Woke up several times last night. City was off for a long time. Around 2, I woke up to make sure the water was running, and then I couldn't fall asleep for a long time. When I got up, I discovered that sometime in the night I'd managed to pop a rib out of place. Even after stretching, it still hurt pretty bad. Mary and I walked most of the way to school. It was pretty cold and our noses were running. Mary and I had a conversation about why our noses run and our eyes water when it is cold - you would think we would freeze faster that way. Then I decided it must be for the same reason we leave water running at night - so our pipes don't freeze! We had a good laugh at that.
During 5A, I was finishing my explanation of the lesson, "And now, we put the dollar sign. Make sense?" I almost laughed out loud at my own pun. But then I realized the kids wouldn't get it. Where is my corny, pun-loving Dad when I need him?
In the 5th grade lesson, we were looking at the terms used in division problems (quotient, divisor, dividend). Because they can be tricky words to pronounce, I had them repeat each word after me. We turned it into a competition between the rows to see which group could say it in unison. It turned out to be a fun lesson! 6th grade took a long time to settle down. It didn't help that I wasn't feeling my best. By the time I finished all my classes, I was worn out. I walked home and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine.
There was a demonstration in front of the Duhok Provincial Council, which I passed on the way home. I walked on the other side of the street, trying to figure out what the demonstration was about without lingering ... still not sure what it was for. It had cleared up by the time John walked home a couple hours later. I got home and made myself some tea. Then, because we had city, I decided to jump in the shower. (A wet head is no fun when there isn't any heat.) The hot water helped my rib and I felt much better. Took a half hour nap, then graded papers. Mary invited me over for yummy soup at 5:30. She also made homemade bread and blackberry pie! It was a great meal!
When I got home, I wrote a quiz for Thursday, then went to bed early at 8:30. Still took a long time to fall asleep...
Wednesday, January 16th:
I finally realized this afternoon that yesterday was the one week marker of Mom and Caleb's departure. Knowing that helped me understand why these last two days have been so hard. It usually takes a week before I begin processing events. After Mom and Caleb left, I went right into school mode, packing up all my thoughts into the corner of mind for "another time." Now, one week later, the things we did together, the fact that they're not here, and my break in Athens have finally sunk in. Yesterday, I just felt tired, but today, I would've said it bordered depression. I went through the motions of teaching my classes, aware that I should be trying to love on my kids while explaining, re-explaining, and going over the lesson again, but finding it really difficult.
6B was rehearsing a play for Literature during the break, and it was fun to watch them. They were acting out a poem about a 12 year-old boy who takes his first walk with a girl when they go to the drugstore for a candy. It is something we can visualize right away as Americans, but it was interesting to watch them stumble over the boy putting his arm around the girl's shoulder, and later holding the girl's hand. My student pulled his hand into his shirt-sleeve before he touched her, then made sure everyone knew he was only doing it for a good mark. Some of that is typical 12-year-old boy, but part is also cultural.
Even though I interacted with my students during the break and took in everything going on around me, my heart felt like it was a million miles away - not necessarily in America, but caught in a void of emotionless-ness. I made it through all of my classes, but afterwards, a few minutes in the teacher room and I couldn't stay any longer. I walked home, trying to shake off the pensiveness. I made myself finish grading papers before taking a nap. As I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I made the connection between my emotions and the lapse of time since Mom and Caleb's visit. I finally slept and woke up feeling more refreshed. Even though my heart is still heavy, I am consciously trying to process through my time with family and enjoy the break for what it was and how it can strengthen me through the rest of this year.
I went over to John and Mary's for a little while ... Henry gave me a hug! That brightened my day! It was good to be around others. We left for Andy and Lisa's a little after 5, stopping at Holland and then the second-hand "crockery" store. I found a travel mug for 2,000 ID! Excited to bring my VIA Starbucks to school :)
It was Andy's birthday celebration tonight and we had a feast. Andy grilled teriyaki, pineapple chicken on their new propane grill. Mary made salad, I brought roasted potatoes, and Lisa made sauteed onions and mushrooms. Soooo good! I haven't eaten that much in a long time. After dinner, we had German Chocolate Cake (by Lisa) and coffee. I was really stuffed then.
Lighting the candles...
Andy is 30!
After cake, Andy opened presents and we had our Skype call. It was good to talk to the home office, especially after a relaxing evening with the team. Heard a little bit about Andy's trip to Baghdad before we headed home to put Henry to bed. As I get ready to "Publish" this post ... city power kicks off. Hope we sleep warm tonight!
