End of summer, beginning of year 12

Nothing says "end of summer" like Labor Day weekend.

Indeed.

School is now in full force for students, even though teachers have been back since mid-August (and the rest of us since before that). 

Don't worry - Marisa and I totally did our back to school ice cream tradition the weekend before (my) school started.

And you can rest assured I spent my time in church leading up to school's beginning on my knees offering prayers for my teacher & admin friends as well as for my own school. Not only did it make sense to do so, I don't think I would have made it through the week without prayer & Mass...

And fresh flowers, of course...

While it took nearly the whole morning for me to get my act together, I did manage to snap a first day of school picture. (And our business manager also took a real one the week before for our website.)

Only one week in now, but school is certainly keeping me busy. And that is probably more so than last year, as I have a class to plan for and teach: 7th grade Religion. Exciting though it is, I imagine it will take its toll on me when the admin side of things starts piling up, but for now things are good. And, technically, I'm on the Jr High team...

Aside from school, there have been plenty of other goings-on to keep me busy, including but not limited to Shakespeare in the Park, early morning marathon training runs along the lakefront, a Cubs baseball game, reading, a play (or perhaps a few), and other random things, including visits with friends (and even a few dates(!) - but, sadly, there turned out to be nothing promising). Busy, busy...

I've also (clearly) been working on maintaining my girlish figure... 😂

Kidding.

Food is totally worth the splurge.


I hope you are doing well and that wherever you're at in life or in work/school that you're right where you're meant to be. (I also hope you were able to follow the crazy jumping around of this blogpost. My brain is fried...)

Have a wonderful week!

Make Me Alive

There are very few things (aside from my faith and time in nature) that make me come alive like seeing quality theater, especially plays that are of the musical genre.

(Good thing I live in Chicago. 😂)

This past week I saw two shows - one was new to me (and part of the Broadway in Chicago subscription), and one was an old favorite (the lyrics and lines of which I have nearly 100% memorized from so many movie viewings). Both were spectacular.

"Come From Away" is based on the events directly following the 9/11 plane crashes, when the American air space was closed down, and planes between America and other countries had to be rerouted and landed. One such landing space was in Gander, Newfoundland. The play follows the townspeople and one set of passengers over the several days following September 11, and it's a testament to the human spirit. There are parts so poignant and other parts that make you belly laugh. The music was lively - my favorite song was "You'll Be a Newfoundlander." (Maybe it helps that I actually know someone from Newfoundland.) Just brilliant.

And then there's the classic: "The Music Man."

Oh, there's nothing halfway about the Iowa way to greet you, when we greet you, which we may not do at all...

This particular production was staged in a fresh way - the sets were done with some awesome perspective choices, and the choreography was spectacular - the dancers made good use of the whole stage. Professor Harold Hill was quite charming, Mrs. Paroo was quite Irish, and Winthrop had the stutter down perfectly. The play hit all the right notes for me, and it took every ounce of will power in my body not to sing and speak right along with the actors on the stage.

So, aside from the necessities of daily living, I do spend quite a bit on the theater (though, we always try to get the cheaper tickets, even if it means sitting up in the balcony). But it's worth it because it fills my cup and brings a smile to my face. And that helps me be ready to face another day.

Lights Up...

Lights up on Washington Heights, up at the break of day 
I wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase away 
Pop the grate at the crack of dawn, sing 
While I wipe down the awning 
Hey y’all, good morning

Before there was "Hamilton" (the musical, not the person himself), there was "In the Heights." With many overlapping stories of people living in the barrio in New York, the story, at its core, is about love, facing discrimination and inequality, and "paciencia y fe" (in the words of Abuela Claudia).

Confession: I've been listening to the music (LOVE the intentional use of Spanish sprinkled here and there as well as the cultural feel in the score - such high energy!) for over a couple of months now, and it makes SO much more sense when you see the show in person.

The main character, Usnavi (you've probably never heard his name - his parents named him after something they read on a ship...think about it...), immigrated from the Dominican Republic and has been living with the "grandma of the barrio," Abuela Claudia. There are the gossiping women who run the hair salon, the family owners of a car business (and their daughter, Nina, who dropped out of college at Stanford because she was unable to maintain the jobs to pay for books), the piraguero (frozen ice seller), and more. Over the course of the play, the characters bring you into their world and all of a sudden, you're a part of the narrative. Characters with whom you have no personal connection with at the start of the play are the very ones you are crying and laughing beside by the end. It's absolute magic.

The show exceeded my expectations and left me in awe, both of the show's content and of its performers in Chicago. If it ever makes its way to your city, "damn, (you) gotta get on that."