Sunday, March 11, 2018

i need a vacation....

When I was a young thing, my mom and her extended family introduced me to the musical Pump Boys and Dinettes. It was love at first listen, and though I haven’t actively sought it out in a while, I still sometimes lapse into “Farmer tan on my neck and arms, farmer tan the secret of my charms…” or “Tune ups, tune ups, gas for less…” randomly as I traipse around this mountainside. Chris hates it.

But one of my favorite songs -- one I rely upon and that becomes my mantra nearly every Friday is “I Need a Vacation.” From its first plaintive cries, you can tell the singer is desperate to leave behind her job, if only temporarily, for something more exciting and relaxing. (Please please check out this video of the Tony Awards performance, and you’ll see how much fun this musical is.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG6LA9UsJQ4

Working at Woodstock is often joyful, particularly the actual teaching part, but man is it exhausting. By December last year, everyone was drained and thinking something akin to: “If I could only do something different, somewhere else, oh what a joy -- a mighty joy! -- that would be!”

Thankfully, Woodstock does grant us a hefty break from mid-December until early February, a necessity in a school that lacks real heating. Chris, Chloe and I spent our break in America and in South India.

America was loads of fun because we got to see Chloe interacting with her extended family, and that means we got a bit more of a break too! Here’s a sampling of those photos (all except the first two are from Grandma Kathy)… 

Chloe's first Christmas! (photo credit: Uncle Michael)
She loved the wrapping! (photo credit: Uncle Michael)
Chloe-bear playing with my old bear
Hanging at the mall
Chloe stayed up late the day Chris came back from Philly
Chloe's first haircut!
Chloe and Grandma
South India was quite the contrast, particularly after spending time in snowy Rochester. The weather was balmy and the ocean was too. We rented a nice airbnb apartment that had a kitchen and allowed us to take a relaxed approach to getting out and about, something that I realize is key with a baby. Chloe had her first interactions with the beach and the ocean waves, and she seemed to enjoy herself thoroughly. Unfortunately I don’t have many photos from Goa, but here are a few of Chloe in the water.
Yay sand!
Yay waves!
Now we’re back in the rising workload of trimester 3. It's bittersweet to think we're only here for three more months. We can’t wait to begin a new adventure, but it will be hard to say goodbye to this place and these people. I’ve been derelict in my documentation of the past few weeks, as Chloe was pretty sick and things were chaotic, but now my goal is to be better about taking photos and posting every week or so. I wish Chloe could remember this place, but she’s too young, so few photos will need to suffice.

Have a great week,
love, mel