Two Months In One

I've been hemming and hawing about this second post for January. Since December I've been in a frantic strategizing bubble and I haven't really come up for air. That said, December was a wonderfully full month of eating and gathering and visiting with people. It was the first time in my life that I gained holiday weight and I can't say I handled it well. I don't eat all that much as it is, and when you mix in the limited options a vegetarian will find at a potluck in the South, you don't imagine there will be much consumption taking place, but right there at the end of the year I woke up with a little paunch... and I looked at it, and it looked at me, and then I carried on with my day. Surely it would be gone in the morning. 

It wasn't. I looked at it again. This strange, uncomfortable protrusion. "What is this?" I asked Brett. He glanced up at me, bugged his eyes and went back to his book, grinning. "What?!" I shrieked. 
"Nothing. It's nothing!"
"It isn't... I'm fat now!" I wailed. "How can this be? I didn't eat that much! It must be a worm? Maybe I have a tumor?"

The paunch stuck around for about three weeks even after I went back to my regularly scheduled programming. It served as a brusk introduction to the confrontational task of aging, and I didn't like it one bit. 

In honor of the Christmas celebrations, which were glossed over here on this blog, today's post will be accompanied with December photos. 

As for the bubble I've been in - I'm in my last semester of school now. Can you believe it's almost been 2 years? This semester is a thesis-y, capstone project of sorts that you have to present to the school before it's all over. About a year ago I began planning for this class with the writing of a collection of "humorous" essays of real life bits and bobs but with the strategic planting of educational seeds woven into the story. I'm really not smart enough to write such things, but I thought I'd give it a try - and I've been working on it here and there since, waiting for this last semester to really dedicate myself to the task. 

Over this last summer, I had my practicum class, which is a course that makes you actually go practice teaching something to people. The majority of the people in my program are school teachers, so it's easy for them to implement this new content into their curriculum. The minority of us students are wayward drifters with good intentions, so suddenly having to teach people something proves to be quite tricky. One girl brilliantly spent the class developing a course and never actually had to teach it. I thought long and hard about it all, and knowing that I hate being in schools and that a person can't just wander into one and begin indoctrination practices, I made a last minute decision to create an educational video series for the "followers" I have on Instagram. Was it embarrassing and out of left field? Oh absolutely. I would publish a video and then shove my phone down in-between the couch cushions so I could pretend none of it had happened. 

Salt Marsh Monday (that was the name of my series) was much beloved by my advisor who found it "endearingly unique." It had its tiny fan-base, and those handful of people that were really excited about it, made me excited to make them. 
Oh but I was so relived when it was over. How embarrassing was that? I dusted off my hands and threw the practicum course over my shoulder. Check! What's next?

As I prepared to hunker down and write the essays, my brain kept working on my next video series. The Food System Series. I wanted to help people understand how our food system feeds into so many other topics and systems with outcomes and effects... and I just find it all fascinating. I thought about videos on what food labels actually mean and why we have antibiotics in food and this and that, but I couldn't figure out how to do it succinctly and without much background information - because Instagram gives you only 90 seconds to make a point. And moreover, how do I make this something people actually want to watch?

My brain chewed on this while I chewed on Christmas cookies and made merriment with my friends. I figured I'd be mulling this over for a year or so while I focused on finishing up school and looking for a job. I'd get around to it eventually, if I wanted to embarrass myself again. 

But then all of a sudden, it clicked into place. I drew up a map of interrelated food system topics, and organized them into sections, and suddenly I could see it all! I emailed my advisor - which I knew I shouldn't do because she's the kind of person who will take your idea, add to it, and have you thinking you're capable of it - if not also the only person who could possibly do it. "You're right Mary Pat, I should run for congress!" You can present her with an idea and be certain to hear her say, "Yes! And ..." so Brett calls her Yes Anderson.  

She tried to play coy about it, but we both knew it would be more effective and exciting than my writing a collection of essays. So I've spent the last five weeks designing a curriculum, building a syllabus, creating "edutainment" content, and writing scripts for my upcoming video series. Who is this person? 

There are only 12 more weeks of school, so I'm in a bit of a rush for the "series premiere." Filming starts next week. I now own three tripods, a teleprompter and a clip-on microphone. 

What am I doing??

I'm hesitant, tickled, and embarrassed. My plans for this go far beyond my schooling into an actual educational website and course offerings and whatnot, but for now I'm starting with another cringeworthy series brought to you by a queasy and unsure Big Lue.

The Big One's Birthday

It's belated but I'd like to acknowledge the Big One's birthday. He turned 37 which is strange to me because he was 27 when we met, and also I don't feel old enough to be married to someone who is 37. That seems like a legitimate adult age and surely I'm not mature enough for such a relationship. If you're keeping track, we've just been married 5 years. We don't think that counts for much because sometimes even celebrity marriages can make it that far. 

When you grow up watching movies and tv that portray married life as dull and monotonous, you just assume that things must be that way most of the time, and that people stay together because they have enough fun every once in a while that its not worth finding someone new. The husbands are useless and uninterested while the wives are unreasonable and naggy. I've always prided myself on being particularly reasonable (Is that funny to you?) so I was certain that whoever I married would appreciate me for just that. "She's just so reasonable!" he would declare to is friends. Turns out, living with another human only goes on to prove that we are all relatively unhinged.

What was I talking about? Oh yes, the marriage trope. I have not found the media portrayal of married life to be accurate at all. And maybe it's because it's all still new. Five years is still new when you're planning on making it to 105 years together, but I think we're on a good track. I'll circle back on this in 15 more. Brett makes me cackle everyday and sometimes we get mad at each other but mostly we wake up thrilled to see the other one still laying there, emanating their morning breath, anticipating the day the day ahead.

The average day here and Oak and Palm Acres starts around 6:30 when Brett's alarm jingle jangles. He lollygags for a few minutes before getting up to read, stretch, jog, or sit on the dock and stare at the sun. "It's good for your sleep rhythm." At some point he'll drag me out of bed (sometimes by my ankles) and then scamper off to greet the animals. He sings and dances as he gets dressed and makes coffee, while I bundle in a blanket and try to be as still as possible. Once he leaves, all of the animals and I wallow around and wait for him to get back home again. He just has this way of creating fun in all of the mundane bits of your day; grocery shopping, laundry, walking dogs. He's just so fun to talk to.

When he gets home from work the dogs and I get the zoomies. Our day just got good! Brett needs a brief window of time to decompress from work-mode.  "How was your day? Wha'd ya have for lunch? Was your boss in a good mood? Wereya able to focus? Did you get much done? How are you feeling? Have you thought about what you want for dinner? Let me tell you about my day...." 
Over time he has learned that he'd better finish decompressing on the drive home... can't imagine why. 

I think he's just the loveliest. I'm jealous of the people that get to sit near him all day. Do they know what a treasure-trove of jokes and wisdom he's keeping a tight lid on? I like watching him pretend to be professional. He's very good at it. No one would ever know that he usually puts a pair of my underwear on his head when he's folding our clothes. After dinner most nights, he finds clever ways to slap me around. (He doesn't like it when I describe it that way.) He'll shove me over the top of the couch, pile on pillows and blankets and then sit on the pile while I try to get out. He gets wild-eyed and lets out high-pitched "Yii!" sounds. He'll get me all tangled up in my own arms and I'm usually laughing so hard that I feel weak and sick. It's my favorite. 

I'll celebrate the existence of the Big Guy anytime.