i will fly overnight to boston tonight and be with my brother and fam for the weekend.  then on monday i start a two week intensive in kodaly.  a colleague told me yesterday to "fasten my seatbelt", that the class is intense.  this is ok though.  i feel ready to be stimulated, to be a student for a little bit, and to gather energy and material for some new teaching positions this year.  looking forward too to being with mom and dad in the big, old house.  last night on the phone with mom i could hear the sweetness of the corn she was crunching.  it was 9 30 in the evening there, and her neighbor had just "shared" some stolen cobs from the fields between the house and the river.   this is the juice of life, and i crave ice tea on the back porch with the crickets and fireflies.
 
 
and i can say with some satisfaction that my sheets are clean, the floors vacuumed, toes painted, dishes washed, trash picked up, suitcase packed, gardener paid, checks deposited, and plants watered.  still have to wash humongous bird poops off my car and exchange a shirt at macy's, but feel ready to go.  there is something about leaving and returning to home that feels like a healthy suspension of the day to day, a break from the norm, balanced with the anticipation, the safety of returning.   home.