In a time of...

In a time of uncertainty,
Soak up the laughter that comes from
You mouthing words to your son
While your father tells him
Something else completely.

In a time of anxiousness,
Find a corner or space in your house
To fake punch a wall
Run between walls
Sit against the wall
Or headstand against the wall
Letting the blood
Flow in all different directions.

In a time of unknown,
Let the creativity erupt from your skull
Flow into the universe
Through innovative teaching
Through choose your own adventure recipes
Through art projects you never thought you had in you
Through building god knows what out of wine boxes.

In a time of solitude,
Reach out,
You are surrounded by others in the universe and
Are far from alone.
You have your head
Your heart
And hundreds of ears and eyes
Craving that you
Pick up the phone
And Say Hello.

In a time of messiness,
Say yes to the mess.
Say no to that
Anal devil on your shoulder.
You aren't going to get ahead
Of it and if you do, it means
You got behind
In something else.

In a time of desperation,
Start writing that
Gratitude list.
Start dialing those
Numbers.
Start
Having faith
That the
World will win.

#day31 #SOL20 #I'llmissthis

Day 30: Tired, Grateful, and Oreos

It's 9:13 pm here but in most of my people's worlds it's another time of the day, or perhaps another day.  You see I live in North America, which makes me an anomaly in the sea of expats here in Argentina.  The New York Times said it had the most Millenial Expats in the world, Heather... Come on.... 

I, however, friends, am exhausted.  My day started at a toddler reasonable time "7:45 am" and Pablo touched down into sleepiness at "7:45 pm" 12 hours later so things could be much worse, but now, after a little bit of wine.  It's a mid-week holiday, shoot me. And a little bit of good conversation, Yes, my neighbor, who has been looking after Pablo, while single parenting, snuck over.  I am done.  I am ready to close my eyes and surrender.  Part of me wishes I was in New York at a climate change conference when I think of my prior plans, and then, the other part of me, says, "No. Love Argentina and all it is right now."

I am thankful for empanadas.
I am thankful for oreos.
I am thankful for tired husbands.
I am thankful for tap water.
I am thankful for friends who listen wholeheartedly.
I am thankful for joy: here, there and everywhere.

#SOL20 #March30 

Happy Accidents; Feeling Groovy

6 pm this evening, I went out to buy onions. 
We needed onions for our pasta sauce.  It was a mandatory trip, plus a breath of welcomed fresh air.

First stop, Dia, the local chain discount supermarket.  I usually try to avoid this place but there were no lines and I didn't really need anything else.   I walked in.  There was orange juice.  Orange juice is hard to come by these days.  I think people really want the vitamin C so are stocking up.  This is a good sign, I thought to myself.  I continued down the aisle to the fruit and vegetable sections.  There was a lone half chunk of lettuce, a tomato, a couple of apples.  I scanned the empty boxes looking for a sign of onions.  Finally, at the bottom of a box, I saw a few.  I picked one up. It leaked juice and bugs flew out.  #shoppingfail

Next stop, I went to the Chinese grocery store across the street.  There was a line of 5 people but it moved within 5 minutes.  I went in and saw the vegetable part of the store run by another person was closed and walked out.

I began to lament.  Pasta sauce without tomatoes.  Of course, it would work but wouldn't be so good.  As I approached the corner to turn back to my house, I saw the little organic store, with two people outside.  It seemed open.  I walked up.  A cute shirtless man stood outside talking to his other friend.  I said "Tienen cebolla/ do you have onions?"

They said, "Yes, but do you know how this works?"  He then tossed me a gorgeous green apple.  "You need that too."

I replied "Yes, I do, but I really need onions for my pasta sauce."  They responded with a giggle and asked whether I wanted brown or red.

We chatted for awhile and I gave them my number so I can order vegetables from them in the future; it's an organic community garden that creates boxes and delivers them within the neighborhood.  Totally my jam, but just hadn't taken the time to sign up, especially since we are theoretically leaving soon.

I asked "How much?" as I was about to go.
They said "No worries, it's a present."

Whether this was a kind exchange, good energy, a happy accident, or Heather, still having a bit of groove, even in quarantine gear (puppy shirt, post-workout pulled back hair, and blue running shorts), it was a boost to my self esteem and a great little dent in my day.

#SOL20 #Day29 #grooveisintheheart

Papa's Home

We woke up around 8:30 this morning, Pablo and I.  We didn't make it that far out of the room. 
I got him some milk.  He watched his Ipad a bit. Then a car passed and I said, is that papa. 

He stood by the window, staring longingly.

I saw the tinted windows and car parking in front of our house and thought, that must be him.

A neighbor's son stepped out of the car, "Not papa," I said sadly.

"When's papa coming?"  Pablo asked desperately.

"Soon, any minute now?  Keep looking out the window.  "You could put on pants?" I suggested to my naked boy.

All of a sudden, I saw a car drive by with what seemed like a larger man in the back.  I didn't want to tell P that was him because I wasn't 100% sure, so I played it cool.

"Keep looking." I said and then, when Pablo turned around for a split second.  He arrived at the gate.

"Hola familia!" He said cheerfully.

I ran to throw on clothes to be decent enough to go outside to open our gate.  Pablo ran to to the door and opened it naked.  He waited patiently as I opened the gate to our door, and then we put in the key to open the gate to the courtyard.  Papa picked up Pablo and gave him a giant bear hug.  He moved him to one side and invited me into the family hug.

We cuddled.  We smiled.  We sighed.

#Thankfulforfamily #SOL20  #day28

Random thoughts

#1: My husband comes home tomorrow, 7 weeks of single parenting and 2 weeks of quarantine later. 

We have all missed papa so much and are looking forward to his return. 

#2: My child and I were listening to music via the google speaker in our house today and it was absolutely hysterical to watch him try to talk to google.  He was like "Okay google, play wheels on the bus." 

#3: I was planning on cooking hamburgers and french fries for dinner alongside fresh melon and what did I do instead.  I ordered food because my son wanted the food delivered by a moto.  You pick your battles in life, but when you are single parenting and in a pandemic, you let a lot of things go and just roll with the punches. 

#4: Whether we are exercising, or teaching online, or playing with toys or houses, or trying to cook something, or do something artistic, I am losing creativity in having to be switched on every single second I am awake. 

#5: I am really bummed about not getting to see one of my besties: Heather and her family, for Semana Santa/ Spring/ Easter break.  They have been somewhat close the last two years living in Monterrey, Mexico and if our intended move to China does happen, then I worry, we won't see them for awhile again.

#6: Speaking of China, closing it's borders, dodgy Harvard medical scientists being paid by Chinese government.  I hope that this isn't part of the conspiracy theories that I play out in my head each day. 

#SOL20 #March27 #4moredays

Beaches by Tuk-tuks

"I want to go to the beach by tuk tuks." said Pablo today. 
 A few months ago, during happy times, we visited this magical little island off the coast of Honduras, called Utila.  

We boarded a plane with just four small seats, for 3 adults and Pablo sat on Andres' and I's laps.  We took the gorgeous flight 3.5 km above the sea for about 20 minutes before we landed on a strip of pavement in a sea of green.  When we arrived, there was not really an airport but the women in charge of the airport there, plus, a tuk-tuk with the other passenger's friend to come and meet her.  Pablo and I hopped on the back of the moto with the airport lady, and Andres went in the tuk-tuk with the luggage.  Within a few minutes, we arrived at our hotel or lodge known as the Mango Tree Lodge.  It was quaint, with a dive pool, restaurant that served cold beers and delicious pizza and super comfy.  

Utila is small, so much that there are not a ton of cars on the island and most people get around by walking. motorbikes, tuk-tuks or golf carts.  Pablo loved this.  He got a little tired of driving around in the US so much in cars so was happy with the free flow of walking or breeze blowing in his face while riding the other open air transport.  

There wasn't much to do on this island, dive, go to the beach, drink beers, eat, search for shells, read books.  It was just what we needed to relax and forget about reality for awhile. 

My friend and I were talking today about the fact that so much of our lives as expats is about looking forward to our next trip. With COVID-19, there is uncertainty around our move to China, and we also aren't sure where we will go this summer for our short vacation, if we can even leave this country.  So for now, we just have to dream of faded memories of going to the beach by tuk-tuks.

#SOL20 #day26 

You are more than you think!

When you are staring at the screen and can't think of what to write, it's because your head is blank.  You have put so much into today. 

You did the NYtimes mini crossword.

You woke up and made eggs for your child, made coffee, played with the train.

You did math with Pablo with cups, counting and pots and pans. 

You video conferenced with a colleague to plan for supporting two of her challenging students who need a lot of extra love and support. 

You built a fort/ office for your son so that he could have his time while you video conferenced with your student book clubs. 

You laughed with your students in book clubs with wonky wifi connections. 

You let your child climb up on your lap when he was feeling left out and say hi to your students. 

You made lunch: chorizo, melon, strawberries, avocado and cheese for your son and salmon raviolis with pesto, cheese, broccoli and chipotle flakes for you. 

You tried to unclog the toilet again and failed and covered yourself in shit, literally and figuratively.

You played with the train again. 

You made a playground for the wooden people and played house. 

You listened to the Noodle Loaf podcast.

You watched Pup Academy with Pablo.

You played soccer, and other ball games with Pablo. 

You practiced somersaults with Pablo. 

You took a bath with Pablo and washed his hair. 

You brushed the dreads out of his hair. 

You started curating a digital text list for G2 Series Books List across Epic, Big Universe, TumbleBooks and Destiny. 

You ate pizza. 

You made an order for necessities, groceries, cleaning products online.
You spent the last hour and a half, reviewing your students' work for today, leaving comments and prepping for tomorrow's lessons. 

You blogged. 

You watched one episode of guilty pleasure tv. 

You passed out effortlessly. 

What did you do today? I am sure that it might have felt messy and rough but listing all the things I did makes me feel quite pleased. 

#SoL20 #Day25 #6moredays #Imtired 

Come on America... We should be better.

I'm enraged by what's happening in the US right now and am thankful that I call Argentina my home for the time being.

What has got my hands up in the air? THIS (above). This is something that we could have avoided.   This is something that we could have learned from.  It felt like I was being punched in the stomach when Trump said "We are learning a lot."  Then, shut the country down, mate.  Argentina had less than 100 cases and decided to ban international incoming flights from other countries and then, cancelled schools and finally, put us on a strict quarantine for two weeks as the numbers of cases started to double each day.   It is extreme and awful and emotionally and physically challenging but this country knows that they don't have the economic nor medical means to do deal with an outbreak like Spain or Italy. 

  This is something where Americans might need to put away some of their pride and egocentrism and say, let's learn from Italy, from Spain, from Iran, from China.  There is no reason for it.  Although Italy and Spain run social healthcare systems, there are some values shared between our Western cultures.  Although, there are many differences in governments and philosophical as well as religious views in China and Iran, how do we not learn from them and pay respect to American elders by taking a chance to actually stab this in the back before it gets dreadfully out of hand.  Although quite frankly, I think it's past that point now.  There is a good chance we will pass Italy no later than the end of the week and if ignorance continues to be bliss in the White house, then we will pass China in the week to come.  

And, the comments today of the Texas Lt governor, who is willing to sacrifice the lives of tax paying Americans over the age of 70 to get the economy back in gear.  Really?  Is this what the world has come to?  It's a dystopian novel nightmare.  

In other countries, this disease is bringing something beautiful out in cultures.  Virtual dance parties, Distance learning creativity, Balcony claps nightly, Music on balconies, Lots of calls to loved ones we often neglect.  So get your act together America,  before it's too late. 

#SOL20 #Day24 

Dance party denied!

Today, was a good day, there was some exercise in the morning on the rooftop and then my friend, Christine, decided to teach Oula via a Zoom class.

We all logged on between 4:25-4:30 pm.  It was refreshing to see smiling familiar faces.  Some near, some far but all familiar.

We started on time and Pablo was into it for like 30 seconds.  He let me dance and got distracted by his house for the first 5 minutes.   Then, he all of the sudden got frustrated I was not playing with him, walked straight up to the computer and slammed it shut.  I reacted by saying "Pablo, please.  I really want to dance with my friends." I calmly opened the computer and started again.  He joined in for a few minutes. 

He then sneakily snuck away and took out the lego maze box.  He poured it all on the floor but was again, distracted once more.  All of a sudden as I was doing a little jazzy spin, he comes around, shuts it again and says "No mama, no more."

My virtual dance party was denied.  I need a back up plan if I want to join on Wednesday.

#SOL20 #day23 

Love.. inspired by Matt de La Pena

In the beginning, there was a disco and a passing
and an open space
and a happy accident
and a long conversation in Spanglish.

Over Japanese bbq and Raimat,
the chat bloomed and love radiated,
smelling soft and new, like spring.

Love, too, was the first time
we travelled together.
A skiing trip, with your black leather jacket
and urgency to buy gloves, we made a lot of love
that weekend, but didn't ski.

In a crowded Senegalese bus,
You hang off the back with your hair blowing in the wind
Me smushed, a speck of white in a sea of darkness,
but laughter and smiles are love.

In the morning before Pablo is born,
you nearly faint holding me up as the epidural needle pierces me.
Later on, you hold me up, as I wail with pain and gasp with laughter in between.

One day, I wake up suddenly, and you're not by me.
And I have this feeling. And I check my phone.
4 calls from my brother and dad.
Their silence pounds on my helplessness.

And when we get on a plane, 16 hours later.
And she is already gone, all you can do is hold my hand,
and let me cry as I need to.
But our love, our joy, Pablo, is bursting with life and
we are so lucky we have him.

And when he gets up and parades around Mom's funeral,
the silent grins and cheeky snickers ring through the air,
sending love into the universe to wherever she is.

And in time, the love that we have is a cheeky theater night in the city,
A bottle or two of wine on the back terrace,
A family swim in the pool that goes on and on.

And love is when Pablo wants to talk with Abu or Grandpa or Lane,
because the people we love, are the people that love him.

And love is the "I'm sorry mama" when he rolls over my foot.
Or the "I miss papa" week after week after week of work travel and now quarantine.

And it's love in the phone call, you make, to tell him Asterisk, all the while,
gathering images on your screen to show him you are reading the book.

And it's love, when we talk three times a day and it still doesn't feel like enough
because even though you are here, you aren't here.

And the words popping out on this screen are love for authors and books and words
that really bring us to the moment.

#SOL20 #day22 #love 

The Single Parenting Quarantine Marathon

4 words that you probably never would have foreseen going together"

Single parenting quarantine marathon

Our day began at 6:30

"Mama, I want chocolate milk"

"Pablo, you went to bed at 9. Go back to sleep"

"Mama, wake up."

"I will get you milk but you are going back to sleep."

I get the milk. P drinks it, rolls over to face me.

His eyes are rolling to the back of his head, 

Please.  I think.  Go the fuck to sleep.

A little while later, he starts to roll around.  

I pick up my phone. It's 7:57.  I sigh.

"Okay, we can get up." 

We go for our daily walk.  We don't need anything really.

But we need to look like we need something and actually buy something.

So we go to the bakery and get croissants. 

Then we go to the store and buy avocados, peaches, corn and blueberries. 

When we get home, I declare it's exercise time. 

So we take the purple mat and the orange roller and our water up to the roof. 

We stretch and then do some running races together. 

I follow up with a 6 rounds of different jumps

5 rounds of legs and 300 abs, with a run back and forth across the roof in between each set. 

Pablo plays in his Dad's office (currently uninhabited) and pokes his head out the window

pretending he runs a food delivery place and asks me what I want.  

I learn sooner than not that it's hard to count reps and not be redundant with your food orders while playing restaurant / doing leg lifts. 

It's about 10:45 am at this point.  Time for a change of pace. 

We decide to clean.  We clean the kitchen: all the cupboard doors, sweep, the windows 

and then mop the floor.  Then, we clean the devices, because it's been 2 days, rubbing them down with cotton and alcohol.  Then we do some rounds of doctor with Pablo's doctor kit and now, it's about 11:30 am.  Then, something happens (my day has been so eventful and it was also so meaningless) Pablo has a meltdown and gets mad at me.  He also gets his typical wave of boredom/ tiredness and says he wants to sleep.  I tell him to go lie down on the bed and go into join him.  He's sad.  Missing his Dad.  Confused by everything.  Why isn't Vero (his nanny) around?  Why can't we go to the park? Where is papa? Questions that have been repeated at least 5 times a day for the last 48 hours.  

Finally, we become a little more relaxed.  And, we start talking about lunch and I say, "Do you want this or that?" and P replies "I don't want anything." So I get on my storytelling, special voice and say.  "Oh I have an idea" and concoct a long tangent about the best sandwich ever.  We go to make grilled cheese and finish off the meal with a homemade ice cream sandwich.  

My next idea stems from an early childhood group.  We make paint out of flower, salt, water and food coloring.  We do this together and Pablo enjoys the chemistry of putting it all together.  Then, we go out and paint awhile.  Then, I get distracted, as I do often throughout the day with these tasks, and I start to pull the ivy off our walled in yard, which is quite intense.  After an hour later and getting Pablo involved in the process, I am pretty satisfied that I have cleaned 80% of the wall, bagged it up and feel a lot less stressed out.  We also call Abu (Pablo's Spanish grandmother) and get to talk to cousins and aunties too.  As most of you know, Spain is on lockdown too, so 6 of them are cooped up in Andres' sister's house.  

Following this liberating time in the garden, I decide on top of our: exercise, make something, quiet time, grocery/ scooter outings, call someone we love, I must add "gardening" projects to our list of things we do daily to kill time. 

Once that is done, it's about 4:50 pm.  Time for another walk to buy something when the stores open at 5 pm: trash bags, a new dustpan, salt for making play dough tomorrow and ice trays for another painting popsicle project. 

We walk there and walk back, taking our slow time.  It's clear Pablo is trying to procrastinate going back to the house as much as possible with his turtle pace, random stop and observe think alouds and more.  

Upon arrival, it's time for some train play.  We construct houses, a hospital, have bbqs all with legos next to the lego train which delivers fruit and bread to people because they can't leave their houses right now.  Sound familiar?  

Suddenly, there is a "Mama, chorizo" whine which means it's time for dinner.  Pablo gets the fresh dinner of pasta, chorizo and melon.  While mama eats all the leftovers of other meals.  

Bath time, then, 20 minutes of Cars the movie while hair dries,  and then 2 books down, when Pablo says "I want to sleep, mama" even before the book ends.  Within minutes he's down, and now here I am doing my slice of life, looking forward to the guilty pleasure of Netflix series and passing out early because the reality is, I got to run another marathon each day for the next 7 days. 

#SOL20 #day21 #thenewnormal 

It's 12:12 pm.  Day 1 of Quarantine and we have been up since 6:30 am.

Since then, I had an admin leadership meeting.  My son and I went to buy some fruits, veggies and almond milk.  We made chocolate chip cookies.  We talked with our friends in Mexico on Facetime.   We cut up melon.  We did some exercise, running races and 200 sit-ups.    Time is a gift when we can get such a variety

Now, it's a 20 minute tech break for Pablo and I.  I am taking advantage of SOL blogging while he watches some Youtube kids.  I also learned how to block channels and certain videos which was pretty simple and great because I really don't like him watching some of the crap that is on youtube these days.  It's that I never have time to do this when I am rushing in the morning to take a shower and let him have his 10-15 minutes of screen time.  Time is a gift, even 1 minute to just remember to do this simple thing.

This afternoon, we'll probably go out again.  Some friends might sneak over when "they are out shopping" for margaritas and we want to have snacks to entertain.  Time is a gift when you can make the time you need for one another because you aren't busy being busy.

#SOL20 #day20 #11moredaystogo

A Messy But Beautiful World

Things just got even more real in Argentina.

We are on lockdown until March 31, 2020.  Waiting for official news to see the implications but not a good situation. 

Just watched an Indigo Girls concert that attracted 60,000 fans via facebook.  The world is messy but there is still so much beauty.

Ordered 12 bottles of wine today and made a cardboard bus out of the boxes for my toddler.

This is the time to let your creativity flow and relinquish control.

#SOL20 #day19 #wow

Oopsie. Rascalish Moments from Pablo

As we were eating pizza and watching Pup Academy, a Friday night activity that has somehow made it to the middle of the week, we were giggling and Pablo grasped on to a new dog, called Oopsie. 
He asked "What's oopsie?" And kept repeating it frequently like it was being repeated in the episode. 
I said "It's kind of like uh-oh."

And then, Pablo said, oh "like shit."

And I said, "Yes" but "Oopsie is what you say, not shit." 

To which he jokingly replied "Oopsie. Oopsie.  Oopsie."

And to which I grinned, sheepishly.

#SOL20 #day18 #Oopsie 

When It's Over

When It's Over, I want to go on a trip to a beach and drink margaritas and build sandcastles while splashing around in crystal clear water.

When It's Over, I want to go to a discoteque and dance, hard, up and down, joyfully jumping, laughing, screaming and raging like I am 22.

When It's Over, I want to take my son to 4 different parks in one day and let him jump in the ball pit, and eat popcorn and live.

When It's Over, I will have upskilled my online learning skills but will probably want to use tech as little as possible in my life.

When It's Over, I hope we can preserve how we stopped and examined our lives carefully for seconds because we had time.  Time is a gift and is important.

#SOL20 #day17 #tired

80s Moment Magic: A Comedic Flashback

Once upon a time, many years ago, on a frigid October evening in Upstate New York, my friends Hannah and Isabel and I were sitting around in their dormitory, finishing up our dinner and debating what lay ahead for the evening.  Do we bear the cold and go out to a party?  Do we hunker down and drink wine and watch a trending comedy?   A few silly drinking games later, Hannah and Isabel convinced me to go to a sorority's 80s party.  We did a bit of a dressing room parade before we secured our outfits and there I was, ready to go, with liquid courage and little enthusiasm except for quality time with those too.  Adorned in neon green ruffles with a top ponytail, we climbed aboard the school's shuttle and headed towards the 80s party located in the ever so classy, Bundy Dining Hall. 

As we walked through the doors, it was as if 80s paraphernalia had exploded everywhere: crimped hair, jean jackets, rainbow and neon colored tutus all to the lulling calm of Tiffany and Debby Gibson.  I looked at Hannah and Isabel horrified and tried to bolt for the door.   They grabbed me and said "Let's get a beer."  We went to the bar which was luckily slow and ran into some other friends and chatted to them. 

When all of the sudden, a girl with too much blue eyeshadow, combined with too much Budweiser, cruised up to me, and goes "Are you Heather?" And I said, yes, curiously.  And the boppity, beer drinking random girl, continues while pouring a beer on my top ponytail.  "This is for making out with my sister's boyfriend." And then ran away hysterically, while I stood, stunned, slightly soaked in my hideous green dress.  My friend, Molly responded with more speed then me, running over and starting to kick the culprit.  I felt like I had been doused in clarity and walked calmly over to the accuser and her sister. and said "I'm sorry but I didn't know you were still dating, and let's look at this situation, he made out with me, while he was dating you.  Who is the bad guy here?"   The girl whose boyfriend I had apparently made out with, was clearly shocked that I had continued this whole very 80s movie exchange but acknowledged my point.  She didn't say sorry but nodded and that was enough.  Enough for me to have peace with the moment,  enough with me to have my miserable and ridiculous 80s movie moment and enough for me to end my evening of drinking and proceed to my dorm's charming shower stalls.  

#SOL20. #Day16 #comicreliefincorona 

When... #newnormals

When all is unwell, we draw rainbows and red cars and bushy trees on our wall outside and listen to the Greatest Showman soundtrack, dancing in shorts that resemble jams from the 90s but cut off mid thigh.

When all is unknown, we make Easter bunnies from our cotton normally reserved for removing nail polish.

When we can't go to the park, we build forts, big ones, with 2 sofas pushed together and 5 blankets as rooftops, and 3 different rooms: one for Pablo, one for mama and one for Mona, the stuffed monkey.

When there's not much new to do, we invent things, like cleaning the windows or cleaning Papa's room he'll be quarantined in when he moves from his airbnb to home in a few days.

When we are disconnected, we end up talking to loved ones more often, and appreciating them and loving them much more then we often do but as we should.

When we go to the grocery store and the pastas, beans, rice are all but gone, we decide, maybe it's time to actually stock up our freezer instead of living our typical European day to day, shop for what you'll cook/ need lifestyle.

When you are tired at the end of long day #can't count anymore and you still need to blog, this is what you get.

#SOL20 #day15 #newnormals

Uber Power: Adventures in Coronavirus

Today, was another day full of uncertainty and wildness.  My husband arrived safely back from Spain but is now staying at an airbnb in quarantine for 5-14 days, depending on whether or not school closes.  If school closes, we'll get him home and hunker down together.  If school doesn't close, we might have to extend our airbnb situation.  Nothing is easy right now.   So before he got there, I had to drop off some stuff for him, and ordered him a lot of food and supplies for the next week.   I had to pick up the key from a dodgy patch of grass/ shrubbery, as the owner of the airbnb didn't want to be in contact with the new arrival from the airport either.  Fortunately, I left my child with some dear friends, and uber-ed around in the pouring rain.  When it rains, it definitely pours.  Nevertheless, I took him some clean clothes, and stuff he needed so he could still work. 

Still, throughout this day, I took 4 Ubers.  We don't have a car in Argentina and if there were not torrential fall rains, I would have probably walked or run to let out stress but that wasn't possible at this particular moment.  So bless the Uber drivers, because they are out there, doing a job, for us paranoid people who don't want to take public transport or don't have access to cars.   These Uber drivers are champions because they are risking their lives to move people around safely and that's something admirable in a time when things are so volatile.

So cheers to the Uber Drivers. 
#SOL20 #Day14

13 Things I am Grateful for on Friday, March 13, 2020

1)  My gorgeous son, Pablo, and his joy and emotions, and enthusiasm for life.
2)  My nanny, Vero, who has helped tenfold since Andres has been traveling and is a good role model and example to Pablo.
3)  Argentine ice cream, literally makes everything better for everyone.
4)  Argentine wine, cheap, cheerful and plentiful, makes everything better for mamas.
5)  Resilience: seeing my community work hard, be dedicated to learning how and keeping their game faces on as much as possible.
6) SOL community: it's been great to support one another around the world through these coronavirus ups and downs.
7) Friends to laugh and cry with whether in person or over facebook, whatsapp, etc.
8) The Temporary Closure for Educators Facebook page
9) My grade 2 book clubs who are in a groove and have done some really successful work around life lesson, character inferences, story elements recently.
10) Netflix and the series of both educational and cheesy series and films I can watch to let go.
11) Amazon, kindles and the availability of beautiful books at our fingertips
12) Drinkable water without bottles, filters, etc.
13) Positive stories like this one that show the world working together hand in hand to get us back to living our lives fully. 

It Breaks My Heart

Today, my husband called and after being away a long time, said he was coming home early.  This was around 5:00 pm on my run.  One hour later, I received a text message from a colleague whose daughter was due to arrive tomorrow from Europe.  It said all flights had been suspended for 30 days between countries/ places such as: the United States, Japan, Europe, South Korea, Iran, China, etc.  My heart literally shattered in the seconds that I read that message and I started to cry slowly and softly because my son is sensitive to it now.   He asked me "Why don't you feel well?" And I couldn't bear to tell him as I had told him the news just earlier that his father was coming home early.

#SOL20 #Itbreaksmyheart #stopcorona #day12

Love for La Lucila

My little neighborhood in Argentina is called La Lucila. 
It's a cross between Eureka Springs, a small hippy town located in Arkansas and the 1950s.
In the 4 blocks that it houses, there is everything you could ever want and more.

• 4 restaurants: An Italian, A Mexican and 2 cafes
• 1 bar
• 1 gluten free store
• 3 beauty salons
• 3 natural food stores
• 1 chain grocery store
• 2 fruit and vegetable shops 
• 4 bakeries 
• 1 pizza shop
• 1 sushi shop
• 3 butchers
• 2 glasses/ optician shops
• 1 toy shop
• 1 art shop
• 4-5 knick knack shops

The best thing about La Lucila is its love for Pablo, my 2.5 year old son.  In every store, he enters, people shout out his name or give him something free, or first bump him or whatever, that brings a smile to his face.  He is happy to be in our neighborhood and free.  We will miss the charm and attention they give him.  

Yesterday, we went to the cafe, and he had a typical 2.5 year old irrational meltdown because I wouldn't buy him a bottle of water as we were trying to get some croissants to take away.  So the manager, got him a little glass and gave it to him.  

He regularly wants to rock up to the little bar because he knows he'll get free chips and peanuts and he is assertive enough to go ask for more. 

Little La Lucila has filled our hearts immensely for the last 2 years of our lives in Argentina and we'll miss it tremendously when we leave.   

#SOL20 #Day11

The Coronavirus Blues

So, as many of you frequent readers and friends may know, I am moving to China next year.   While in many ways, I am so excited about this move.  It will be good for my son as the ECC program he will go into next year aligns with my understandings and beliefs of what a strong, Reggio inspired program should be.  It will be good for my husband, as he currently has a number of Chinese clients, and is hoping to extend that circle and potentially open up an office in the Silicon Valley of Shanghai.  Finally, I am excited about this move for a number of reasons.  First, I will get to catch up with and hang out with a number of friends who currently reside in Shanghai.   Also, I am excited to work in a full implementation of the C3, really diving in, exploring and supporting teachers in building an inquiry model that incorporates workshop elements and also builds kids understandings and opportunities to make connections about civics, the economy, history and geography.  Finally, I am excited about all the food I will get to consume in China, after 2 volatile years in Buenos Aires, which includes eating the very best and worst of Argentina's offerings.    Still, there is a big cloud lurking over our heads known as the coronavirus.  It's not only causing problems with my potential move to China.  It's spilling over into my joy.   

To start off with, I was supposed to go to New York to the Teacher's College Climate Change Symposium.  I was so excited to get this future forward PD and really was looking forward to it helping me imagine some clear lines with upcoming C3 units I was to develop with my K-5 teams in Argentina.   This has been cancelled because of the Coronavirus and I am currently dealing with the repercussions of trying to get money back from various stakeholders, long on-hold calls, and also, the sadness of not getting to see some dear friends from New York that have recently had some big life changes (babies, house buying, etc).  

Coronavirus isn't killing only my travel joy but others too.  My best friend and her family are scheduled to visit us in BA in the first week of April for the Easter holiday and we are crossing out fingers that their flight does not get cancelled and that they are able to fly.   Both my son and I need our buddies, Heather and Lane, and their energy and love, to help finish out this tiring school year. 

Finally, Coronavirus is putting a kink in the momentum of our school.  After a rollercoaster ride of a year, the superintendent was finally gaining momentum with a number of initiatives: PD, a new mission, hiring of a new admin team, etc.  and now, we have shifted our focus to all things distance learning.   I know in the future we will look at these days and be thankful that they helped us prepare for such events with great detail but for right now, it's frustrating from a big picture perspective, that the school is getting held back in moving forward because of having to deal with the coronavirus potential crises. 

The last thing before I go is that my hubby is in Spain right now: one of the recently blacklisted countries that is currently adding new cases in the hundreds each day.   He has been gone so long and isn't feeling well and is frustrated with the socialized medicine in Europe, which is always so good, until these kind of catastrophes happen.   We just want him home and healthy, so we can snuggle and not miss papa anymore, in the words of my son. 

Anywise, enough complaining for today, I think I'll try to use this post as inspiration for a poem or song tomorrow to the tune of the coronavirus blues. 

#SOL20 #day10 

Moody Wind

The wind is hurried
Scurrying everything in
Its path
Up and away.

Uncertainty hangs heavy
Permeating the sky
Clouds divide
and come together.

The weather
imitating my mood
doesn't know what it
wants.
Salty, sweet?
Water with gas? Water without?
Workout? No workout?

I confront the wind
On my bike ride home.
Feeling tossed about
Tired arms and legs.

And all sorts of objects flying through the air
Is just another metaphor for the chaos of life at the moment.

#Day 9 #SOL20

Early Sunday Morning

The sun climbing over the wall covered in vainy leaves
Is creeping over the pool
Towards the house

We sit, almost still.
Me typing away on my keyboard
The lull of Pablo's Ipad on nearly mute.

The sweet, sticky smell of chocolate chip pancakes
Lingering in the air.

My head is craving coffee
and My body longs to be back in bed

But we'll go on.

There's so much fun to be had today
*Meet my new colleagues via Zoom
*Coffee and the happy park
*An afternoon swim
*An afternoon run
*Dinner with Leilani
*Reading time: with my current book, The Immortalists

Non Stop Saturday

7:15 am
Mommy, wake up.  
I want chocolate milk.
I want bread.
I want more milk. 

8:00
I'm going to do a pee pee. 
Mommy, come play with me in my house.
Mommy, when are we going to Bernie?
Mommy

8:45
Let's go to Bernie.
Do you want your scooter?
It doesn't open for 10 minutes.
We can wait outside. 

9:30
Let's go to buy fruit.
What do you want?
Strawberries, Corn, Peaches, Apples, a pear, that green apple.

10:40
Where's the pool guy?
Mommy, where's the pool guy?
Mommy, are we going to your school?
Mommy, when are we going?
Get your stuff on.  Let's go.

11:10
I want to go on that slide. 
You can't go on that slide without me.
Come on, let's go on that slide. 
Wait in line with the other kids.
Wooooaaa.

12:00 pm
I want to go to the happy park. 
Let's go to the happy park.
I want to go inside. 
Let's go inside.
I want to go to the blocks. 
Let's go to the blocks.
I need to go home.
Why Mommy?
I'm so hot.

12:30 pm
Swimming pool. Swimming pool. 
I am going to get changed, Pablo.
Okay, I'll go change too. 
Mommy, can you help me take off my shirt?
Mommy, can you help me put on my swim suit?
Mommy, let's go. 
Mommy, we need towels. 

1:00 pm
What do you want for lunch?
Fish.  
Do you want fish or chicken?
Fish and French fries
You are having fish and vegetables or chicken and french fries.
Chicken and french fries. 

2:00 pm
Time to go to sleep, Pablo.
No momma
Get in the bed
Can we read these books?
OKay, get in the bed.

2:45 pm
Go to bed Pablo.
No momma 

3:30 pm
Mommy, wake up. 
Pablo, I am right here, awake, alive.
I am just tired.
Why mommy?

4 pm
Do you want to play in the water?
Yes. 
Do you want to play with your table?
Yes.
Do you want to go in the pool?
Yes. 

5 pm
I want pizza. 
The pizza shop doesn't open until 7
Mommy, where's the pizza guy?
We can't order until 7.
I'm hungry

6 pm
I want pizza. 
Okay, let's order but it's going to take some time.
Why?
Because the shop doesn't open until 7

7:30 pm
Where's the pizza guy?
Let's look at my phone.  We can track him.
He's not moving.  Where's the pizza guy?
Where's the pizza guy?
Where's the pizza guy?

8:30 pm
Brush your teeth, Pablo
Why? 
Because you just ate chocolate ice cream.
And...
Because your godfather's a dentist.
What?

9 pm
More books, Mommy.
No Pablo, it's time for bed.
Why? 
Because it's late and time to rest.
Voy a dormir. 

#SOL20 #day7 #tiredmomma 

Nostalgia Soundtrack- Part 1

Trying to figure out an idea for today's blog while listening to music and one just penetrated my brain.  There are a probably number of other songs to add to this list but here are some in no particular order that generated small moments instantaneously.

1994- March- All 4 One: I swear... A definite sign of how much my music choices have evolved over the years since my wild days as an 8th grader.   I remember this song because it was the only time I ever called a radio station to request a song and actually got through.  After I hung up the phone with the radio station, I called a number of my friends who were listening to the radio to listen for my voice and the song to come on.  

2010- March- Coldplay concert:  Fix You... Oh what a beautiful night outside of Emirates Palace when it sprinkled down rain upon us in the steamy desert, followed by a steamy night with the Syrian and a personal day to recover from it all.  It was a night I will never forget. 

2012-June- Christina Aguilera and Pitbull: Feel this moment... I was teaching 5th grade and the kids had been doing a dance unit with the PE teacher.  During the dance unit, they did a flashmob to this song in the lunch room, which was gorgeous and full of energy, which overflowed to the end of the school year and was played almost every hour during our 5th grade class trip in the Pyrenees.  

2016- July- Twenty One Pilots: Ride.. This one was popular during the summer Andres and I visited the US before we had Pablo.  We went to the lake.  We drove from St. Louis to Greenville, North Carolina stopping in Nashville and the Smoky Mountains and we went to Heather Rich's wedding in New York City.  It was a great last summer couples trip for awhile as we became parents the next summer.  

2019-December- Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats: SOB... I heard this one just as I was rounding up the most recent season of Atypical.  It was featured during a chaotic scene which featured the main character getting married to his best friend in a Vegas Chapel.  The whole thing was comical but the speed of the song paralleled our entire Christmas vacation and us chaotically moving from one country, house, bed to another over 3 weeks... More importantly, it introduced me to this artist whom I have fallen in love with sense. 

#SOL20 #Day6 #Theweekendshere

The Borges Plaza

Down brick laid streets, canopied in birch and oak trees, lies the Borges plaza,  a unique little place in my neighborhood where so much transpires.   You should think the 1930s, because quite frankly, with everything in Argentina, you should think of this time period when things were alive, blossoming and Europeans were seeking Argentina out as a dream destination.   But, while you think 1930s, add 2020,  the trendy 60 year olds in one corner dressed in flowy cotton pants and white shirts are doing Tai chi.  And while we're on 2020, go back 30 years to the early 90s,  those are the teenagers lurking around the central fountain in the plaza, lying in one another's laps, dressed slightly goth, slightly grunge, looking for love and/or trouble.  So back to the 30s, which would be the place, my son and I spend most of our time, the playground.  There is a carousel, imagine creepy amusement park, old metallic forms of transportation, parts literally hanging by a thread or actually so decrepit that they fall off, and tacky colors, meaning too many of them.  Whether it be a preschool, or a playground, Argentines love their colors but the schemes are never aesthetically pleasing.   How can a city that built one of the most stunning downtowns in the world fall apart when it comes to playground equipment?  And oh how it does.   Beside the carousel, is a little 3 meter by 3 meter cage, filled with balls, that my son goes into, and with the slightly anal retentiveness of his mother, often proceeds to pick out all the broken balls and put them in the corner because he believes they should be taken out of the ball pit.  Finally, there is a sand pit, often filled with someone's left toys and very dirty small children, so of course my toddler gravitates there. Fortunately, today, he just wanted to slide, but still we ended up covered in sand, warranting this evening's bath.   The plaza is a weekly event and a charming little bike ride away, a trip back in time, and a reminder of how the kids of this generation still just need simple fun. 

Wednesday Poetry inspired by Mini Lesson Writing

I am knee deep in writing a 5th grade poetry unit.  With luck, I had some resources to support the unit's development, another coaching friend gave me their 5th grade collaborative planning unit and the If/ Then curriculum in the Lucy Calkins 5th grade writing resources has some good suggestions for teaching points.   On top of this, nowadays, there are a number of great websites dedicated to poetry on top of the plethora of books you can find in your schools library, making resources accessible and ready to connect to teaching points. 

• Poets.org 
• Poem Farm
• Poetryforkids
• Poetry Foundation

One of the lessons I wrote was under the teaching point: Poems can and usually evoke strong emotions. 

The teaching is planned to go as: 

Teaching: 

Start by studying a Prelutsky poem: I made a noise this morning

After you read, think aloud. 

• Poems evoke strong emotions.  Which one does this evoke?  
• Poets use words to convey emotions. Which ones show (emotion name?)
• Poets use craft moves to convey emotions.  What does the poet use to convey these emotions? 

Name and notice.  

Then, approach the lesson as a writer.  

1. Scan your notebook identifying patches of feelings and emotions- nostalgia
2. Select a topic that you may have a certain emotion around -summer camp nights
3. Brainstorm precise words that go with that emotion and topic -fireflies, the lingering smell of campfire and mosquito spray, the taste of burnt marshmallows always on my mind, the joy of rolling down the hill in tire tubes hair flying in the air, the agony of swim class and ice cold, bone chilling water
4. Brainstorm craft moves: the line breaks should be soft, no need for rhyme, maybe repetition to show how the memories are joyful ones 
5. Write a poem/ Share one you wrote

Today's poem is inspired by this mini-lesson.

Summer Camp Nights

Fireflies glow

Intermittently

Piercing the dark sapphire

Blue sky

Marshmallows roast

Sparking 

Embers dancing in the fire

Blackening

Heads tumble

Fluttering 

Hair flops up and down

Spiraling

Threads weave

Uniting

Colors, friends and

Memories 

Abyssal water

Chilling 

Limbs floating free

Tranquility

Laughter permeates

Bunk bed 

Corners, pillow talk

Joy

#SOL20 #day4 

Dear Mom 2020

Dear Mom,

I wish you were here because it's girl scout cookie season and somehow, by some miracle, you would find a way to get that little piece of home to me in whatever strange corner of the world I was in.

I wish you were here because whenever I called you, I felt every emotion, good and bad, and you validated feeling emotions, even when it was hard and there was a lot of crying.  I never felt bad about being sad or full of emotions.  You taught me to hold on to them, and fight for them and with them.

I wish you were here because I worry about Dad.  I worry about him falling.  I worry about him eating too many microwave dinners or canned pasta sauce.  I wish you were here for your chicken enchiladas and your sporadic baking extravaganzas you would sometimes have.  It's a miracle that none of us are overweight.

I wish you were here to take out for a glass of wine or sit on the porch and smoke one of Dad's or Andres cigarettes as a guilty pleasure and special treat, as we talk about life, traveling, galavanting and love.

I wish you were mostly because you were my mom and I feel like I turned out pretty well and you passed away just as Pablo turned 1 and was turning into a real person.  I wish you could know him.  I think of you every time he does something new and wonderful.  I think of you when we call Grandpa or when we look at pictures and he sadly doesn't know who you are.   It breaks my heart that he won't know you and your grandmother talents that you clearly graced Noah with, who was crying buckets throughout your entire funeral.  I think of that day when Pablo wasn't able to sit still, being a new walker, and wish you were there to see him cruising around the funeral.  You would have laughed and been whispering at me or him to come to you.  You would have taken him and played with him outside and made him giggle his magical laugh. 

I wish you were here because no one will replace you.  No one except you and I remember the day we were at the immigration office all day with my stomachache which eventually became appendicitis.   No one except you will remember how it felt to arrive on top of O'Cebreira after one of the longest, hardest hikes we had both done in awhile.  No one except you will love me the way a mom does.

Yours,
Heather

#SOL20 #day3

My Argentine 20...

So as much as I love this challenge, I hate my Argentine Internet equally.
My dedication is real because I am sitting here on my phone, which is trying to code switch between Spanish and English, which is even more frustrating, trying to write a blog.

There are things I will miss about Argentina
1. Asados
2. Amazing, cheap, wine
3. A blossoming theatre scene while still maintaining a trendy vintage one simultaneously
4. Working with the Spanish language teachers, creating Units of Study from scratch, often integrated with Social Studies and layered with inquiry
5. Our wonderful nanny who loves Pablo to the moon and back and takes good care of me too
6. Our quaint, little neighbourhood, a cross between the 1950s and a hippy American town
7. The talented group of teachers I work with in general and their incredible resilience, all the while, not complaining about things nearly as much as they could
8. Friends always
9. Riding my bike to school
10. Plentiful green blended with city
11. Our beautiful backyard with pool, barbecue, greenery and patio
12. Ice cream
13. Ángela, the masseuse, Heaven

And there are things I will not:
1. The fairly bland, meat based diet
2. Shotty Internet
3. Preschool mediocrity
4. Grocery store annihilation, meaning messy, rotting food, empty shelves
5. Extremely inconsistent  service
6. Cockroaches
7. The volatile currency situation

Still, the good outweighs the bad but man, if I can make it through a SOL challenge without having to blog on my phone, and am downright craving a pen and paper and other platform, I will be a happy camper.

Sleep well friends. More stories and passion from a better device with better Internet tomorrow.

#SOL20 #day2 #annoyed

Mi Panza Duele/ My Tummy Hurts

A week that has seemed like forever is drawing to an end or in other words, a new more positive sky has risen. 

It started last Monday night, I woke up to go to the bathroom, while sleeping in my friend's bed with my son.  Travelling nomads we are, this is not a rare occasion for us, but when I crawled back in the rolly polly roll around seemed more like a wrestling match with a monster and then a "Mama, mi panza duele" which in Argentine Spanish, means: My tummy hurts. I got Pablo some water.  Still, he kept saying it, "Mi panza duele."  And as he said it, in dreary Mom mode, I got frustrated as it was 1 am in the morning.  "Go to sleep, Pablo."  And the reaction to those words was projectile vomiting, all over the sheets, on the floor, in the bathroom.  It's bad when it's in your house but when it's in someone else's house, in the middle of the night, you just kind of cave in and think 'Is this really happening?' 

The next day, we took it slow, no milk, more carbs, Pablo was lethargic.  I was convinced it was food poisoning.  Too many peaches. Typing it makes me realize I think like an old wives tale.  So when we went to fly and Pablo took a super long nap, I breathed a sigh of relief.  He'll sleep it off. But as I ate my lunch and my glass of wine didn't seem so right and my fish tasted too fishy,  I would be lying to myself if I wasn't worried something else was lurking in our tummies.    As we landed, Pablo asked for a little milk, and I indulged, knowing I was breaking every doctor and mommy rule in the book, but I wanted him to be soothed, comforted.   He drank it, seemed fine.  20 minutes later as we were looking up to the screen for our luggage information, the exorcist returned.  Vomit everywhere, milky, curdly vomit and the little food he had eaten all day.   Bless his heart, Pablo was more chill about it than his mom.  He strutted through the airport shirtless until we were able to get our suitcase. 

Wednesday hit, and my stomach and body started to twist and turn, shrivel up, slow down.  "My tummy hurts" was becoming common conversation with Pablo and I throughout the day.

And on Thursday, I could barely move and was walking around nauseous when I decided to call it a day, and take a family trip to our pediatrician.  She strictly prescribed "No sugar, no raw foods, rice, bread, crackers, liquids... and rest.. plus a capsule of liquid probiotics a day."  

It's Sunday morning, and we seem to be on the up and up, but I missed some quality adult foodie experiences (Korean and Julia) I needed this week and am going on week 5 of single parenting so I am hoping and praying that today will be the last day we share the phrase "My tummy hurts" for awhile. 

#Day1 #SOL2020 #Sliceoflifechallenge