week one

despite the fact that owen woke up with his right eye glued shut and we had to go to urgent care to get eyedrops and antibotics for pinkeye and a mild ear infection it's been a pretty good week back in the daily work and school routine. . .

starting teaching at 9 am instead of 8 has made a tremendous, i mean insanely life changing, difference. really. last quarter i was always in this anxious panic that i was going to miss my class (and admittedly once i did) despite the fact that i would get up at 5:30 and have poor sleepy owen dropped off by 7:15 at nana's then go straight from the commute into the classroom. having that extra hour means i get to hit the snooze button (once) and actually drink my coffee in my office while going over lesson plans. plus, i'm teaching english 1a which is not only tremendous inspiration for my own writing (i've spent the week quoting didion and woolf and discussing simile in elizabeth bishop--soon we'll read obasan, one of the novels in my next chapter) but i've got labeled file folders on each assignment including journal prompts and lecture notes from teaching in an earlier life. on friday i took this picture because suddenly i was in the middle of an autumn wind storm--i couldn't quite capture the eddies of yellow leaves but it was amazing. that same morning owen and i ducked in and out of soupy, cotton candy fog and bright desert sun through the 241. now, of course the pressure has dropped and the humidity has vanished and we just have late santa ana winds.

but winds or no winds, when i picked up owen from preschool on friday he and miss sherry were sitting at the little round table (while the other kids napped) and she was laughing so hard her eyes were tearing while owen was reading, i mean performing, from a first grade primer in all manner of silly voices while he hiccupped and laughed and all the while gently held her arm.

then we brought these amazing red velvet cupcakes from jammin' bread (step back sprinkles--these were amAzing and the real-deal homemade) to our "janumas" party (belated birthdays and post holiday love) at bridget, west & stella's on the other side of the southland. we're exhausted, and you know, have icky eye, and of course, wake up each morning missing daddy on his pillow, but all in all, winter quarter week one was a good week.