The Scourge of Summer 2011

Unbeknownst to us upon moving to Tennessee, there exists in this area a species of creature that hides underground for 13 years before emerging to horrify local citizens and clutter infrastructure.  With bulging red eyes, sharp leg hooks and long wingspans, these creatures create such a panic and stir that their mere presence dominates discussion throughout their month-long reign of terror.

Choosing to remain in trees and woodwork after littering the roads of their shells upon molting, cicadas are obsessed with only one thing: finding a mate.  And they’re not shy – making their intentions clear as loudly and constantly as they can, washing the South in a chirpy drone.  It’s the kind of near-ambience that makes for good sleeping noise indoors, but proves deafening when exposed to it outside.  Thousands of noisy insects can make such a racket that they’ll drone out road noise when driving down the highway!

But soon, they’ll dispatch their larva in the ground to wait another 13 years before invading again.  The 2011 survivors will die and middle-Tennessee (and much of the rest of the South) will be quiet once more.

Cicadas, we hardly knew ya!

This phenomenon has given Celeste a lot of down time.  In fact, this is to be her first entire week of school since before Christmas break!  We never cease to be amazed at how a little snow can entirely shut down our city.

Of course, the past few days (and much of the coming forecast) have us in 60 degree temperatures.  We’d say Tennessee weather is about as unpredictable as Michigan’s!

The Honda has had an eventful life, filled with long trips and repairs.  Although it ended up being a bit of a lemon (totaling a little over $15,000 in non-standard-maintenance repairs while we owned it), Ben was able to get nearly six years out of the little Accord LX.  It even made it down to Nashville with us this summer, thanks to some generous mechanic work by friends and family.

But in the end, the poor Honda’s clutch just couldn’t take it anymore, rendering its third and fourth gears useless.  A smoky exhaust, low idle, and penchant for stalling out while on the road just showed the poor little vehicle was ready to move on.  This week, we were able to facilitate that, trading the vehicle towards the purchase of a newer, more reliable one (with a clean history of non-lemon behavior).

And so, here it is – Ben’s new car: a 2006 Volvo S40 with low miles, one owner, and some spunk the Honda seemed to forget around 2006.

Until we woke up this morning surrounded by snowfall — it ended up being a white Christmas after all!

We’ve been spending our time baking and unwrapping gifts, with our Christmas kitty looking on — and getting a few presents of her own (from us and her Aunt Nicole).  It’s been a very quiet holiday, free from travel and full of relaxation.  We certainly miss our families, but it is nice to have a restful celebration.  Are hearts are warm as we enjoy our first (white!) Christmas in Tennessee.

It’s also nice being on break.  Celeste has been hard at work since last Christmas – focusing on graduating, moving to Tennessee, going to Teach For America Institute in Atlanta, setting up her classroom, and teaching her students for the first time.  All of this with little more than a couple days of break here and there, while spending weekends preparing for her coming week at school.  Calling this break well-deserved is a bit of an understatement.

Things have been moving quickly for me as well.  Getting plugged into a career has been both challenging and rewarding, and I couldn’t be happier with where I am right now.  Although my unique major (Professional Writing) falls hand-in-hand with my day-to-day activities, I still feel like I’m learning a lot of new things every day.  I’ve done very well with it though, and the excitement has made this introductory period go by quickly – my 520 contract hours are already up the second week of January, after which my company plans on hiring me permanently!

With Celeste’s break going on, and my permanent employment on the horizon, this is an extremely exciting time.  We’re looking forward to a wonderful 2011, and this Christmas break is providing us with a good time to plan for our future and reflect on the crazy journey we’ve been on over the past 12 months.

The week's snow has already melted away!

And for good reason: the state simply lacks the kind of resources to have a steady plow and salt team go out early in the morning.  Sure, some individual (and usually gated) communities have their own service, but other than that and a few select highways, snow-covered roads can present a treacherous commute.

So needless to say, we’re just staying in today.  There are presents to be wrapped!