Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Chemistry Experiments in My Brain

On the weekend, thinking I was being really pro-active, organized and generally on top of things, I sent out a bunch of cheery emails to schedule two family celebrations: for Shea’s graduation from high school and for the joint grown-up birthday party we hold for the girls each year, in addition to whatever they do with their friends. The only teensy problem is that I’d already done this, and the dates were already set. I personally negotiated the dates and entered them on the calendar, of which I have zero recollection. In fairness to me, apparently I did this when everyone was here on the memorial weekend, so there were a few things going on, but still... I’ll be really, really glad when the chemistry experiments in my brain are over and my memory reverts to something more like normal. If, of course, that ever happens. Meanwhile, I’m getting ever-so-good at grinning and bearing it. Some things, you’d rather not have this much practice doing.

In fourth and fifth grades, my friends Susie and Nancy and I used to draw facades of houses and floor plans, to the point that we sometimes got in trouble for doing that instead of our work. That phase vanished until recently, when it feels some days like I’m back in fourth grade again. Waking up this morning, I was thinking about the dream work space for us. In the study that Michael and I share, we’ve organized things so at least part of Michael’s work space is hidden so I don’t have to look at his clutter. (My papers all spread out are not clutter, they’re my organization.) Our dream space would have a master bedroom-bathroom-office suite, separate from the public parts of the house. The work area would be noise and light-shielded, so one of us could be sleeping while the other worked. It would have a big worktable that would be kept clear all the time. (Hah.) In addition to a great kitchen, it would have fireplaces, a separate dining room, and a nice space for a guest suite. Of course, we’ll probably never get around to it, but we do talk about building a house; Michael wants to design and build (himself, not contracted out) something energy-efficient, into a berm. I like lots of sunshine and peaceful vistas, woodwork and the idea of space designed for us. Fourth grade had its fine points!

Yesterday, I taught my last class at the law school. That’s a little bittersweet. I’m going to miss the students especially, along with some great colleagues, after the move to Business later in the month. It’s hard to know what to expect, and I’m excited about the adventure to come. For now, though, there are many, many, many final papers to grade.

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