Husband: I’m going to put the relaxation music on.

Me: continue perusing Tumblr, expecting the normal relaxation/meditation music.

*Livin La Vida Loca starts playing*

Me: Are you serious? Really? This is going to be stuck in my head all day tomorrow. Turn it off.

Husband: Ok fine.

*Mambo #5 starts playing*

Me: *sigh* Really?

Husband: *maniacal laughter* I didn’t want the other song stuck in your head tomorrow. *smiles*

… that spring break is amazing?

The end.

So far, my favorite part of Spring Break has been reading time. Specifically, reading a book that’s not related to school in any way.

I just finished Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich. It’s a tragic and beautiful story about a few generations within a Native American tribe, the Chippewas. Each chapter is more like a vignette that focuses on one of the family members, and through their eyes and experiences, the reader pieces together the history of the families. While the story enlightens the reader about Chippewa traditions and myths, it also focuses on aspects of families that exist across cultures: love and betrayal. 

Erdrich’s prose and the story plot kept bringing me back to one of my favorite books: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The writing is whimsical yet powerful, and the story follows family generations to show how our family roots contribute to our destiny. That there are parts of us we cannot change.

What I loved most about Erdrich’s story, is the flawed characters. They are so very human. Unapologetically human. The most mystical women have the most tragic effects on the men they are closest to, whether they be lovers or sons. The most proud fall the hardest. The most privileged end up getting screwed the most.

Erdrich has a gift for wrapping the often ugly stories in the most beautiful, whimsical way. 

I read another of her books, Tracks, in college for an Ethnicity in Literature class. It’s a continuation of the stories of these families, and it’s filled with even more mysticism. I highly recommend both.

I’m not caught up on grading. I’ve pretty much given up on that.

I went on an awesome vacation that included Disneyland and time with the hubs. Away from our stacks of papers to grade and lesson plans.

I finished most of my Mythology lesson plans and they are AWESOME. Got lots of help from Joey too. We rock the collaboration thing!

I am ready to go back to work, though the break was nice and needed.