Eyes Wide OpenEyes wide open
To the world around me Bees on bluebonnets Butterflies on snapdragons Ants busily moving their mounds Hawk resting on the fence Birds building a nest Earthworms unearthed squirming for cover Seeds sprouting flowers Honeysuckle blooming Weeds endlessly growing Trees budding and leafing out Wind blowing gently Kids riding bikes Chalk on the sidewalks Toddlers in strollers Adults taking walks Dogs on leashes Families in the driveway What a wonderful world
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Front Yard Living I've been thinking a lot about front yard living. When my husband and I bought our first house 25 years ago, it was in a brand new neighborhood. It was also in a suburb which was newly growing. In our new neighborhood, we were all in the same boat, none of us knew anyone on the street, but it was to far to hangout with existing friends, therefore came front yard living.
Whoever got home from work first set up their lawn chairs in the driveway. Then as others who lived on our street returned home, we each brought our folding chair and joined them in their driveway. Sometimes we would just sit and talk. Other times we would bring a drink and a snack to share. And on the weekends we might pull out the grill. I only lived there a year before my husband got a promotion that moved us out of state. But that was a hard goodbye. I don't keep in touch with them anymore, but still know all their names. I thought all neighborhoods were like this. But our next stop in life was an established neighborhood in the city. It was much harder to get to know the neighbors, but I did take cookies to each of the neighbors and we knew each other by name. All the front yards in this neighborhood were steep hills, so there really was no place to set a lawn chair. We lived there for two years and we did get to know 2 neighbors really well, but shortly there after my husband had another work opportunity that moved us long distance again. Currently, I live in a neighborhood that has a ton of turnover. We have lived here 9 years and I know the names of 6 families on our street (16 houses on our cul de sac). Out of those 6 houses, I know one woman well because we go to the same church. I have been reading The Turquoise Table by Kristin Shell. She is a proponent of front yard living. She put a picnic table in her front yard under a shade tree and spends time out front. With this approach she has gotten to know so many of her neighbors, many who stop and talk when out walking the dog. Others who will sit and stay awhile. Since I am preparing to move again, I am considering a turquoise table. Our new home has a flat yard and a large tree in the front. It is a corner lot with a lot of drive by traffic. It is a small established neighborhood in a small East Texas town. I'm hoping to find some joy sitting with nature while I read a book, grade papers, surf the internet, or write letters (Yes, snail mail). I hope that my front yard can become a gathering place for the neighborhood. That my table can be a place of card games, conversation, support, and friendship. I don't expect all of these things to happen immediately, but I do hope I will slowly make connections with the people in my neighborhood. And if not, at least I will have created a habit for myself to relax and slow down from the busy pace I create throughout the work day. Backdoor NeighborsA path
One long strip through the pasture of short freshly mowed grass Indian paintbrush scattered on either side of this Path Leading right to my back gate A path to a new neighbor to a great friend to a woman I admire A path saying come visit sit in the backyard with me rest relax talk A path speaking without words that we are friends who need each other Thank you for the path Asking"I need someone to come out to the garden tonight and affirm how much progress I have made pulling weeds. I'm afraid I won't keep working on it, if someone doesn't tell me how much better it looks."
Madeline, my daughter, said, "Oh, I can definitely do that!" "I could never ask for affirmation," my husband says. "Why?" "Because it would be so fake it someone affirms me just because I asked. It needs to be real and authentic. They need to really mean it. How can I believe them if I tell someone to affirm me?" I tried to explain, "You should try it. Even if they fake it, I still feel better when someone makes a big deal out of something I have worked hard at." He continued, "I've tried asking before and the people who's opinion that really matter to me don't say much." "Are you referring to me?" "Well you are the one who brought up the subject!" "I try to affirm you for your sermons, but I don't say something every week. Would you like me to say something every week?" "No, because then you sound like every other person who tells me 'Great sermon' as they walk out the door." This continues on for a while longer. HIs agitation growing. I have definitely given him something to think about. I hope he will try it. When what to my wondering eyes did appear
Two student names that had never been there. A girl and a boy added to my grade book How will I teach them without even a look. One new to town, the other across town What chaos, what turmoil for children age 8. But phone calls were made, and Zoom meetings scheduled to meet all their classmates in neat little boxes. Learning plans were sent home for the students to start Along with logins and passwords that cannot be forgot. I welcome you both to our learning adventure And I know you will grow as we travel together. Turtle TimeNote: I know my dates on the blog are out of order. But I wanted to go back and make up for ones I missed. Please forgive me! Speedy and Speedier are like so many siblings, they have completely different personalities. Speedier is larger and is often a bully. He will sit on Speedy, holding him under water. Smack Speedy's face and push it inside his shell. Hook the edge of Speedy's shell and toss him back. If Speedy is getting my attention, he will climb on top of Speedy and get in front. He pushes Speedy out of the way and gobbles up any food placed in the tank. Speedier knows when I walk in the room and aggressively tries to swim through the glass to get to me. If Speedier sees me with lettuce in hand, he will try to claw his way out of the tank. Midday, Speedier will get all excited and try to get me to take him out of the tank. He is becoming quite spoiled because I will let them take a "walk" around the living room or backyard everyday. But when out for a walk, Speedier will often look for a corner to hide.
Speedy is so nonchalant. He rests quietly at the bottom of the tank. He never fights for food. He takes his time swimming toward a lettuce leaf. He rests often. I have to be very careful when feeding him, so that he gets his share. And when Speedy goes on a walk he wastes no time trying to get as far away as possible, looking for an adventure. I love that they know my voice. When Speedier is desperately trying to swim through the glass, I can calm him down with my voice They don't instantly tuck in their shell when I come in the room, but just follow me across the room. I spend a good portion of my day watching them eat and swim, climb and bask. They keep me calm and help me slow down, something much needed in our culture today. Missing Morning CoffeeI have a dear friend I meet monthly for coffee. She is a teacher, wife, mother, and Christ follower like me. We go to a cafe downtown, order breakfast and coffee and then talk, usually for 3 hours! And even then we have to force ourselves to stop talking so we can accomplish the other tasks for the day.
With life topsy turvy, we missed our coffee date last Saturday. I feel like there is so much to talk about. How are her students responding to at home learning? What are things she is hearing from parents about the lessons prepared by the district? What does SHE think about the district lessons? What does she like and what would she change? How are things with her coworkers? Has she tried zoom? What is the district going to do for lessons if we go more than three weeks at home? How long does she think we will be home? What is she writing about now? What books has she read lately? How are her boys? Does she have any new home projects? Has she had some creative at home date nights with her husband? What is going on with her church? Plus all I have to tell her! I love writing lesson plans this way! I wish it could be this simple all the time! My curriculum coordinator is amazing! I zoomed with both my classes! I am definitely going to need more structure if I start teaching with zoom! I have been so relaxed! My husband and I are spending more time talking! I have read 4 books! My turtles are so fun! One daughter is home from Connecticut! The other daughter is still working! Church is interesting! My husband is putting in so many hours learning how to do church online! I have packed quite a few boxes! My garden is planted! I have about 1 more week of weed pulling to finally finish! I haven't left home except to get groceries once and distribute lunches once! I have not watched TV! Oh friend, I need you. You are amazing! LunchSo many smiling faces today! I was able to help distribute to-go lunches at my elementary school. It was fabulous. Everyday this week the number of children served has gone up by 50 lunches. I would anticipate that as more people are home and not receiving pay checks that this count could increase exponentially.
The cafeteria workers were so grateful to have some assistance. Three women stayed in the kitchen cooking and packaging the meals. Two cafeteria workers helped manage the drive thru line, and three teachers volunteered outside in the line. It was so good to see some of my own students wave and smile back at me. The families were appreciative of this service being provided. I can't wait to return on Friday! I felt like I had some purpose again. Refugees in GreeceThis week I started to type up all my thoughts from a trip to Moria Refugee Camp on the island of Lesvos, Greece. I traveled in 2016 to volunteer with a NGO that served meals at the camp. Conditions when I was there were atrocious. The camp was housing 3,000 more people than it was designed for. There was still hope in many of the people.
So with all my free time this week, I decided to catch up on the conditions in Moria. Today the camp is housing 20,000 more than designed for. The refugees are living on the hillsides in small tents. Women and children are in danger of sexual assault. The camp is full of trash and rat infested. I can't see how there is any hope now. Only in TexasYesterday morning I decided to get my closet organized. Spring was here and I no longer was in need of sweaters, sweatshirts and sweatpants. I packed them up in their clear storage tubs and hung up all my short sleeve tops. For just that morning I had sweat rolling down my face while I worked out in the yard.
So today I get up to go outside and promptly closed the door. I needed long pants and a sweatshirt if I was going to work in the yard today. Texas does this all the time. Temperature swings of 30 or more degrees in 24 hours. I managed to find a long sleeve shirt I hadn't put away yet and choose to work in the sun today rather than the shade. |
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April 2020
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