10K!!!!

Today is my 10,000th day! Not teaching, not in California (as my students guessed)...on this planet. Today was my 10,000th morning, my 10,000th sunset, my 10,000th day that I've known my parents. It was a great day. I started out with a killer Spinning class that almost killed me, four hours of fun with students (watching kids work on proofs with intense persistence is awesome), lots of good talk about education with colleagues, and then a calming but tough Pilates class. It was one of those days filled with things that I love to do. It felt like the perfect 10,000th day...it was just classic me.

It's been a while since I posted. Obviously, life is busy. I've been a regular at the gym when it opens, getting my workout in before I race to work in time for class at 8:15. That means that I'm in bed at an ungodly hour (Aaron used to say..."you know it's still light out, right?") and getting as much done in between as possible.

I recently joined some of my students in reading "Under the Banner of Heaven," Krakauer's book about Mormons and Mormon Fundamentalism. Some of the early history was tedious at times, but the book focuses on a murder case about two brothers who killed their niece and sister-in-law under orders from God. I'm not sure if I would have survived this book if it not for the three young women in my discussion groups (some of my students) who had awesome questions about the book and about religion and what makes people leaders. I am so appreciative to have had the opportunity to interact with my students over something other than math and see how they think outside my classroom. Ahhhh!

I've had four months without homesickness but as Thanksgiving nears, I'm getting close. I'm grateful that I have friends out here to spend the day with, that I will get to have mom's bourbon sweet potatoes (even though it means I have to make them), and that Patagonia (looks more like Mountain Man) will be with me! I've been reading this cute blog called "Confessions of a Pioneer Woman" and she refers to her husband as Marlboro Man (he is totally a cowboy). I think it's cute to have blog names for people. Despite the fact that that the Boy currently lives 230 miles away and will soon be about 3000 and I would love to have him around more, having a long distance relationship has allowed me to maintain some balance with what's important to me: my work, writing letters, reading, getting the sleep I need, and getting my sweat on every morning. I too easily can get wrapped up in a relationship and lose track of myself for a while (also happens when I move). Ideally, we wouldn't have to do this long distance, but I think it's afforded us both the time to do what we came to California to do...to get to know ourselves a bit better and come to be the people we aim to be.

Those are my thoughts at 10,000. I kept thinking today about when I turned 5,000 days (even though I didn't know it at the time). It was shortly after my bat mitzvah. I was starting 8th grade. While there's a lot that's changed, it's funny to think about what hasn't...still have the skin of an adolescent, still pretty much a nerd, still can't see when I open my eyes in the morning, but I still aim to Carpe Diem.

I'll try to write more updates soon and take pictures of the week (I definitely have to share the pictures of my kids and their egg drop projects for Physics). Hope everything is grand wherever you are. I'm appreciating all of you this week. l, m