Trends

The first wedding I attended of a peer was after my sophomore year of college. My [guy] friend was in the same year I was; he and his girlfriend just didn't want to wait any longer to get married. They said they knew they wanted to be together so they went ahead and got married.

After college graduation, there were a number of weddings ... BestFriend, my closest friend from high school, and two other couples from my alma mater. I learned about others getting married through Facebook (friends in college, barely acquaintances now), and Westley and I got married.

Now it's the sea of babies. More than half a dozen of my colleagues at school have given birth in the past two years. More baby pictures have popped up online ... pictures of former classmates and friends with whom I'm not in much contact other than Facebook. A friend from my childhood church, a mentor/friend I've known for a decade, and my closest friend from high school are all currently expecting.

While hanging out with a good teacher friend and her year old son at a school event a few weeks ago, I was asked more than once when I was going to have one of my own.

"I'm still a newlywed!" I protested. "I have plenty of time!" Westley and I are in no hurry ... I'm content to play with my friends' babies and hand them back to their mamas when they suddenly decide they're hungry or wet. I figure we'll consider having kids in a few years. Right now, I don't want that amount of responsibility. Thinking about being a mother sometimes makes me feel warm and fuzzy ... but more often, the thoughts are accompanied by a twinge of anxiety. I don't feel ready yet ... and I want to enjoy my time with Westley before I have to share him with little people! :)

New (temporary) job?

My parents still occasionally receive mail for me at their home, my permanent address until Westley and I were married. Last week, they received an official and unusual envelope for me.

"Estrella, we think you've gotten a notice for jury duty," they informed me.

"I don't understand how that could be," I replied. "I thought that was based on voting records, and I'm registered where I currently live, not at your address."

When Westley and I visited them for Easter yesterday, I was curious to see what was in store for me. Sure enough, the envelope contained a request for information so that I could be considered as a juror. It was addressed to me at my maiden name. I've now been married for well over a year, and my voting and driver's license information was changed more than a year ago too. Today, I called the voting records office near where my parents live; their records reflect the changes I had made, and the woman with whom I spoke indicated that the jury system may have found my name from an older list.

Because the information request simply directed me to make any changes to my name or address, I suppose it doesn't matter that their information is incorrect. I dutifully filled out the information request online ... and I am supposed to be called anytime within a year starting this June. I wonder what would have happened if my parents had moved and the mail couldn't have reached me?

As long as the summons doesn't interfere with 1) the crunch time before any of my performances or 2) my summer vacation, I don't mind serving. If, however, it majorly disrupts my plans, I will not be a happy camper. Apparently, however, there may be a perk ... my dad thinks that jurors get paid $25 each day they're called for duty. This is less than I make in one hour as a piano accompanist, but ... I guess it's better than nothing. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Hot Pink Dress

I don't know much about fashion. I am drawn to simplicity and what I see as "classic," rather than trendy. I'm awfully picky when it comes to clothing and often don't find things when I'm looking for them because it has to be just so. It has to fit exactly the right way, it has to be the right price, and if I'm not 100% convinced that it is for me, it goes back on the rack.

At Target a few years ago, I found a hot pink short-sleeved shirt dress with a matching (same color, same material) belt. I fell in love. Thinking back, this must have been Summer 2008 or earlier. The dress was deigned by (first name?) Mizrahi, a famous designer who collaborated (maybe still does?) with Target on affordable yet fashionable designs for women. When I put on the dress, I knew it was meant for me.

Reading The Secret Lives of Dresses this weekend (which I highly recommend!) made me think about what stories my own clothing would tell. This hot pink dress has some stories!

I remember wearing it in July 2008 on GradSchool's European choir tour. On one beautiful and HOT day in Trieste, Italy, I wore this dress. I remember walking around the gorgeous city, soaking in the sunshine. I remember visiting this tiny music-themed museum which was hosting a large exhibit on opera singer Maria Callas. A sweet, elderly Italian lady gave Westley and me a tour. She spoke no English, and my Italian consisted of "Non parliamo italiano" and the lyrics of the Italian arias I had studied. Somehow, we managed to communicate with gestures and facial expressions as she showed us the various instruments from the past.

At one point on that day, Westley and I decided to sit by the water ... and there's a picture of me taken that day that BestFriend says makes me "look like a movie star." My hair is twisted up into a bun held by a clip (because it was sweltering), and I'm wearing big sunglasses. My body is angled toward the water as I'm sitting on the stone steps which descend to the water, but my smiling face is turned toward the camera. Another goofier picture taken that day has me pretending to kiss a statue (and, of course, I no longer remember who the statue depicted).

I remember wearing the dress to one of the performances of my school musical in April 2009.

I remember wearing the dress to an event at the resort in Jamaica when my in-laws took us along with them on vacation in January 2010, right after Westley and I got married. They had a free trip after redeeming a certain number of points, and they simply redeemed more points to bring us along. My mother-in-law and I danced the night I wore the dress. Loud music was playing, and several of my favorite line dances were played (Cupid Shuffle, Cha-cha-slide, etc). Both she and I flew down to the dance floor and started dancing away. By the end of the dance party, I was sweating but exhilarated.

I wore the dress to one of the performances of the musical I was in last summer. I loved wearing my pretty clothing to the theatre before changing into my costume for the show.

The dress is now slightly faded after many washings and much love ... but I look forward to wearing it again when the weather is warm enough.

Luxury

Last week was a long week at work. Long hours every day. Exhaustion and frustration. This next week will be equally challenging, if not more so ... as some of the days will be even longer.

On Thursday, Westley told me he had a surprise planned ... a date for us on Saturday. We're mostly homebodies ... we don't eat out often (because he's a fabulous cook!), and we don't go out to fancy shows or events. We're saving to buy a house .... and we're also just naturally frugal, I suppose.

On Friday morning, I looked in the paper and saw that there was going to be a choral concert in the community, featuring a style of music we both enjoy. I expected that this was the surprise ... and while I would be happy to go, I was disappointed that I had inadvertently ruined the surprise.

Somewhere around hour 10 of the 13 hours I was at work on Friday, I called Westley to check in with him, hear about his day, etc. He asked if I was still excited for my surprise. I said yes, but that I also had a guess as to what it was. He nudged me until I shared my suspicion, and then he gleefully told me that my guess was not the date he'd planned. It was still a surprise. :)

On Saturday morning, I hemmed and hawed (how do you spell this?) about wanting to treat myself to a pedicure, a luxury I hadn't had since my sister was married in September. Why should I pay $30+ to do something I could easily do (and had been doing since September) for myself? Westley insisted I go ... so I relented. It was blissful ... sitting in an electronic massage chair, reading a wonderful book, and being pampered. I even stopped by a coffee shop on the way home to redeem a gift card (Christmas gift from a student) for a beloved chai latte.

A little later that afternoon, Westley announced it was time for our date. He'd hinted that it was "somewhat of a performance" that we were attending, and on the ride there, he confirmed my new suspicion that he was taking me to a movie. He asked if I'd guessed which movie but I honestly admitted that I had no idea what was playing. When I saw the list of titles on the marquis, I knew instantly! He bought us tickets for Jane Eyre because he knows it's my favorite novel. (The movie was hauntingly lovely, although the very end of the book- my favorite part- was not included.) After the movie, we spent a quiet and peaceful evening at home.

Today feels luxurious because the sun is shining (even though April's chill is lingering), the tree outside the window has these beautiful, deep pink buds which are thinking about opening, and because I made time to thoroughly scrub down our bathroom. I'm not the most organized of people, so I feel especially content when I've sorted through my stuff to get rid of items I no longer need and/or after I've cleaned. Normally, cleaning or take care of other chores are the type of activity I tend to put off while procrastinating. Westley loathes ironing, so I agreed to take on that chore when we got married ... and there was a green shirt of his which stayed at the bottom of the ironing pile for months (September through January? February?) because it took me that long to actually get through the [short] pile of items to be ironed. So ... when I've made an effort and the instant rewarding feeling comes flooding through me (Hurray! I've completed something and our place is slightly more organized!), I always wonder why it has taken me so long ... if I derive so much enjoyment from getting something done. (I was going to write something about "instant gratification" from completing a chore, but it's really not so instantaneous if it takes me such a long time to get it done!)

Luxury is getting a pretty pedicure in order to be ready for the lovely Spring weather. (Who cares if it's not yet warm enough? My toes are cute and I'll wear those open-toed kitten heels even if it is still in the 40s outside!)

Luxury is going on a date with my husband (and it's a bonus that the movie was based on my favorite book)!

Luxury is looking over the freshly scrubbed sink, toilet, sink, and mirror and thinking with a smile, "Good. That's finally done and BEAUTIFUL, and I'm hoping it will stay clean over the next 5 days until my in-laws come to visit!"

Luxury is finishing a wonderful novel, mourning its end, and enjoying the lingering grasp it has on your imagination.

Luxury is writing the third blog entry within a short time span after neglecting the blog for nearly a year ... and realizing that returning to writing is like visiting with an old friend. Time may have passed, but you can pick up where you left off and it feels like it's been no time at all.

Minor irritation

One of the things which annoys me is when a child does not turn in an assignment and then claims to his/her parent that they have. I dutifully check all of the potential places a child could have submitted an assignment (even though there is one designated place for each class). Then I respond to the parent stating that I have checked and re-checked (because the first time I check is when I've graded the rest of the class's assignment), and, alas, the assignment was not turned in. I usually have them ask their child to check his/her binder ... because usually that's where the assignment was all along. The parent, of course, does NOT apologize for making me do all the extra work of searching again when they should have asked their child to double-check in the first place.

What really irritates me, however, is when the parent simply assumes that if the child can't find the assignment that I must be lying when I say the child hasn't turned it in. (You know how "the customer is always right?" Sometimes it feels like the sales philosophy is taking over education ... "the student is always right," regardless of my years of experience, my professionalism, my education. I'm not saying I don't make mistakes or I'm never wrong ... but why are some people so quick to believe their [irresponsible] child over me?)

The icing on the cake is when the parents simply assume it's no trouble for me to then go out of my way to make extra photocopies of an assignment due weeks (sometimes months earlier) so that the child can make up the work. Yes, I want the child to be successful. No, I don't want his/her grade to be severely affected by his/her irresponsibility. However, REALLY? Of course there's no gratitude. It's just an expectation that I will do all the extra work to make one child happy. And you know how many of these issues come up within a few days of the grading deadline? More than I'd care to share.