Tag Archives: hard work

Weekly Photo Challenge: Room

Saturday, June 7, 2014, @ 7:50 amChallenges, Family, jobs, postaday, Reading, teaching, Weekly Photo Challenges, WritingCharlotte's Web, education, Family, Grayling, hard work, making the days count, Summer Vacation, writingClay

There is always room. Whether it’s a home, shelter, or an eave. There is room.

“After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die.”
― E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

I am Up North for a couple of days. Jobs that needed to be done. I wanted to come up in May and couldn’t. Last weekend, fell through with much to do and too little time. Next weekend is filled, and the weekend after that… well, you get the picture. Room has more than one meaning.

Today’s post is in response to the prompt at the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge at Word Press. ‘This week’s prompt is “Room.” From the four walls that currently surround you to the infinite potential of space, this week we’d like you to show us your take on room, rooms, or a room.’

I have four walls; but others like the dear spider use two walls and imagines the other two. We are all constrained by nature and defined by it as well. There’s always room. I think Charlotte said it best….”what’s a life anyway…” It’s what is in between those two events that is important. It’s the way we leave our mark. It’s our service to our family, friends, and community. It’s how we leave our room.

I came up to work, not blog and I have a list a mile long, maybe even longer. School finished for my students yesterday and I could hear Alice Cooper wailing away in the background. I don’t have papers to grade, but I have chores to do and I have room on my schedule. Making the Days Count, one day at a time.

What’s in your room?

Memorial Day Parade

Wednesday, May 28, 2014, @ 5:26 amcountry, Family, history, Life in General, Music, Teaching and Learning, Weather, Writingeducation, hard work, making the days count, Memorial Day, patriotism, scouting, teaching, weather, writingClay

Every year we attend the Memorial Day parade as a family. Sometimes we go to the parade at home, and other times we go to the one in Versailles – our home away from home. We usually ride our bikes to the cemetery and find a spot to watch the parade as it winds to an end and the participants file into the cemetery for the official Memorial Day ceremony. This year I walked, the kids and B rode their bikes.

There are veterans, politicians, firemen, police, bands, scouts, and other community organizations that march in the parade. There are the old, middle-aged, and young. They are dressed in red, white, and blue. They carry flags, wave at the crowd, and smile. One year I marched with the cub scouts. Sometimes it’s hot, sometimes it’s cool, sometimes it’s just right, but Monday it was between too hot and just right; depending if you were in the shade or not. The parade route is a lot longer than you think, but it is nothing compared to the sacrifice our veterans have made for their country.

“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”

Marie Curie (1867-1934); Chemist, Physicist, Nobel Prize Winner
from Values.com – Daily Quote – May 19, 2014 Continue reading Memorial Day Parade →

Mother’s Day

Sunday, May 11, 2014, @ 8:27 pmadventure, Family, growing up, jobs, Weather, Writingchildren, education, hard work, making the days count, Mother's Day 2014, teaching, weather, writingClay

It is Mother’s Day and Spring is in full bloom. The trees have begun to leaf out and the flowering trees are beautiful. The daffodils are gone finished, but they’ll be back next season.

But, flowers are available year round. You just have to know where to look. Yesterday was a busy day – they all are. Lacrosse drop off at 8, game at 9 and 11. Softball at 11. Some days it’s seemingly never ending. But, someday it will end, the kids will grow up and head off to college and we’ll have memories and time. And, then it will be their turn.

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-2

I know where to find flowers for Mother’s Day and I’ve been finding them ever since W is was a baby. T Continue reading Mother’s Day →

Priorities

Sunday, February 23, 2014, @ 10:51 amadventure, Family, food, geography, growing up, history, jobs, Life in General, Reading, sports, teaching, Weather, WritingDaniel M. Tani, education, Family, hard work, high school football, making the days count, NASA, reading, seventh grade, softball, sports, teaching, writingClay

I missed writing last weekend. Truly. We went away for the weekend – we went north to the cottage. I had a lot to say, or so I thought. Somehow, time got away from me and I didn’t write. In fact, I didn’t even open my laptop. I existed solely on my iPad and phone; and did precious little on them. It was time to restore – a time to rest and relax.

It was our last long weekend of winter and we wanted to head up north for one last snowy weekend. The kids could ski, snowboard, and play in the snow. I know we had a lot of snow here, but it is different up north. B and I could relax and just breathe. We did all that, but the kids didn’t ski or snowboard: they did play in the snow and had fun outside, even Ivy got into the mix playing in the snow. We had a fire Saturday night and I cooked. Just as dinner was ready, we sat down to play cards. Then, some of our lake friends joined us; and we played a very spirited card game. The rules are somewhat confusing, but it is a favorite of our friends and we’ve enjoyed playing it at their cottage. I am not sure what it is called, it probably has several names, but it is a lot of fun. The card game involves a separate deck for each player but there is a place to play on everyone’s hand. Each player plays on their hand but the goal is to get rid of your cards and play them in the middle on the group’s cards. You get points for playing in the middle and the winner is declared when they have cleared their own cards. The game moves quickly and players have to be paying attention. Regardless, it was a lot of fun and when it was over, and we had a winner, we sat down to dinner and the Winter Olympics.

Sunday night's sunset - it was warm enough to sit on the deck in the sunshine, but we had to be wrapped up! — Sunday night’s sunset – it was warm enough to sit on the deck in the sunshine, but we had to be wrapped up!

I have enjoyed watching the Winter Olympics. I have always enjoyed the Olympics. Continue reading Priorities →

Things Have Changed

Saturday, February 8, 2014, @ 2:19 pmadventure, Family, Life in General, Reading, teaching, Tuesday's Tune, Weather, Writingchildren, Family, great days, hard work, making the days count, seventh grade, teaching, U-505Clay

It’s Saturday morning again, it happens every week. I look forward to the day and the day following, but they disappear before I know it. It’s eleven degrees and snowing. It’s still winter, we had snow Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning, bitter cold followed. But, we were at school; Thursday and Friday morning were cold, but sunny, which make a world of difference. I had outdoor bus duty, greeting the buses as they pulled into the parking lot and unloading. I did my best to brighten the student’s day with a hearty, ‘Goooooood Morning, welcome to a new day at in middle school…’ a la Robin Williams from “Good Morning Vietnam.” I don’t know if it makes a difference to them, but it gives me a boost and keeps me warm.

this morning's window on the world — this morning’s window on the world

Continue reading Things Have Changed →

Plat du Jour

Monday, January 20, 2014, @ 1:18 pmadventure, Cooking, Family, food, growing up, Life in General, Reading, teaching, Teaching and Learning, travel, Writingeating, French cooking, great days, hard work, Julia Child, making the days count, Paris, reading, weather, writingClay

It is Monday morning. Saturday has passed, Sunday, too. It’s Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday weekend and there is no school. On a normal Monday morning, I’d be up to my eyebrows in teaching ELA, but today and last Monday, and the Monday before last – school has been out. I enjoy the three- day weekends, but I get lazy and don’t accomplish what I should. However, last weekend was a three-day weekend for my students, it was not for me, the teachers had a workday and I got a lot done. Full Disclosure, though it felt like a three-day weekend.

Saturday morning's sunrise.... — Saturday morning’s sunrise….

The weather has been typical Midwest January – cold. Continue reading Plat du Jour →

Thank you Ion

Tuesday, January 7, 2014, @ 3:55 pmadventure, Family, Life in General, pets, Reading, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Weather, Writingchildren, Family, great days, hard work, making the days count, reading, seventh grade, Winter Storm Ion, winter weather, writingClay

I came home Saturday night. The kids and B left the cottage Friday afternoon, leaving Ivy and I to our own devices. I wanted to stay for one more day, to enjoy the peacefulness of the cottage and do a bit of grading a prep work for the coming week. In reality, I never want to leave the cottage. It is an incredibly relaxing place to be, I’ve always felt that way and I can understand how Grandma Weaver feels when she is there. There is nothing like waking up and sipping coffee looking out onto the lake and just thinking. However, there is a time and place for everything, as I was reminded by my own ‘A season for everything’ post from 2013. Indeed, there is a time and place for everything and Winter Break does come to an end, eventually. Continue reading Thank you Ion →

New Year’s Eve 2013

Tuesday, December 31, 2013, @ 10:08 amadventure, Cooking, Family, Life in General, teaching, Weather, Writingchildren, education, Family, Grayling, hard work, making the days count, reading, seventh grade, weather, winter sports, writingClay

It’s New Year’s Eve. 2013. It’s over, well almost. I have a few more hours in 2013 to log a few accomplishments, to make up for things I didn’t do, should’ve done, could’ve done, or made excuses because I simply did not do them. Or, I could dwell on the things I did, the things I did well. Instead, I will move forward, trying to remember what Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the German writer and philosopher, wrote long ago:

“Every man has only enough strength to complete those assignments that he is fully convinced are important.”

Goethe, wrote a lot, significantly more than I have, especially in the past year. Like Goethe, I have time for what is important, what is necessary, and what I need to do. Continue reading New Year’s Eve 2013 →

Scarcity

Sunday, December 15, 2013, @ 11:21 amFamily, geography, Hobbies and Fun, Life in General, Reading, sports, teaching, Writingeducation, Family, football, geography, great days, hard work, MacDonalds Happy Meal Toys, making the days count, NFL, NFL Rusherz, reading, seventh grade, writingClay

the last one, shiver me timbers - it was 15 degrees outside! — the last one, shiver me timbers – it was 15 degrees outside!

This week or rather the last week has been a whirlwind. The time since Thanksgiving whisked by and disappeared. Last weekend we had guests join us from out of town for the weekend and it was time well spent. They came for a youth hockey tournament and we had dinner together Friday and Saturday nights. It was good to connect with them. We see them at the cottage where our children are friends and they play together in the lake and on the slopes, depending on the season. Ironically, Paul was our pilot when we returned from Spring Break 2013 and we spent the night at their home celebrating a Swedish Easter Eve, before driving home on Easter Sunday. While we ate dinner and talked the kids played games in the family room. It really was time well spent.

Nevertheless, as usual, I digress. The lateness of this year’s Thanksgiving holiday means there are fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year there were twenty days, but this year there are fifteen. And, the kids know it, the teachers do too. There is always a frenzy in school, as we get ready for Winter Break and then end of the quarter, which comes the week after winter break. Just like the print on the passenger side mirror, OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR.

Sunday morning’s sunrise welcomes me to the morning..

At school we’ve been reading, writing, thinking, and learning. ELA, or English Language Arts, has me bogged down. We’ve been doing a lot of writing and I am overloaded in grading. I am looking forward to the break in hopes that I might get some down time to grade and plan. In geography we’ve been studying human geography and we were finishing the unit last week. We’d come to a concept that students consistently struggle with – issues related to population growth, specifically, scarcity and carrying capacity. Continue reading Scarcity →

Sunday morning, quiet time

Sunday, November 24, 2013, @ 10:45 amFamily, Reading, sports, teaching, Weather, Writingdad, education, fall leaves, great days, hard work, high school football, making the days count, reading, seventh grade, teaching, Washington Panthers, Washington Strong, weatherClay

This is the best part of the day. It is the time when everyone is still asleep, the sun is rising and the day is just beginning; it is the time when I can catch up on writing and reading. Being a blogger causes me guilt – the guilt of wanting to write more often than I am able and I taking time to enjoy reading what other bloggers are writing. However, for right now, this moment I can really only write weekly. There was a time when I wrote daily. It was that first summer when I wrote a daily post about what happened during the day and the ways the day counted. There was the trip to take my dad’s cremains to France and there were the three summer camps I wrote reporting the day’s events to anxious scout parents back home. I had time, I made time, but other things didn’t get done at my blogging’s expense.