The school day is done.
Dinner has been cooked, consumed, and cleaned.
Toys are put away, and the babe is fast asleep.
Master's homework is somewhat completed.
My eyes are burning and yearning for rest.
The brain is aching and begging for relaxation.
To read?
To watch TV?
To sleep?
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Monday, March 4, 2013
"LaLa"
I often feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Let me explain...I have a great life. I love my job (teaching amazing first graders). I love my friends. I love my household. I get to live with two amazing friends: L and J and their little guy, Josiah. Don't get me wrong, when they first told me that they were adopting and that this little guy was going to be born and come home with them, fear washed over me. Now, 18 months later, I can't and wouldn't imagine things any other way.
Today, I opened the door and I hear a little voice shout "LaLa" and come running! He meets me with a toothy grin, arms up, and a puckery kiss. Who wouldn't cherish a greeting like that?
Most mornings he joins me in the bathroom as I get ready for school. He likes to find my brush, comb his hair and fish out all of my bobby-pins, just in case I need them!
At the dinner table, he often smiles a big cheesy smile and then puckers up his lips, begging me to get out of my chair, squat down and kiss him. I do. I can't resist. Many evenings it happens several times in one meal. It's our little game, and I like it.
I know his most ticklish spots. It makes my heart so full to hear his little boy giggle, and watch him writhe with joy and laughter. The squealing is the best.
But there is one moment. The best. It steals my heart every time. I wish I could suspend time. Take a picture. Savor the moment. Never move. Always feel this happy. Josiah loves books. Every day, he picks a book off of the shelf (often, David or Spot books), and brings it to me saying "buh". He hands me the book, turns himself around, and plops himself into my lap. He knows what to do. He knows when to turn the pages, and when to say "no" when we are looking for Spot.
He loves to read. And his Auntie LaLa loves to read with him.
It's moments like that, where I know I am the luckiest girl in the world.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
ISFJ
Personalities can be a tricky thing. I mean, it is hard enough to know, appreciate, and monitor your own. For instance, (according to a recent Myers Briggs online test) I am an ISFJ. Some of these qualities have changed since I was in college. Until today, I would have told you that I was a Thinker, not a Feeler. I have always teetered on the line of Extrovert/Introvert as well.
It's just plain complicated. Knowing yourself, how you act, think, feel, function, and live day by day can become quite like a labyrinth.
Then throw another person in the mix: a co-worker, friend, relative, or spouse. Then watch the fireworks fly! If you think knowing yourself is a struggle, try combining knowing yourself with trying to get a handle on the other person! Complete mystery.
Even though it can be a struggle, it is also one of the greatest gifts: knowing yourself and being known by others.
People all across the earth crave this very thing. They want to be known. Truly. Honestly. Genuinely.
It's just plain complicated. Knowing yourself, how you act, think, feel, function, and live day by day can become quite like a labyrinth.
Then throw another person in the mix: a co-worker, friend, relative, or spouse. Then watch the fireworks fly! If you think knowing yourself is a struggle, try combining knowing yourself with trying to get a handle on the other person! Complete mystery.
Even though it can be a struggle, it is also one of the greatest gifts: knowing yourself and being known by others.
People all across the earth crave this very thing. They want to be known. Truly. Honestly. Genuinely.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
"Techy"
I get it. Some people are just not good at technology. It is not intuitive for them. Thankfully I am not one of those people. Don't get me wrong, I am no "techy" but I can hold my own when it comes to new products and navigating myself around.
However...
In the last couple of days I have encountered two separate boulders of technology. I went to open itunes the other day, and realized that they had completely changed the layout and organization of the program! What once was easy and simple is way more complicated than it needs to be! My frustrations were vindicated this morning when L openened her computer to create a new workout playlist and began grunting and huffing about the new itunes. Together we discovered some short cuts, but in the end, we still discussed writing a nasty letter to apple, as if they care.
Secondly, my "home" page on this blogging site lists blogs that I subscribe to and shows previews of their most recent posts. This past summer I subscribed to one on a whim and have regretted it ever since! I have spent too many hours getting frustrated and searching every menu and option to manage my subscriptions. No offense to the lady who is authoring said blog, but I am just not interested anymore!
So, I will use today's slice to beg for assistance from those more "techy" than I... how do I get rid of said subscription? Help...
However...
In the last couple of days I have encountered two separate boulders of technology. I went to open itunes the other day, and realized that they had completely changed the layout and organization of the program! What once was easy and simple is way more complicated than it needs to be! My frustrations were vindicated this morning when L openened her computer to create a new workout playlist and began grunting and huffing about the new itunes. Together we discovered some short cuts, but in the end, we still discussed writing a nasty letter to apple, as if they care.
Secondly, my "home" page on this blogging site lists blogs that I subscribe to and shows previews of their most recent posts. This past summer I subscribed to one on a whim and have regretted it ever since! I have spent too many hours getting frustrated and searching every menu and option to manage my subscriptions. No offense to the lady who is authoring said blog, but I am just not interested anymore!
So, I will use today's slice to beg for assistance from those more "techy" than I... how do I get rid of said subscription? Help...
Friday, March 1, 2013
Keep the Courage
My grandmother died rather unexpectedly in January. She fell the night before New Year's and broke her hip. She had been in a "memory care" facility for the previous 6 months since my grandfather died and our family had moved her from Florida to Ohio. Those 6 months were both glorious and grueling. I am sure many others out there understand what it is to be a caretaker for loved ones. It is exhausting, enfuriating, a blessing, and enlightening. You learn a lot about yourself and how you want to be.
At the end of January my family held a memorial service to honor and remember her. It was intimate, private, and surreal. It was weird to see my mother in this position. It forced the thoughts of... "what about when it's my turn to say goodbye to my parents?" I am still rejecting that one. It is weird to say, but I was proud of my mom. She organized the service, picked out flowers, arranged a gift for the grandchildren, scheduled a friend to sing and play music, and had a friend of the family share The Word. She paid attention to detail, and found what would have suited her mother.
During the service the grandchildren were given the opportunity to share memories or stories of times with grandma. I learned new things about her, like she was once a fitness instructor and was asked to be filmed in a television commercial to promote the new gym. She was a bank teller for many years and was held up at gun point several times but still loved her job! Other stories made us laugh: she used to score our dives off of the diving board, liked to play practical jokes, and was often seen with a cigarrette in one hand and a glass of chocolate milk in another...
I feel lucky. As a child of working parents, I got to spend several summers with my grandma. We would play cards, watch old movies, and go to the pool. It was mentioned in her service several times that she was afraid of heights- but would go on roller coasters with her grandchildren and fly in planes. She was afraid to swim- but loved to take her grandchildren to a pool or lake. As I was listening to the stories and memories of her, it struck me: Courage. She had so much of it.
During our summers together, we would often go to the pool. One year, she even let me attempt to teach her to swim! She must have seen the teacher in me, even then.
Again, it pressed on me harder: Courage. She didn't let her fears stop her. She rode roller coasters, flew in airplanes, went on cruises, swam with her grandchildren. The list probably goes on. All this time, a model of courage was in front of me. I hadn't stopped to realize, learn, appreciate.
I am grateful for the chance now. She may not be with me, but I can take her spirit and her example forward. It can guide me, inspire me, and encourage me.
I don't have to be afraid of that change. The new relationship doesn't have to paralyze me with fear. I don't need to worry about what job I will have in the future, or where I will live.
Board the coaster. Plug your nose and get in. Take Courage. Keep the Courage.
At the end of January my family held a memorial service to honor and remember her. It was intimate, private, and surreal. It was weird to see my mother in this position. It forced the thoughts of... "what about when it's my turn to say goodbye to my parents?" I am still rejecting that one. It is weird to say, but I was proud of my mom. She organized the service, picked out flowers, arranged a gift for the grandchildren, scheduled a friend to sing and play music, and had a friend of the family share The Word. She paid attention to detail, and found what would have suited her mother.
During the service the grandchildren were given the opportunity to share memories or stories of times with grandma. I learned new things about her, like she was once a fitness instructor and was asked to be filmed in a television commercial to promote the new gym. She was a bank teller for many years and was held up at gun point several times but still loved her job! Other stories made us laugh: she used to score our dives off of the diving board, liked to play practical jokes, and was often seen with a cigarrette in one hand and a glass of chocolate milk in another...
I feel lucky. As a child of working parents, I got to spend several summers with my grandma. We would play cards, watch old movies, and go to the pool. It was mentioned in her service several times that she was afraid of heights- but would go on roller coasters with her grandchildren and fly in planes. She was afraid to swim- but loved to take her grandchildren to a pool or lake. As I was listening to the stories and memories of her, it struck me: Courage. She had so much of it.
During our summers together, we would often go to the pool. One year, she even let me attempt to teach her to swim! She must have seen the teacher in me, even then.
Again, it pressed on me harder: Courage. She didn't let her fears stop her. She rode roller coasters, flew in airplanes, went on cruises, swam with her grandchildren. The list probably goes on. All this time, a model of courage was in front of me. I hadn't stopped to realize, learn, appreciate.
I am grateful for the chance now. She may not be with me, but I can take her spirit and her example forward. It can guide me, inspire me, and encourage me.
I don't have to be afraid of that change. The new relationship doesn't have to paralyze me with fear. I don't need to worry about what job I will have in the future, or where I will live.
Board the coaster. Plug your nose and get in. Take Courage. Keep the Courage.
(Alice Rae Whitehead and Lawrence Paul Whitehead)
Friday, June 15, 2012
Words
Words are powerful. I am not sure that anyone would argue with that. They can make you soar, send you tumbling, sustain you, give hope, bring you back to reality. They can change you.
My own words spoken to others is something that I have been giving a lot of thought to. I speak to children all day. What I say does matter to them. It might make them believe in themselves a little more. My words might hurt their feelings or make them feel sad. It might spur them on to work harder or to make a difference.
Other people's words affect me as well. Some words stick with me, haunt me, heal me, remind me.
Here is a quote that I found that I have been dwelling on for the past month or so. Post it in your car, on your desk, on your mirror, and in your heart.
"All through the day we inadvertantly speak words that enter people's lives and change them in minor or major ways and we never know it." Eugene Peterson
Our words matter. I hope to make mine affect others in a positive way. The choice is yours...
My own words spoken to others is something that I have been giving a lot of thought to. I speak to children all day. What I say does matter to them. It might make them believe in themselves a little more. My words might hurt their feelings or make them feel sad. It might spur them on to work harder or to make a difference.
Other people's words affect me as well. Some words stick with me, haunt me, heal me, remind me.
Here is a quote that I found that I have been dwelling on for the past month or so. Post it in your car, on your desk, on your mirror, and in your heart.
"All through the day we inadvertantly speak words that enter people's lives and change them in minor or major ways and we never know it." Eugene Peterson
Our words matter. I hope to make mine affect others in a positive way. The choice is yours...
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Guilty
Everyone has their little habits, little secrets, little bits of joy. I have mine too. They might be normal, acceptable, weird, or unusual. I don't much care. These little tidbits are what make us who we are.
I am a lover of music. I have no talent in it at all. But I love to listen, dance, and appreciate. I have many artists and groups that speak to my soul on a regular basis. The thing is...I love "bubble gum pop" music a lot too. Every Sunday I go into school to get work done. Except sometimes it might be just an excuse to pipe Ryan Seacrest through the speakers and listen to America's Top 40 countdown!
I say that I love coffee. Sometimes I feel like a liar. I think I just really love the creamer. I get the fancy flavored kind. The coffee is really just a vehicle for the creamer. If I can, I drink Chai.
I have short hair. I like that about myself. It is because of my short hair that I can justify spending more money on "salon" shampoo and conditioner. I figure that since my hair is short, the products will last longer!
I never watch the news. It depresses me. I don't like to hear about all of the killings, fighting, and trouble with the economy and stock market. Say I am in denial. I don't really care. I like to read my news on the internet. And to be honest, my "world news" normally consists of Kim Kardashian, what actress wore what dress, and who just had a baby with their new fiance. I also consider People Magazine and US weekly reliable sources for my own brand of World News.
When I go to Target I always swing through the book and movie aisles. I like to roam the shelves looking for must-have movies that are reasonably cheap. I know I could rent them, but having them on my shelf whenever I have a whim is so much more satisfying. Oppositely, I turn over several titles on the book shelves to deter customers from buying them. They are personal dis-likes that I don't want others to be suckered into purchasing. I am sure I have been caught on camera doing this hundreds of times over the years!
When no one else is home I like to eat incredibly unhealthy food and watch movies all by myself. I get to lay around in my sweats and live my life through the characters on the TV! (Good thing this is a rare occurrence!)
Sometimes when I am working at school on the weekends I like to roam the halls and peek in other teacher's classrooms. I never get to go in and see what they are doing in their rooms. Sometimes I get really good ideas on charts to make, new visuals, new units of study, and neat ways of organizing or managing things that have been stumping me. It's my own little personal professional development time.
Well, these are just a few little guilty pleasures that I have. They help to make me who I am! What about you?
I am a lover of music. I have no talent in it at all. But I love to listen, dance, and appreciate. I have many artists and groups that speak to my soul on a regular basis. The thing is...I love "bubble gum pop" music a lot too. Every Sunday I go into school to get work done. Except sometimes it might be just an excuse to pipe Ryan Seacrest through the speakers and listen to America's Top 40 countdown!
I say that I love coffee. Sometimes I feel like a liar. I think I just really love the creamer. I get the fancy flavored kind. The coffee is really just a vehicle for the creamer. If I can, I drink Chai.
I have short hair. I like that about myself. It is because of my short hair that I can justify spending more money on "salon" shampoo and conditioner. I figure that since my hair is short, the products will last longer!
I never watch the news. It depresses me. I don't like to hear about all of the killings, fighting, and trouble with the economy and stock market. Say I am in denial. I don't really care. I like to read my news on the internet. And to be honest, my "world news" normally consists of Kim Kardashian, what actress wore what dress, and who just had a baby with their new fiance. I also consider People Magazine and US weekly reliable sources for my own brand of World News.
When I go to Target I always swing through the book and movie aisles. I like to roam the shelves looking for must-have movies that are reasonably cheap. I know I could rent them, but having them on my shelf whenever I have a whim is so much more satisfying. Oppositely, I turn over several titles on the book shelves to deter customers from buying them. They are personal dis-likes that I don't want others to be suckered into purchasing. I am sure I have been caught on camera doing this hundreds of times over the years!
When no one else is home I like to eat incredibly unhealthy food and watch movies all by myself. I get to lay around in my sweats and live my life through the characters on the TV! (Good thing this is a rare occurrence!)
Sometimes when I am working at school on the weekends I like to roam the halls and peek in other teacher's classrooms. I never get to go in and see what they are doing in their rooms. Sometimes I get really good ideas on charts to make, new visuals, new units of study, and neat ways of organizing or managing things that have been stumping me. It's my own little personal professional development time.
Well, these are just a few little guilty pleasures that I have. They help to make me who I am! What about you?
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