Happiness; or, Best Things

Things that make me happy: 

A couple of weeks ago, I had a student say, "Hey, I really like your dress!" Then he said, "you know, it sort of reminds me of Lord of the Dance!"

So, so many questions:
a). Was this a compliment or an insult?
b). How does a 16 year old boy know about Lord of the Dance? Didn't that go away in, like, 2000 or something?
c). I am not wearing a bolero jacket with appliques, a la Michael Flatley---so what does that mean? Really?

Also, it made me laugh. Really, really laugh. Sometimes you need that, and thanks to working with teenagers, I find quite a few things in the day to make me laugh. 

I love this quote: 

from Beloved

This is from one of my favorite writers, Toni Morrison, from her book Beloved.  It's written on the wall of my classroom. It's my new mantra. You are your best thing. That goes for you, me, everyone. I can't be superwoman and do everything at work perfectly, I am awful at meal planning and my "love/hate" relationship with the grocery store and cooking has drifted towards the "hate/despise" spectrum, but tomorrow will be better, and I am really making huge efforts to take better care of myself while dealing with the challenges of living somewhere without quality fresh produce.

As an aside (bragging here)---my 56 page master's thesis was on the book Beloved. 

As another aside---why doesn't anyone ever ask an English major about the subject of his or her master's thesis? I have never been asked this in a job interview. I know high school English teacher or librarian is not exactly the hallowed halls of academia, but dang---if anyone here reads this, and just happens to interview candidates about their qualifications for a job and sees they have an MA in English, take 3 minutes to ask about their thesis topic. Toni Morrison won the Nobel for literature the week I defended it, so I felt a lot of validation, regardless. 

Happy Meals make me happy (don't judge). This prize made me very happy: 

***book not included

Why? Batgirl was a librarian. She also happens to be reading the world's smallest edition of Beloved. Duh. 

This makes me really happy: 

After several weeks in Europe that did involve a little more walking than usual, but a whole lot more eating out (and, okay, a lot more imbibing), I lost weight. I really think it was because we a) sat down and took our time to eat our meals---it's that slow European dining experience that makes you savor your food and have a conversation at the same time; and b) we ate fresh ingredients with less hormones and antibiotics in our food. 

So we are really sort of screwed with b) here. But I have made an effort to take my time eating, and not gulp down my food like I'm starving to death. Until I tried to cut my finger off (making fresh cucumber and dill salad, by the way), I was also working out a bit. I really think now about what I eat. I can't go down to the bakery to get fresh Brotchen, but I am eating less junk food and trying to eat more vegetables. Anyway, the point is I've lost over 15 lbs, which is about what I've gained in 4 years of eating mostly processed food, and I'm feeling a million times better. 

The week of my son's high school graduation, I tried on one of my favorite dresses I only wear for very special occasions, and the damn thing shrank. I mean, my butt had grown. Not a ton, but enough that I was not comfortable wearing it and had to go with plan B dress, which isn't easy when you don't really have clothes stores here (and it takes 2-3 weeks to get mail, if it ever makes it to you in the first place). Moral of the story---don't wait until the week of an event to try on the outfit you've spent months planning on wearing. Geez. Moral of the story, part two---take time to weigh yourself occasionally and adjust your diet and exercise accordingly.


So I now have a special occasion dress that fits perfectly, a toy to remind me that I love being a librarian and ONE DAY I WILL be back in the library, and I have a student who thinks I look ready to break out in a Celtic groove at any moment. Life's not always perfect or even interesting here, but it's mine and it's my best thing.