Category Archives: growing up

Three things for the first Sunday in March

Family, growing up, Learning, Life in General, travel, Writing, , , , , ,

…and the first post of 2025. I started this post in January and didn’t finish. It happened again in February. I am going to finish it today and get on to the other things I need to finish for the weekend.

I’ve been following along on other blogs and I last month I read the sad news that another blogger I’ve followed for years has decided to stop posting. I was sad, because the thought crosses my mind from time to time. I was in late 40s when I started Making the Days Count dot org and now, I am in my early 60s, a fact I find difficult to believe. But I am here as stubborn and resolute as I was the first time I pressed ‘publish.’ I am hopeful too that my stories and posts show that I am still making my days count.

MOM DAY
Today is mom’s day. It was six years ago this morning when I learned my mom had died after a brief illness. I was talking to my brother David when he told me he needed to take a call. He called me back a few minutes later to share the sad news.

Her death wasn’t unexpected, she’d been moved to hospice weeks before she died. But six years later her passing still resonates with me.

I got my curls from her, or the bread crusts she coaxed me to eat. My mom as a child in 1938.

This morning, I was looking for a photo of her I could post, and I searched through the boxes I packed when she moved out of the house, we called home in 2028. I brought them home the summer after she died. They’ve been stacked unopened near my desk since. Continue reading Three things for the first Sunday in March →

W^2 – time flies

adventure, Challenges, Family, growing up, teaching, Weekly Photo Challenges, Writing, , , , ,

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, August 14, 2024

It is Day 72 with four remaining before it’s back to school.

Time flies.

It’s six months with three more before my son’s twins arrive, we can bearly (sic) wait. Always making the days count.

an empty plate, West Chicago, IL August 11, 2024. 1:49 PM

This past week has been a flurry of activity, and the next four days will be, too. This past weekend was our daughter-in-law’s baby shower, and we helped our son get his yard and house ready. It was a beautiful day, the yard looked wonderful, and it was a great day to celebrate the coming arrival of our first grandchildren. Exciting.

Time flies.

Today we are back to Michigan and the lake to help our daughter move into the house she and some friends have rented for her senior year.

Time flies.

Today is going to be an amazing day. I know it and I can feel it so, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time making time, because time flies.

How has your time been flyin’?

Day 24: Creativity

Baseball, growing up, Learning, Photography, Scouting, teaching, Writing, , , , ,

It’s Thursday and it has been too long since I have posted anything on MtDC. Since summer began three weeks ago, I have been posting daily or almost daily on Instagram and if you follow along there, you’ll see the progress of my summer break. If you are curious, there is a sidebar of the blog – it’s a three by three graphic on the right-side.

Since my last post from 36,000 feet, I have been to Ohio and back, logged two more baseball games, served others at the food pantry, mowed the yard, spread mulch, cleaned up after a wild storm (which I slept through), collected the ends of branches the cicadas have snipped off, and much more.

When MtDC was in its infancy, I was posting almost daily. I don’t have the energy or creativity to keep up that pace today, though I do follow a couple of bloggers who do. If you are reading, you know who you are. It also seems the blogging community I connected with more than a decade ago has dropped off and their blogs are shutdown or static. At some point that will happen at MtDC, but for now I am simply too stubborn to let happen or stop. Continue reading Day 24: Creativity →

W^2 – ducky

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, August 30, 2023

It is Wednesday and I am feeling ducky. I am five days into my twenty-fifth year of teaching and feeling like a duck on dry land, or perhaps skewered on a car antenna.

Rubber duckies on a car antenna, Naperville, IL, August 19, 2023 10:30 AM

I spied these rubber duckies on a car antennae a couple of Saturday’s ago while volunteering at Loaves and Fishes. The car’s owner is a regular and she lifts us up with the joy she shares with the world through her personality and her sticker adorned car.

I noticed the rubber duckies were a new addition and I talked to her on her way out.  She shared her story of how the week before she’d been on a trip with her family and collected more than a dozen rubber duckies playing a game and decided to skewer them on her car’s antenna.

A new school year is full of joy and excitement. It’s also change from the carefree life of summer break and audition for retirement. I inched a little closer this year to retirement this school year as I began my twenty-fifth year of teaching. Interestingly, this year also marks the fiftieth anniversary of my own year as a sixth grader, time marches on.

This morning I am more than just ducky; I am filled with joy and passion and excitement for learning. Today is going to be an amazing day, it just might be a million and six times better than yesterday. I get to teach kids and share my passion and curiosity.  So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the days Count, one day at a time, exploring, learning, and being curious.

How is your summer finishing?

me, first day of school. 25th year of teaching and 50 years since I was a 6th grader, Wheaton, IL August 24, 2023 6:40 AM

Mother’s Day – 2023

Baseball, Family, growing up, Writing, ,

It’s been five years since my mom, our mom, died. I miss her dearly. Especially on Mother’s Day and her birthday.

mom as a young girl, I think I got her curly hair. photo from early 1940s

When I started blogging, she became my reader and my critic. I miss those conversations and so much more. She taught me how to be who I am today. She taught me to be curious, to ask questions, and so much more.

Last year her sister, and our aunt, died. Those two sisters taught us more than I realized, and I miss them both.

Lynne, my mom, and Joyce, my aunt

Today, we are non-sequential, 61-60, and 58. In October, we we’ll be in order again until I mess it up and turn 62 a month later in November.

mom’s last birthday in 2018, she turned 80 and we celebrated as a big family. Left to right, David, Warren, and me. At the time it was 54, 56, and 57. We’ve gotten older and wiser.

It’s because of mom that I keep working at Making the Days Count. Each day, in some way, I work at it. I am thankful and full of gratitude for her patience and kindness when what I really, I needed (and deserved) was a kick in the pants and tough love.

It’s Mother’s Day and I’d better get going on it and jump in, jump out, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, looking back, looking forward, but always remembering.

What is one thing you learned from your mother?

at rest, in peace

adventure, Baseball, Family, growing up, Learning, Life in General, Photography, sports, teaching, Today in History, Writing, , , , ,

I began writing this post two weeks ago in Cincinnati, Ohio and didn’t finish in the time I had. I started writing after the Reds game Friday night and worked on polishing it in the coffee shop Saturday morning. But I couldn’t quite find the right words or flow. It was the last full day of my epic baseball trip and I wanted to make it on time to Cleveland, so I stopped and crafted a different post.

Of all the cities and stadiums, I visited on my trip, Pittsburgh was my favorite. I felt connected from the moment I arrived, I felt welcome, I felt home.

PNC Park and the Pittsburgh Skyline, the yellow bridge is the Roberto Clemente Bridge dedicated after his death in 1973.

Before I left Pittsburgh, I visited my paternal grandparents. They are buried in a beautiful cemetery to the south of the city center. I had intended to visit them before the game, but I was late leaving Philadelphia. The cemetery where they lay at rest, in eternal peace, was in the general direction I was traveling. So, it was a win-win. I could visit them and get closer to Friday’s destination, Cincinnati.

my grandfather with me on the left and my Warren on the right. 1964, Bay City, Texas

My grandfather died in 1971 at the age of fifty-two. I was nine years old and remember the summer evening we learned of his death. He died peacefully on July 17, 1971.

It’s funny the things you remember from your childhood and growing up. Continue reading at rest, in peace →

Roberto Clemente and the Pirates

Family, growing up, Learning, sports, Writing, , , , , ,

Last night, I was in Pittsburgh to see the Pirates play the Brewers. It was the BEST venue yet. Hands down.

I am not sure why, but everything clicked last night from getting to the ballpark to getting back to my hotel room and everything in between. Including an eraser on the pencil provided with the scorecard.

and the peanuts were good, too.

My dad loved baseball. He had two favorite teams; I believe. He loved the Cleveland Indians and the Pittsburgh Pirates. I think. I’ll have to go with what I think because I don’t have anyone to ask, anymore. Continue reading Roberto Clemente and the Pirates →

W^2 – crossing

Challenges, Family, growing up, Learning, Photography, Teaching and Learning, Weekly Photo Challenges, Wordless Wednesday, Writing, , , , ,

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Cairo Bridge, I-57 N, crossing the mighty Mississippi River, approaching the Missouri-Illinois state line, December 31, 2021, 12:26 PM

I spent the entire week, last week,  in northern Mississippi with my brother and his wife sorting through my stepmother’s home and her belongings. It was a tough week.

I drove south over the Cairo Bridge on Sunday, the day after Christmas, and returned New Year’s Eve. Its over 600 miles to her home. The Cairo Bridge marks 382 of those miles from my home in northern Illinois. The trip took through me five states – Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi. I crossed the mighty Mississippi River four times on my trip, and I had a lot to think about on the way south and even more on the return.

The river keeps moving and I suppose that is good advice.

Today is gonna be an awesome day, I know it and I can feel it, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, crossing bridges all the time.

What was the last BIG bridge you crossed?

W^2 – Reading FC

Challenges, Family, growing up, Photography, Teaching and Learning, Wordless Wednesday, , , , , ,

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Cleaning out an attic and what do I find? A Reading FC mug. Oxford, MS December 3, 2021, 5:59 PM

It’s been almost two years since my stepmother has lived in her home in Oxford, Mississippi and we are (finally) beginning the process of emptying the home, saving the special things, discarding those things that aren’t and finding new homes for many of the things we can’t keep. It’s a process and there’s a lot to go through, but we are making headway.

She and my dad lived in Reading, England for several years in the late 70s and early 80s. I remember visiting several times and spending Christmas and New Year of 1978 with them. There are lots of memories in this cup.

Like so many things in life, there more to this story. A connection from the late 70s to the present day and possibly well into the future. It’s gonna be a great day, but first I must press publish and get to school. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, digging up the past and illuminating the present.

What is something that you pulled out that brought back a strong memory? Please share.

W^2 – empty nest

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Michigan State College marker, date unknow. East Lansing, MI August 28, 2021 6:10 PM

Saturday morning, we loaded our car and took off to take our youngest daughter off to college. It was a hot day and we got everything into her un-air-conditioned dorm room. We helped her unpack and put things away and then drove home. The drive home seemed so much longer than the drive there. Same distance, different circumstances, lighter load and for the first time in twenty-three and half years we are on our own again. Life begins anew. I remember my first week or so away from home and off to college, but I never thought how hard it was on my mom. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, beginning a new journey all over again.

Do you remember your first day away home?

today was O’s first day of class and I sent her greetings from my class! (notice my Alma mater on my mask – Texas A&M University) – Naperville, IL September 1, 2021 10:15 AM