Spring

Did Spring come early this year? Or late?

For me, I don’t know. My mom got sick, diagnosed in January, and that’s been hard. I’ve been up a few times. We’ve been on the phone every day, longer when she wasn’t making much sense, when the only reason for the call was for her to hear my voice, and me hers. I’ve spent hours and hours reading charts, doctors notes, researching what particular words mean, what medical abbreviations stand for. I have also learned to read therapists reports, and dietitians’ reports, and how to cut through the boilerplate to find what’s new. Or what’s not new. I’ve learned about side-effects and drug interactions. And about biopsies, and blood counts. And a little about insurance. I’ve been to meetings with doctors, and prepared good questions in advance. And I translate all of this for people who depend on me to do exactly that. FWIW, I’m a much better explainer today than I used to be.

At the same time I’ve been an officer of the Retired Teachers Chapter of the UFT (I’m the Assistant Secretary). I like working with Bennett Fischer… but there’s a lot going on… and I’ve been having trouble keeping up. There’s an RTC meeting tomorrow – I’ll be there – but for the first time I didn’t contribute in any way to the planning.

I’m also working with student teachers at Queens College. Same. I’ve been having trouble keeping up. But I did get back on top of it, and it is a pleasure to be able to be visit classrooms, and to be encouraging, and to be helpful. Watching teachers get better, seemingly in front of your eyes, wow.

And then there’s the UFT election campaign. I’m working with ARISE! – an amazing slate – a coalition of New Action, MORE, and Retiree Advocate. Olivia Swisher is our presidential candidate, and Michael Shulman our Secretary, and Aixa Rodriguez our Assistant Secretary. It’s going to take our political outlook, our organizing approach, and our commitment to mobilizing members to beat Unity, push back on the DoE and NYC (healthcare, mandated curricula, etc), and build and organize the alliances that it will take to fight off Trump. And I’ve been doing a lot, but I am also overwhelmed. We have a vote-mobilization-kick-off-I’m-not-sure-what event this coming Sunday. I will be there, but happy not to be involved in organizing it. (It’s 2:30 – 5:00 on Sunday April 27 in midtown. Details to follow.)

So barely keeping afloat through the second half of January, February, March… and now it is April. I’ve started to stretch. I’m back walking in the garden and the park (the New York Botanical Garden and Van Cortlandt Park) most days. Last week I got in my first real hike since January (Carras Hill in Norvin Green State Forest, in northern New Jersey, south and a bit west of Sterling Forest). I have a pile of magazines, I’ve just started opening (and I forgot to renew the New Yorker, and honestly, I wasn’t getting to it even before January). I’ve cracked a book – it’s been months. I solved a good math problem over the weekend. I’ll write about that. I planned for some formal culture (ballet tickets. rehearsals, because they are free. but still. it counts.)

And as I am waking up, stretching my body and my mind, I just noticed, Spring is here.

ARISE!