. I love being with the kids with the exception of one or two dumb ones. All of my difficult situations are with students who are not in my class-- kids who wonder in to avoid their own classes. There are record numbers of kids out in the halls, avoiding their classes. I guess after a year and a half of being able to do whatever, it's hard to have sit still for some. Having Erika at work makes life more fun too. This week admin had us pass out a survey to all of our students asking about our classes, how fun they were, if they felt mutual respect in the classroom with the teacher. I had one student comment that they could tell I really liked my job and another say how much they loved the vibe in my room. It was nice to read. Below, I got a photo of my yearbook class for the yearbook page. A lot of kids forgot to wear their sweatshirts but oh well. This year I have the most kids working on pages so we are easily making our deadlines. It may be the best book yet! 

Thanksgiving in Virginia

I knew going into 2020's, I'd be spending way more time on the east coast for a while, most likely for the next decade or two. I left Tuesday late afternoon for Jessi's with Erika. We spent the night in Dayton, OH and arrived in Norfolk by 5pm, Wednesday. Jim left Minneapolis Wednesday at 4pm and arrived at 11pm, but I was passed out in bed by then. Monika had driven up the weekend before. We woke up Thursday, all in the same house for the first time in a long time with a new member of the family-- we now have a son-in-law. Thanksgiving was perfect. Cody made the turkey, Monika made all the veggies (vegan) and I made the bread rolls and gravy. There was tons of food for a leftover meal the next day. Jessi's house Is always fun to visit especially with good weather. It got to 60 degrees, perfect weather for a long walk on the beach with Balt! We went to the Chrysler Museum on Friday with a quick visit to the AT&T store to add Cody to our family plan. 

What is your passion?

I had a student ask me today when I found my passion. I responded with that I am pretty sure I am still looking for it but then proceeded to talk about my journey through grade school to the present of my wanting to be a teacher but always being gravitated to art making for various reasons. I don't think I ever thought I could be an art teacher as a youngster. I did not have an art teacher until I was in 7th grade and I did not connect, but I had a lot of elementary teachers I dearly loved, so I remember wanting to be an elementary school teacher. At some point I recall wanting to be the kind of teacher I never had. -- someone who did not get upset, and rarely said no. I learned early on that did not make me a good teacher, just a nice one. 

I am really enjoying my schedule this year and absolutely love being in the classroom with students. At one point I had planned for this to be my last year of teaching which is no longer my plan. I am enjoying the work too much and am afraid retiring too soon will be a mistake. I have so much I think about doing but wonder about that passion-- maybe I'm still trying to figure it out. (note: the photo is of my practicum student teacher doing a demonstration).

3 Marvel movies in one month!

I finally got to watch Black Widow on Disney+ earlier this month and last weekend Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings went on Disney+, Monika and I watched it the night it was released. Then yesterday Monika and I went to see Eternals for $5 at our local theater. It had been the first time either of had been to the movies in nearly 2 years! I thought it would be crowded since our local theater lowers the price on the Tuesday but it was quite empty! I did not feel uncomfortable at all in my mask (yes, we are still masked in Madison) since I'm pretty much living in one during the work week anyway. Of the three movies, I really liked Shang-Chi the most but all three were very entertaining! I do enjoy a Marvel movie!! I'm usually waiting for months to get in one good Marvel movie, so to see three within weeks of each other seems extraordinary. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get to Black Widow (which came out in July) other than I knew I did not want to go to the theater to see it. I was reluctant to go last night but Monika was very eager to see Eternals. There were lots of names I was eager to see, esp Selma Hayek, who is my age playing a superhero. Monika was very excited to see the first Mavel movie gay kiss on screen and we were both thrilled about a most diverse cast. We both gave the movie a big thumbs up.

Boosted

Well, birthday week was a bust-- poor Erika got sick this week. She ended up taking her birthday off work (her first day off since being hired at JMM). She had to get a COVID test to return to work. Luckily the rapid test came out negative but she has to have  a "real" test that takes 24 hours for results so she got to take Friday off too. I'm sure she needed the extra day anyway to fully recover, but it meant not being able to celebrate with her. 

I got my booster today at lunch and made sure not to plan anything over the weekend just in case I had a reaction. I decided to get the Moderna boost since I read that it gave the best efficacy for the J&J shot. So far so good-- no side effects yet. 

It snowed lightly today-- the first snow of the season. I came home after what felt like a long week and made a big fire. Monika and I watched Survivor on Paramont+ then Shang Chi on Disney+. It was a very nice start to my weekend!

Birthday Week!

November birthday week gets kicked off with Balt!! Balt turned 11 yesterday. That's about 77 in dog years, although I read on a dog website, he's only 72. He got a check up a couple of weeks ago and he's pretty healthy, although he has a shakey leg syndrome that-he gets pain meds for that keeps him able to go for walks. With Monika home now, he continues to get a lot of attention throughout the day. I wonder how I will deal with his passing. He truly is my best buddy. 

I had Monika send Jessi a big box of Mary Kay supplies. Poor Jessi has a busy work week and will not have time to do much celebrating until next weekend. I'm looking forward to traveling out to her place for Thanksgiving. I'm taking Erika out for yoga and out to dinner. Since she's been working at Memorial with me, we've been able to spend many lunchtimes together. It's been pretty fun having her at work with me although I only see her at lunch.

Halloween Weekend in Rochester

I'm at Jim's for the Halloween weekend with wonderful weather. He had a party with work friends he wanted me to come to last night. I got Patty to cover my 7th hour photo class on Friday so I could leave early. I rolled in to Rochester with just enough time to change and get Balt settled before running out to the party which was out on a farm. I enjoyed meeting (or re-meeting) many of his colleagues. I'd been to a wedding 4 or 5 years ago where I had met many but that had been so long ago. They had a big bonfire which was fun (and warm) but by 10pm I was starting to feel woozy on my feet-- so tired and I had refrained from alcohol. Jim happily cut out early and I was in bed by 11pm. Balt let me sleep in until almost 6am. At the new house I'm able to enjoy a morning fire with just a flick of a switch-- the gas fireplace is not quite as warm but still cozy. Jim and I enjoyed a long walk today on the state trail (3 1/2 miles) and then I took Balt an another walk later in the day after lunch. I made chili and we watched 1971 on Apple TV.

Keeping on Keeping on

Well, there's not a lot to report... good weather, fall colors, house cleaning, yoga, art making. My painters just started a watercolor still life, so I'm making one (see beginning outlines posted here). I'm doing a bowl of pears with an apple, knowing it's something my mom would have enjoyed. I also have been making small clay gnomes for Jessi. I've started my xmas shopping. Monika continues to work on upgrading her room and is almost done. We need to hang her new shades and she wants a few more furniture items. She left her full sized bed in Michigan, so eventually she'll go pick that up and change out the twin. At that time, I'll take the twin bed to Jim's house in Rochester. Eventually everything is going to have to move there and I'm not sure how that can happen, but there's no need to worry about it for a few years. I'm enjoying the school year-- our COVID numbers are low, kids are engaged and all is well.

HoCo 2021

We got to celebrate, what felt like an almost normal homecoming week! It was great fun having Erika here to experience it all too! 

Keep it Positive!

I'll be honest, I've been trying to live with overt positivity. About 20 years ago I learned a very personal lesson about "faking it until you make it." It works and well. Within months of deciding to just get through my depression by pretending to be happy, I actually started feeling happy and it kind of surprised me how really happy I felt. This year, after a wonderful summer, I knew this school year would be challenging. We had so much freedom last year working online with classes meeting every other day and we enjoyed long periods of breaks between. Going back to work in the building with daily classes and only 5 minute passing time, while "back to normal" seems exhausting at times, but I refuse to admit it. At some point early on I decided just to take it all in stride and be happy, obnoxiously happy at times. At staff meetings we have these one word "check ins" that I think are dumb. Teachers say they are exhausted, overextended, etc. and I just come in with "happy" or "great" >> syruppy positivity that is somewhat real and kind of fake. If life is not awesome on Monday, it is by Friday.

I've been starting my mornings with Shaun T in the morning on Beachbody and boy, if I don't feel awesome before the workout, I do after. He's crazy positive and I love it. I'm down to my pre-Covid weight, so I had great success over the summer with all the swimming and yoga and eating vegetarian as much as possible. It's going to be a challenge to keep it all off but with Monika home, it should be easy to keep a vegan lifestyle. We'll see.

Grace got married!

We have had wonderful weather to start the autumn season off this past week. Today after a year delay, Grace had her wedding outside at a barn in Spring Green. It really was perfect weather and a beautiful site. She had a whole Memorial table with all the art teachers, her fellow Avid teacher and her co-bike club coach. It was so much fun to spend the evening with friends socializing. Both Jim and Monika came with me, and all my art teacher friends had their spouses/sig other with them as well, which made it even more fun. I was so happy for Grace and even got weepy during the ceremony which was so beautiful and completely absent of all religion. The reception include a lot of vegan food which made Monika very happy. While there was dancing, there was no DJ-- instead everyone wore headphones and listened to 1 of 3 choices of music. It was kind of weird but still fun. 

Today I turned 56

While I'm definitely a middle aged woman, BUT I'm not a senior citizen for another decade or so! I see myself looking older (esp my skin and added grey hair) BUT I feel good. I got all that covid-19 weight off over the summer and I'm starting the school year in a good place. I love being at work with students again!

Yesterday was Erika's first day at work as a special ed teacher. She's having a very different experience in the classroom than I normally have. She's in a science room in the morning and I think, in a study hall in the afternoon. She got to go into Grace's special art class today and she loved that! It is so fun to have her here in the building with me telling me about her day during lunch. Today I had a small party for my yearbook class outside with hot dogs and cake! The kids were excited since it was a surprise. Tomorrow Jim will take me out to eat after school and we will celebrate all weekend!