Category Archives: Challenges

Weekly Photo Challenge – Adventure

Sunday, September 7, 2014, @ 10:59 amadventure, Challenges, country, Family, Life in General, postaday, Reading, Science, teaching, Weekly Photo Challenges, Writingchildren, country fairs, county fairs, education, Family, great days, making the days count, Sandwich Fair, writingClay

I am a city boy, a suburbanite. B is a country girl. Sometimes we clash, but most of the time we don’t. I met her 30 years ago this past summer. It seems like the other day and I suppose it was.

ADVENTURE – the open road, a barn, and an endless blue sky

It sounds sort of harsh – suburbanite conjures up visions of “Real Housewives of ……” or some other recent popular television show. Several years ago, I read a book, Death By Suburb: How to Keep the Suburbs from Killing Your Soul, a writer’s view of living in the suburbs and the author poked fun at suburban culture and offered advice. Regardless, I am a suburbanite.

I’ve always lived in a city or near a city – in the suburbs. The jobs I had out of college meant I had to live in or near a city. When I went back to school to learn how to teach, I dreamt of moving to the country, we dreamed together. Nevertheless, we never did. Instead, we became more firmly entrenched in the suburban life. We had kids, our kids grew, went to school, played sports, joined clubs, and the dream of moving to the country faded. But, I still dream of moving to a place where a five-mile commute includes driving through fields of corn, soybeans, wheat and pastures. Where a drive to the grocery store is a once a week adventure to the city or a snowstorm means we stay home inside and I plow the driveway with my truck or better, a tractor.

Dreams are what keeps us moving. Continue reading Weekly Photo Challenge – Adventure →

Weekly Photo Challenge – Dialogue

Sunday, August 31, 2014, @ 8:03 amChallenges, Family, growing up, history, Life in General, postaday, sports, teachingchildren, Class of 1980, Class of 2016, Dulles High School, hard work, high school football, making the days count, persistence, teaching, tenacity, writingClay

I’ll admit it, I enjoy high school football. I grew up watching high school football in Texas on Friday Nights. Friday Night Lights is a true story in just about every community across America. I never missed a home game and when I was a high school senior, I attended all ten games – home and away. B grew up much the same – except on a smaller scale and was in the marching band throughout high school. It was the same high school where her dad and her older brother played football, too. And a couple of decades later, our nephew.

Then I went to college – Texas A&M – never missed a home game and was part of the 12^th Man. Never sat down as an Aggie, unless the opposing band was marching.

I played football, but I wasn’t very good. I didn’t have much talent, and didn’t work hard enough at it. I played a couple of years, but quit playing. It’s the story of my early life and it’s one of my life’s regrets – not finishing, not playing through. That’s why I admire W, my son. He’s not any more talented than me, but he’s far more persistent. He’s tenacious and he works his rear end off. It’s not just sports but scouting and school, too and just about all he does. He pushes himself to better at just about everything he does. I admire him, because I would have given up when I was his age, in fact I did.

Then adulthood set in, we went off to college, got jobs, got married, had kids, and began spending Friday nights watching the local high school – the Wheaton Warrenville South High School Tigers. At first, we took W in a stroller and then, when he could walk; we’d stand along the fence in the end zone and watch. Then O came along, same story. Time passed, W grew, and O grew, too. W played youth football for a few years and took a couple of years off in middle school to focus on scouting and run cross-country. Something I never did, I admire him. Then it was time for high school and joined the football team, and wrestled and played lacrosse – three seasons – three sports. We stayed along the fence watching until last year when we moved to the grandstand. As a sophomore, his team played at 5:00 PM Friday afternoon then the varsity would play at 7:30 – under the lights. We’d stay and watch. This year, he’s on the varsity and he’s on the team. We’ll watch we’ll be in the stands. Most juniors do not play, seniors play and juniors watch, honing their skills waiting for their senior year and their chance to play Friday night. Juniors get their chance to play the next morning. Then on Monday after school, they’ll be back practicing, working hard, focusing on getting better, stronger, and faster – waiting for the next year.

August 1977 – me

August 2014 – W

But, there is more to life than football, more to life than sports. Continue reading Weekly Photo Challenge – Dialogue →

Weekly Photo Challenge – Silhoutte

Monday, August 18, 2014, @ 5:54 amadventure, Challenges, Family, growing up, history, Hobbies and Fun, Life in General, postaday, Reading, teaching, travel, Weekly Photo Challenges, Writingchildren, education, eighth grade, Family, great days, making the days count, O'Hare Airport, Orly Airport 1966, Paris, seventh grade, sixth grade, Summer VacationClay

an A340 glides out of the sun for a landing at O'Hare - Sunday August 17th — an A340 glides out of the sun for a landing at O’Hare field – Sunday August 17th

Lately, it seems I have been very good at coming up with diversions. Errands, movies, games, practices; and on the surface, they appear legitimate, but really, they are distracting. O and I have been distracting ourselves quite well, lately. Honestly, I think we are both nervous about the coming year. She is headed off to 6^th grade in three days and I am headed to 8^th grade science. Saturday, I took her to O’Hare to watch airplanes land and takeoff after getting her new eyeglasses, and we did it again yesterday after the softball game. Granted, O’Hare was close, but there were so many more important things we could have been doing, but we were distracting ourselves from what’s important.

1999 was my first year of teaching. I was in 6^th grade and I lasted a year at the grade level before my promotion to 7^th grade. Continue reading Weekly Photo Challenge – Silhoutte →

Weekly Photo Challenge – Texture

Saturday, August 9, 2014, @ 7:57 amadventure, Challenges, Cooking, Life in General, pets, postaday, Science, Weekly Photo ChallengesClay

peach and blueberry crisp with salted caramel ice cream...hmmmm — peach and blueberry crisp with salted caramel ice cream…hmmmm

Texture – the way a food or drink feels in your mouth – smooth, crispy, crunchy, chewy….

That’s Merriam-Webster’s definition, but like most words we use we end up having a working definition of the word. To me texture means many things, it’s the way I wear clothes, to the way our house is landscaped, but I love to cook, to create, and have fun but the food on the plate needs to have a different texture and different feel when you eat it.

Continue reading Weekly Photo Challenge – Texture →

Weekly Photo Challenge – Zigzag

Saturday, August 2, 2014, @ 7:35 amadventure, Challenges, Family, postaday, Teaching and Learning, Weekly Photo ChallengesFamily, great days, Lake Margrethe, making the days count, Summer Vacation, tubing on the lake, writingClay

There is nothing as fun as hanging onto an inner tube tied to the back of the boat as the driver tries to shake you off – zigzagging over the water, especially when the driver is your wife. Just hanging on was fun, trying to shake me was more fun for the driver.

me, hangin' on - photo by O — me, hangin’ on – photo by O

I stayed on the tube and had a blast, though my arms and shoulders are screaming this morning.

O took the turn before me, and the turn after me; we both had a blast. It was a fun afternoon on the lake.

Otube — O, slippin’ to the outside, must be a zig or maybe it’s a zag – photo by me

Our summer has been full of zigzags – highs and lows. I am grateful we were able to squeeze a little zigzagging fun.

Yesterday was GREAT DAY and today is going to be a million and six times better…. I know it and I can feel it. As the the chorus wails……

This could possibly be the best day ever
And the forecast says that tomorrow will likely be
A million and six times better

So make every minute count
Jump up, jump in and seize the day
And let’s make sure that in every single possible way
Today is gonna to be a great day
“Today is gonna be a great day” – Bowling for Soup

Making the days Count, one day at a time, one zig, one zag, one and one zigzag at a time.

What do you remember from middle school science?

Today’s post is in response to the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge – prompt – at Word Press. The week’s prompt is “Zigzag.” For this week’s challenge, share with us your own take on zigging and zagging. It can be a winding path, the Herringbone pattern on your coat, a scar: any jagged line that tells a story. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Summer Lovin’

Saturday, July 26, 2014, @ 8:18 amadventure, Challenges, Family, postaday, Weekly Photo Challenges, Writingcampfires, Family, Grayling, Lake Margrethe, making the days count, Summer Vacation, sunsetsClay

Summer means so many things – it means sunny warm days, cool nights, road trips, family, swimming, boating, sleeping late, staying up long after dark, gentle rain showers, and campfires beside the lake wrapped in a beach towel to keep my back warm…. It also means keeping it short and sweet like a melted marshmallow with a chunk of chocolate on a graham cracker… I can even taste it….

Making the Days Count, one day at a time, one summer memory at a time….

What summer memories do you have?

Today’s post is in response to the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge – prompt – at Word Press. The week’s prompt is “Summer Lovin’.” This week, share a photo that says summer lovin’ to you. It might be a favorite pair of sandals you can’t bear to part with, the homemade salsa you made with veggies from your garden, the flowers you planted, or your family frolicking on the beach. If summer is on the way in your hemisphere, show us something hot hot hot: your homemade sriracha sauce, some friends shuckin’ and jivin’ on the dance floor, or even the furnace or boiler that heats your home.

License plates and sunshine

Tuesday, July 22, 2014, @ 11:14 amadventure, Challenges, Cooking, Family, geography, Life in General, Reading, Science, Scouting, teaching, travelchildren, driving games, education, geography, making the days count, state license plates, Summer Vacation, teaching, writingClay

our route – I think I could do it with my eyes closed….

We are all back up north – B, W, O, Ivy, and me. If I could, I’d stay up here forever, but there is something called money, and a job, that keeps me from doing just that. And, perhaps being up north might lose it’s luster if it weren’t an occasional treat like ice cream or chocolate. This is the place that grandpa built – it’s the place for family and more memories than I can write about for now. B’s sister will be joining us later this evening for a short visit and grandma will be coming up next week. It’ll be a good time.

We came up Sunday afternoon. We had planned to come up Sunday morning, but we just needed to take our time. I’d been at Beauty and Charm all week and W came home from football Saturday afternoon and wouldn’t move – he was so tired. He needed to pack for his scouting trip next week to the boundary waters trip in northern Minnesota, but he just lied there on his bed, so we let him sleep. He slept from 6PM until 8AM Sunday morning, he must’ve been tired, because when we got here Sunday night, he slept another ten hours into Monday morning. We drove both of the cars because W has to go back Friday for his trip and one of us has to drive him.

O, Ivy, and I left first in my car and B and W followed hers with W driving. Driving 359 miles can be a drain. O was watching a movie on the iPad beside me and I was driving, paying attention to traffic, and listening to a Market Place podcast when I had a brilliant idea, why not count the number of different state license plates we saw along our way? I nudged O and explained my idea. I asked her how many she thought we might see and she replied 24. She was in. We had rules for our game – only cars and pickup trucks, no buses, and commercial vehicles like tractor-trailer rigs or delivery trucks. And, only US states, no Canada plates. She quickly called out our first license plate – Illinois. We quickly had ten or so – Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota and we had fourteen when B called to check in and I told her about our game. She took it as a challenge and it was game on. Driving along the interstates made it easier: I-80, I-90, I-94, and I-196 are heavily trafficked but once we were north of Grand Rapids, we didn’t see another new license plate.

We finished with 24 and B and W beat us Continue reading License plates and sunshine →

Weekly Photo Challenge – Containers

Friday, July 18, 2014, @ 8:33 pmadventure, Challenges, Family, growing up, jobs, postaday, Reading, Science, teaching, Weekly Photo Challenges, Writingeducation, eighth grade, Fermilab, great days, hard work, making the days count, reading, Science, Summer Vacation, teaching, teaching particle physicsClay

I blinked this week, and I missed it. On Tuesday, my summer reached its halfway point. I’ve been busy and distracted and I’ve been working to make the days count – helping my wife, running errands, gardening, driving my kids to activities, or driving to and from Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. I’ve had some time to rest, relax, and rejuvenate, but I wish I had a container to bottle up summer and hold it for a time when I really could use it, but I don’t.

I’ve been busy this past week at Beauty and Charm and I’ve been busy all day. It’s made my brain hurt and that’s been a good thing – it’s made me think about what I’ll be teaching next year and ways I can teach it so that kids get it, understand it, and enjoy it because next year is going to be a challenge for me. I am switching content areas and grade levels. Since I began teaching fifteen years ago, I’ve taught Language Arts or Geography as my concentration and all but one of those years has been spent teaching seventh grade. It’s tricky to explain, but at the middle school level social studies is typically a shared subject. Teachers are organized into teams of three or four teachers; each teacher teaches one subject – math, science, reading, and English and each teacher teaches one class period of social studies. It’s not a perfect system but it works because at the middle level, education is more focused on developing the student’s skills in reading, writing, math, thinking, and organization. So much is developing between sixth and eighth grade socially, emotionally, and physically that academic or intellectual development is miniscule in comparison. Next year I’ll be teaching science to eighth graders. I am excited, but at the same time, it’ll be my first time to teach science. Ever. So, I know it’ll be fun, but it’s also going to be a challenge.

bubblechamber — this 15 foot tall bubble chamber contained 8,000 gallons of liquid helium – it was designed to help Fermilab physicists see the bubble trails of sub-atomic particles

That is how I ended up at Beauty and Charm. Continue reading Weekly Photo Challenge – Containers →

Weekly Photo Challenge: Contrasts

Monday, June 30, 2014, @ 9:57 amadventure, Challenges, Family, Life in General, postaday, travel, Weather, Weekly Photo Challenges, Writingeducation, Family, Grayling, making the days count, Stormy Weather, Summer Vacation, weather, writingClay

Last Wednesday, I drove through a heavy storm. As we drove west then north, the clouds became thicker and darker. The clouds opened up. I could hardly see through the windshield. I slowed to 40mph, and many cars pulled over to weather the storm. O and I, with Ivy along, were driving pick up W from wrestling camp in Wisconsin a day early. It’s been stormy – hot, humid, and muggy in the Midwest since late last week. Thursday morning we were on our way to Ohio driving through a cloudy morning on our way to a different kind of storm – the passing of a loved one.

My father-in-law, B’s dad, passed away after a long life filled with love for family, country, and hard work. We will miss him. The visitation was Thursday and the service was Friday. He will be in our memory forever. Continue reading Weekly Photo Challenge: Contrasts →

Weekly Photo Challenge: Between

Tuesday, June 24, 2014, @ 12:02 pmadventure, Challenges, Family, growing up, postaday, sports, teaching, Tuesday's Tune, Weekly Photo Challengesbaseball, Cincinnati Reds, Family, great days, making the days count, Photography, Summer Vacation, Wrigley Field, writingClay

O and I decided we needed a diversion, actually I decided I needed a diversion, something to get my mind away from what I was thinking, what was on my mind. Baseball, it is the space in between which takes us off our worries, for even a moment.

Baseball. I remember going to watch my home team, the Astros, play games indoors in the Astrodome. I’ve since moved away from home and my team has moved out of the Astrodome, but I am still a fan. I still pull for my Astros, though I have lost the connection to the ‘stros and I don’t get out to the ballpark as much as I used to; I still try to take in a game when I can.

Continue reading Weekly Photo Challenge: Between →