Today I Love... Slice of Life 31 of 31

     I'm playing my game my way again today, by loving something I've already loved.  Back on Day 100, when I operated under the temporary delusion that 100 days of consecutive postings was something really note worthy, I chose this same thing to love.  Now that I am approaching the one year mark of loving things, I realize that 100 days was a mere drop in the bucket.  

200 came and went virtually unnoticed...I was loving my pillow along with a list of other various simple pleasure things.

300 slipped by with very little fanfare and had me appreciating Pizza Hut at the end of a short week that seemed very long!  

And the wonderful thing is...I am beginning to finally realize myself that even though my writing muscles will eventually wear out, there will always be...well...let's not jump ahead just yet.

So what is it I'm loving today?  
    
I've tried and tried to find a fancy way to say it. 

I've written it and rewritten it in my head. 

I took several photos during the course of the morning; tried & failed to catch the sunrise (too cloudy), hymn lyrics on the wall during church (too hard to read), lillies on the front of the platform (too close)...and finally settled on this simple sketch from the worship folder.

I've looked at scripture and selected several worthy pieces only to realize that even they were too much. 

Because it's really much more simple than any of my over worked efforts. 

It's really very...very...simple.

Today...I love...Love.  

God loved us so much that He gave us his most precious gift...his Son.  

I don't know how many of you are parents...but I can't think of anything I would have a harder time giving up than one of my children.  I would (and do) give up a lot FOR them...but I don't think I could give one of them up.   

God gave us his Son, knowing how we would treat him, and knowing that it was the only way that things could be set right once and for all.

He gave us His Love.  And when we love him and believe in him and accept him, we get to live with him forever.  

Forever.

It's really that simple...

Today...I love LOVE.

Happy Easter...He is Risen!

Today I Love the Slice of Life Story Challenge...Slice of Life 30 of 31

      There's only one more day left of the Slice of Life Story Challenge!  I can't believe it!  It seems like I was just hovering over that orange publish button yesterday, hyperventilating as I tried to get myself off that diving board into the "blogosphere"!  Because of the timing of a Certain Very Important Holiday, I'll be pretending for just a moment or two that today is the last day of the challenge.  Bear with me in that, won't you?

      This past month has been something else!  I have learned so very much...about writing, about teaching, about teaching writing, about reading, about parenting...about living.  

I've been challenged.

I've been encouraged.

I've been able to encourage. 

I've met new people.  

I've made new friends.

I've traveled vicariously both to new places and back in time.  

I've made connections, both with other teachers and with my own silly self.

I've thought new thoughts.

I've written more than I ever would have on my own...and maybe reached a few more folks than I would have before the challenge.  

I've written about more different things than I ever thought I could over the course of one month...as I look at the tags to the right as I type I giggle again over SMART phones, psychic toilets, The Waffle House, and kid snippets.

I've read more than I thought I could, but I still don't feel like it's been enough...so many many wonderful posts!  I am hoping they will still be there after the challenge is over so I can go back and keep exploring. 

I am so thankful to the whole community at Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life Challenge, especially Ruth Ayres and Stacey Shubitz. I am indebted also to Cathy, who invited me here in the first place and helped encourage me to take that dive off the diving board.  I've received such great feedback and encouraging words, whether it was for something I had written or for a personal issue that had arisen that particular day. 

I'm looking forward to participating in the Slice of Life Tuesday Challenge.  But I'm really at that point where I need to decide how to continue with this whole Today I Love thing.  I am approaching a year of posting daily about something I love...today is Day 337.  I'm not sure what will happen once I cross Day 365.  Will I feel differently? (Probably not.)  Will I run out of things to love?  (Heavens no!)  Will I keep going?  Ummm...

That's the part I'm not sure about...I've been talking a lot about balance lately...but I haven't been walking a lot of balance beams.  I've mostly just been talking about it.  I'm thinking it's time I start walking my own talk.  

Well, as I tell my students on hard days when the schedule gets crinkly and tempers flare and we are all a little out of sorts, "Do you hear that?  Listen?  Shhh...listen...hear that?  Yup, the world's still spinning!"

And it will spin no matter what I do.  But for today...I think I'll just love this challenge.  It's been amazing.  

Today I Love Productivity NOT Procrastination! Slice of Life 29 of 31

     It is a well known and firmly established fact that I am the QUEEN of Procrastination.  If I could put off breathing to do something I found more interesting at the time, I probably would.  I am easily distracted.  I am impulsive.  And yes, I can be at times a little hyperactive.  My sixth grade teacher told me that I came into her class scatter-brained and she'd be (bleeped) if I left that way.  Surprise, Mrs. H!  I'm still that way!  (This was, in her defense, in response to my request to sit next to the new cute boy who had just joined our class.  I think she was afraid I would rub off on him.)  
     But today...ooh, today...no more procrastination for me!  Today I achieved.  I was productive.  I stayed the course.  I kept my head down and focused.  I got stuff done!  And...GASP!  I had fun doing it!  Today I accomplished!  In no particular order, today I...

~paid bills
~caught up on two days worth of Bible reading (okay I listened, but still!)
~ate breakfast with friends
~ate lunch with friends
~talked, talked, talked with friends
~hemmed a pair of darling daughter's jeans
~ran to fabric store for glue
~fixed darling daughter's drop over gorgeous prom dress
~laughed with friends
~ate dinner with The Man
~talked with The Man
~laughed with The Man
~baked 6 cookies (freeze your dough ahead of time, people!)
~ate two cookies...saving one for later!
~drove an hour and a half south to Creations Sew Clever
~got loads and loads of help from the fantastic crew at Creations Sew Clever
~finished the top of this BE-A-U-TI-FUL quilt...that I've had the pieces of for the past THIRTEEN years!

~put together the backing for this beautiful quilt top
~started pondering how I can talk my friend Deb into helping me quilt this top together with the backing
~drove an hour and a half north from Creations Sew Clever
~read several Slice of Life blog entries and started pondering WHY I never do anything for National Poetry Month
~started pondering WHAT I am going to do for National Poetry Month

~Wrote this post!

~Sighed in satisfaction...

Today I lovelovelovelovelovelove PRODUCTIVITY!

   

Today I Love Margin...NOT Margarine! Slice of Life 28 of 31

Today I love margin...no, no, no, not margARine!  Margin.  (besides, I am a butter girl from way back.  Margarine...ick!)  Margin...you know, that little extra space at the edge of your paper?

Margin...you know, that little extra time you give yourself before an appointment?

Margin...you know, that little extra space you give yourself and the car in front of you when you are driving?  The wiggle room you add into your budget, just in case?  The day you add on to a vacation to make sure you have a day to recover...and do laundry?  The 5 minutes that you get up early so you don't have to rush headlong into your day?  You know, margin.  

I was talking this morning with a friend and listening to her express the same concerns I have...not enough time to get done what needs to get done in our busy lives.  Not enough margin.  Now, she's a pastor's wife.  Guaranteed to be a busy person.  I teach middle school.  Need I say more? Teachers lead busy lives by definition, don't they?

It has been a month since I first hit that scary orange publish button and started this blog, at the same time declaring to the world my desire to have more balance in my life.  I believe I am loving margin today because as book club met yet again tonight, and yet again I did not have the book finished on time, I am realizing, yet again, how precious little margin I still have in my life.  

I am also loving it though, because as hard as it is for me, I really have carved out a few caches of margin this spring break week, both physically and mentally.  What you see above is a perfectly clear section of our kitchen counter.  We saved so much money on our stove at the auction last week that we went ahead and bought a brand new above the range microwave to replace our 22 year old one.  Thus, the newly cleared off counter.  Granted, The Man had the new wave installed by Saturday, and I just today found the counter underneath the old one, but I am protecting it like a mama bear watches over her cubs.  It is my margin...it is my space.  Don't touch it!

The other cache of margin I have carved out came earlier this week as I had breakfast with a friend one day and lunch with a different friend a different day.  It comes again tomorrow when I head south to Chillicothe with some more friends to Creations Sew Clever (I love that name!) to attend their Friday Sit n' Sew.  I started putting together a quilt top the last time these friends and I headed south to Sit n' Sew and guess when the last time I worked on that quilt was?  Yeah, you guessed it.  That day.  In August.  

So...I have some more balancing to do.  But I'm trying...honest I am.  And guess what!  I am halfway done with my Christmas letter!  See, there's hope!  Talk to me friends...where is your margin?  What do you cut out of your day?  Tell me your secrets for keeping things in balance. What do you give up to gain some breathing room, some thinking space, some margin?

Today I Love Laura Lou! Slice of Life 27 of 31

      It is birthday season in my family!  From the middle of March to the end of June, we have TEN birthdays to celebrate!  I am looking forward to our annual Spring Birthday Party, yet to be scheduled for this year.  This is the whole lot of the birthday crew from two years ago, before birthday girl #10 was even born yet!  
      Well, those other birthday folks will have to wait today, because today it is the birthday of my eldest niece, Laura.  I remember clearly when she was a teeny tot...she used to chew on my shoes!  I think I remember a bit of rhyme I stitched  into a sampler that I'm sure has been relegated to a back closet somewhere: 
      "Laura's got my shoe,
       She's tearing it to pieces,
       But I don't even care,
       She's one of my two nieces!"

(Give me a break, I was just a freshman in high school at the time!)

This is a photo of sweet little 6 year old flower girl Laura at our wedding.
What a cutie pie!  She practiced for days ahead of time tossing flower petals out in her back yard...only to forget to toss a single one on the day of the wedding!
  

      Today she is a strong young woman, making her way in the world, creating a loving home for her family, and helping those around her as she is able.  She is writing a book that I can NOT wait to see in print!  I'll be able to say I knew her when! 
      Today I love my niece, Laura.  
      Happy Birthday, Laura Lou! 

Today I Love Not Knowing...Slice of Life 26 of 31

I expect either Barney or Andy to walk in any minute.

Alright now, remember when I told you I get to play my game my way?  Okay, I know that I loved "not knowing" already back in February, but that's all I can boil it down to today.  I didn't know when I started my day out this morning in this little nook of nostalgia what a joy it would be to me.  This is Henry's Restaurant, on the west side of West Jefferson, Ohio.  They don't have their own website that I could find, but here are some nice reviews.  I started my day at Henry's with a good, good, good friend.  The kind of friend who shows up just when you need her to and has all of the right words right when you need them.  

See the $.99 over J's shoulder?  You really can get bfast for $.99!

    I had set today aside as the day to get my Christmas letter done.  Yes, I know it is March.  Last year, I had a very busy (busier than normal) holiday season and didn't get my annual (21 years this year) Christmas letter out on time.  I for sure didn't want to do a double issue (did that twice...worse than childbirth!) so I just put it off a little more and a little more until I finally got it complete just in time for Easter!  The timing was actually wonderful.  Instead of sending it in time for Jesus' birth, I was getting it out there in time for the more important aspect of his life...his resurrection!  And because folks weren't bogged down by their own holiday hustles, more people commented and replied to it than ever before.  So....this year I just planned on waiting and figured as long as I had it out before the 4th of July, I'd be in business!

      Well, I couldn't have picked a better way to start a totally writing day!  Jaci and I enjoyed our breakfast (too bad I didn't order pie...Henry's is FAMOUS for their pies!) and had a great time catching up.  She gave me a good dose of mama advice and kind blog words that I really needed to hear.  Heck, she gave me banana bread to take home with me!  It just doesn't get better than that!  But it did.

     As luck would have it, our nest has recently re-filled and our son is living with us again for awhile as he continues his college.  His morning class got cancelled today and we had just the nicest time hanging out, listening to his very eclectic collection of music on his laptop, and discussing the merits of rinsing vs not rinsing when loading the dishwasher.  He had us both in absolute tears over this song that he was remembering from his younger boy days.  We talked about nostalgia, about growing up, about how the grass in all of our photos on the kitchen wall looks so much greener than in real life.  We talked about life in general.  We laughed.  He showed me Calvin and Hobbes' cartoons on his laptop.  We talked.  We talked.  And we talked.

     And when I finally did make it to the computer to start on my Christmas letter, it just rolled right out and I made it all the way to May in just a few hours!  (Yes, I'm one of those annoying people who recounts the year month by month.)  This is very a laborious process, so to make it to May in a few hours is quite the accomplishment.

     Later in the day I went a-blogging and found this wonderful quote from a blog mentor of mine, Bossy Betty .  (I wonder if she knows she is my mentor?)

 

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.

                                                               Delicious Ambiguity.

--Gilda Radner

   So...yeah, a pretty ambiguous day and a very ambiguous slice, but some days you just don't know.  And you have to do just what Gilda says and take the moment and make the best of it.  Some days it's good not to know. 

Today I Love My Sister, Slick...Slice of Life 25 of 31

Be glad there are TWO fingers showing behind my head!

Today I love my big sister, Vicki!  It's her birthday and I have been  thinking about her all day!  She's something special, my sister.  As my daughter says, there's never a dull moment when Aunt Vicki is around.  She livens things up and reminds you that there's always some new challenge waiting to be tackled.  Whether it's raising kids, teaching kids, traveling to tropical islands, dancing to the zumba beat, playing "the strip game" (NOT what you think it is!), or just hanging out on the beach, she's the life of the party.  

       I've told her many times that she reminds me very much of the frog in an old story that I happened across in the Katherine Paterson novel, Lyddie. In the novel, Lyddie is taken under the wing of Triphena, the tavern cook, who tells her the story of two frogs who fell into a pail of milk.  One of the frogs drowned immediately, overwhelmed by the circumstances in which it found itself.  The other frog kicked so hard it made a pat of butter by morning.  "Some folks are natural born kickers," says Triphena, referring to Lyddie.  

A beachside birthday present for her granddaughter.

     
      I don't think my sister is a NATURAL born kicker.  I think for a very long time, she would have much rather had someone else do her kicking for her.  But, as happens sometimes...she one day found herself all alone in a pail of cream.  I must say, these many years since that first unexpected dunking, she's sitting on butter!  Today she is a proud mother of three, grandmother of one, Nationally Board Certified Teacher with her Master's Degree, who (shivvvver!) teaches preschoolers!  (On purpose!  And loves it!)  And today I love her!  

The Edisto Island Straw Pit Symphony, 2011.

 Happy Birthday, Slick!
                                                                          Love, 
                 Snick

Today I Love God's Perfect Timing...Slice of Life 24 of 31

Today I Love God's perfect timing.  This is a tough one to type, especially after what I posted yesterday about a young man in our community losing his life in an automobile accident.  It is so difficult to see God and His hand during trying times.  As hard as it is, when I stand back and look at things, I know in the depths of my heart that He is in on His throne and He is in control.  We don't always (in fact, hardly ever) get to see the final outcome of His hand at work.  Sometimes, though, He gives us a glimpse and with our hindsight we can look back and see that, Ohhhh, THAT was when He was working for our good.  Today gave me several of such precious glimpses.
      The photo above is of one of the hymnals at our tiny little (growing) church...it is resting on a brand new chair in our brand new sanctuary in our brand new building.  A friend suggested it would have been a good photo for last Sunday's blog post about our first service in the new place.  She's right.  The juxtaposition of old resting on new, while new rests on old is just perfect.  It reminds me that the thirty or more years ago when the founders of the church purchased this hymnal and all its cousins they knew God would bring The Man and me to this little place.  They of course didn't know it would be US, but they knew there would be SOMEONE, and they were faithful to that vision.  They played their part in God's perfect timing.  
       The photo below is one piece of the scripture with which we were challenged during this morning's service.  As Jesus made his way "up to" Jerusalem, he knew every single one of the gritty details of that upcoming week, this week that we still remember some 2000+ years later.  He knew those details before any one of them came to be.  He knew as the people shouted "Hosanna!" on Sunday, that those very same people would be shouting "Crucify him!" by Friday.  He knew Judas would betray him, he knew Peter would deny him, he knew the pain of the cross before he ever set foot in the city.  And yet "up to" Jerusalem he rode.  He played his part in God's perfect timing.  

       I was thrilled at service this morning to visit with a friend I had not seen in quite a long time.  She had been seriously questioning God's timing for the past year or so, but today she shared a praise with me that proved to her that He had her story worked out all along.  She quit a job on faith and the very next day was offered a job that she has been dreaming of for some time.  She played her part in God's perfect timing.  
      The pastor's wife told me last week of a man who is now attending our church who was in such pain a few Christmases ago that he was considering committing suicide.  That very night someone from our church came unannounced to his door with a plate of cookies.  He suddenly knew someone loved and cared for him without even knowing him.  He is due to be baptized this spring.  The cookie bakers that Christmas played their part in God's perfect timing. 
      I have no idea what God is going to do with the death of this young, vibrant man from our community, or how He will work through the circumstances surrounding it.  But I do know that He is in control and He will bring triumph out of tragedy.  He has perfect timing.  

Today I Love a Sunset Walk...Slice of Life 23 of 31

The Man photo bombed my sunset!

  The Man and I went for a quick walk this evening, trying to talk the sun into sticking around a while longer.  Alas, as much as we begged, pleaded, and cajoled...it slipped silently beyond the horizon, on its way to warm some lucky folks west of here.  We did hear some Canadian geese in the fields.  We couldn't see them, but The Man has sharp eyes and soon enough he saw what caused their ruckus.  Three dark spots on the edge of the farmer's field...coyotes.  We waited to see if the coyotes could convince the sun not to go, but they didn't have any luck either.  The weather folks are calling for more snow...6-12 inches of snow.  The thought seems unfathomable to me on this spring-like day.  I know soon enough we'll all be whining about the heat and humidity and wishing for a bitter cold snowy day...but not today.  Probably not tomorrow.  Probably not the next day either.
      I awoke this morning to news that a former student of mine was killed in a car accident last night.  Logan was a long ago former student in a teeny tiny classroom in which I was a long term, then permanent, sub...but I remember him and his sweet spirit.  I remember making cookies with his class.  I remember him getting so flustered because he got a piece of egg shell in the dough.  I don't think his seven year old little boy self had ever cracked an egg before.  I remember telling him it would be okay...we'd pick it out.  I remember that he was a wonderfully talented soccer player.  
      And then...he wasn't in my life anymore.  That happens...folks pop in and pop out...but I still knew he was out there.  Just like I know the rest of them, the oh...let's see...20 years teaching...average of 25 or so kids per year...wow...maybe 500 other students I've had are all out there somewhere.  They come in the door, we spend our 180 days together, and then they pop back out again.  Sometimes they visit.  Sometimes you get an invitation to a graduation or a wedding.  And yes, I've gotten news like this before, but you're really not supposed to get news like this as a teacher.  It always amazes me when a student thinks I won't remember them.  I may not remember their name right away, but oh, I do remember them. 
      I guess this is truly a Slice of Life story, because that's how this day...this 12 or 14 hour slice of my life has been.  Eat breakfast, think of Logan, take a shower, remember Logan, get this job accomplished, picture Logan's face, run that errand, smile at precious seven year old Logan in my mind's eye.  Text my daughter, tell her I love her.  Tell her to be careful driving.  Wonder what eighteen year old handsome Logan must have looked like.  Go for a walk with My Man...remember Logan.   

I love the way the sun hides behind this tree.

      There have been some pretty long days for me this past week or two, but the year is going by all too quickly and well, today...life itself is just too much like this sunset...slipping away much too quickly.  Today, I love our prairie sunset and my walk with My Man...and my long ago time with Logan.

I have photos of this fence in all seasons...a common stopping point on our walks.

Going, going....gone!

Today I Love History! Slice of Life 21 of 31

Do I hear 35?  Cheri doing what she loves!

Today I love history!  The Man and I spent part of the evening at the Auction House!  Back in July, I posted (on FB...I haven't archived yet) about the The Gallery of London Auction House on Historic Rt. 40 right across from The Red Brick Tavern.  We will every so often pop up the road on a Thursday night, all 2 miles away that it is, to see what's for sale.  This week we did quite well, coming home with a new to us stove and a chance encounter with some hometown history.  


     The Gallery does many estate sales.  They will load up various items from someone's home and bring them to the auction house for sale.  You have heard the saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."  I've never seen it so accurately portrayed as at the lovely little auction house.  Imagine my surprise tonight as I was sifting through a box of bits and pieces of someone else's life, and came across these treasures!

 

     These are newspapers from my dear hometown of Granville, Ohio, dated 1905, 1900, and 1893...1893!!!  I couldn't believe my eyes!  To top it off, I overheard the gentleman beside me as he was talking to someone near him.  "That's where I'm from," he said.  

    I turned to him and said, "You're from Granville?  I'm from Granville!"  Turns out he graduated about six years after me and his dad lives right across the street from My Ol' Man!  Small small world...

     I tucked the papers under the other items in the box and waited patiently to bid on them, hoping no one else would be interested.  When the time came, sure enough, someone else out bid me!  But I've played this game before.  I trotted over to the other side of the table and asked my fellow bidder if he really wanted those old papers in the bottom of the box.  He gladly gave them to me for the hefty price of one dollar!  What a deal!

    We've had many adventures at the Gallery, from a car for our son, to an artificial Christmas tree, to an entire set of drinking glasses, to a kitchen table and chairs!  The folks up there are so nice...especially when someone accidentally bids against her husband!  (Not that I would do that, just if someone would...)

     I decided to take a photo tour this evening to show you just what you may find at the Gallery.  Enjoy!

     

Barbie bits and pieces...

Someone's babies...

Bunny bits and pieces...

 Sometimes there are
sad pieces 
at the auction...
bits and pieces
of forgotten history...

So very very tempted to buy this for a friend, but it quickly went out of our price range!

There's something for everyone...even those who are "Horse Crazy"...look closely at that mirror! 

 

 

Patriotism abounds!

There are good bits of wisdom to be had at the auction...be polite, it never hurts to ask a question, and do NOT wave your hands in the air if you aren't bidding!

You just never know WHO will show up at the auction!  Go Bucks!

Today I love a new idea...Slice of Life 20 of 31

I stole an idea today, dressed it in my own designs, and ran with it!  In one of the writing prompt books I got for Christmas, it says to find a patient person to go out to dinner with you.  While eating and pretending to listen to your partner, do a little eavesdropping of the table to your right.  Grab a swatch or two of conversation, then turn your attention to the table to the left and do the same.  Take both swatches of conversation, mix and enjoy. 
       Well, since I don't have a restaurant at my disposal in the classroom, I took my 6th graders on a Conversation Scavenger Hunt.  We strolled with our Writer's Notebooks down the hall just listening.  We hadn't gotten far when we heard, "He's afraid of me!" and "It's a bear." and "Whoops! You caught me texting!" and "Wooooo hoooo!  I'm numer 4!" 
       I had seven or eight bits and pieces of conversation in my own notebook before we reached the other side of the building.  When we got back to the room I gave them a few minutes to mix & match their swatches and put together some conversations.  The kids had a great time with this and we had fun hearing each other's "combined" conversations at the end of class.  Can't wait to try some more new ideas out tomorrow! 

Today I Love Playing My Game, My Way...Slice of Life 19 of 31

     I debated what to call today's love.  I've gone from "Today I love being slap happy" (The Man and I were giggling at the silliest things this morning!) to "Today I love laughing" (I decided to tell the story about what we were giggling about to my 7th graders, to whom I have been very grumpy lately...it made them laugh, too!) to "Today I love Kid Snippets" (We stretched Bible class today into a lesson on Proverbs 17:22 and there's nothing that makes my 7th graders more cheerful than Kid Snippets!) to finally...this:  Today I love playing my game, my way.  This whole Today I Love thing is my baby.  I wasn't forced into it...I challenge myself to look for something positive, something that I love in each day.  As of today, I've been at it for 326 (mostly in a row) days now and I've tried very very hard not to repeat anything, with the exception of The Man, because, well, he's just so lovable!   
     ANYWAY...today was a long day.  It was picture day so the schedule got thrown off.  There was the bank on the way home, then dinner, then a meeting, but an errand, no wait, two errands before the meeting and one errand after the meeting.  There is still a lot left to do today, but not a lot of hours left in which to get it done.  Grade cards are coming and the mountain of ungraded papers that always seems to crop up right before that deadline.  Spring Break is around the corner and I really really really don't want to be grading papers over Spring Break.  As I type this, the dishes are being done by that wonderful Man of mine, and he's also put in a load of laundry tonight as well. (See what I mean by him being just so lovable?)
     So, today I break my own rule and play my game my way.  I was blessed with another handwritten letter from THE Letter Writer Extraordinaire, My Aunt AnnaMarie in Kansas today, and by golly...I love it!  Bless her heart, she was sitting out there thinking she had made me mad because I've been so remiss in writing her back after her many missives to me. Sigh...nothing could be further from the truth!  But she also tells me that she understands being busy with a husband, kids, and a career and she remembers being there herself at one time.  Thank you Aunt Anna Marie, for the letter, for the understanding, and for giving me just what I needed in the midst of a busy day...something to love AGAIN!  

(And thank you cousin Cindy for printing this off for her as I know you will!)

Today I Love Simple Stress Relievers at the End of the Day...Slice of Life 18 of 31

   Today was a messy Monday here in Ohio.  As many, many, many have said...Winter just doesn't want to let Spring back in the game.  The Man put it so wisely over dinner tonight, "The kids get stir crazy this time of year and the adults get depressed!"  
     I thought about that and he's so very right.  It seems like the more energy the kids have for mayhem, the less energy we have to deal with it!  So, by the end of this Monday we all needed a little stress relief!  My friend Meredith, pictured here, was wishing for a chocolate cake to magically (It could happen! You never know!) appear on her desk by the time she returned from bus duty.  As she was explaining this wish to a few of us, who should walk down the hall but a mom with three kids...one of whom we knew would be just the perfect stress reliever!  (Mainly because he wasn't ours and we knew we could give him back at any time!)  It never hurts to ask, right?  Ahhh....you could literally feel the muscles go mushy as soon as this little guy was in our arms.  A game of "pass the baby" soon ensued and we were all happy and jolly once again.
     As I headed home much too much later and was already re-stressed, I tried to pull back the feeling of holding that baby.  Then I figured someone should make a list of simple stress relievers at the end of a day, with holding babies near the top of the list!  Here in no real particular order, other than the baby thing, are my driving home efforts.  I hope you love them as much as I do!

10 Simple Stress Relievers at the End of the Day

10.  Exercise - I know...you don't want to, but you really will feel better and have more endorphins (feel good hormones) swimming in your blood stream when you're done.  Take 10 minutes and do something active!

9.  Power Nap - My Grandma Dorothy, the Ol' Man's mama, lived to be 87, and I can't tell you how many times I saw her just sit back in her chair after lunch, "To rest my eyes."  5 to 10 minutes max and you are a new person!

8.  Laughing - My friend Meredith is also good at helping with this one.  Find a friend you can ALWAYS count on to have a smile, giggle, chuckle, joke or downright knee slapper.  Wait, better yet...BE that friend!

7.  Dinner AT the table - With EYE CONTACT.  The Man and I have fallen into a bad habit of eating all too many meals in front of the television with our partly empty nest.  Real conversation can be a very healing thing at the end of the day.

6.  Taking your shoes off...I really think Mr. Rogers had it right.  There's something about taking your shoes off that makes a big difference at the end of the day.

5.  Scripture - In the Mitford series of books by Jan Karon, a few of the characters have a quote that they toss back and forth to one another in times of stress.  "Philippians 4:13 for Pete's sake!"  Why do I so easily forget that I can do all things...all things that matter anyway...through him who gives me strength?  Find the verse that speaks to your heart and keep it where you can be encouraged by it.  Again...find that verse that will speak to a friend and send it their way!  (If nothing else, just go visit Jan Karon's website...I've been listening to it ever since I typed in that link and it's lulling me with beautiful music as I type!)

4.  Do-Si-Dos...or Thin Mints...or Amish Baked Oatmeal, my latest favorite (recipe to follow)...or whatever comfort food defeats the demons of your day!  No, we aren't probably supposed to let food be our comforter, but come on!  Sometimes ya just gotta give in!  In moderation, of course!

3.  Making this list!  Seriously...just thinking of stress relievers can sometimes bring about peaceful feelings!  Made today's drive home easier anyway!

2.  Holding a baby!  You didn't think I'd forget did you?  Please, please, please, make sure the baby WANTS to be held and make sure you have the mama or papa's permission first!  These are stress RELIEVERS not stress INDUCERS!

And the number one way to relieve stress at the end of a day...drumroll please...it's really a no-brainer!

1.  Look for something to LOVE!!!  
(Now you knew that one was coming didn't you?)


And here's the recipe I promised:

Amish Baked Oatmeal

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine (go for the butter!), melted
3 cups oatmeal (I use old fashioned, but either will work)
1 cup milk
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
(optional extras - craisins, raisins, cinnamon, chopped nuts, whatever your imagination allows you to put in oatmeal!)

Preheat oven to 350*.  Combine eggs, sugar, and butter.  Add oatmeal, milk, baking powder, and salt.  Stir in extras as desired. Stir until well blended.  Pour into 2 quart baking dish.  Bake for 30 minutes. Part breakfast, part dessert, totally yummy!  Cuts like cake but can be crumbled and butter, brown sugar, milk, or ice cream added as toppings.  Is sweet enough not to require any further sweetening, but awfully good with just a pat of butter and sprinkle of brown sugar!  Definite stress reliever!

(Copied from Wanda E. Brunstetter's Amish Friends Cookbook, copyright 2007...with just a few personalizations.)
 

New Beginnings and Old Traditions...Slice of Life 17 of 31

"See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland."
          Isaiah 43:19

     Those were the opening words this morning in our first service in our new church building.  Last week we were bittersweet as we left our old church building, but this Sunday we enjoyed sweet worship and fellowship in our new locale.  The Man and I have been worshiping with this little handful for about a year and a half now.  It was hard leaving our other church...we loved it, still do love it, but needed something a little closer to our home.  3 miles is about as close as you can get.  Why we still can't get there on time is beyond me, but that's another story!  

     I was almost in tears several times this morning as I glanced time after time around the room at the sweet, finally familiar, faces around me.  I may not know all of the names, but the faces of this flock are part of Sunday now.  From the fresh baby cheeks to the weathered chins of the grandmas and grandpas, these folks are home to my eyes and to my heart on Sunday mornings.  It was such an interesting mix of emotions to be singing the old familiar tunes and breathing in the new carpet and paint smell.  To be listening to prayers from the opposite side of the much larger chapel and to be able to place a face with the voice in my mind.  To be new and yet old at the same time. 

     As a congregation, we were challenged this morning to look and to be ready for the new things that God has in store for us as folks take notice of this new building and stop by to see what's going on.  We were also challenged to look not only at the context of the above verse...the audience was the captive Jews...but to also look one verse back in the book of Isaiah..."Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past."  Now be careful there with your interpretation...we weren't told to forget all that we have learned and loved.  We were charged with not living in the past, but to be ready for the greater things God has in store.  To know, to believe, that even though He has done wonderful things for us already, He has even more and better things yet to come.  To be ready for the future with Him!  We finished up with the reminder that He is not only our God, that He is the God of this City, these people, this nation, and there are greater things still to be done here!
 
     After service, we adjourned to the beautiful fellowship hall and enjoyed a classic down home church potluck, complete with authentic Irish bangers and mash in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  The chance to fellowship, chat, chow down, and just do life for a little while longer into our day was just one more blessing tossed onto an already sweet Sunday.  No chairs to take down and tables to set up...just stroll on into the other room!  

     Now, take that wonderful start, add in a blessed Sunday afternoon nap, and then the slow realization that it was on this day, March 17, 1984, that The Man and I officially started dating...and well, you just don't get a better Sunday than that!  Happy Anniversary to my brother and sister-in-law, whose wedding brought us together all those years ago!  
 
     Yes, we had some new beginnings today, but we also kept some cherished memories and traditions.  We will remember the lessons we have learned and blessings that have come our way, but we will be ready for what God has yet to do.  There are greater things still to be done here.  And I just love all of that!



 

Today I Love Friends...Slice of Life 16 of 31

Yesterday I wrote about nostalgia.  Today I lived it.  I had the honor of being invited to help out with the birthday/bowling/pizza/ice cream sundae party of two of my students tonight.  Twins.  Fourteen years old.  Five friends along to help them celebrate and enough nail polish in one girl's bag to make me think she had her own bowling ball!
      As I pulled in I was listening to Donna Summer's "Last Dance" and in my mind it was 1979, and I was fourteen all over again.  It might just as well have been my My Ol' Man dropping me off at the Roll-A-Way Skating Rink in Newark, instead of me dropping this group off at the bowling alley.  Yup, parachute pants, Farah Fawcett feathered bangs, and a pick in my back pocket to keep those bangs appropriately feathered all night long.  (Only mine never did look as good as Farah's.  Sigh...)
     Now, here's the thing...I had good solid friends when I was fourteen.  I wouldn't have traded them for anything and thanks to the wonders of social networking I'm back in contact with a few of them.  But oh...my goodness...to have had these girls as my friends when I was fourteen?  What a different world that would have been.  What a different, better person I would be today.  Such positive energy flows from today's youth.  Yes, you have to look harder for it in some than in others, but tonight's group has a corner on the market.  They are goodness and purity and sweetness and light all wrapped up in neat packages tied together with teenage craziness! These are the kind of girls who just make you glad to be alive.  
     Time will tell for these girls, as it has for all of us, what will become of their friendships.  Some friends are born into your life...just a mere minute before or in front of you, as is the case with these beautiful birthday girls, but you know that particular friend will never ever leave your side.  Some friends roll into town and you take one look at each other and you both think at the same exact moment, "Well, now where have you been hiding all my life?" as is the case with the twins' mother and myself.  Some friends pop into your life and pop right back out again, but you are such a better person for their momentary presence in your life.  Some friends come in and start to move the furniture around without your permission and you both eventually realize maybe you're not really supposed to be friends after all.  Some friends move in, sink their feet into the ground around you, plant roots, and become part of the scenery.  You can't imagine that they ever weren't there.  Some friends do that whole planting roots thing and then for whatever reason, there is suddenly a different plan for their life and the roots have to be, sometimes painfully, uprooted and replanted somewhere else...away from you.  Some times you know...you just know...you won't ever see that friend again.  And sometimes, a friend that you thought was lost forever, suddenly reappears in your life and you pick right up where you left off.
     Last dance...last chance...for love.  Nope, I don't think this is the last dance for these girls.  I think they'll be dancing and doing each other's nails and telling silly riddles and bowling and eating ice cream and playing games and being friends for a long time to come.
     Today I love..I just really really love...friendship.
    

Today I Love Nostalgia...Slice of Life 15 of 31

Today I love nostalgia. Dictionary.com says that nostalgia is "a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time", among other things.  It's so interesting to think about nostalgia when being an educator.  Our version of "a former place or time" is so very different from our students'.  When I think of nostalgia, I go back in my mind 25, 30, (gasp!) even 40 years to times and places that are as crisp and clear to me as they were then.  For our students, nostalgia may mean just last weekend!  

  As I told you all a while back, several of the teachers at my school went to the Dublin Literacy Conference a few weeks ago, where we heard author Ralph Fletcher.  Mr. Fletcher allowed us to be the students that day as he gave us an example of his own poetic and nostalgic style of writing and asked us to try putting our own spin on it.  Mr. Fletcher's memory poem began like this:  

Sometimes I still remember 
    the good old days
When we...

    and it finished with:
       
I still can't imagine
    anything better than that.

His memory included the wonderful details of a Saturday night, the family preparing for church the next morning by getting all nine children bathed, bedtime cookies and kisses distributed, and each one tucked into bed.   

Well, I did put my spin on that pattern, remembering the times when my own family would all pile into the station wagon headed for the drive in movie theater.  Sleeping bags in the back and big brown buttery bag of popcorn to share in the dusky summer evening.  This week I turned around and fed that pattern to my own students, asking them to try their hand at nostalgia. The results were fantastic!

I've typed too long already and missed my deadline, but here are just a few of their lines that you won't want to miss:

Sometimes I remember
   the good old days
When we all pile in the car 
    and drive to my mom's store
Euro Delicatessen
    First I go to the candy section
Later I have a sweet tooth
    next is the chocolate section
Chocolate on my chin
    the sausages and cheeses are last
We take some salami and gouda
    finally my mom would close the store
Goodnight Euro Delicatessen
    waiting for the next day to come
I still can't imagine 
     anything better than that.

Tim S.
~ ~ ~ ~ 


Sometimes I remember
   the good old days
When we swam until we were prunes
   Trying not to get our hair wet
Listening to the silliest music
    Eating ice cream until it melted in the grass
Swooshing in the sand volleyball courts
    Going on roller coasters
Seeing each other everyday
    Wishing summer could last forever
I still can't imagine
     Anything better than that.

Ally G.
~ ~ ~ ~

There were others that remembered "back in the day" before iphones.  Some remembered building forts down by the creek, visiting grandparents after church on Sundays, and taking walks in the park with their family.  Some  remembered low gas prices.  Some remembered earlier in this very school year, when the end of the year didn't seem so close and friends weren't thinking about not seeing each other anymore, and life seemed simpler.  

Isn't it amazing, how we all have that sentimental yearning for a former time or place...even if that time or place is just yesterday? 

I still can't imagine 
     anything better than that.