Getting My Ducks in a Row

So spring is here and the weather is getting nicer. That means two things this year. One, I'm swamped with the musical, even though we are already up and running. The idea of being inside on some of the greatest weather days of the year can be depressing. Two, the kids at school are getting antsy. I can't blame them either; I'm just as eager to get outside.

A few weeks ago Sarah bought a birdfeeder and birdseed. Since then we've watched squirrels do acrobatics to snatch some food, and I've seen some amazing looking birds. Some of the birds are rather domesticated. We've been eating outside and have had birds walking within several feet of us.

But tonight beat all. We witnessed DUCKS under the feeder eating off the ground. Well really it was the female duck eating while the male kept watch. But how cool is it to see ducks waddling around the yard so up close? Check out the pictures!

Relaxing at Home

It's been awhile since I've been able to do just that. After a few hectic weeks, we opened Grease last weekend to a couple of great audiences. The students performed well, and more importantly, I have begun to sleep again!

Tonight Sarah and I went to my mom's to borrow her mower (life lesson: take your mower in BEFORE spring to get tuned up so you don't have to go a month without one in the spring!), and she and Rick made us some tasty filets. It was only a couple of hours that we were there, but the point is that we had time to do this.

We arrived back home about 45 minutes ago, and I am presently blogging in the living room while watching the results episode of Dancing With the Stars. It's just nice to be able to do that and not feel pressured to go to bed or do things for work.

So though I love my vocation, I'm glad the summer is coming. I'll get to reconnect with nature by being outside more, and I'll have some down time to recharge myself for next fall. Part of that will be writing my technical theater classes, which will be fun but a bit scary since I'm the only one teaching it.

Ok, so I'm noticing a number of new blog entries evolving from the past few paragraphs. But this will suffice for now. At least Carrie will be off my back for a few days!

Craziness Approaching, Keep Right

So in eleven days we open our musical, and there's still much to do. There's a band concert tomorrow at 7 PM in the auditorium, so on Wednesday we have to put up the set before we can rehearse. Most of the set is movable, so that won't be too difficult. But we still have a golf cart to transform into a car, jukebox arches to finish cutting out and painting to mount onto two doorways, and a whole lotta rope light to hang. Let's just say that this Saturday from 9-5 will be one heck of a crunch time!

Sarah thinks I'm a workaholic. Maybe I'm close, but I don't know that I fit the exact description. I do work a lot with the theater program, but it's work that I enjoy. And yes, from time to time I do spend all day at school and then come home to do some more work. But I do enjoy it.

However, I know I won't be able to do this forever. This year I have felt the strain of such a constant life at school in addition to the work with the writing project, and then working through grad school on top of that. I want to be able to enjoy the wedding planning and be able to enjoy the first year or so of marriage before we have kids too. So there will be some changes in what I commit to in the next few years. Grad school will be over around 2010, and that will be one stress (and expense!) out of my life. And after next year I have already decided that I will be reducing my work in the theater program a little. Piece by piece, I'm sure I'll figure out what I should be doing and then do it.

Plus, and some of you probably know this, I miss my family. I wish I could spend more time with my cousins in Naperville or just hang around on Saturdays instead of running to Menards at 8 AM to make it to school by 9 AM for an 8-hour day. And with summer coming, I want my down time more and more! So there's more impetus to make it happen.

Until then, I'll have to make sure I gaff tape my head on. At least until opening night!

Why Am I Here?

Those who know me know that I'm a busy person. Between teaching, grad school classes, and an after school theater program that can consume more time than actually teaching, some of you may wonder why I'm adding yet another helping of food to my plate of life. My fiancee joked that my blog should be titled "My fiancee won't marry me if I add one more thing to my schedule." That's how my title was created.

I do lead a busy life, I admit it. Hopefully, once I'm done with grad school in a few years my life will be less hectic. Plus I'm getting better at managing my time between teaching and working at the Northwest Indiana Writing Project. Sometimes it can be hard to find time to relax. Since I like writing, I now have a place to unwind and keep life in perspective.

This is all inspired by Sarah Verpooten's recent blog about her son Miles growing up so fast. They say life is what happens when you are busy making plans, and I don't want life to just pass me by without knowing what's happening or stopping to think about it. So from time to time--and I'm hoping that I will be able to post once a week--I will be offering my musings on life and specifically my life.

So I hope you enjoy what I write, and maybe I'll offer some words of humor, comfort, or inspiration from time to time. But right now, after a 12 hour day, I'm going to spend a little bit of time with my fiancee...who has gone to get her laptop to work...I think she's trying to spite me.