A New Normal

 

Baby fine hair recently dyed red,

strands cut sharply at her chin,

not a single white one sneaks through,

tangles in the back congregate where her head laid against a hospital pillow all day.

Her eyes closed; finally,

resting peacefully,

curtain pulled all the way around her bed,

offering a layer of insulation from

busy voices in the hall.

A bench in the window,

I figure out how to turn off the light,

I stretch my legs out, lean back, and close my eyes tight

Inevitable Stumble

Centimeter high

pungent yellow ovals

roasting on the forest floor,

blanketing a narrow single track

Up and up,

bays and oaks climb

provide air conditioning

where there is none in the East Bay.

One foot in front of the other,

flushed face leaping an incline

intoxicating aromas,

fall in July scatterings

distract from the slippery floor.

An angry root jumps out,

seizing my foot with all its might

my arms and legs take flight

thankfully not over the side.

Palms, hips and knees

slide into gravel,

powdery brown dust

poofs upwards

Many a time, a root hath tried

to bring me down from my frolick, 

I always stumbled back onto my feet 

but this root had conviction

using its depth to yank me down

Lying flat,

the sting sets in

 

Sienna Sagas

 

Oceans of separation

Generations can be,

But a ride in the car,

is a chance to reconvene

Front seat, back seat, middle seats

Mini-van filled,

Babka, Djajo, Zennen, Mom, Dad, and Finn

sardines ready to get peeled

On the Likelike highway,

jungle on both side

locked in for conversation 

an hour long ride,

Phones tucked away

ear buds, too

asking questions

listening for clues

Individual needs

wildly diverse;

grains of dust 

churn together in the universe 

Topics ebb and flow;

gas prices, college majors,

the comings and goings of

world dictators 

sunscreens get applied;

SPF 30, 50, 70

Spray-on mousses, reef-safe, zinc-based

slippery to pasty 

Debates take place on what to do;

Boogie board? Fish? Snorkel? Play soccer? Pickleball? Ultimate frisbee? Hike? Make Pyrohy? Do some Yoga????? 

They reach a consensus,

Today swim and snorkel,

munch on sandwiches,

Tomorrow we will take to the jungle!

Get into a fine kind of bungle!

What a fortunate crew,

tied together like glue

Snug in the car,

On their way to the Mar

 

 

Pastimes for Global Warming

What to do? What to do? When the temperature outside peaks over 100, and it’s way too hot to play pickleball? …. (Eager hand goes up) I know! I know! 

Take your wet laundry for a vacation outside in the sunshine! Your tee shirts and towels will thank you profusely for a super fun time outside hanging out together on a line, or over your balcony, blowing here and there, sometimes falling down in your flatmates patio! It’s all part of the ride! Your socks and underwear loooooovvvvee stretching out on your lawn chairs and wicker couch and experiencing water undergoing its liquid to gas phase transition, all the while, feeling philanthropic over their donation of a bit of moisture to the desiccate air. Your job is just finding an open spot for all of your articles of clothing, it’s kind of like playing chess with your clothes! Imagine the meditation already as you take each piece out of your basket, one by one, smoothing them out over the balcony, taking notice of the chirping birds and squirrels, noticing, oh my gosh!, that you have new neighbors (cool!). And! Then, you can go inside and forget about them all day! No worries about your flatmate spewing swear words into the air at your - pile of clothes left in the dryer, that, by the way, are not even dried after 90-freakin minutes of spinning around in the ringer! So, instead of finding all of your clothes half-dried and mildewy, lying on the laundry room floor, you have the JOY to discover them happy, smiling and dry (albeit a bit crunchy), hanging on your balcony outside. 

Riches

For those of you shying away from a career in teaching, there are many riches that you may not realize are to be found in this field:

• Water Bottles  left behind in your classroom at the end of the school year - most of the time these are never asked for after summer break!
• Starbucks Coffee Cards be ready to treat your friends and family to coffee, espresso drinks, and banana bread after final exams! 
• Reminders to do your attendance. These come at the generosity of the office staff. 
• Letters of Recommendation you will have 100s of these in your tool chest to whip up whenever needed for college, internships or Eagle Scout awards. 
• Current Teenage Verbiage - “time to lock-in”, “facts!”, “that’s sus”, “skibity toilet”, “clean” - write them down and reflect on your aging process over the years of slang traveling through your ears
• Periodic Tables - science teachers score here! Envision 100s of these babies lying around your house and classroom. Think about the wallpaper or collage potential.
• Calculators - oh yeah! Borrow 1,2,3 or more! Bring them home and tap away, make precise predictions of your grocery bill or make that a 15% tip at the restaurant instead of the 18, 20, and 22% buttons only offered on all of the cafe and restaurant check machines. 
• Bladder of Steel - you will see what I mean about this. You will develop this ability to feel no pain or sensation of needing to pee until you are just about to go to bed and realize something else needs to happen first.
• Steps - you won’t be planted in a desk. After circulating from table to table all day you will be a step monster! Impress all your friends with your mileage. Go ahead and splurge on that Apple Watch so you can know exactly how many steps you have accrued and be the envy of your step club.
• Reflections - of things you tried out that worked and didn’t work and all of the individuals who helped you see this over the course of the school year(s).
• Real People - real human beings you have a role in rearing and watch develop into citizens in our society. This one is kind of a big deal. 
• Occasional Run Ins - with those real people you supported when they were young who are now grocers, dieticians, mechanics, parents, athletes, teachers and caring individuals.  

So remember that riches are not only in the form of $$$$bling, bling, bling and teaching delivers more than you can count in your bank account!

Bad Boys

Bad boys

Bad boys

Whatcha gonna do?

Whatcha gonna do when they come outta you?

Bad boys 

Bad boys

Whatcha gonna do? 

Whatcha gonna do when they come outta you?

Borrowing my car and returning it with tree sap stuck on all the windows and doors, promising to wash it then watching me wash it from the couch, leaving piles of watermelon rinds on the coffee table and attracting millions of flies in the house, staying out til three in the morning, not answering my phone calls and texts all day,

Bad boys 

Bad boys

Whatcha gonna do? 

Whatcha gonna do when they come outta you?

Bad boys 

Bad boys

Whatcha gonna do? 

Whatcha gonna do when they come outta you?

Walking in front of you so no one thinks your with them, not responding to your questions or just saying “ah never mind!”, getting on the bus without you and leaving you in the middle of an unfamiliar city, calling you “cray-cray” after making them dinner,

Bad boys,

Bad boys,

Whatcha gonna do?

Whatcha gonna do when they come outta you?

Bad boys 

Bad boys

Whatcha gonna do? 

whatcha gonna do when they come outta you?

Pushing inactive Lime scooters down a hill in a playground, putting sugar in my water without me knowing, stealing soda from a soda machine in a Thai restaurant, insulting my driving until I drive into a bike lane and oncoming traffic, refusing to go walking in a new city on vacation and instead sitting on their screens all day, 

Bad boys

Bad boys 

Whatcha gonna do?

Whatcha gonna do when they come outta you?

Bad boys 

Bad boys

Whatcha gonna do? 

whatcha gonna do when they come outta you?

Blaring their pussy this and that rap songs from my rental car stereo while I’m trying to drive through an unfamiliar city, refusing to speak loud enough so I can hear them, stealing my Snickers bar outta my backpack (whoops no, I just forgot I moved it to my fanny pack),

Bad boys

Bad boys

Whatcha gonna do?

Whatcha gonna do when they come outta you?

Bad boys 

Bad boys

Whatcha gonna do? 

Whatcha gonna do when they come outta you?

Handing me a pile of sage he picked for me from his backpacking trip, cleaning up his backpacking equipment in exchange for borrowing his Dad’s car, giving me a warm hug on his way out the door,

Bad boys 

Not so Bad boys

Whatcha gonna do? 

whatcha gonna do when they come outta you?

Packing a cell phone charger for me cause he knows I will forget mine, feeding me popsicles and bringing me NyQuil when I got Covid, watching survival movies with me on the couch,

Bad boys 

Not so bad boys

Whatcha gonna do? 

whatcha gonna do when they come outta you?