Category Archives: Family

Sign of the Week – July 4th

Challenges, Family, Learning, Sign of the Week, Writing, , , , ,

Happy Independence Day! Or if you are not from the United States, Happy Fourth of July.

I found this week’s sign on the way home from volunteering at Loaves and Fishes this past Monday night. Monday night is a regular night for me and I look forward to seeing some of the regular clients who rely on us to help them make ends meet. I know I am making a difference and helping those who need help get the help they need.

Tuesday morning I got the Quote of the Day from the folks at Pass It On dot org.

I came across the organization (The Foundation for a Better Life) years before the blog and I remember writing about them in the infancy days of Making the Days Count dot org. In June 2010, I wrote a post and remember talking to my mom about it. A couple of weeks while repairing a blog posts from the early days (first month) of the blog I came across this post…. Day 25 – Patience. And I read it again. I finished repairing a few more – the posts with broken links or photos that didn’t display. In those infancy days, I didn’t have many readers other than my mom or my wife. I came across a comment from my mom and it was good to hear her voice. I miss it very much.

Sometimes you need a good sign to get you thinking. I hope you see a sign, or find one, today that speaks to you and reminds you, that you are doing a right things with your life.

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, especially special days like today.

What is going to make your day special?

NOTE: Written and edited with WordPress.

Sign of the Week – Warning (part two)

adventure, Baseball, Family, growing up, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Writing, , , , , ,

It’s Sunday morning and I am starting the day in the summer office. It’s cool for the moment, but today’s forecast calls for afternoon temperatures to reach a high of 93 (34C).

The Arizona weekend began with an early Saturday morning flight to Phoenix, renting a car, grabbing a bite to eat on the recommendation of a friend before finding the right spot for my ‘signature picture’ which I share with my brothers and a few friends. It’s a silly picture, but fun.

St. Louis – July ’23
the first ‘bad picture’ Seattle – May ’23
on the way to Sunday’s game, Phoenix October ’23
I had to find the ‘right’ cactus, Arizona September ’23

My hotel was within walking distance to the stadium, and I paced myself in the heat. Chase Field has a retractable roof, the first of its kind when it opened in 1998. The roof was closed because it was 100 degrees (38C) late in the afternoon before game time.

The Astros won Saturday night’s game 1-0 (nil) and clinched a playoff berth as did the Diamondbacks with a Chicago Cubs loss. I walked home and grabbed some tacos for dinner at the hotel.

Sunday morning, I woke early and planned the day. The hotel I was staying was architecturally cool. It was constructed in the 1930s and had been a bank before being converted into a hotel and legend had it that the penthouse was once inhabited by Alfred Hitchcock.

coffee Sunday morning in the hotel lobby…an impressive Art Deco building from the 1930s

I had a breakfast date with a fellow blogger, Ingrid from Live, Laugh RV: Our Next Chapter. She and her husband were originally from Chicagoland not far from where I love before moving west, then retiring and deciding to live the RV life. Ingrid’s posts left yearning for travelling in retired RV lifestyle from one location to another while exploring and enjoying being outdoors. Her photographs were always stunning. It was wonderful to meet Ingrid in person, and we were never at loss for something to say over breakfast. After breakfast, we took an ‘ussie’ and I headed back to the hotel to pack and get ready for the last game of the season.

Ingrid and I after meeting for breakfast, October 1, 2023

On the final day of the season, all baseball games begin about the same time Sunday afternoon. I arrived when the gates opened found my seat behind the Astros dugout in hopes of seeking out my favorite player, Maurico Dubón.

Mauricio in the dugout

Continue reading Sign of the Week – Warning (part two) →

W^2 – outdoor office

Challenges, Family, Learning, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Weather, Weekly Photo Challenges, Writing, , , , , ,

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Happy Wednesday! Our heat wave has broken and it is a bit cooler this morning. Last night thunderstorms rolled through dropping almost an inch (2.54 cm) of rain overnight.

Normally on summer morning, I’d be out at the ‘summer office’ listening to the birds and feeling the gentle breeze as the world around me awakens, but the ‘office’ is wet and damp, so I’ll wait for another morning, or late evening to enjoy the backyard.

Sadly these Dahlia’s went north to lake with my wife yesterday…..
…. But I am left with these kind’s of views… a house finch enjoys the sunflower seed feeder

I am going to enjoy the inside office of the breakfast table and my office desk in the basement for today and maybe the ‘summer office’ will be available tomorrow. Who knows? But today could possible be the best day ever, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the days COUNT, one day at a time, getting things done wherever I work.

Does your workspace vary? Where do you find yourself working today? 

Tuesday’s Tune – Heat Wave

Family, growing up, history, Learning, Reading, teaching, Tuesday's Tune, Writing, , , , , ,

We’ve been through a heatwave. It began this past Friday and fortunately, it appears to have broken. The last few mornings the thermometer read temps in the upper seventies where a normal early summer reading might be in the low sixties, and possibly the mid-fifties. But while weather comes and goes, it’s the climate that is changing and I must find a way to adapt and change.

I woke early this morning, a bit before six am, made coffee and noticed this morning’s temperature was 74, five degrees lower Monday, an improvement and good signs. I decided to enjoy the ‘summer office’, to listen to the birds and begin the morning routine. Often, I skim though e-mails and read a blog or two and leave comments or lazily, press like. This morning beth from I Didn’t Have My Glasses On and Neil from Yeah, Another Blogger got me thinking. Before moving on my devotional and reflection, then Wordle.

photos I packed and sent to England, from the upper left clockwise are my dad and Juliana in early 2000s, Juliana’s baby photo, a photo of her mum (guessing), and Juliana in the 60s before she met my dad

But Neil’s story of music and his dad connected with me in an odd way. I had decided to write a Tuesday’s Tune post using the song ‘Heat Wave.’ The song was written in the early sixties and recorded by Matha and the Vandellas in 1963, it was a hit. I remember it being recorded by Linda Ronstadt and I found the video below. It is from the mid-seventies, and it was a late Friday night tv show, The Midnight Special. It aired at midnight, which was long past my bedtime, but sometimes I’d sneak out to watch it. I have no memory of watching this episode, but I do remember watching late night television when I was in high school with friends. When I located the YouTube video, I realized it was from an episode of the Midnight Special which aired two days after my dad had married my stepmother.

It was there wedding day – February 19, 1975. My brothers and I from left to right – David, Warren, and me. My other is on the right between Warren and I. Juliana is in the center. The pastor is in the back and I do not know who the couple on the left are.

All three of us had attended and I remember the after-wedding celebration of running the halls of the reception hall with another group of kids while our parents celebrated the newlyweds upstairs.
Continue reading Tuesday’s Tune – Heat Wave →

Sign of the Week – June 21st

Challenges, Family, Learning, Life in General, teaching, , , , , ,

It’s the first FULL day of summer in the northern hemisphere. It’s where I live and where most of the world’s population lives also – it’s approximately a 90-10 spilt! It’s largely due to equity of land distribution – 68-32 spilt in favor of the northern hemisphere.

But this isn’t a geography lesson.

I saw something recently that explained one of the reasons for the decline in cognitive ability in aging adults (and that’s me) is when we stop creating.

MtDC is fifteen years old this summer going on sixteen and I’d like to see it continue to grow.

TRUE – a wonderful thought for the first day of summer, Wheaton, IL Friday, June 20, 2025

I have a blogger friend who ‘s Saturday post is always – Photos of the Week. Each week Wynne includes a sign she has come across in her travels during the week and it is always a good message. She peppers it with images from her family’s weekI look. I forward to her posts each Saturday morning.

Continue reading Sign of the Week – June 21st →

W^2 – peonies

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

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, June 18, 2025

This Wednesday finds me home in my summer office praying the birds I have neglected, return to my feeders. Yesterday, both my wife and I drove home from the lake after spending almost two weeks away. The yard needed mown, the feeders were empty, and there was a package waiting on the doorstep when I arrived.

A yellow peony bloom from the late, Grayling, MI, June 17, 2025 10:12 AM

Summer always finds my days full and it is difficult to wrap my mind around the idea that in three weeks I will be in London. When I traveled to Europe fifteen years ago, I carried my laptop and blogged from my hotel room at the end of the day or wrote at the beginning of the following day. In all I posted six times, with a seventh the day I returned. I think my mom and wife were the only readers at that point. When I go back to see what I wrote fifteen years ago, I cringe, and realize I have grown as a writer. I also realize that my posts have not ‘aged’ well. The photos need to be updated and refreshed and I’ll do that later – but I’ll be using my Mac.

This trip I plan to write and post, but I think I can use my iPad and I am giving it a whirl this morning. I was successful last summer with a post on the trip home from California and a post from 35,000 feet. So this post will be entirely produced with the iPad! Continue reading W^2 – peonies →

Three things for a Father’s Day morning

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

It’s Father’s Day and I have already gotten my gifts. We are at the lake, my daughter is upstairs sleeping after, our son is home with his family after travelling home yesterday, and the dogs are curled up sleeping. It is a quiet Sunday morning, and the lake is still, cool, and overcast.

It’s been almost sixteen years since my father died. For me Father’s Day is a quiet day best spent with family. This year, it’s special as it is my son’s first Father’s Day.

Family at the lake
This past week my son and his family visited us at the lake. It was exciting, fun, and a whirlwind having twin grandies and their parents join us at the lake for several days. It was fun hearing them babble, cry, crawl, eat, and grow.

our first family photo from last summer….
Weston and Hudson!
Weston rides Archie with O’s help
Hudson and my wife….
already printed, framed, and on display…

I remember his first visit as an infant and our daughter’s a few years later. We enjoyed their visit and celebrated several firsts – especially our first three generations photo!

Father’s Day
My daughter gave me my Father’s Day gift a few weeks ago. It is a hummingbird feeder with a camera. I opened the box this past week, installed it, and have been enjoying the feeder and its images since.

I am thankful to my blogging friend Margaret for encouraging me to be a birder with her book’s post from April 2018. I did read the book Where the Poppies Blow, and I am excited to return to Europe this summer and travel through the battlefields of northern France and the Netherlands. Also, I am thankful to the COVID lockdown for accelerating my curiosity and wonder for birds.

Sometimes we simply need a gentle push and I’ve been enjoying since. Continue reading Three things for a Father’s Day morning →

W^2 – portage

adventure, Challenges, Family, geography, Learning, Weekly Photo Challenges, Wordless Wednesday, Writing, , , , ,

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, June 12, 2025

Portage means to change from one waterway to another; more specifically it means to unload one boat and transfer the goods to another boat.

During the annual canoe race in late July, the racers must navigate the Ausable River and ‘portage’ their canoes at several spots along the course. For the racers, it means they have reached a dam along the river, and they must climb out of the canoe, pull their canoe out of the river, and carry the canoe to the river below the dam. Then climb back in and continue paddling down river.

Portage is also used as a name for a city. There are five cities or towns named Portage in the United States – Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

the view from our daughters apartment – a great place to enjoy morning coffee

It also is our daughter’s new home. Last weekend we moved her from her college home to a new home in Portage, Michigan. She took a job and needed a place to live; she chose well. It’s a great apartment (much better than my first) and it has a nice patio for the dogs where they can sniff and explore. It’s also a nice place to sit and sip coffee while watching the dogs – Fern and Nova.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Clay Watkins (@makingthedayscount)

This morning finds us at the lake with our son and his family – the grandies. It’s their first visit and it’s the first time we’ve had three generations at the lake in long time. Our daughter will join us late Friday night or early Saturday morning for a full three generational photo. I can’t wait!

It’s going to be an exciting day with maybe a visit to the beach and hopefully some photos. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day or I’ll be left behind. Making the days Count, one day at a time, while watching the dogs, the grandies, or a sunset.

What are you going to watch today?

Three things for the first day of summer break 2025

Baseball, Family, Photography, Science, teaching, Writing, , , ,

Summer break, my annual audition for retirement began yesterday after I finished getting my classroom cleaned, organized (that might be a stretch), and stored for the summer cleaning and learning season.

most of my work is done on my mobile device, but I had to work with this one on my desktop…. a color vision is posted at the end of the post

This year’s edition is seventy days long. It will be filled with family, grandies, travel, baseball, creativity, and dogs. I can’t wait.

TRAVEL and GRANDIES
This summer my wife and I will be traveling to Europe for a two-week vacation starting in London, then Wales, back to London, then to Paris, and finishing in Amsterdam before returning home. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. This trip is similar to the one I took fifteen years ago to take my father’s cremains home, except this time we will return our step-mother’s cremains to where she wanted to spend eternity. Like that trip to honor my father, I plan to blog along the way.

seven months old and growing by the day… soon they will be crawling.

Summer would be summer without a few weeks as the lake.  This year we will host our grandies for the first time. We are excited and looking forward to the summer with the family.

CREATIVITY
Continue reading Three things for the first day of summer break 2025 →

Starry night

adventure, Family, Photography, Science, teaching, travel, Writing, , , , ,

It’s Memorial Day weekend and I am reminded I started this blog on a Memorial Day weekend fifteen years ago. Somehow, I’ve kept it going.

Along the way, I’ve gained some amazing friends all of whom I know only through Making the Days Count. I have met a few and even stayed in one’s bed and breakfast – twice.

After school let out for the weekend, I climbed in the car and drove north. A lot of folks had a similar idea and what can be a five and half hour drive stretched into a seven hour plus drive. But when I arrived, my family was here, the dogs greeted me enthusiastically, and the stars were shining brightly.

the stars at night are big and bright…..Grayling, Michigan, May 24, 2025, 12:10 AM EDT

I’ll be driving home Monday so I can teach six more days, really four, but the kiddos are in school for six more school days. School’s out Tuesday, June 3rd, and my summer break OFFICIALLY begins after noon on Wednesday, the fourth. It’s going to be a great summer.

Today is going to be a great day. I am going to continue to write and keep making the days count like I have for the past fifteen summers. Last Monday, I reminded my students that the four days next week are going to count. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days COUNT, one day at a time, looking up, looking down, looking all around.

What are seeing when you look around?