Tag Archives: children

President’s Day 2013

this morning's report....
this morning’s report….

It’s another three-day weekend for me and a four-day weekend for the kids both my own kids and my students. Monday is President’s Day and schoolchildren across the land have the day off. I think those days should be spent in school, but I’m a minority voice. My school district has parent-teacher conferences Tuesday and the kids are off while we meet with parents to give feedback, praise, and some serious honesty about how their child is performing (or not) in our classes. My kid’s school district had an in-service day Friday – so we both had a long weekend. What it really does is to provide an excuse to spend time recreating, so we left town and headed north for snow and winter outdoor fun. Continue reading President’s Day 2013

Another Saturday evening post, on Sunday evening

bells_coverI started writing this Saturday morning and I never finished, such is life.

It’s Saturday mid-morning and my plan to post in the middle of the week was foiled, yet again. Honestly, I do have ideas during the week, but I never have time to actually sit down and write them. Looking back on my week, it was a blur. I had to think back long and hard to remember all of the big rocks, small rocks, pebbles, sand, and water, which filled my week to recall all that I did and or more importantly, did not do. Continue reading Another Saturday evening post, on Sunday evening

Sixty degrees in a week

msi_badge_blank
this alerts other museum patrons to steer clear!

A week ago, it was cold and freezing rain and ice was bearing down us. This morning it was lightly snowing. In between, we’ve had a sixty-two degree day, rain, near zero temperatures, sub-zero wind chills, and our first significant snow – a paltry two and half inches.  It is difficult to believe it is February in Chicago. Continue reading Sixty degrees in a week

Here comes the sun…

It’s another Saturday morning and here I am. It was a good week and in the blink of an eye, it was gone. In last Saturday morning’s post, I posted a picture of the sunrise and a couple of folks, Ellie from Emerald Pie and Coleen from ColeenPatrick commented on the sunrise. Their comments truly made my day and reminded me of the power of the sun, sunlight, and the symbolism of light in our lives.

Here in northeastern Illinois, we don’t get much sunlight at this time of the year, Continue reading Here comes the sun…

Saturday morning, a little late

It was early Saturday morning when I started writing this. When the alarm buzzed, rang, and disturbed my sleep this morning – I didn’t want to get up. But, I did. It’s a three day weekend and it will be over before I know it. It almost already is. Usually, we head north to snow country, but not this year, not enough snow and the kids have activities that keep us home – wrestling and softball. Then, of course, it is the football championship weekend and O and I will sit down and watch the games together, I hope.

The past week went by quickly. It was a blur. Continue reading Saturday morning, a little late

Movies and the Oscars, and thinking, too

hellfightersHellfighters with John Wayne was one of the first movies I remember watching as a kid. I saw it at the Palms Theater in Sugar Land when I was in first grade when we were preparing to move to Venezuela. I saw many movies at the Palms; it was the kind of theater that every small town had with one screen, a concession stand, its walls were painted with a tropical theme lit just right before the movie began to give the feeling of being somewhere besides Sugar Land, Texas. I remember the children’s movies I saw there, but Hellfighters was for adults and there was something about watching movies with real action like oil well fires. It was hardly a great movie, but I remember it well. We even saw it at the theater in Venezuela, it was in Spanish with English subtitles, but they had cut the part at the end about Venezuelan rebels. I have seen it many times since and I even have a copy in iTunes my brother Warren gave me a few years ago.

I stopped going to the Palms when I got my driver’s license and I didn’t need mom or my bike to get me to the movies. Continue reading Movies and the Oscars, and thinking, too

Shaken or stirred

bond logoI did not want to leave, I never do. The last day at the cottage is always the most difficult – especially over winter break. I had a few errands and other odds and ends to do before I left and B and I went through the kid’s skiing pictures and sent some off to be printed. I finished my thank you notes, wrote short notes to my mom, B’s parents, and a cottage neighbor and got them in the mail with the photos. I ran some final errands before packing the Tahoe and driving home last night. It was full with just enough space for W and Ivy. W was comfortable and watched a DVD he had gotten before Christmas and Ivy had just enough space to stretch and lay out. It was a perfect night to drive home – dry roads and hardly any traffic. We made good time and by starting late, we were able to spend almost a full day at the lake before leaving.

The road disappeared before us Continue reading Shaken or stirred

Resolutions, renewal, and reflection: New Year’s Day at the cottage

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the cottage Christmas tree!

It is mid-morning and my plan to wake and write early, didn’t come to pass, because I didn’t wake up, didn’t set an alarm, letting my body let me know when it was time to get up and get moving. But, that was it, when midnight struck that meant it was time to get some sleep, much needed sleep.

Our plans for New Year’s eve were dashed a bit and it was quiet at the cottage. So, we had to ring out New Year’s night in the same manner we would have rung in the night before, a backup plan. We had the traditional New Year’s Day dinner – roast pork, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes, the tree was lit and it was festive. Continue reading Resolutions, renewal, and reflection: New Year’s Day at the cottage

More numbers…

newtown_patriots
image courtesy of the New England Patriots and the NFL

It was a crazy day, Friday. My day began with a meeting, then an impromptu school tour with my advisory students, after the bell rang. We looked at how former students have left their mark on the school. We looked at the support posts, the pillars, which have been decorated with character traits: strength, courage, and patience – to name only a few. They were painted from drawings made by students a few years ago, who have since moved on to high school and, in this case, to college. I took them to down the main hallway, pointing out several spots, which we all pass by without thinking because they have become part of the scenery, like a billboard or a signpost along the road. We ended in the main entry hallway where flags from around the world hang. Continue reading More numbers…

Numbers

christmas tieIt’s 12-12-12 and it is the 73rd day of the school year with 99 to go, counting today. Though, my students are more worried about how many days it is to winter Break and Christmas and I am on day 3 of the ten days of Christmas ties! I wear Christmas ties to school the last two weeks and I have just enough to make it ten, this year. Maybe next year it will be twelve, who knows? It sure beats those gaudy Christmas sweater I remember from my grade school teachers, but I guess I trade it for gaudy Christmas ties! It’s all about perspective!

Last night on our way home from O’s basketball game, she and I got a quiz question on the radio; ‘How many presents would you get if you got all of the presents in the song “Twelve Days of Christmas?”’ We worked on it and had the right answer when the song was over and the announcer came back. We gave ourselves a high five! She scored two baskets for four points, way to go O! Regardless of the numbers, today is gonna be a great day. I know it. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Today is gonna be a great day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time.

What is your number for the day?