Teacher Dream? Already!?

Teachers are a funny group. We are the worst audience you ever want to have (good thing principals don't put adults in detention). We are hopelessly, helplessly, drawn to careers where they pile money upon money upon money at your feet and never make you spend any of your own on your classroom. (did you know having your tongue in your cheek that far can actually hurt?) We also, almost unanimously, have what I call "teacher dreams." They can range from harmless to frightening but we all have them. I had my first one of the summer last night, and I am not happy!

Normally, since Sylvia and I are both teachers and the kids are both students, we take off in our camper to explore the country. We have been to 28 states and most of the time we have very definite plans about where to go. It typically goes something like:
"Where do you want to go this year?"
"I don't know. We haven't been north yet."
"OK, north it is."

Reservations? What's that? Destination? Somewhere else. Jake, when he was four, used to tell people who asked him where we were going next, "Wherever the wind takes us." True story. He would probably say it now, too, but it was really much cuter when he was four. If we haven't seen it, we're game. If we have, and we loved it, let's go again. The Corn Palace...been there, once. Yellowstone...been there, four times! And about Yellowstone, one thing you should know about travelers to places like that is they are almost all friendly. It's great! Wide open, no lines, having a difficult time at one place and you can get literally miles away from whatever the trouble is and still be in the park. These are things that, if they were instituted at Disneyland, would make it truly the happiest place on Earth. (and would not compel rational people to swear)
I love the house of the mouse, don't get me wrong, but for our money we can see so much more when we go for distance. (if my loyal readers wanted to fund a special trip I would promise to write about what I saw. For that matter, I would be happy to write about the Caribbean, Hawaii, Australia, or just about any other place....ow! there goes my cheek again)

So as I was saying about people being friendly, loads of people will talk to you wherever you go. One of the most common questions is, "Where ya from?" When we say California a typical follow up is, "Oh! You are near Yosemite! Kids, don't you love Yosemite!?" To which they get this quizzical look on their faces and turn to us and say, "Have we been to Yosemite?" "Umm, no kids. But you have been to the Doll Museum!" (I am happy to report that we finally have taken our poor deprived kids to Yosemite...last year...because we got tired of being embarrassed)

The further we are from home the larger the area we live. If we are in Yosemite the answer to the 'where ya from' question is, "The Bay Area." If we are in Buffalo New York the answer is, "California." A few times we have met people who have narrowed our answer down from near San Francisco, to between San Jose and Oakland, to then say "I used to live in Fremont." Oh! Us too! But not often. Once I was talking to an elderly lady from here originally who said, "Did they ever finish that freeway they were putting through there?" "Umm, Yeah. As long as I've been there it was finished." (Didn't have the heart to say longer than I have been alive.)

Another regional 'where ya from' response has to do with our entire state. In Kansas, or any of the Tornado Alley states really, when people hear that we are from California they say, "Ooh! Earthquakes! How can you live there?"

"Oh, I don't know. The temperate climate, the lack of humidity, the ability to drive from the beach to the snow in a few hours, it's tough."

"Not me. I could never."

At this point, if people really feel the need to continue, sarcastic Jeff comes out to play. I know, I know, hard to believe but true. I then ask them to compare notes on difficulties. I explain that sure, we have earthquakes, but we don't have weekly tests to make sure our earthquake sirens are working. Earthquakes don't cause cows to fly through the air (don't look up!). And most importantly, We DO NOT have a natural disaster SEASON every year! That's it, two points, nothing but net! Never works though, I guess we handle what we can handle and that's that.

Wait, what was I talking about?

I got a little sidetracked there, no apologies, just want to explain why you may be feeling a bit disoriented. I started out talking about teacher dreams. There is a connection, really! You see we always travel and travel with not too much concern about where's and when's (I know I am REALLY on vacation when a clerk says, "We only do that on Wednesday." and I have to say, "Great! What day is it today?") As I was saying...we could be literally anywhere in the country and one thing determines when we start to head back. My teacher dreams. When I start having dreams about the classroom not being set up, kids and parents waiting for me to get my act together, and for some reason Benjamin Franklin is playing the banjo (kidding...it's the kazoo), we start for home. I wish I knew what it meant when I start having "the dream" before we have actually gone anywhere...and where can I buy a kazoo?