Speeding into Spring

Friday's meeting pulled me from my wallowing daze just in time. Spring has sprung and the lethargy of winter has quickly been replaced with weeks of non-stop activity. It is a much needed change of pace but I would be left in the dust if I were still stuck in the rut I'd dug.

March launched with Dr. Seuss' birthday on Monday. At Open Gym, I set up the craft tables with supplies for Truffula Trees, Dr. Seuss coloring pages, and painted One Fish, Two Fish hands. At the front, I'd made a big birthday hat filled with quotes and kept a set of Dr. Seuss trivia cards at the table which kids could try to answer for a treat.

"Green Eggs and Ham" snacks

The night was pretty calm but the kids that came really got a kick out of the questions and I found myself newly mastered in 16 facts of Dr Seussology by the end of the night as I asked the questions over and over. Some of the younger kids also made fish.

On Tuesday, I tagged along on the annual 7th grade trip to the Museum of Flight. I'd quickly learned from last year that this would not be an especially educational experience for me. The kids are rushed through the museum in 20 minute increments, covering barely event a fraction of what is on display. This year, the group was particularly squirelly and every time I thought I had a moment to digest some information, I would be prompted to bounce into the next room or floor to monitor the darting bodies.

Between the WWI, WWII, Space section and Air Park, I hastily tried to mold some semblance of learning:

-Italy was one of the first countries to utilize planes in military capacities.
-names and codes and insignias galore
-Machine guns caused an awful lot of mechanical trouble
-A gravity well simulates nothing more than a race when used by a bunch of middle schoolers
-Earth's atmosphere contains 10 million million particles per cubic centimeter of matter while space is a near perfect vacuum of 5-100 particles per cubic centimeter
-International passenger planes can be as spacious hotel lobbies these days
-These kids don't know what silence means

The kids of mission control in their space simulation to land on the moon

It was a rough day. In addition to the antsy attitudes and constant mediation needed, the trip went about an hour over time, getting me back into town around 5:30pm. However, I had a surprisingly pleasant bus ride back when Caylynn coerced me into sitting in the back with her. We joked around and enjoyed some good conversation about being the odd one out, career interests and motivation. Her theatrical friend also joined in, eager to learn and share about her hopes and dreams.

The recreated photo

Wednesday continued the crazy. Open Gym was incredibly eventful, kicking off with two reports from adults outside of the gym who saw dangerous and otherwise unruly behavior displayed by some of our kids outside. Within the first hour, we were calling parents to inform them of what we'd heard. Despite the chaos, the day had its perks. At 4:30, we rallied our caravan of kiddos and walked down to Blanton's grocery for a behind-the-scenes tour. For a mixed age group, the kids behaved rather well and each one found at least one part of the tour that sparked a question or nabbed their interest. The little ones most enjoyed the sink that turned on with foot pedals and the AmeriGuys got held up around the wrapper machine. At the end of the tour, Hal showed us a picture from 30 years ago when he used to give such talks and we all decided to recreate the photo. Then the best part of course: cupcakes and juice.

Frosting Face

Back at the gym, more unforeseen circumstances arose when I realized we'd locked the keys inside. After about a dozen phone calls, I finally got a number of someone with a second pair. It was nice enough out that the kids had no problem joining in a game while we waited. Once inside, I rounded everyone up for the story of Purim! I'd printed masks with the intention of AmeriCorps improvising as a read a shortened version of the tale. However, the kids had more of an interest in being the characters and so they ended up performing for us, Elli using her resounding drama voice to narrate. It was an absolute joy to watch. Lou and I unveiled our Hamentashen afterwards, which were a big hit for AmeriCorps but weirded the kids out. They're the weird ones if you ask me (Example: Taylor had gone on to smear the actual cupcake on his face after the above photo was taken)

Thursday is typically my most relaxed day but in keeping with the pace for the week, I made a trip to Olympia for an interview with the food co-op. Althoguh they're not actively hiring, I'm keeping all of my options open at this point. Plus, I was eager to get some practice in, as I hadn't interviewed for anything in quite some time.

I felt it went incredibly well. I spoke with two older gentlemen - Harry and Pat - in a cozy house on cushioned chairs while a woman named Elizabeth took notes. The conversation flowed smoothly with hardly a pause and at the end, I found I had lots to ask them as well. Harry and Pat had both been working there since the late 80's and had a lot of praise to offer about what the job has meant to them beyond the basic job description. "What this job has taught me about anti-oppression has been invaluable" Pat said. I left with a nice self-confidence boost and it seemed to help good interactions and positivity gravitate my way for the rest of the day. The summery weather didn't hurt either.

Finally Friday. But not the end of the week for me. After a team meeting to square away Civic Engagement plans, I had about an hour back home before turning around to take three pack wood kiddos back to Olympia for our Hands On Museum trip. Had it been another group of kids or another place, it may have felt like a long day. However, my kids were great and the museum was a ton of fun. On the way there, we played with my Rubber Neckers deck, played regular eye spy and chit-chatted. The kids didn't know what to expect from a museum trip but they were pleasantly surprised. The experience blew away Taylor's expectations of what "museum" meant. They climbed tree houses, threw balls into giant water shooters and odd contraptions, played hide and seek in a huge sand land, raced bikes around a track, climbed in emergency vehicles, built things and much more. Rounding them up here and there was a bit of work but overall, it went smoothly. Still filled with energy on the way back, we played more eye spy and then the kids hit the off-the-wall goofy stage right before conking out for the last 30 minutes of the drive.

And that brings me to this afternoon, about to leave to Morton for 5 hours of Teen Center. Keep on keeping' on.