Case of the Mondays

"It looks like someone has a case of the Mondays!" I seriously can't help but quote Office Space to myself every Monday since February. 

It's spring and I'm waiting on this spring weather that brightens up my Mondays and increases the motivation. I know that there are only 5 weeks of Stat 401 left, but I just can't help but be bogged down by the burden and stress of it all. It's still cold but on the upside, it's sunny today. I had to check out the weather this morning and it's shy of 40 degrees while right next to my saved location is the sunny and 77 degrees at Virgin Islands National Park. I let out a big sigh, but simultaneously reminded myself that it's only a 40 degree difference today, whereas when I was down in February, it was a wild 80- and nearly 100 with wind chill- degree difference. It could be worse. 

I guess I'll keep reminding myself that while I think spring is taking its merry time, it could be worse.

 

Patience comes in snow

I woke up to a fresh white blanket of snow where there had been no snow. Much to my surprise I was somewhat moved by the change of scenery over night. All winter long we complain about the snow. We curse the icy roads and those poor souls who "don't keep up with the weather" but are responsible for our travel safety. At the first thought of spring, which arrived in February this year, my fellow Iowans were jumping out of their boots and ready to get outside. Maybe it was because I missed the worst part of winter (remember, research) but I knew winter wasn't over quite yet. I kept my winter coat on, stayed bundled up in mittens and scarves and waited. This morning I was greeted by the snow I knew was coming.

It was comforting to me to know winter wasn't over. Why?! Well frankly, I'm just not ready. I'm not ready for spring. I don't think I'm even ready for spring break. I have piles of research articles that need to be read before spring; I have labs and tests that I'm not ready to do; I have overgrown house plants that need to be prepared for spring; I have a whole mess of last years pots, still full of soil and dead plants, that needs to be cleaned out. I'm just not ready. Usually I'm jumping up and down doing spring chants to get it here as fast as possible, but this year I'm working on my patience. I'm teaching myself to take life one day at a time, after all, it's all you really can do in grad school! I think if I learn to be patient with the never-ending season of snow I can be patient with myself and what I have yet to experience when I leave the university.

By the way, this was the view...

Visual inspiration

It has been a struggle dealing with the events of this semester. It was a shot-gun semester, pulling together the plans for this research project during finals week in December and partly over winter break. The only class I had left to take was Stat. Dreaded Stat 401. So jumping into that and preparing for my trip in the first month of school was hectic. The trip and return from the trip provided its own issues and now after being back three weeks, I still feel caught in an odd state. Needless to say, I could use a little inspiration. I frequently pull up pictures of the Caribbean and reminisce.

The rhythmic waves immediately play in my head and I am taken back to that warm, sunny day at Cinnamon Bay.

Confession

Have I admitted yet that I'm not a gardening nanny at the present time? A literal nanny, that is. I'm still a gardening fool, don't get me wrong, I still work with kids too, I have just forfeited my nanny apron for awhile to pursue this thing called a Master of Science degree. Well, I was doing this before, but I was offered an actual research, paid, thesis-bound program. I accepted. During finals last semester. It has been full speed ahead ever since, requiring me to give up the kids I nannied. In a way they were my first experimental kids, being one and three at the time, I conditioned them to remember marigold. It was a big step. I was so proud.

The time has come for me to focus on other kids now, bigger groups of kids, kids who are a little older as well. While jumping in to this crazy semester and diving in to Statistics 401 and the wonderful world of research, I found myself in the US Virgin Islands. Yes, you read that correctly. I found myself needing to go to St. John for my research in early February (shucks). It was amazing, by the way, but what I was most amazed by was the school.

The school I visited and will be/am working with is the only K-12 school on the island. There are other elementary/middle schools on St. John but none that finish through high school. The kids were fascinating to watch and interact with and be around. They were curious and kind. They were smart and funny. They were still kids. I had the opportunity to go snorkeling with the senior environmental science class (yeah, snorkeling for class) and I was reminded that no matter where you are in the world, kids are still kids. Kids are still kids and they are still amazed by plants. I was blown away by the patio garden that was a lush green in February, but I was also blown away by the fact that kids were cutting up and eating swiss chard, kale, bok choy, peppers, and radishes raw! These are all scary green things that kids are somehow programed to stay away from and yet there they were, taking a sample platter around to their peers eating everything they could.

It really sunk in during those two weeks that kids are so much more open to trying new things when they are involved in the whole process. No one brought in mature bok choy from a remote location, plopped down on a bench and forced the kids to eat without knowing where it came from. These middle schoolers grew everything (almost) from seed, watered, sprayed, picked up after, took care of, and harvested it all themselves. They knew how much work went into getting every pepper, keeping every basil plant alive and they were anticipating the big reward. I was privileged to be there that day, not even the first harvest day, and it was just as rewarding for me.