Teri Parris Ford's Blog

Oh Canada!

We spent the week in Canada-- flying in to Calgary then taking a chartered bus to Canmore. After a few days of exploring Canmore we took a public transit 20 minutes to Banff and spent a couple of days at a bed and breakfast there. Banff was by far more crowded and touristy but we were there over the weekend. Both are crazy beautiful with autumn weather and sunshine, hardly any rain. I think we will be back.

We are back in Canmore for one more day and it's back to Minnesota on Monday for an extremely busy week.

Birthday Weekend

I turn 59 on Monday! I've been enjoying my last week of 58. Since I have so much more time on my hands, I spend a lot of it on exercise. My apple watch has noticed and lets me know. My average workout time prior to August was 45 minutes a day. Once school started, it's gone up to 1 hour and 20 minutes. I've always wanted to learn more about pilates, so I'm finally taking classes as well as keeping up with yoga. I also added a weight lifting regime but I'm only doing 2x a week (I need to step it up to 3).

I found out that Jim had a whole DVD collection of his own. I thought I had managed to digitized our whole movie collection and add it to my Plex server only to find that Jim has 6 books filled with mostly educational and historical movies. I began the process of transferring them this week. I got through 1 book-- so I probably won't finish until the end of the year at this rate but boy, is my Plex account expanding. I currently have almost 2500 movies and 50 TV shows saved and it's quite the eclectic collection. Ultimately the goal is to be rid of all hard copies of the hundreds (thousands) of videos, DVDs and Blurays we have purchased through the decades!

It's A Lot

It's hard to share how things are and a lot of people ask. Retirement is wonderful and I shouldn't complain. I am truly blessed to have worked for 26 years at a job that would continue to pay me into my old age. Everyday I have the challenge of deciding how to use my time and there is so much to choose from. Emotionally it is difficult to be away from students, from my friends and from a job that was very meaningful with so much connectivity. Most of what I do now effects only my family and I know they appreciate me and the things I do for them. On Friday I went into work to have lunch with Joe and Erika and visit the department with new signage and schedules. I got to connect with the teacher that replaced me (he was very excited to show me his new label maker and the way he had organized everything). It was so fun to see the school but emotional too. It will take time to find my new normal. 

Photos above> Jim is back from Korea and we are enjoying late night fires (and early morning walks), Monika had a college friend stay with her and Erika at Madison, Jessi is in NV, and I continue to visit the condo often usually to work on things (the sink started leaking and the tub is leaking again). 

Things I accomplished this week: I'm officially on Jim's medical benefits and made an appointment with a new doctor, painted my bathroom, got my nails done, set up two new raised garden beds, got the heater tuned up, power washed the deck steps, temporarily fixed a leak in my condo sink (the sink needs to be replaced), did loads of laundry (washed towels and curtains at the condo), attended several yoga classes, started on a weight regime 2x week and watched the second season of House of the Dragon.

 

All the Time in the World

I have a lot of time on my hands and since school started, I have even more. Now that Jim is back to work, back to teaching, I feel the oddness of my freedom. Jim only teaches on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I take him into work so he doesn't have to take the bus and send him in to work with a great homemade lunch. I then make my way to the gym. I took a pilates class Tuesday, a yoga class on Thursday. I use the the treadmill, get in the pool, in the steam-room or sauna and on Thursday, I made an appointment with trainer to start using weights. On Mondays and Wednesdays, Jim and I have time for coffee and a long walk. On Friday Jim had to go into St. Paul so I went shopping and enjoyed some time in a coffee shop waiting for him. We went out to lunch to a wonderful Mexican place in St. Paul before making our way home. Jim caught a cold on the way back from Korea which I caught from him later in the week. It's kind of nice to just be okay with being sick-- as there's nothing to really miss out on. It's a little too leisurely. I have a very long list of things to do to keep me busy, so everyday I can tackle the things I want to do. It's a very weird feeling but I'm getting used to it. Retirement is nice! Photos: I spent time replacing all the outlets and light switches in the Living and Dining rooms, Douglas Trail, Garage workshop.

Last Day of August!

A friend of mine asked if I was having fun. I have been working a lot on projects, mostly in the Rochester house but I also have a lot of work to do on the condo in Madison. As I have aged I've become very goal orientated but fun is planned here and there mostly with family. But for the past couple of weeks, instead of concentrating on relaxing and enjoying my summer before school starts, I have been staying as busy as possible, working on tasks to keep me from feeing the pain of not going back to work. It's wonderful AND painful at the same time. I love that I am getting paid (via Wisconsin Trust Fund) to not go to work, but I loved my job and the people I worked with. I really am missing them (mostly Joe). 

Things I accomplished this week: Erika and I looked at condo in Madison and she put a bid and got it! She closes in October, so will be moving out of my condo. I finished my stairs in vinyl which was the culmination of my new flooring adventures. I added a matching backsplash behind my new inductions stove and replaced my sink. The new one (from Costco) is deeper with only one big basin. I had the backyard faucet replaced (it busted two winters ago) finally and had an electrician come in to look over some power issues I had in the garage. Oh, I got some great photos of the yard in Madison after doing quite a bit of clean up there. I'm hoping they will help with sale in March.

A Time of Transition

Jim's in Korea for a couple of weeks, so I was home alone this week. It was the first time I felt the angst of wanting to go back to school. Being alone is nice for a few days but after a while it gets hard without a dog. I lived alone for a while, but I always had Balt. He made it livable. Jim and I have decided to hold off on getting pets so that we can travel but I would like to get a dog again. 

Things I accomplished this week in Rochester: started watching all the X-men movies in chronological order (not release)-- got thru 8/13, painted the extra bedroom with pink, added 1/4 round to edges of flooring, ordered and installed new patio screen doors, removed the old dishwasher, ordered and installed a new one from Costco, removed my old backsplash and tiled a new one, installed a new toilet seat and all new guts to fix a leak, ordered and installed a new fridge and stove, and mowed the lawn.

Before the week was up, I decided to go back to Madison earlier than originally planned. I spent a day at school, met with a new teacher who had questions for the new school year and I learned how to use a new printer. I had a lot of fun spending the day at school for the first time without any sense of stress since I had no work that had to be done. It certainly scratched the itch I was having. The rest of my time in Madison is to work on the condo. There is so much to do there. Having Monika and Erika living there complicates things a bit but it is nice to stay with them. This trip I worked on cleaning the hall walls and touching up the paint. I also hope to have time to work on the garden, weeding, and cleaning. I need to take photos of the garden and yard this fall since I plan to sell at the end of winter. 

 

Eternal Summer Week 10

Yesterday we celebrated Jim's very last day of summer vacation. While I am living my eternal summer bliss, he goes back to school after Labor Day. This morning he left for 2 weeks of army exercises in Korea and returns a couple of days before school starts. In his mind, his summer is officially done. While I'll miss him, I am very excited about all the projects I have lined up. On my first day home alone I went to an ealy yoga class and then spent the day finishing the last corners of the floors in a couple of closets and my bedroom. I still have the stairs and finishing touches (1/4 round on ends that aren't perfect) to do but it feels done.  

Between all the work that needs to be done in the Madison condo and the projects in the MN house, I will have my hands full for the rest of the year! I made a document that I shared with the girls with all the projects we need to do in the condo with the hope that they will help me. The biggest project ahead is tiling the bathroom but I don't plan to start that until after school starts. I will need lots of work to keep me busy in September when I feel the pain of not starting teaching!

Eternal Summer Week 9

We spent last week at Song of the Morning ranch preparing for a big weekend festival now called Spirit & Nature.  My job was to get up at 5am and make the coffee for everyone and just help out as needed. In exchange I got to enjoy yoga classes and nature. Monika first came to ranch as an "yoga fest" intern when she was in college. Her connection continues to be strong after working for the organization over the pandemic and now just being a volunteer. She spent the winter remaking and updating their website. This was my first stay in the community (as opposed to staying on the ranch) so it was a bit more comfortable. I was disappointed that my trip to California was cancelled for a variety of reasons, but it all worked out quite nice to spend the time in Michigan. 

We drove back to Madison on Monday. I had a couple of appointments on Tuesday and then made my way back to Rochester. It was so nice to be home again and spend time with Jim. I had flooring to continue. I finished Jim's office and my walk in closet. All that is left is my bedroom and the stair which I hope to finish by the end of the month. While I have a lot of projects to work on in Minnesota, I have about 6 month to get the condo ready to sell. We will meet with a real estate stager next week to get a list of what to do (although we have a good idea of what needs to happen). I had hoped to unload the condo to a neighbor as-is this fall but the deal fell through. I'm renting it to Monika and Erika in the meantime. Both are glad to have the extra time to figure out what they are doing next. 

Eternal Summer Week 8

On Thursday Erika and I spent time together looking at homes and just enjoying summer, then on Friday Monika and I spent most of the day driving to Song of the Morning in northern Michigan. We've been helping out to prep for a festival this coming weekend with lots of time in nature. So far I've paddled a sink hole, Lake Michigan and rolled down the Pigeon river in an inner tube. It's been a blast. Mostly I've enjoyed my time with Monika- everyone at SOM loves her so much. I'm only here as her assistant. 

Eternal Summer Week 7

I got back to Rochester last Wednesday and enjoyed a few days of summer fun, going to the pool, bbq-ing, early morning walks and late night tv shows. I spent most of the day on Saturday doing yard work, weeding, trimming, etc. On Sunday we started working on the upstairs flooring. Jim does the hard work of removing carpets while I sweep up and help with removing staples. On Monday I started laying down the vinyl planks. The work seems to be easier and a bit faster as I am now quite experienced after doing the downstairs area. I put flooring under all the appliances in the kitchen and cut my thumb pretty badly moving the stove. I am pretty proud of the great work I did around my angled island. I finished the dining room, kitchen, living room and hallway today. I am leaving for Madison tomorrow and spending next week in Michigan with Monika. I will have to finish the bedrooms upstairs in August. I will have to figure out what to do about the stairs in the entry way. I was thinking of tile but memories of my mom's tile stairs gives me second thoughts. If not tile, then either wood or more vinyl? I will happy when the flooring is finished and I can start working on other projects-- there is always plenty to do!

Eternal Summer Week 6

Well, I was back in Madison to close out Erika's condo. We had the official closing on Monday, but spent the weekend moving and cleaning. In the 3 1/2 years Erika lived in her Fitchburg condo, she had collected quite a bit of stuff. Much of her things were donated or stored since she is moving into my fully furnished condo. Thankfully we have a big basement! Between my and Erika's moving, there has been a lot of clearing and cleaning in our family, which I think is great. Since my parent's death, I have made great efforts to live with less and it's hard. I have made daily trips to St. Vinnie's donation center this week. On one trip I took 8 old suitcases--in one I found a brand new swatch watch I purchased 20 years ago in it and I remember going crazy looking for it! I ordered a new battery for it and will let Monika sport it.

I capped off my time in Madison with an evening out with Monika, dinner out and a show at Overture! I love it when Monika invites me to Broadway shows. It was a great evening. I woke up the next morning and finally got my bed strapped to the car. Once in Rochester, I stacked it on top of the bed we already have but will eventually bring that one back to Monika, who purchased it while living in Norfolk in Virginia-- so yes, our beds have done quite a bit of traveling.

While I am really looking forward to settling down in MN, I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of back and forth to WI as we prep the condo for sale and Erika begins to look for a house to purchase. My list of things to do is crazy long: remove old drywall in basement (red room), add french drain to corner of condo, replace basement window, work on garage entry, fix kitchen flooring (loose), paint behind the fridge, all new trim downstairs, finish upstairs closet (shelf, rod, patch), paint both stairwells, finish fireplace curtain, landscaping. << all that is before meeting with the realtor!

Eternal Summer Week 5

I am finally back home... home is now Rochester. It feels like home now. I still have a few things in Madison to bring over, but the majority of my things are here. There is still much to do to make it more mine but the process will be ongoing maybe until I die.

We drove back from Virginia on Sunday-- always the best day to travel across the US-- and arrived in Madison in good time but left for Rochester the next morning. Monika needed help removing the upstairs bathroom vanity which she is single handedly re-doing (just paint and fixing up in general) before Erika moves in. Monika is extremely thorough in her work, making sure to move big items to paint behind (something I don't always do). I will go back to Madison later this week to help her finish it up. Erika closes on her condo next Monday and begins her search for a new home in Madison, which will be difficult for her budget. Luckily she has time-- still, the market continues to be crazy. I am hoping to sell my condo while the condo market is still inflated in Madison. Between the two homes (Madison condo and Rochester house), I have my hands full with things to do.

Quite honestly, I have not felt any time of "leisure retirement" time on my hands yet. I started getting the shaky eye thing in May and it still comes and goes as my stress level increases or ebbs. This summer is significantly more stressful between both me and Erika moving and all the changes included in my retirement. I hope things will settle by the time school starts. Still I have made time to sit by the pool every so often. Luckily I have found an outdoor pool here in Rochester. It isn't as nice as the Shorewood Pool but it's just as restorative.

Eternal Summer Week 4

We left for Madison on Saturday to pick up a bunch of Jessi's stuff and then on to Virginia on Sunday to spend the week's at Jessi's place while she was away in England for a wedding to watch her cats and enjoy the beach. We enjoyed a couple of days with her before she left. I love kicking off my summer at her place in order to get beach time in, especially now that I don't have time on the west coast anymore. I think I still love the Pacific Ocean a bit more (not as many jelly fish and more dolphins) but the Atlantic is warmer. Since arriving we have gone a long walks every morning. The last two summers I have come, I have not had any time with Jessi as she had been deployed. It is so nice to have her state side and enjoying a bit more time on her hands. She only has a couple of years left of her Naval obligations but will have to decide whether to re-up or start over. I'm just hoping she stays close to a beach (selfishly). 

Whenever visiting Jessi's home, I try to get out into the yard to pull weeds and pretty things up. Usually Jessi has a few projects for me as well to keep me busy but I've been so busy since school got out that is really nice to have some down time, so other than ocean walks and playing with cats, I don't have a lot of stuff on my list of things to.

Eternal Summer Weeks 2 & 3

Oops, somehow 2 weeks went by since the last time I wrote. I don't know how that happens-- time just keeps speeding up. My days all seem so short sometimes. I love my mornings and wake up early to enjoy them but by mid afternoon I'm usually spent and get little done after 4pm. Not everything on my list of things to do got done, but close. I'm not spending as much time as I'd like working out but a lot of what I need to do is quite physical, so that counts. Replacing all the carpet downstairs with vinyl was how I spent most of week 2. Jim had a workshop in Detroit and a conference in the Twin Cities, so we've gotten some travel in. I did not stay for the full week of his university conference in Minneapolis because I just had too much else I wanted to do. I can see just in my first 3 weeks of retirement that I could spend a lot of my time just catering to Jim's schedule. He's a lot busier than I am. I am hoping once he retires that will subside. 

The most exciting thing to happen in the past 2 weeks was the art department retirement party. The team put together a grand dinner for me at Joe's. The weather was amazing and they went all out, created custom t-shirts and an artist poster to add to the walls of VPM, which was quite moving for me. I felt so lucky to have worked with my colleagues as long as I have. The 4 teachers who gathered to celebrate me (Geof, Grace, Joe & Josh) I count as my closest of friends and hope to continue to partner with in my future.

Eternal Summer Week 1

For the past few years I've numbered my summer weeks, trying to get at least one project or trip in every week until school starts. With only 10 weeks to enjoy, each week was pretty precious. It does feel kind of weird knowing my summer will never come to an end although I am very aware the weather will change. For this very first day of my summer vacation I enjoyed being a part of graduation as an honor marshall with my seniors and then went to a dear friend's daughter's grad party. On Sunday morning, I packed the car as full as I could get it and moved up to Rochester. I wasn't able to fit everything but I'd already have enough stuff to live there without much else. There is so much to do, it will take months before I am feeling like I have time on my hands. I've heard from other retirees that it's very easy to fill one's schedule. 

Projects for this week-- start laying down vinyl flooring in the basement, start a composting system, create a raised garden bed for herbs and strawberries, weeding, fix trimmer, set up workbench in garage, set up a new garbage deck on the side of the house in order to get the cans out of the garage, join gym in Rochester to start swimming again, power wash the deck, figure out where to put all my shoes, buy and build new shelf in bedroom, organize spices & drugs cabinet, and hang art work! Oh, and I finished my 1 Second Everyday video >> here it is!

Celebrate!

I had retirement parties on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Monday's party was my art show closing and it was by far most meaningful event I have had in years! All three girls and Jim attended as well as my teacher friends and other friends. Old and new students came by as well. A group of girls gave me a Stanley cup after I spent most of the year eyeballing all of their fancy cups. I got several plants including two beautiful orchids, lots of gift cards and tons of love!

I finished my grades last Friday so that I could focus this week on just extracting myself from the school. Taking down my show (see photos here) was by far the biggest thing I needed to attend to. Since the pandemic I have really had to keep my personal items at home, so my clean up wasn't too bad. Today I spent most of my morning connecting folks with my replacement via email and forwarding paperwork and files. Tomorrow is my last staff meeting and then I am all done! People keep asking how I am doing. I'm ready for summer. I won't feel weird or different until the fall when school starts.

Retirement Questionaire

Below is the expanded version of my Sword & Shield interview in the special senior June issue:

What's your name? Teri Parris Ford

How long have you been working at Memorial? 21 years at Memorial, 26 in MMSD

What is your role/position here at Memorial? Art Teacher, Yearbook & Newspaper Adviser. A long time ago I was the Junior class adviser and a student government adviser. 

What advice do you have for the students here at VPM? Don't take high school so seriously. Have fun, enjoy your family and friends, and being young. Make priorities, keep balance in your life. Exercise regularly and stop eating junk food!! Take good care of your body and build positive relationships in your life. Use your phone to assist you. Let it help you but understand that excessive phone internet use will only increase your isolation and make you more depressed (believe me, there is a ton of data about this).

Who is your favorite coworker and why? I love working with the art department peeps, they are all so wonderful but Joe Frontier gives the best hugs! I should share that Mr. Herman (retired 5 years ago) called and encouraged me to apply for the job here. I am so thankful that he did.

What is your most embarrassing moment at Memorial? I have few doozies that I do not want in print! I've been very lucky to live close to the school. I have had to run home to change clothing on more than one occasion. 

Our yearbook theme this year is "Capture The Moment," what are some of your favorite moments here at VPM?  Too many to share here-- I have had a lot of really great memories. I loved traveling with my colleagues and students! Going to Europe (twice) and to Chicago almost annually were among the most memorable. Anytime I am stuck in a small space with any of my colleagues, it’s a good time. 

What are your post retirement plans? I will be spending time with my family, writing and working on a lot of projects! I am looking forward to finally living full time with my spouse, who works in Minnesota. We have had to live in separate cities for 15 years because I had my dream job in Madison and he had his in Rochester. In a lot of ways I feel like I'm getting married again. It's very exciting. It will certainly be nice not to have to commute back and forth as much, although I am planning to visit a lot. I have several projects at Memorial I need to continue. While my role as art teacher is ending, I know I will continue on as artist and photographer.

 

Memorial Weekend

I spent the long weekend in Rochester. Students got a 4 day weekend but teachers had PD on Friday. I was able to get away early to pack up my car with a load of stuff to take up north. Jim and I spent the weekend working on projects-- prepping floors for new vinyl, cleaning out the garage, weeding & adding a border edging to our landscaping. It was busy and I have a feeling I will be quite busy for a year or two getting the house up to how I want it. As most homeowners, maybe I won't ever be finished with all the things I want to do but what is the hurry? I have the rest of my life to work on all the projects (and there is quite a list). Jim and I got in a bike ride. It's the first time I've been on a bike for maybe a decade and yes, I'm quite sore. 

Only 4 class periods left of teaching this year and maybe forever for me. It's a very weird feeling!

8 class days left...

I walked into work slowly. I had a load of stuff to donate back to my classroom after cleaning out my garage workbench (mostly used office supplies). The yearbook will be delivered this week and the Senior issue of the school newspaper needs to get finished this week. I feel like I have everything under control but spent last week sick and doing very little at home. That's where all the work is, getting the condo cleaned up and ready for me to move out. I have accumulated quite a bit of stuff in the past years and have a hard time tossing it. Combining two households is no easy task -- since I'm moving in with Jim who's house is complete and in no need of any of my stuffs! I keep telling myself I have all time in the world to figure out the personal stuff and am just concentrating on the work load, which is quite manageable. 

Celebrations start this week!

Mother's day is always a wonderful when I can spend time with my daughters. I drove up to Rochester Friday evening and spent Saturday working on the yard and replacing my mailbox there. I came home early Sunday for a brunch with Erika and Monika which was wonderful. We took some stuff to Erika's place as she is preparing to sell her condo. The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy busy.

My first retirement celebration is on Thursday. The school district invited me and my family to a dinner. Then the rest of the partying happens in June (I have 3 parties in a row). I had to turn in a photo and some words of advice. I asked Monika to take a special photoshoot of me after getting a haircut. Here are the words I sent: In my 26 years of teaching, I have truly enjoyed teaching student artists but they have come and gone through the years. What has remained throughout my tenure was the constant support and friendship of my colleagues. Like iron sharpening iron, those I have worked with have not only helped me to become a better teacher but a better person. I would encourage cooperation any time possible and to find mutual support in your teaching communities.