This is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies. It's from John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy," and I remember it from Mr. Holland's Opus. From what I recall, Mr. Holland, played by Richard Dreyfuss (supposedly a very distant cousin of my husband's), "sings" it to his deaf son in sign language...I believe after refusing to really acknowledge his son much at all since music was Mr. Holland's "thing." Ah what a great movie.
But I digress. I had big plans this week/weekend. I am only one week into school, and I am just at that sweet spot where the kids are starting to open up and trust you. My Mu Alpha Theta officers made an amazing promo video to show to the entire school that was funny and cool and full of geeky but great Rubik's Cubes and "marker drops." I had a plan to begin yoga teacher training this weekend, something I have been wanting to do for years, and the stars finally "aligned" (and my studio's owner and the manager gave me the extra push I needed.) My son is back up at UF, and while last year was trying at the beginning, he is now in a good place, happy and satisfied, and just got a major research project that he had been patiently vying for since April. I got back on track eating-wise and health-wise after a summer of gorging on processed foods made with sugar and flour since I was lucky enough to travel most of the summer and try all these new treats made with them. All sounds good, right?
And then...the hurricane. Irma, I'm talking about you. As I look at the window at this beautiful Florida sky, I cannot believe that within 48 hours, I am not sure if I will have a house with a roof on it. Perhaps I should be packing things up and trying to keep things dry, but I am frozen. I am doing just what my husband tells me to do: clean out the closet at the bottom of the stairs for a "safe space," go to the pet store, etc. I truly am completely frozen. And a bit petrified.
Why wouldn't I leave? Well, I have been through a few hurricanes before. It's been rough, and at least we do get a warning. I can't answer why I don't want to leave. We don't have hurricane shutters. It's crazy, I know. It was so expensive so we never got them. And after last year's scare with Matthew (which turned last minute, thankfully), we vowed to get them this year...but we...forgot??? How?? We live in a townhouse with a house on either side and are somewhat protected. We are praying for the best.
On this gorgeous Florida day, school is closed so families could prepare and leave. One family told me they were flying to Canada. Another to Colombia. Many are "buttoning up" their houses and leaving. But I'm going to stay. My son is safe in Gainesville, so I am feeling good about that. Most of my family is here...my husband and two cats, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law down the road, my other brother-in-law around the corner, and my mother-in-law also down the road...I will stay with her when it gets really bad, but my husband wants to stay with the house and the animals.
So, Irma has other plans for me this week. No "method of finite differences" for my Problem Solving kids after spending several days on figurate numbers. No reviewing for the second quiz (first quiz was on prerequisites) for Algebra 2H and Pre-Calculus AB. No showing of the awesome Mu Alpha Theta promo video in the all-school assembly. No Back to School night (I'm OK with this one!) No weekend of yoga. And I know it will be OK...no matter what, we have insurance and we will figure it out. And if you haven't been to one, a hurricane party is always fun :)