Shot out of a canon

The school year technically ended right after memorial day for me, but I had an innovative thinking workshop that lasted 2 days, which prolonged my worker duties and prohibited me from feeling truly free (although it was a pretty good workshop and I got to read some of the research on reading comprehension via e-readers as compared to paper books.  In short:  read real books, but use e-readers for other, more innovative modes of learning, like interactive games or visuals).  The transition to summer sort of felt like a long, slow descent into a pool, rather than the cannon ball it’s been every year since I became a teacher.  I don’t know what to make of this—maybe I’m more tired this year?  

Natan, on the other hand, said he feels like he was shot out of the working canon into summer life.  We left SJC at 4 am on his first day of summer (!).  Our first airplane ride with the baby was a success--he was a little whiny and at one point he literally collapsed onto me and fell into a deep sleep, but he never totally melted down.  We managed to remain calm (a success for us!) while schlepping carry-ons that included a car seat and stroller through 3 different airports.  We arrived in Memphis, which was hot and seemingly unpopulated, and went to an extended stay near the airport that was the dirtiest hotel I’ve ever stayed in.  The bed was creaky and they had no traveling cribs for use (maybe because it was actually a low income residence and not a hotel.  Hotwire fail!).  Theo crawled around and his leg became black from carpet filth.  But we were so excited to start our journey!   

In good spirits, we made our way to a local Target before heading to the Peabody for a joint father’s day/birthday brunch--the best brunch we’ve ever had! 

 

Father's day--could there be a more loving dad?

 

 The unsullied brunch display--we had a reservation for 11 am sharp.

 When we went to sit down, we noticed the dessert display--which is where we started.

There was chocolate covered bacon.

 

We enjoyed good conversation (but my lunch companion likes to yell a lot.  I'll let you decide which one I'm talking about!)

Our picture in front of the fountain (36th birthday!)

The ducks live in a penthouse and, in the words of Eric Cartman, do whatever they want.

According to David Cohn, "The Mississippi Delta begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg."  It has also been said that the MS Delta has both "abject poverty and garish opulence" living side by side.  We started with the garish opulence.

We left the Peabody to drive 2 hours south into the heart of the Mississippi Delta.  This NEH workshop was seriously enlightening/life-changing/soul enriching.  I dare say the learning/experiencing I did there was more meaningful to me than in Vienna.  It was top-notch and we were in a place that is decidedly not one of the top five best cities in the world.  Natan took the baby on excursions every day and basically saw all of the things I did on the workshop, at his own pace and with really cute company.  We both sort of fell in love with the area and I, of course, now have a dream of living in a large southern home in Merigold, MS and running a wine/meat/cheese store in the (currently) abandoned downtown area.  I didn’t want to leave the Delta, but we have and onward we go in our trip (we're staying with my aunt and uncle right now--who are delightful hosts).  I will, obviously, be posting more pictures of MS when we slow down a bit.