I love maple syrup; its leaves are another matter.

This school year, I've had my students journal for the beginning of each class period, using prompts like songs, pictures, quotations, and questions.  A stress reliever  to some, a creative outlet to a few, a tedium to many, journaling has become part of the routine of 121.  While I do join in putting pen to paper some days, I also use the time to prepare for the next step of the class period or take attendance; however, I decided that I should practice what I preach to my classes, that you become a better writer via practice.  Looking back into the time capsule that is MySpace, I spewed out my mid-20's and early teaching angst sporadically;  Five years later, I've made many changes from losing 75 pounds to going vegetarian to moving back home and buying a house. I've debated if I should make this a theme blog i.e. teaching, running, cooking.  In the end, I decided to just let my mind wonder depending on what's going.  So where's my mind wondering?

The Dreaded Maple Seed-  I love owning a house; it makes me feel responsible and grown up, yet there's one idealized part of home ownership that's not so great: yard work.  I imagined that joys of sculpting the perfect lawn: green carpets of grass, perfectly trimmed hedges, a chromatic array of flowers.  Thanks to Mother Nature, that's easier said than done. I have met the enemy of spring, and it's name is the winged seeds of maples.  I could handle raking up the piles and piles of leaves, but these little harbingers of annoyance are different.  I suppose I'll continue to fight the good fight, and continue long hours of manual labor to achieve the Midwestern ideal of manicured lawns, continuously fight against the will of the wind and tree reproduction.  Here's a picture below  

The Enemy