🍎 Lil Treasures #89: We Got You, Teachers!
Plus: The Brenaissance and a special appearance from Snickers the donkey
Happy Friday, Lil Swipes! My kids went back to school this week and we are officially transitioning into a different rhythm. We are navigating two new schools with a lot of fresh new faces, but their teachers seem wonderful and we are all thrilled. This week’s newsletter is dedicated to all the educators out there - the last couple of years have been more than we all bargained for, but you have carried us through with your dedication and absolute grit. It makes me emotional just thinking about it. I couldn’t be more grateful. Our kids are better because of you!
So, to start out the treasures this week, let’s do something to give back to the teachers:
🍎 If you weren’t already aware of this, most educators are given little-to-no budget for supplies for their students. This means they are paying for most school supplies with the dollars out of their own pockets! I’ve featured a few different teacher wishlists on my Instagram page this week, and it has been incredible to see those needs met. Are you guys up for another one?! This Amazon wishlist is for Rachel Stockard, an elementary art teacher out of Antioch, TN who teaches art to over 700 students at a Title I school. Let’s knock this list out, newsletter-style!
****Also, if you are a teacher (or know a teacher), I’ve added a new teacher tab to the We Got You Club spreadsheet for Amazon wishlists! This is a great way to help get those needs met. (I’ll be checking on the progress to make sure we keep this updated when lists are complete)
😑 This post and flag pennant created by Oxford Pennant really captures how I’m feeling about our current state of being this week (PSA you can order this flag for your own door here).
💃 On the sunnier side of things, this news that Dolly Parton is writing a novel AND a companion album (coming 2022) is giving me hope! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - we don’t deserve Dolly.
🕵️ For all you true crime junkies out there who love a good cold case: Vanity Fair wrote this article about a case that has been reopened recently concerning the mysterious death of billionaire Doris Duke’s husband back in the 1960’s. If this sparks your curiosity at all, do yourself a favor and read this intriguing story!
❤️ Although sobering at times, this piece in the Atlantic about a family who is still dealing with the after-affects of 9/11 is so well-written. You’ll need to take it in slowly.
🥇 Wanna hack your crying today? Watch this montage of Olympic athletes in Tokyo being moved to tears - tears of joy, of pain, of relief. I’ve watched it (and cried) several times. I’m also sad the Olympics are over, so this is very therapeutic for me on several different levels.
🥰 Aww shucks, this video of my beloved Brendan Fraser being the incredible person that he is is a nice fluffy treat for today. The Brenaissance is alive, baby!
Now let’s get to those good Tweets:
I’m absorbing this sweet buddy into my soul:
😭 THIS STORY:
That’s a wrap for this week, pals! Go thank a teacher in your life today. This community of Lil Swipes helps me to believe in the goodness of humanity again, and I am so thankful for every one of you. Can’t wait to see you in the comments!
Friends, I have a new job!! They couldn't offer me the youth librarian position since I don't have my MLIS yet, but they offered a full-time assistant position. It feels so weird as all of my friends are gearing up for another year of teaching that (in about a month) I won't be a teacher anymore. I've spent the better part of 10 years in school for teaching or teaching, but I'm so excited to be starting at the library. Since I interviewed there, it's become so clear to me that WIHS and I were not a good match and that I wasn't valued there, and the library ladies have just been so sweet and encouraging about the transition!
Bc of the new job, I'm going to pick up a few tutoring clients and a short-term roommate since it's a pretty significant pay cut, but I'm looking at it as an investment in myself for the year while I finish the degree.
That's really been the biggest news of the week, but I'm also making a pair of pants/jeans and I'm super pleased with how it's going and just taking my time to get all the little details right. That being said, I completely installed the waistband upsidedown, so I've got to restart that bit, but hopefully, they'll be finished today.
Last week I went camping with my family, and it was delightful. It's really the only time I take time off work to go somewhere and do a specific thing, and after last winter it was extra needed. We went to Mackinac Island (though my fudge is nearly gone now, which is very sad), I finished 2 books, and my nieces asked me to go tubing behind my brother's boat with them, which made my auntie heart very happy.
Getting back to the real world feels close to stepping back to March 2020, though. My work reinstituted masks in common spaces for all employees, regardless of vaccination status, and while I agree with the decision it REALLY bums me out that we're moving backwards. Trying to feel hopeful about future things is feeling very difficult, and I'm worried about having to start making decisions again about what I should/shouldn't do--not even primarily for my own sake, since I'm vaccinated, but for other people's and my community's sake. I suspect many of us are in a similar place with all this, and it is so wearying.