Day 1569: Dearly beloved

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life."

Prince died suddenly today and the world is in mourning.  He was a highly creative and prolific musician as well as a generous and socially conscious individual.

I'm struggling today, not because of Prince, but because of all the discord in the world and all the demands we grapple with in April and May. Too much negativity, too much noise, too much hate, too many things to juggle and too many details to monitor.  I just want to hike.  I keep visualizing myself on the trail to help me go to sleep.  After so many years hiking on the same trails, I can feel the contours of the earth, roots jutting out, logs across my path.  I hear the swish of branches and the calls of birds.  The world would be a much better place if we all spent more time outside.

My responsibilities to the musical are complete.  Fortunately, I had kept up with the photo editing from January to April 5, but then at the end we were so busy I fell behind.  Over the last two days, I spent another five hours editing photos from April 5 to yesterday and then copied 840 photos onto a flash drive.     Lloyd will burn DVDs for each of the kids.  I suspect some will never take the time to look at them, but those who do will be delighted.  There are photos of every single student who participated in any way starting from the first rehearsal to the last bit of cleaning up yesterday.  It's a great relief to be able to focus on just one activity now: backpacking.

The good news today is that none of the eighth graders is on the academic eligibility list!  Hooray!  That means everyone can go backpacking.  Of course, plenty will interrupt the expedition due to NYSSMA, SAT prep classes, band competition, track meets, dance recitals.   We try so hard to be accommodating, but these disruptions really harm the integrity of this adventure.  It is time to get on the trail!

The Treasury Department announced that Harriet Tubman's picture will be put on the $20 bill.  Racists around the country reacted predictably with vile comments.  Perhaps they don't know of the harm that Andrew Jackson did to the Native Americans with the Trail of Tears, but that is no excuse to spew their despicable filth about that courageous and honorable woman.

We're taking a break from society for a few days. Besides being exhausted, I am disheartened with the world.  Need to escape, rest and recharge.