A Monday Memory....

Time takes time....

My second round of Student Teaching, during the fall semester of my senior year in college, was in a first grade classroom in Arlington, Massachusetts.  The teacher I was assigned to, Miss Palmer, was gracious enough to let me begin working with her from the very first day of the school year, rather than a week later.  She wanted me to experience the techniques and joys, as well as the difficulties, of those first few hours with a new class of students.

We stood at the entrance door to the classroom, which opened out onto the courtyard.  Several of the kids bounded into the room, visibly excited to be there. All went as I expected, until a young mother approached, with a toddler in one hand and a first grader clinging desperately to her skirt who was refusing to enter the school.  

Miss Palmer attempted to gently coax her in, but the child only tightened her grip.  Her mother then tried to tenderly pull her away from her, all the while assuring her that she would be fine. She finally did let go, only to grab on tight as she could with both hands to the door jam!

At that point, it took two of us to literally pry her hands from the door and bring her into the room. As the young child stood there sobbing, her mother quickly explained her daughter's fearful response. This was the first time Jan Marie would be away from her mother.  She had neither attended pre-school nor kindergarten.  (Not required by law at that time.)  The poor little thing was absolutely distraught at having to leave her mother and her darling little sister.  

We managed to get her seated in one of the desks.  And there she stayed, where she eventually cried herself to sleep.  She woke after nearly an hour.  Though still very unhappy, she did stay in her seat and cooperated with the teacher and I for the remainder of the day.

This pattern went on for two solid weeks -  daily prying Jan Marie's hands from the door jam, guiding her to her seat and watching her cry herself to sleep.

And then it stopped.

Jan Marie came bounding into the room on a bright and sunny Monday morning, ready and happy for the school day to begin.

What was the cause of this dramatic change?  Looking back, I'm sure there were several influences - making a new friend with a lovely little girl named Amy, getting caught up in the excitement and laughter of the other students, and curiosity about the new things we were all learning together.

And time.

Over the years, I've found not only for the students I taught, but also for my daughters as well as myself, that very often in life things will work themselves out if we just give them the time that they need to do so.  Time to adjust or accept or learn.

"Time takes time."    It certainly did for Jan Marie.  

Friday Fotos....

These "three amigos" have been my companions all week while the Englishman is in Europe.

Amazing feat - huge basset, Barney B, snuggles into tiny dog bed!!

It's beginning to look a lot like...Autumn!

Wishing everyone a safe and peaceful weekend!

Thursday's Thought for the Day....

"Who we are in the present

                    includes who we were in the past."

Fred Rogers

Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers

Things to Remember Along the Way

Tuesday's Tip for the Day....

Stock up!

The change in season is a welcome one for me, as Autumn is my favorite time of year.  I've heard several people lament the fact that Fall will soon give way to Winter.  

With that thought in mind, I've decide to prepare early this year.

Keeping an eye out for staple items that are on sale now, I've started tossing multiples of products in to my basket each time I shop.  Kleenex, paper towels, liquid dish detergent and more have already found their way in to my home.  

The reason?  Regardless of whether the predictions of a snowy winter season come true or never materialize, I plan on spending as little time as necessary in the bitter cold air.  My hope is that by gradually stocking up over the next couple of months, I will be able to shorten the duration of   loading and unloading grocery packages by having ample stock in the pantry. 

My tip?  Perhaps it's time to start purchasing in bulk those larger, necessary dry goods. That way, you will only need to transport perishable items during the winter months, spending less effort negotiating the snowy pavement and more time snuggled up in the warmth of your home.

Friday Fotos....

Summer's last look....

Wishing everyone a peaceful weekend!

Thursday's Thought for the Day....

“Without realizing it, we fill important places in each other’s lives. It’s that way with the guy at the corner grocery, the mechanic at the local garage, the family doctor, teachers, neighbors, coworkers. 

Good people who are always “there,” who can be relied upon in small, important ways. People who teach us, bless us, encourage us, support us, uplift us in the dailiness of life. 

We never tell them. I don’t know why, but we don’t.

And, of course, we fill that role ourselves. There are those who depend on us, watch us, learn from us, take from us. And we never know.

You may never have proof of your importance, but you are more important than you think. There are always those who couldn’t do without you. The rub is that you don’t always know who.” 

― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Wednesday's Wisdom....

Not everyone....

Several years ago, as I negotiated the parking lot of my local supermarket, my car was nearly struck by another vehicle.  The young man behind the wheel was using only one hand to steer because he had his cell phone in the other.  

I held up my hand, extending my fingers to resemble a phone and shouted, "Get off your phone!"

We each parked our cars.  As he got out, the young man called over to me, "Sorry about that. But everybody does it.  You do it, right?"

Without hesitation I strongly replied, "No. I don't."  I left it at that.  Since I was at Stop and Shop and not in a classroom, I didn't feel compelled to "teach" him a lesson on the perils of using one's cell phone whilst driving.

(In the spirit of full disclosure, I should confess I have used my cell phone while driving. Once. It was in Syracuse, New York, around 11:30 pm back in 1999. With my mother and youngest daughter in the car, I was trying to find the hotel we were booked into while visiting daughter #1 at college.  Unable to exit the highway due to police activity on both the north and south sides of the road, I quickly found myself lost and in a not so nice area.  I had my daughter call the hotel desk and hand me the phone.  I then tried to extract from the young lady on the other end of the line directions to her hotel. After several, "turn right, take next exit, oh no! you don't want to go that way!," we eventually got there.)

I was reminded about the little incident in the store parking lot over the last few days while listening to some people, shall we say, "defend and explain" why a football player saw fit to take a switch and beat his four year old in the name of disciplining him.  Statements like, "it's part of the culture" and "he was just trying to be a good parent."  It's starting to sound like that young man's refrain, "everybody does it."

No.  Not everyone hits their children.  I never did.  Not once. I managed to raise three amazing daughters, who learned self discipline, and right from wrong without beating them with a stick. And just because someone was raised that way, doesn't mean they should do that to their children and continue a cycle of abuse.  Because in my book, that's what it is.  Abuse.

And I will say I can not possibly imagine what a four year old could do to deserve such treatment.

Perhaps, instead of lecturing parents on the evil of sugar in soda and snacks, the powers that be and the educational community should be more concerned about the way parents are "disciplining" their children.  I suspect that hitting them is far more harmful feeding them sugar.

I'm just sayin......
End of rant.

Thursday's Thought for the Day....

"This week we mark the 13th anniversary of the one of the worst days in American history, the day we have come to know by two numbers: 9/11. Memories of that day may have faded for some, but for those of us who were in the Northeast that day it will never be forgotten. All of us who were here seemed to know someone who died or lost a close relative. My family was among the lucky. My brother had been in the Pentagon the day before the attack in the very room where the plane hit.

We lost contact for four hours with my younger daughter in New York. But she was eventually found safe.

I knew 11 people who died or lost close relatives that day, including a young colleague at CBS News, who lost her dad.

So forgive me if I feel a certain urgency about the current terror threat, forgive me, but I've been through this before. No, I can't forget the bad but I can also remember the good, how an awful day brought Americans together as they had not come together since World War II, how road rage disappeared the next day as people waved and honked.

We had all gone through it together.

Most of all I remember the heroic firefighters and police officers putting their lives at risk to save the innocent and Congress putting aside partisanship, at least for a little while and singing "God Bless America" that night on the Capitol steps.

In the end it brought out the best in us, which hadn't happened in a while but it was a hard way to do it and we owe it to each other never to let such a thing happen again.

Forgive me, but I've been through this before."
Bob Schieffer
CBS News

I was moved by Bob Schieffer's comments on his Sunday morning show. The memories have not faded for my family either. We too, remember the good that was brought out in people at that time following the horrendous acts of terror on 9/11.

I agree, that there is a "certain urgency about the current terror threat."

My thoughts and prayers are for those that perished that day, their families and friends.
For my Englishman, who lost too many friends in the World Trade Center.

For the police, firefighters, and other first responders.

For the individuals who did whatever they could 

in the days, weeks, and months that followed, 
to help in any way that they could.

And for the members of our Military and Security Agencies

 who literally put their lives on the line in order to keep us safe here at home.

My family and I will never forget.

A Monday Memory....

Wonderful news coming from England this morning that the Duchess of Cambridge is expecting her second child. My first thoughts went to hopes that her morning sickness won't be dramatically worse than it was during her first pregnancy.

Like Catherine, I too suffered from severe morning sickness.  As with many experiences in life, unless you've been through it, it is hard to understand how someone feels in a situation.  For me, it wasn't a case of mere queasiness.  It felt like the flu - 24hrs a day of nausea and vomiting, with aches in every bone and fiber of my body.  The severity and length of sickness grew each pregnancy. 

With my third, I had a two week period where I literally could not keep anything down, and twice threw up blood.  The doctor tried giving me shots of B6 to ease the severity.  At one point, I was too sick to make the car ride to the doctor's office, so the Englishman hired a nurse to come to the house to administer the shots. Unfortunately, the shots didn't help, and in fact gave me a different set of problems, so they were discontinued.

After fourteen weeks of sickness I had lost fifteen pounds.  The doctor said if I lost any more I would have to be hospitalized.  The next weigh in revealed I had in fact lost one more pound.  I begged the nurse not to write it down, explaining that I could feel I had turned a corner, so to speak, and that the severity of the sickness was lifting.  I also said I didn't want to leave my two little girls. Thankfully, she agreed to conspire with me.  

The sickness lifted and by the ninth month of pregnancy, the doctor was actually questioning how much weight I was putting on!  Can you imagine?  I told him, quite firmly, that after all I'd been through, no one was going to tell me to watch how much I ate!  Ten days past her due date, daughter #3 arrived - weighing in at 8lbs 9oz.

So, contrary to all the old wives's tales and lack of knowledge among the general population, morning sickness is not "all in a woman's head," but caused by an actual medical condition.  It is a chemical reaction in the body called "Hyperemesis Gravidarum."   It is not caused by a fear of pregnancy, stubbornness, a desire to be thin, or a reluctance to be pregnant.  Yes, only a small percentage of women have the most severe kind.  My mother had it and my middle daughter suffered terribly from it with each of her pregnancies.  She was not as fortunate as I was in that hers lasted until the moment she delivered each of her girls.  God bless her endurance!

Is it worth it all?  Without a doubt!  I would gladly do it all again to bring my three amazing daughters into the world.  I suspect the Duchess feels the same way.

(photo from Pinterest)

Friday Fotos....

My gardenia has been in full bloom for a few weeks now. 

The scent is just incredible!

Our "flying fish" purchased online by the Englishman.  It's adorable!

Notice the tiny pansy plant that has seeded itself in an azalea bush.

My new "screen saver" photo of M heading off to Kindergarten!

Wanted to share this family of swans, gliding along so peacefully....

(Fingers crossed I've uploaded this short video correctly.)

They did all join up with the leader after I finished filming them.

Can't believe it's Friday again!

Wishing everyone cooler temperatures and

a relaxing weekend!

Thursday's Thought for the Day....

In honor of my granddaughter M's first day of Kindergarten:

“These are the things I learned (in Kindergarten):

1. Share everything.
2. Play fair.
3. Don't hit people.
4. Put things back where you found them.
5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.
6. Don't take things that aren't yours.
7. Say you're SORRY when you HURT somebody.
8. Wash your hands before you eat.
9. Flush.
10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
11. Live a balanced life - learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.
12. Take a nap every afternoon.
13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
15. Goldfish and hamster and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.” 
― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
                                                             (found on www.goodreads.com)

I  like number 11 the best, especially the part about dancing!

My wish for M is that the joy she finds in learning today,

continues her whole life through!

A Monday Memory....

Before there was an "Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS"....

there was the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.

Growing up, Labor Day weekend signaled three things.  It was the last weekend spent at the beach club we attended all summer, High Ridge, school would be starting in a couple of days and the Telethon was on channel 5.

The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon was first broadcast on TV in 1966. The show would start on Sunday and run for 22 1/2 hours straight, ending at 6:30 pm on Labor Day.  It was a variety show of sorts, with a cross section of singers, comedians and other acts.  The purpose was to entertain the audience and encourage them to make a monetary donation to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.  In between live acts, they would show "the tote board" which noted how much money was being raised for people suffering from Muscular Dystrophy.  The first year's total was $1,002.114.00.

After hosting the show for 44 years, the final total raised by Jerry Lewis just topped $59 million dollars in 2010.

The most poignant moment for me was always at the close of the program.

A clearly exhausted Jerry Lewis, sitting on a stool in the center of the stage, would sing "You'll never walk alone."

I cried every single time.

I've read varying accounts of people's reviews of the Telethon and of Jerry Lewis,

 his motives and performance.

Say what you will - I think the man did an incredible job in raising not only funds 

but also awareness of an awful disease, and the toll it takes on its victims and families.

For me, that's all that matters.

I've also heard there is a lot of opinion, both positive and negative, 

about the current ALS fund raiser.

Since the ice water started flowing,  participants have raised over $100 million dollars. 

That's up from $2.6 million, before the challenge went "viral."

Phenomenal.

I say: God bless everyone who takes the time to contribute, 

by any means or any amount they can afford, 

to help their fellow human beings.

Actions, not words, are what count.

Happy Labor Day!