Whether the Weather

Sing it with me! It's a round.

Whether the weather be cool or

Whether the weather be hot

Whether the weather be fair or

Whether the weather be not.

Whatever the weather,

We'll weather the weather -

Whether we like it or not!

Then again, planning ahead seems to guarantee that Mother Nature will throw a wrench into the works, or at least a storm our way. No? Chuck thinks so, in this actual email exchange with his loving wife. Yes, me.

Me: We're supposed to get unseasonably warm temps this weekend. Maybe I'll spread compost. When we get the van back, I'd really like a Big Bucket of leaf compost from the brush dump. I plan to spread it in the far back, where the berm will go. It'll cover the barriers I set up last fall and the layer of very-fertile bunny litter and, um, waste.

Chuck: You must stop this kind of talk or else you will be THE cause of a late blizzard. Remember what just happened? All because Pete took the sandbags out of the back of his pickup.

Me: But... but... it's supposed to be in the 50s this weekend. On top of that, one of my coworkers is selling seeds and flats of plants for her daughter's fundraiser. I'll show you when I get home.

Well, people, Chuck isn't one to give up or let anyone else have the last Email word. Here's his response:

We'll be run out of town. The headline will read:

St. Patrick’s Day Cancelled

wisconsin Woman’s Garden Plans Upset Weather Patterns

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Germphobia, Virtual School style

I've used only 1 1/2 sick days this year: one for cataract surgery and one half for an appointment. That's a new record for me. March? No influenza? No sinus infections or even colds or coughs? I used to get almost paranoid about germs. Illness for a classroom teacher can be overwhelming: sub plans, catching up, staying in touch, hoping that all goes well for the substitute.

A few neighboring districts have cut their teachers' sick days to the bone. My district still maintains 10 days per year. One neighboring district even told their teachers they couldn't schedule non-essential surgery during the school year, no matter how many sick days they'd accrued. I planned my cataract surgery so that I'd only miss one day; all worked out well.

In a classroom full of children, I kept my own pencils and pens and even scissors. There was a stock of extras for students to borrow; they never touched mine, and I never touched theirs. I kept hand sanitizer in my desk and rarely touched the germ-collecting doorknobs. Still, I got sick. Cough drops and Airborne had a drawer in my desk along with Tylenol and my own, yes my own never-to-be-shared box of soft, name brand tissues. Teachers attempt to stay hydrated, but within reason because we can only use the rest room when we're not with students.

Teaching online is different. Earlier this year, I offered ten tongue-in-cheek reasons to enjoy teaching online. Now, in the final days of winter, I offer ten reasons that teaching virtual school has been good for my health.

• I still have my own tissue box - with a Green Bay Packers dispenser.
• No one borrows my pencils and pens. We all have our own.
• We don't get substitutes, eliminating the need to come in and spread germs while leaving sub plans.
• No one else uses my computer or my phone.
• I have my own phone, too.
• My coworkers and I are meticulous about cleaning the lunch table before and after eating.
• Hydration is easier; there's a water cooler in our supply closet, and (drum roll) I can use the rest room when I need to without waiting for a recess bell!
• I still take vitamin C and eat oranges with my lunch.
• The box of Airborne in my desk is the kind that gets added to a bottle of water.

And finally, a major reason that teaching virtual school is good for my health:

• I sincerely enjoy my job. I go to school eager to get started every day - even on Mondays.

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Life as we Knew It - are we prepared?

Not so long ago, after the World Trade Centers fell, U.S. residents were coping with a new reality. At one point, Homeland Security advised folks to stock up on duct tape and plastic, supplies to seal the house off from potential chemical or dirty bomb attacks.

At my home? We didn't buy into the fear. We bought wine and cheese instead.

Years later, I trained as a volunteer with our local public health department for the potential, much-feared pandemic flu. After the training, we went home with a stock-the-pantry list in case commerce as we know it shut down. We picked up a few things, but didn't go wild then, either.

Remember the Y2K scare? People picked up generators, oil lamps, and stockpiles of bottled water. I think we had a gallon or two of water. Maybe.

Now I've picked up the book Life as we Knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer. It's the first in a trilogy aimed at young adults. The story begins in an average high school in an average spring. Exam preparation, summer plans, prom, crushes, and changing friendships all go on as usual. Then a big event captures everyone's attention, and I do mean everyone. An asteroid is headed toward the moon, and it's expected to be visible with the naked eye. Families gather outside on a spring night to observe the phenomenon - and then all hell breaks lose.

As the title suggests, life changes dramatically when the asteroid hits its target. Without too many spoiling details, I can tell you that prom and final exams take a backseat to survival. The struggle for food, heat, light, and water pits family against family, individual against individual, and threatens to destroy an entire way of life.

The panic to stock the pantries reminded me of times in the past when pantry-stocking was a hot topic, even a trend. In Life as We Knew It, pantry-stocking may initially look like a panic reaction, but it turns out to be necessary. Typical sources of food are just not available. Starvation is a very real possibility.

Life as We Knew It sets up an apocalyptic world in which every individual and family group must cope together - or risk the worst. This story caught my attention; I looked up the rest of the trilogy and put the titles on my wish list on PaperbackSwap. If you're looking for an easy and entrancing read, or if your young adult reader needs something dramatic to hold his or her attention, consider Life as We Knew It. Stocking the pantry may never feel the same again.

I found my copy of Life as We Knew It through my favorite book swap site, Paperbackswap.com. This review was spontaneous and in no way compensated. I'm looking forward to the next two when they become available.

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Writing is therapeutic. Email? Maybe.

Blogging is therapeutic. Email can be therapeutic as well - sometimes. Within reason. Occasionally. With very little editing, just enough to protect the innocent and not-so-much, here's an example, courtesy of Chuck's challenging day at work.

Me: Northern Wisconsin has 16 inches of snow. Madison and Milwaukee have sunshine.

Chuck: I'm being snowed under sorting out the incompetence from the non-functional.

Me: There must be a Dilbert-style quote or post in there somewhere.

Chuck: Department motto - Our perfection has to overcome their incompetence.

Me: I still like "Engineering: We put the fun in dysfunctional."

Chuck: Now we're applying soothing unction to the dysfunction.

Then we both got busy and went back to work.

On another topic: blogging has been therapeutic, too. A coworker asked how I keep up with everything. She was referring to the fact that I helped out in high school English for a few days, submitted a blog post and wrote a new profile for our national office's PR department, while still somehow managing to do my own job, too. I stopped in my tracks. This is such a dramatic change in life. It's a change back to normal, whatever that is.

One year ago, I was blogging my way through the worst depression of my life. This illness had me knocked out, incapable of working, and barely functioning. Thanks to many professionals and family and friends, I'm now back in the land of the working and the happy and the energetic. Wow, I thought, maybe this is what healthy feels like.

Then a dangerous thought crossed my mind. Would a collection of my posts be of interest to other people suffering the same way I did? Knowing I wasn't alone was such a comforting feeling. Battling the depression demon was long and difficult, but possible. The long and winding road (uphill both ways, of course) can lead to health and success.

Well, readers, with a little revision to protect myself and others, could the Compostermom Chronicles become a journal of healing? Share your thoughts, readers, and I'll start giving it some thought myself.

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