Career Reflections and Plans

I usually take some time at the end of one year and start of a  new to reflect on all the things I did NOT accomplish, all the ways my career has fallen flat, all the books I have NOT published, all the ways I am not living up to my potential or my expensive degree, haha.  But I am ending this year content and surprised at where 2013 has ended and hopeful about 2014.

 I spent the first half of the year ramping up my freelance editing and writing business. I took on numerous dissertation clients (thanks to word of mouth, more than I could handle, actually!) and wrote a dizzying number of textbook chapters, study guides, lesson plans, course curricula, and don’t even remember what else. I also indexed a friend’s fabulous history book, finished up editing a 4-volume encyclopedia on the history of women’s rights in the U.S., and signed on to write/edit a 2-volume work in the history of technology and inventions. I also had the incredible experience of being invited to post a short piece I had written about same-sex marriage that received an overwhelming and stunning number of views and reblogs and retweets.  As the numbers piled up and the responses (good and bad) flowed in, I was sure this was the start of my new career as a blogger, but perhaps not, ha. Still, it was an awesome experience, the largest audience I've ever had, and I loved writing it.  Lastly, I was (still am) determined to find an agent for my historical novel manuscript, and tried not to be discouraged by the rejections, focusing instead on the fact that *several* agents asked to see the full manuscript, at least. I sent the last big round of queries in July.

 Even though my work plate was filling up, I needed something more regular (especially if we were going to be able to send Lillian on to middle school at Mount Madonna School), and so I also spent many months (in 2012 and 2013) looking for a full-time editing or teaching job. I finally broke into the pool to teach an online college course and completed that training over the summer, but I also sent my resume to local charter and private high schools, hoping to find a full-time position and really wanting to do something different than return to adjunct college teaching. I did not rule out the latter, though, as bread-and-butter work, and in late August I was offered two courses at two different local colleges. Surprisingly, I said No. Here I was trying to drum up work for all these months and now I had too much of it. Besides, something told me that the effort (the driving, the prep for new courses) would be more than the benefits. I always hate saying No to paying jobs, but also hate saying No to colleagues in need and to opportunities, as you never know what further doors will be opened. I said No, though, and planned to focus on my writing projects as the kids prepared to start a new school year (7th and 10th grades).

 Another factor in my saying No to the local adjunct jobs was that David started a new job with a medical device company on September 1st. The offer came somewhat suddenly and he agonized over leaving his long association with the skateboard company, as they had been good to us, but besides being a positive career move for him as an engineer and allowing him to revamp his workshop and work at home full-time, the new job brought an increase in salary that relieved some of the worry about keeping both kids at MMS. Things seemed to be smoothing out.

 Everything changed in September when I was asked to step in as long-term sub for the high school English teacher at MMS. I had subbed for this teacher a few times in the past, but now she needed to go on medical leave for at least 6 weeks. I was (still am) completely honored that she asked me and that she and the head of school entrusted me with the English and Creative Writing classes for the entire high school, grades 9 through 12. I felt that everything had come full circle in a weird way. Taking two years to write my novel and to continue my own literary education. Stepping away from the college classroom and writing high school textbooks and curricula and study guides. And being completely invested in the quality of instruction at MMS, for the sake of my own kids. I have brought all of this to the English classroom in what turned out to be not only a longer-term job than originally planned, but just a BIGGER job than I could have imagined. 

 When I got the call in early September, it was not that I was simply "available," or wasn't doing anything else. It was that I knew immediately that this was what I was meant to do for now – that it was what *I* wanted to do, more than any other job I had been looking for, but also that this teacher needed me and I would (hopefully) be setting her mind at ease about leaving her job and her students on such short notice. And once I showed up in class on the first day, I knew this would be more than a "sub" job and more than a full-time job. I did not hesitate to tell my women’s rights editor that I couldn’t work on any of the finishing details of the book (timeline, intro, bibliography) and that they would have to do it in-house (this was huge for me, too, as I am such a perfectionist about work that goes out with my name on it – but my priorities had shifted). I immediately emailed my technology and inventions editor that the book would have to be postponed until next year or that they could feel free to find another writer (this was a big deal, too, because if they cancel my contract, I will owe them advance money I’ve already received, but so far they haven’t cancelled it or rescheduled it). I said No to a couple of other freelance offers that came up, but I have continued to teach the online college course because it’s a very flexible schedule and it was difficult to break-in to online teaching in the first place, and I don’t know how long I’ll be at MMS.

 Even though the teacher was telling everyone she would be gone for 6 weeks, the message I was getting from the school was to be flexible and, in my mind, I knew I would be there at least through final exams and winter break. Indeed, the original six weeks came and went without anyone really commenting on the date, as her medical condition was raising more questions than answers. I still don't know exactly how long they will need me, perhaps through the school year now, perhaps off-and-on if she plans to return at least part-time.

 YES, I would like to stay at MMS through the year as I am very invested in the work I’ve done with these particular students and have loved every day of it! I wish I’d kept a blog of it all, but I HAVE, at least, kept a really messy handwritten notebook of what we’ve done every day. It’s been very emotional at times, filling the shoes of a very beloved teacher who is out due to difficult circumstances, but the head of school, the other faculty, and the parents have all supported me 100%. And what an amazing opportunity I have had to put everything else aside and not only get to know all of these students and get new insight into my kids’ school, but to be forced to read (or re-read) an amazing list of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. That is just what writers always wish for – more time to read – and I do not doubt that, working side-by-side with the students, my own literary education will continue to unfold and enrich my own writing in new and unexpected ways.

 The one thing I do miss, then, is my own creative writing. So my goals for 2014 include revising my historical novel manuscript and reviving the agent search. I also have 25,000 words of a Young Adult novel that I am feeling deserves some new attention. I started this novel last year, in 2012, but is it too much to say that it has been a fortuitous happenstance that I have had the privilege of spending the past three months in the daily company of teens, talking about books and their lives?

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, 'O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless--of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?' Answer. That you are here--that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?" Who said it? Watching Dead Poets Society with juniors. Robin Williams as Prof. John Keating. The play's the thing. Our dynamic Performing Arts teacher came to senior class and gave us ALL some new tools for accessing the text. Gift of the Magi and Creative Writing with the 10th graders. They are writing (you guessed it) parables.

a-MAZE-ing rats!

Today Miles has a spelling test, a Spanish test, AND an oral presentation to do... and he was STILL excited to go to school. Such a good boy.

Lilli has a spelling test today, too. She also completed a fabulous science project on.... rats! You would have guessed it, right? She made a cardboard maze:




Initially, the rat was not too interested - in fact, she jumped out the top of the maze, but mostly she just sat at dead ends:



BUT THEN... we saw a show on TV called "Rat Genius" or something like that - just by coincidence - and the MIT rat researcher explained how rats need "landmarks" to help them create a map in their heads and memorize a route - just like we would use landmarks (turn right at the yellow house, etc.).

So, Lilli put some toys along the maze route as landmarks and... the rat did it! She went through, slowly, smelling & climbing on & even biting at some of the toys, until she finally, for the first time, found the treat. THEN, the truly amazing thing happened.... we put the rat back at the beginning of the maze and she ran through, briefly looking at or smelling each landmark that she had apparently memorized and she reached the end treat in record time!! The landmarks worked!

Oh yes, I remember now... the carrot is just past the bunny & around the corner by the penguin:



Now tell me you didn't learn something new about rat brains today.



(Don't laugh at her shirt - it's her mother's fault.)

The moral of the story is that, if I hadn't let my kids watch random TV instead of studying for their spelling & Spanish tests, the science experiment would have been a bust.

The Civil War comes to California...

No, David & I haven't been fighting - I'm talking about the REAL Civil War, c. 1861-1865.

We don't have an official battle site or anything like those of you eastward and southward get to experience, but it's the largest Civil War encampment / re-enactment on the west coast...

Loud, too!


David, unaware of the Southern belles sneaking up on him...

David, friend Jeff, & Miles getting a very detailed lesson on the Gatling gun:

Have you ever seen a boy happier to hold a real (not replica) 1841 Civil War rifle? This one was called the Mississippian, if I recall correctly (the gun, not the rebel).

After gathering information on the weapons used by the rebels, he took it right over to the Yankee side, the little spy.

Ok, so maybe he didn't *quite* fit in, with his skateboarding attire and all...

I didn't get a whole lotta photos of Lilli - she and friend J were more interested in climbing trees & feeding ducks than aiding the war effort. They did wait patiently for President Lincoln's field report, but the sign said come back at 4:00pm...

In mid-March we decided to bring Miles home for the remainder of the school year. He's in 7th grade and was failing 4 out of 6 of his classes. He just had constant struggles with organization, focus, communication with teachers. School was consuming 8 hours a day of his life, and he was still failing it. The plan is to keep him home through next year and give him a chance to improve his grades, gain self-confidence, decide what he wants to do about high school.

Things have been going surprisingly smoothly... my usually tired, cranky, argumentative Miles has been delightful and calm and easy to have around. He sleeps later and we give each other our space, but we also spend a good part of the day working together. He has time to sit on his bedroom floor & play with Godzilla figures, hang out on the computer, read, and even started writing a short story. He very quickly let down his posturing and attitude after leaving the social pressure of school. I'm not saying he won't get bored, or miss his friends... but this past month already there have been plenty of opportunities to meet up with friends - they go skateboarding, they text & talk online, a friend is having a birthday party next weekend, he even takes my Friday class at Lilli's school (ancient Egypt and, starting this next week, a novel-writing course), and plays ping pong & board games, etc. with some of the 5th/6th graders there when we're there on Fridays. And he plays with his sister, of course ;) One of his best friends, who he sees regularly, goes to a different school anyway, so they weren't school friends. It's a real lesson for ME not to try to micromanage his social life - to help facilitate things he wants to do - but to let him take the lead. He is the kind of kid who was enjoying the social life of school, but is also happy with a lot of down time and stay-at-home time. Always has been.


One day we went downtown to the bookstores together and he collected a few more in the series he's reading, plus he bought his first Stephen King book, The Mist. He's always loved horror and the macabre and has graduated from Goosebumps to Cirque du Freak, to now he's currently reading a series called Demonata (by the same Cirque du Freak author), and now King. yikes. He's already written his own horror short story. Another day he spent an afternoon at his dad's office at the skateboard R&D shop & warehouse (where dad's office-mates were positive about homeschooling and gave him a reject skateboard deck to use for wall art).

As for formal curricululm, he asked if he could continue with his Science program (still have textbook & workbook from school, which I'll just keep until the end of the year unless they ask for it back) and I suggested we do a chapter or unit of science per week and alternate two days of science with two days of History (don't worry - I've got that covered ;).
He does Math and his Chinese language program on a daily basis. We search out a lot of online resources for Geography, Science, educational games, the NYTimes lesson plans & vocabulary word of the day, a billion library books... he also started a family tree project, contacting relatives by phone or email to fill in gaps. So much to do, so little time.

At one of the last meetings of my ancient Egypt class at Lilli's school, we talked about Egyptian toys and games (dolls, stone toss, variations on jacks, chess, and mancala), and then I sent the kids out to forage for natural objects to create their own games - it didn't have to be an Egyptian game, that was just our inspiration. It could be a physical activity, a game for two or for many, items to create dolls or instruments, or a board or strategy game.

I broke them up into groups of 2 or 3 so they could work together as a team, and so that everyone would have a part. Here's Lilli (orange shirt, looking at camera), with a couple of friends and the many items they collected - sandstone, large pieces of bark, foxtails, etc. They created an obstacle course of sorts ;)



At first Miles resisted going to my class - wanted to stay home alone - but I bribed him with the offer to take him to do some things afterwards (go to the skate shop, sushi for lunch, etc. ;)

Well, as is often the case with Miles, he had a great time *in spite of* himself. He decided to participate and he paired himself up with one of the older boys in the class (age 10 or so). They know each other already, since Lilli's school is a very family-oriented family-involved school and we have spent a lot of time there. And I think the other boy was glad to have Miles there! They created their own intricate Stratego-inspired board game using found objects:

The class is only an hour long, but they didn't want to leave their game -so Miles and I stayed for hot lunch (Mexican food day) and then the boys went back to their game through lunch recess. We've been doing that every Friday now. Over spring break, some of these friends also visited the Egyptian museum again with us.

I'm just so glad to have this community and for Miles to nurture these friendships. When you're in junior high, the difference between 5th or 6th grade & 7th grade seems like a generation. But when you're just enjoying yourself and making friends, the difference between age 10 and age 12 is not so great.

During the foraging for game pieces and objects, Lilli found this.....


An emu egg! Yes, they have an emu at school, so it's not a mystery to find an eggshell, but it's rare.
Can you see the pretty blue tint at all?

I was happy to overhear Miles on the phone the other night telling his uncle, "Yeah, I decided to homeschool for a while."
I'm glad he is taking ownership of the decision. His attitude continues to be great. He seems very happy and relaxed and positive about his schoolwork.

I'm feeling that it was the right decision for him. Not every child will learn best in (or succeed according to the expectations of) the traditional school environment. School is just one way to learn and I'm feeling empowered that he can get a better academic education at home. I always knew that, but if he was going with the program and succeeding according to school's terms, we would have stayed on that path. For now, there is NO reason for him to fail in school when he's an interested and engaged and capable student who just needs a different environment and needs a lot more time to explore and benefits from more individual attention. Others will disagree with us - that he should be learning to get by in school - but we've always believed that "school" is less important than learning, and wanting to learn, and succeeding on your own terms.

So this is our time to learn together. It's a good feeling.

A foggy morning in the coastal hills...

I was taking the trash out this a.m. (very romantic) and stopped to appreciate how beautiful our little rolling hillside/valley really is... especially when it's foggy and misty outside.

If you were coming to visit me, this is what you'd see as you pulled into the driveway:

David's finished barn (it's not lop-sided, I am) -














Our little blue Smurf house tucked into the hillside:














(why, yes, the barn DOES seem bigger than the house! You need to talk to David about getting his priorities straight...)

Although we have other neighbors who are physically closer to us, they are obscured by trees & hills, so that this is the only other house we can actually SEE from our property:














Hello, neighbor! (Lived here 6 years and have no idea who they are or how one gets to their house...)

Some of that property beyond the white fence is ours, but we are non-productive "farmers" - haha. No domesticated animals, no crops, just overgrown brush & random fences for deer to jump.

Once a week, both kids take an afterschool art class held at Lilli's school campus. It is a mixed media class and they learn various techniques in painting, drawing, and clay, primarily. This is the second year we've done the classes in the fall and both kids really enjoy it.

Lilli has a lot of art instruction through her regular school, but the small class size (6 kids) really allows them to go in-depth and focus and get a lot of individual instruction time with the teacher. And since Miles does *not* get a lot of art instruction at school - and since he has a very positive attitude about and ASKED to do this class again - it's definitely worth it for both of them.

Also, here's a cute thing: a few weeks ago when we had our 2 days of rainstorm, Miles said to me, "I love going to art class when it rains. It's just so relaxing to be working in the barn when it's gloomy and raining outside."



You just don't always know what they are getting out of it or what the experience as a whole means to them...

As for the art itself... Well, I know I am their mother, but I am definitely IMPRESSED with the following creations:

Sushi Platter, by Miles

(love the texture, the use of a shell to make the imprint for the fin, etc.)

Frog on Lily Pad, by Lillian



removable frog on lily pad, that is...

I don't know about you, but I'm kind of amazed that an 8yo produced this. The teacher said Lilli used a photograph to model this frog & lily pad, and I can't believe the detail on the frog with the toes and the back legs, etc. Pretty cool.

If anyone is local, we highly recommend art classes with Claudia Stevens. She teaches both in Aptos and on the West Side.

Yesterday I took Lilli around for the final weekend of our county's Open Studio Art Tour. Her own art teacher gave them an assignment to visit 3 artist's studios and to write up something about the medium(s) used, what you learned about the artist's process, what you liked/disliked or what inspired you...
We did not have our map of artists to visit, so we went into it blind and just looked for Open Studio signs and stopped into random places. Turns out, we met some interesting new people!

1. The first studio we stumbled upon belonged to a well-known local artist who does watercolors, teaches local classes, leads painting tours in Italy, and has written /illustrated a children's book. She had about 200 paintings displayed throughout her house & studio & yard, a staff of 5 running around, a cash register set-up, works in progress, refreshments, and sign-up info for her Italy tour next summer. *I* was inspired by her organization and business sense! (Should I write that on my homework assignment??) Lilli asked if she could go to Italy with her. Yeah, take Lilli to Italy with you and see how much painting you get done, lady!

2. At the second studio we met a woman who did etched metal plates and a variety of other mediums, mostly images of animals, dogs, horses, cows, pigs, inspired by a visit to the county fair. I couldn't explain it well, but she showed us her process from simple sketch/outline, to detailed drawing, to the plate process and I thought it was very interesting. She also did this amazing painting based on fragments of a golden bull idol she saw at Delphi - she sketched the fragments and then reconstructed the golden bull for her painting - I was impressed with the inspiration, the story behind the painting, and with her style. Italy, Greece... I need to get in on some of this art action...
But I was mostly impressed when she told me that she had only recently begun pursuing art, in her late 60s! She had been a mom and involved in local politics, and only after she retired did she decide to take an art class and found she liked it AND was good at it.

At this studio, however, Lilli was mostly impressed with the lady's friendly dog and with her yard full of mushrooms:






3. The third studio we found involved walking up this winding path, under this tree full of the NOISIEST birds I have ever heard - but look at this amazing photo I got of them!

That's the studio up on the left and, unfortunately, I got pooped on as we walked under that tree. Oh well.

This artist does watercolors on this slick paper called "yupo" (?) - she explained that the paper does not absorb the paints, but rather the paint moves around the paper until it dries by evaporating, creating different patterns and textural effects. After the paint dries, she THEN finds inspiration in the various patterns and takes a pen and starts outlining shapes based on what she "sees" in the paint - usually different animals, creatures, etc. She calls the paintings "morphs" because one image morphs into the next - you can see them here, which is good because I probably just ruined it with my description!

Maybe it's because I got pooped on by the birds, but I thought the finished pieces were less interesting than the description of her paint/paper process. I liked the colors and paint effects *before* she added her black outlines to the images. Lilli says, "I liked the mixed up animals." She also liked chasing an orange cat around the property.

Lilli also told the artist, "I like this music you have." Turns out it is music inspired by and incorporating sounds of elephants in Africa (by Jamie Sieber), and it inspired the artist to find images of elephants in her running watercolors.

On the way up to this studio we stopped & took this photo of the strawberry fields with Monterey Bay in the background. I thought it was such a beautiful scene, perhaps not entirely captured by this photo, but Lilli makes up for what is lost in my photo translation of the landscape :)

We got back in the car and Lilli said, "I feel like we're inside a painting right here."

Exactly! We got your inspiration for art right here...mushrooms, farm animals, music, birds, elephants, the ocean, strawberry fields. That's what it's all about.