Right Now-November Recap

 Right Now...

I'm listening to  Adele on Spotify.   I never considered myself a big Adele fan- but earlier this month I caught her interview-concert with Oprah (who I am shamelessly a fan of) and well, I just can't seem to get enough of this crooner.   

Normally I wait until the end of the month to recap-update the blog.  But, it's Sunday morning after having the past week off (Fall Break + Thanksgiving Holiday=all week off), and I figured I'd do a little digital housekeeping before losing my peaceful bliss and returning to work tomorrow morning.

I'm loving...that we had a week off just when I think we needed it most.   In the week leading up to our time off, my district was struggling with 2 school related shooting events.   One occurred at the park near a high school and another occurred in a parking lot on the campus of a high school.   Both schools are about 15 minutes from my location and are the schools where most of my students attended (My "kids" are all older).   Tensions and stress were high- having had our typical fall break shortened as the district experiments with whether a long break at Thanksgiving is "better for the kids" than our mid-October break   I've got my thoughts- but I'm not in charge so we shall see if the powers that be make decisions that align with my thoughts.

Anyways- on a whim- I decided to fulfill a promise made to my cousin- and I flew out last weekend to check in on her.  

Cousin S- in the red dress and me with my little red purse

With the help of her daughter- I pulled a classic "surprise" visit as I walked out of the terminal to my cousin's great delight and true surprise.   

I also was able to spend time with childhood friends- as we spent Sunday together roaming the streets of Wauwatosa and the Milwaukee area.  

Our joy was dampened as we received word during dinner that tragedy had struck our hometown of Waukesha.  

I'd marched in that Holiday parade through my high school years and it has been sad to see my friends now struggle with the "how can that be" sort of sadness that unfortunately Aurora and Colorado has seen one too many times. 

  I don't have the answers...all I can do is lean into the need to surround ourselves with people that bring us joy- knowing that anything is possible...and don't put off those promised visits for you never know what is ahead on this road of life.

I'm feeling rested and ready.   Hubby has been out in search of AZ sunshine and both Things were working the bulk of the week- so Thanksgiving itself was a rather simple affair.   I used this time off to 

play with my Cricut

Accidentally complete a 5k...what can I say- it was a really good audio-book

Start a  little decorating...

With a kitten that is now cat- I suspect this will be 2nd year where I minimize the decorations that actually go onto the tree- lest I spend January searching the corners and crevices of the house for ornaments that Owen decided would make the perfect toy. 

Until Next Time...

 May you practice kindness- because that's the world I think we all want to live in..

Hopefully surrounded by a cuddly friend or two...