Channeling My Sisters For This Brunch Gathering; I'm Not Sure I Know What I'm Doing With This One

The USA Women's soccer team will be playing this morning at 11 a.m. and to be sure we see the whole game, Mt. Pleasant was voted as the location for viewing. Apparently, other cable suppliers have had spotty reception with he World Cup for Women's teams. It's all good. I have fanatics living in the house and from what I hear there are back to back championship games today. I said, "We can do brunch."

Um. I don't do breakfast except for a cup of coffee and a bowl of Raisin Bran. I do love eating breakfast, however, especially our Christmas Day tradition in Manlius at my little sister's house.

So, I got eggs and I can handle the casserole. The French Toast casserole, however, I handed off to someone else. Bev and Leo are bringing bagels and cinnamon rolls and I have both turkey and pork bacon. I'm also going to cut up a fruit salad for the game.

Seems sort of sad to know that the last of the 4-day weekend is coming to a close today. Tomorrow, the 4-weeks of absolute crazy begins, and there will be very few spaces to catch my breath. I have enjoyed the last four days, though, and winding into the day as it revealed what it wanted itself to be.

One last hoorah for the weekend. Brunch. And a day of soccer, with a Chitunga return.

FYI: This Guy Right Here? Um, Not the Corn Hole Champion of July 5, 2019. Nope. That Title Belongs to Me! The Man of Mt. Pleasant

I shouldn't admit this, but I think we spent around 7 hours playing Corn Hole in the back yard. Actually, I got up and went for a run, and Abu and Mo took Glamis for a 6 mile walk, but the rest of the day we became obsessed with Corn Hole - a tournament of sorts, in which I only lost one game (to Mo) which was probably for the best. It gave me just enough break to grill some rib-eyes and mash some potatoes.

Let's just say that I channeled my inner Patrick Kelly. I had his kind-of-game (but not the kind of game we're celebrating today. Yesterday, he proposed to Stephanie and she accepted. We have lots of reasons to be dancing in southern Connecticut today).

In the evening, I went to get peanut butter cups for ice cream. When I returned, alumni of Ubuntu Academy: Lambert, Omar and Arcadius were at the house to say hello to Abu. There was a brief FIFA tournament, and then they left, leaving us to YouTube videos, including all the videos of yesteryear in my IPhotos. We couldn't help but watch them from the last 8 years and, well, feel sort of old.

Gosh. The time has flown by. 2008 to 2019. Snap. Just like that.

And now Patrick has proposed to Stephanie. Shaking my head how fast it all goes. I can still remember how nervous he was when he went out with her on their first day. He even put on a button down shirt that night.

Okay, Saturday, you gave me Thursday and Friday as a weekend, so today I need to get more serious with my responsibilities. It's supposed to rain and I got this. I won't feel guilty being inside nerding out. 

And That, Walnut Beach, is a Floating Patio for Good Friends - Why Not Seat 10 People on a Hot Day?

It wouldn't be a 4th of July without a day on Walnut Beach with Bev, Leo, Kaitlyn and Pam, and this year they had floats.....Okay, Macy Day Parade Balloons to take us on the water. They worked, however, and were only difficult for the hour they took to blow up (although I think Pammy and Kaitlyn's rainbow unicorn (not pictured here) went up a lot faster).

It really was a beautiful day, and the heat was tolerable from the breeze by the water. Glamis, Akech and I started at 8:30 a.m. with a walk with Jake and Pam, but then I had to get him back to Mt. Pleasant for a trip to Hoboken, New Jersey to meet his girlfriend, so I grabbed Abu and his friend Mo and we headed back to the beachfor a day of snacks, sandy beaches, games, and mindlessness.

I told Abu and Mo in the morning that I have this problem where I can't sit still, and always feel like I need to be doing something or else I go nuts. I found what my role was on the beach, as I brought the kayak out, jimmied the rope, and acted as the floats' tug boat all day, rowing the crew further off shore. Walt, Bev's Brother said, "You're going to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger at the end of today." Actually, I looked more like a red tomato; my arms, legs, neck and face got a lot of sun (and it felt great).

We didn't go to fireworks, but it seems every year more and more people choose to put off fireworks from home, so all we needed to do was to look out the window.

Last year, the Sound was ridiculously warm and oceanic bath water felt gross. This year, the water was cold, and the pool afterwards was even cooler, which was great.

It felt good to set some time to the side to relax. Happy 4th of July, everyone.

Teacher Institute Pause, But 4 Day Weekend Opportunity to Gather Up Our Strength For Non-Stop Action

Guess who's back? Back again? Well, it's easy. It's Abu. We were talking to teachers today and naming the fact that it's been 7 years of learning, mentorship, conversation, teaching, designing, questioning, and promoting of life stories. He's back in Stag country after a year of teaching up in Case nation at a magnet school. Now it's time for his influence on the teacher institute, the literacy labs and Ubuntu Academy.

Great to have a backbone, extra pair of arms and stronger pair of legs to help me out with the programming.

Yesterday, we hosted the teacher institute with incredible contributors like Sonya Huber and Alyson Martin, then attended the birthday party of a friend's son, turning 14. I think we figured out the Apple t.v. and although I tried to stay up to welcome his friend from NYC at 1 a.m., I had to get to bed. Let me have a couple cups of coffee and then I will wake them both up and ask, "Who are you? Why are you in my house?"

It will be funny because it will be the 4th of July. If only I had fireworks to wake them all up.

Fantastic, too, to welcome Akech to southern Connecticut, if only for 24 hours before he goes to Jersey to meet his girlfriend for a birthday weekend. He stopped by campus today to catch up and to stay on Mt. Pleasant for dinner, conversation, and a couple of games (before he did like Chitunga does and turned back to studying).

Glamis is in dog heaven having all the attention she is getting and, I'm afraid to say, it is attention that hasn't gotten her a walk. She's been trapped inside by the heat.

Not sure what the holiday plans are other than waking up and letting the day unravel as it will unravel. I know Chitunga is in Internet-less land for the next few days, which is burdensome, but I'll adapt.

It didn't take long for Mt. Pleasant to liven back up. And it won't take long for the quiet to return, either.

Wait. Is That a Dude Corner at the Summer Institute? Do We Really Have That Many Males Attending?

In the last 7 years, the summer institute at Fairfield University has been all female with the lone male representing for all mankind. I realize this is opposite in other professions, but to be in a room with fellow male K-12 teachers is always a joy when it happens. This is deceptive, because our institute still remains female-heavy, but I'm thrilled to see a cohort this summer of elementary, middle and high school teachers; ESL and Special Educators. Urban and suburban. It is a great mix of 20 educators (plus others auditing the work).

On Day one, we simply planted seeds after switching rooms from the 3rd floor to the 1st. Let's just say that heat was cranking out of the 3rd floor rooms. It was impossible, so we left and found another space for the day (actually, traded with the Little Labs for next week).

This week we are working on personal writing and looked at The Day You Begin, several essays from Hope Nation, and workshops on perspectives and personal writing. This morning, my dear friend Sonya Huber, a memoirist, will be with us to discuss memory and narration. It's one of my favorite workshops of the year. In the afternoon, however, we are going to have a inclusivity panel and discussion about how we work with students who have learning dis/abilities. We are working hard this summer to think about strategies that work.

I have a guest from Kentucky and Abu arrived so the joys of summer are beginning. I grilled out and made the Crandall special, before we went to the beach to walk and do sight-seeing.

I'm thankful that this is a short week, as it's time to inhale for the rest of the month - so much life occurs in a short five weeks.

Here's to today. We got this. 

With Thanks To @bobgreenberg For Including Me in His Brainwaves Anthology Video Project. Thrilled to Be Invited.

Yesterday, a Monday, I had the privilege to kick the week off with a bang. Actually, I need to be honest...I was a nervous wreck. Why? Retired teacher Bob Greenberg came to Fairfield University to film me for the Brainwaves Anthology Video Project, a YouTube channel to meet inspiring "thinkers, dreamers and innovators; some of the brightest minds in education." Mr. Greenberg tried to get me last week, but I was in the thick of literacy labs, and couldn't find a time to talk. I invited him back to begin this week, and with the teachers arriving and the Invitational Leadership Institute beginning this morning, I was somewhat panicked about tying up lose ends and figuring out what it was I wanted to say.

Speaking for 2 minutes about an influential teacher and 5 minutes on the work I do was not as easy as I hoped. I get nervous about being captured on camera because it seems so permanent and I'm sort of a manic, hyperactive clown (which doesn't bode well for films). I did what I could.

We had a few hallway glitches with doors slamming and people walking by, which through of my choo-choo train of thought, so some of it needed to be spliced together (kudos to the editor). It's also very difficult to condense 24 years of teaching and thinking into a 5- and 2-minute soundbite, but that's okay. This is what they mean by an elevator pitch.

It made me happy to be able to talk about Mr. Finster, as he truly was a major influence in how I think about teaching and education. There are 100s more I could mention (and wanted, too), but after two minutes I realized Bob Greenberg had his two minutes.

I'm also hyper-sensitive of the roundness in my Ripley physique and know that I'm morphing in ways I cannot control. Genetics. It's all good. At least the sweating stopped during the taping. I must have gone through a roll of paper towels with nerves before we actually shot.

Alas (in a good way), our 20 educators begin th writing institute at 9 a.m. this morning and I can't wait to lay the foundation for the summer program and to build the leadership of another Connecticut cohort. I'm very thankful to many who have invested in the individual that I am. I can't be me without the community of others that make me who I am.

That is the power of Ubuntu. Yes, it's me squawking here about the CWP, but in all honesty, the program belongs to our teachers and kids. They are the dreamers who help me to reach the magic of our site. I am, because we are.

And with that, it's time to make the donuts! We got this!

Dog Days of Summer - Sunday Concerts at Walnut Beach and a Low-Key, Roll With It Kind of Day

It's the time of the year to watch the low and high tides wash in on Walnut Beach and to fill our coolers with tequila drinks and friendship to absorb the weekend Sunday bands at the pavilion.

The storms blew in over the afternoon bringing less humid air and much cooler breezes to make the weekend that much more exceptional. It was nice to capture some down time after a Saturday of running around with my head cut off working on home shenanigans.

This week, I will welcome the 20+ teachers to the Invitational Leader Institute and begin our summer of The Superpower of Hope. I can't wait to soak in the energy of our plan. It should be the best summer yet.

Meanwhile, I found basil and hollyhock and I'm excited to get them in the ground near the tomato plants I out into the ground on Saturday. I'm all about tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese in the summer.

Abu and Akech should arrived early this week and I'm excited to host a Kentucky teacher with us this summer, a young man from Murray, Kentucky who is enroute to do his doctoral studies at UMass, taking a short stint with us in Connecticut.

Yes, it's supposed to be down time and I take it when I can get it. In the meantime, I am way to excited for the writing that is about to occur. Here's to July! The best month of the year.