Maymont - Richmond, Virginia

Yesterday, I had to hitch up the wagon and drive in The City to pick up the awards our Key Club won at International Convention. Not wanting to waste a 3-hour round trip for just that venture, I sought out some type of sightseeing adventure to add to the agenda. I did not find too many options that would be appealing to myself and the 17 year-old and the 4 year-old.

And honestly? I was a bit lazy and last-minute about it and quickly decided upon Maymont as I was surfing around. It was the 100-acre Victorian country estate of James Henry and Sally May Dooley during the Gilded Age of the late 1880s through the 1910s. After completion of the Romanesque-style mansion, the Dooleys spent three decades filling its interiors with treasures from around the world and establishing the gardens and landscapes. Following Dooley's death, with no heirs to the estate, Maymont was bequeathed to the city of Richmond  and opened as a public park and museum. (Information is more than slightly plagiarized from the linked website.)

I know... it doesn't sound like a place to entertain the adventurous pre-schooler, but it really did make for a great day. We did not venture into the Mansion or Nature Center, but walked the overall grounds and checked out the various animal areas. It was simply beautiful, and not in the overly flowered and spruced-up kind of way. I was hesitant too when I saw the map at the entry gate and paths marking the 3-mile hikes were traced along the paths (just sections of the paths!). And there may have been one hill I just had Cameron take my hand and drag me up at the end, but in the end it was definitely worth the venture (especially the free venture).

So, here I give to you and posterity's sake and to Cameron (since he told me this morning about reading this blog) a Mommy-blogging-photo-roll of pics from the day!

Dancing in the Street

'Cause summer's here and the time is right for dancing in the street...

Not really though. I live on a main street "in town." So that wouldn't be very safe... or sane.
We have, however, been ticking lots of fun off the Summer To-Do List.

We visited the local library for the Summer Reading Program Kick-Off. There is a punch card for the kids to use each week when they attend the program and check out ten(!!!) books. Those who get all the punches will be entered in drawings for prizes, including an I-Pad Mini. We will not be able to check off every week due to some other plans this summer but plan on joining the weekly program often.

 

The theme for the summer program is "Paws to Read" so for the Kick-Off they made "dog tags." Unfortunately these summer programs fall at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m., and with the Summer School Schedule, it is only feasible to go at 2 p.m., which falls dead-center of nap time. So, having selected to skip naps for this day... and Benjamin being far more interested in the turned-off computers than books, this started out as a frustrated adventure. We persevered though (although there may have been some ineffective threats to "just leave" thrown in there), and once he had acclimated to the chaos of all that was happening we picked some (10!) books, crafted, and had a good time.

 

 

Cameron is volunteering with the library... for his third summer, I think? So, I was even able to park Benjamin in the Snowcones & Popcorn room for a while and check out some books for myself. After the library visit, the boys got much-needed (at least for Benjamin: see Pointdexter-parted hairstyle above) Summer haircuts. I have always been about cutting the boys' hair short-short in the summer and not dealing with "styles" until it was time for school again. Lots of times this even meant me pulling out the clippers. Benjamin may have inherited my unfortunately large head though, and I just couldn't bring myself to do that to his cuteness.

 

 

In addition to a Library Day, the boys and I have also made a trip to Busch Gardens. I really took a gamble heading on the 90-minute trek when there was 70% chance of thunderstorms. I just told myself that if I go and it's miserable, I will get over it... but if I don't go, I will spend days wishing I had... so we did!

It literally started raining just as we entered the park. It was near 3 p.m. and most visitors had already left for the day due to the pending weather. We were waved on to the preferred parking (for free versus the $15 normal cost) and parked right by the entry gate. After waiting a while in the car, I made the proclamation that were just going to take the umbrella and go for it! As fates would have it, the rain stopped before we even made it from the car to the gate.

Now the "Good" of going to the amusement park on a stormy day is that there were absolutely no lines to any rides. The boys rode ride after ride, with Benjamin often just staying on for three or more turns. The place was so uncrowded at dinner that we could look around and see so many "familiar" faces because we had seen them already in the park. The "Bad" of the day was although it did not rain, following the storm, in 95-plus degree weather, it was muggy shirt-clinging yuck weather (which was still highly worth it in trade).

 

We even got in a Beach Day. (I keep emphasizing the "even did" this & thats because I still teaching summer school every morning, but not letting that dominate my whole day, as in the past.) Kelby joined us and it was her first time being in Virginia Beach.

 



I was determined to get in a beach trip this week, even though I knew the holiday weekend would make it busier than it's busy summer-time normal. I even deluded myself into thinking that the impending Tropical Storm/Hurricane Arthur may stir some folks away from the beach... apparently not. It was definitely crowded. I keep going back and forth on whether I still prefer the crowded touristy spots. I like the anonymity of it... but am a little more irritated by the crowds as I grow closer to my crotchety old-woman stage.

 
At first, Benjamin was determined to spend our entire visit clinging to the umbrella pole avoiding the sand and the water. I think it may have been with sea shells that I lured him out? I spent the greater part of the afternoon hunched over, waiting for the waves to recede, and checking out any sea shells (or more often fragments of them). This entertained Benjamin for quite while too. So long in fact that the next day, I felt the way the Spring athletes complain after doing squats and squat-walks the first week of practice. I could even feel it in my upper back from having my arms perched ready to grab any gems I saw. Seriously, you would think I was culling rubies or diamonds. There was this old lady near me, who only after watching me, started to collect shells too (in a Ziplock bag shoved between the breasts of her bathing suit). Then, she got family involved. I started using a sand sifter... so did they. Then, she sent the young girl over to directly where I was to get shells. I was like "Bring it on Grandma!" Sea Shell Wars 2014. I can get ridiculously a bit competitive.

I also spent a morning yard saling last weekend. It was not a particularly fruitful quest. (I will avoid the details of a certain toddler clothes battle to not make my competitiveness border pathological.) Other than a few odds & ends, the big haul was 16 cookbooks... although I said I would stop buying cookbooks since you get sooo many recipes (any recipe) on The Internets for free... and since I don't cook.

So, Summer is rolling. We are getting out, staying busy, making the most of our 100 days.
(I would have never known Summer had 100 days if it weren't for the currently abused trending hashtag.)

Summer Bucket List 2014

Last summer, I cheated a Bucket List and just copped Martha Stewart's Summer ToDo List. Needless to say, very little of that was achieved because, let's face it, I'm not Martha Stewart. Who is? Other than Martha Stewart, of course... and that chick on "Saturday Night Live," who actually makes a better Martha Stewart than the Domestic Mothership herself. So, this year I tossed around my own ideas for a while and comprised this list, which fits me, my family, and our lives.

1. Big Brother - When I feel the itchings of Summer coming on, Big Brother is one of the first things I start looking forward to, even sooner than I start looking forward to the end of the school year. I watched the first few seasons, missed years upon years of it, and then picked back up as a loyal (obsessed) fan during the past few summers. I've read all the negative feedback lately about celebrity cling-ons and a lack of diversity in casting, and I too wish it was a greater throng of different people as once before... I can't even remember who won last season (or even care enough to Google it, sad). (I do remember the nerdy little Ian that won the summer before though. I loved Ian.)

2. Steamed Crabs - I'm not all about "my Hometown" or "Where I come from..." but one way in which I am very much an Eastern Shore girl is my love of seafood, specifically steamed blue crabs (And thinking Crab Legs is the same thing as "real" Crab is as bad as thinking Diet Pepsi the same as Diet Coke... just, no.) So, I hope to have at least one good Crab Feast this summer. A few years ago I spent my entire (ENTIRE) Labor Day shucking crabs and froze bags of crab meat. It was great to have the crab throughout the year, but my hands were so cramped the next day from the shucking marathon! Still, I would do that again if we could get a good deal on crab.

3. Watermelon & Sweet Corn - These two foods say Summer to me and I usually let summer fly by too quickly without having some ice cold watermelon and sweet sweet corn while they are still fresh and plentiful. (When I googled "watermelon and corn," I saw several pics of a salad like this. I am intrigued by the mixture.)

4. Go Blueberry Picking and Try One New Recipe with fresh blueberries - Cameron and I did this last year and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I didn't have a chance to make it out to strawberry picking this year, so I do not want to miss blueberries!

5. Make Popsicles - A while ago, I picked up a Zoku, Quick Pop Maker, which you fill with juice or other liquid ingredients and make popsicles in a magical 7 - 9 minutes. I have not used this yet though Cameron and Jason have. I am not a big "ice cream person," in general, and hand-held ice creams even less so, yet I want to give a few concoctions a try. I've been collecting ideas and recipes on a Pinterest Popsicles board.

6. Visit the Farmer's Market - We've made it a few times so far this season and hope to make a few more times. I love the market and the town that it is in, but finding the free Saturday morning to drive an hour out of town to go can take some planning.

7. Go Yard Saling - I do love a morning spent Yard Saling, an entire morning. I do not like chit-chatting with sellers or running into people I know. I am on a mission when I am Yard Saling. The listing is a Treasure Map and I am on a hunt, preferably with a sidekick to feed addresses into the GPS. At least a couple of times this summer, I'd like to grab the listings for Virginia Beach and set out for the hour trek to Yard Sale Mecca. I can easily hit 35+ yard sales in the five-hour window of Saturday morning when I embark on these Treasure Hunts.

8. Craft - I really wanted to make another list, probably not as organized- not as definite or planned, just general ideas, about crafting goals this summer- dreams, hopes, maybes, possibilities. However, when I saw that this list was turning into a "Where to take the Boys," actually just a "Where to take Benjamin" this summer list, I decided to toss in a couple of general For-Me goals. Crafting something, sometime, somehow is definitely one of those.

9. Household Cleaning, Organizing, Decorating - Likewise, I wanted to jot down another list of fluid goals for the house, but decided to expand this Summer Bucket List beyond idea that which involved the output of gas (although that too would be associated with accomplishing most of this). So, like most teachers, I am sure, I have all kinds of vapid aspirations about cleaning and getting organized this Summer... but two concrete household fix-ups I would like to do are to make the Chalkboard Wall in the upstairs hall and to bring home the library catalogues I scavenged to create a front hall display.

10. Summer Reading - This is a given, but it merits mention. Soon, I think I will collect Summer Reading recommendations to post soon. Finding books is so easy by the looks of my bookshelves but so hard by the fact that I can never find something on them I actually want to read. I'm not sure if this is a new program, but our library is having a Summer Reading Program for adults. I almost don't want to share it and add to the competition because you can win Amazon gift cards weekly by just posting about what you've read! (English Teacher Nerd Heaven, I am in.)

11. Children's Reading Program - I also want to get Benjamin involved with the Children's Summer Reading Program. Cameron has also volunteered with this program over summers past. There are weekly events every Tuesday for the kids and you pledge to read 10 books weekly to get your card punched and enter prize drawings.

12. Regal Summer Movie Express - Better known (or at least, more importantly known) as "The $1 Movie." We've only done a couple of movies with Benjamin, but I'm hoping to catch a few more this summer on Wednesdays (since Library programs are on Tuesdays, the other day they are offered). One big suggestion from me to those of you new to this frugal find, is not to get there too early and when getting your tickets specifically ask for a theater that does not have a daycare/summer camp group!

13. Visit Two Out-of-Town Parks - I have two new ones in mind, and one we discovered last year to fall back on, as needed. Note to self: On very hot days, playground equipment is very hot.

14. Go to a Tides Baseball Game - Our wall calendar is (perhaps a little obsessively) marked with Every Home Game and Promotion for the entire season. I have wanted to catch a game for a couple of years now and not made it back. Free Jersey Night and Navy Night are looking like good options for our clan!

15. Visit the Children's Museum of Portsmouth - I love this place. Love. Seriously love. It is going to be hard to visit and not renew our family membership that I let lapse over a year ago. And that was even before I knew that teachers get in free! Super excited when I surfed around their website and found that a Wizard of Oz interactive exhibit is coming for the Summer. Super. Excited.

16. Visit the Living Museum - Also love, love, love this place. If only everything wasn't a flipping hour away! This one's a bit more pricey, especially given my goal of frugal finds this summer. However, the summer exhibit is all about Dinosaurs... and I do have a four-year old boy!

17. Visit Busch Gardens Multiple Times - We have season passes to the park that we do not use enough. Unfortunately I deserve a swift kick for not taking advantage of the free (FREE) Pre-school Pass for Benjamin before the deadline... and since I will have to pay for his pass (in addition to the passes we already pay for), we really need to be making the trek across the ferry to Busch Gardens this summer... often.

18. Visit Water Country Multiple Times - The Water Park partner of our 2-park pass. Ditto every statement in #17 for this one too. I really want to put a number on it, like say we will make it to each park five times or go to one or the other weekly... but I am hesitant to fake-commit to something I am going to feel like I fluked if it doesn't happen. We also need to look at pic'nicking and timing arrivals/departures so we are not spending $35-50 on food to use the "free" passes!

19. Visit the Beach a Few Times - I can freely and honestly admit that I like the idea of the beach much more than the reality. Trekking across hot sand that is tucked into unmentionable places for days afterward becomes less appealing as the years past... as does the crowded tourist beaches that I once preferred.

20. Spend some time with Justin - I haven't seen this face in real-time since Thanksgiving. I would like to plan an Eastern Shore trip but I don't know if that can happen. It may have to be a day trip or mayyybe a simple overnighter. There are lots of "back home" places I would like to visit and make a trip out of it, but mainly I need to spend some time with the first boy that made me Mom.

Summer Storms and Naps

First day of Summer School. My class is small and the morning passed quickly. Thankfully, I made an organized notebook with day-by-day lesson plans, activities, and keys last year, so prep for the next day's class will be pretty smooth for most of Summer School this year. I will have to switch around and make some new plans for "Second Quarter" since the class changed format from last year, but there is time ahead to do that.

Out the door by 1:00 p.m. (Yay me! ). Lunch at Maryz. There's a comfort to small town dining where the manager comments that you are there "earlier than usual." Jason had a productive day- maintenance on both vehicles and Extreme Kitchen Make-Over.

Me? Not so much. Benjamin goes to Pre-School two days a week over Summer, so I was determined to take a nap this afternoon in the quiet house.

But, Jason was going to call if he couldn't get the vehicles done in time to pick up Benjamin from school.
So, I checked to make sure the ringer on my cell was turned on.

And checked again.

And checked again.

And then worried it might die, so I went to get the plug to keep it charging.

Then, I thought Jason might not realize the time and let me know to go pick up Benjamin, so I set the phone alarm.

Then checked to make sure the volume was on.

And again.

Then... there was a fly.

So, I turned on the ceiling fan.

But, I could still hear the fly.

And, let's not forget the parade of things I should be doing marching across my mind the entire time I laid down.

Yeah, in general, I am not a very successful napper... or rapper (just throwing that in there since it rhymed, and junk).

Big thunderstorms tonight. I am becoming someone who likes the peacefulness of rain and stillness of storms. The evening, after I gave up on the whole napping non-phenomenon, was spent being entertained by a 4-year old with an orange snake mustache.  We told Benjamin last night that "tomorrow you go to daycare." His emphatic response was, "Daycare is Jail!" We were quite taken aback by this and I asked him who had said that, thinking it was a comment from one of the pre-school workers. Then, he replied The Policeman told him and went into one of ramblings about policemen locking up people in jail. He is rather enthralled with police right now. So, it was another serendipitous moment when he just didn't realize how funny his response was.

Meanwhile this week, Cameron is five hours away at Radford University for Boy's State. I'm not sure what his expectations were going into it. The lectures and politics are a definite change from the synergy that is a Key Club event. He described it to a friend as "rigorous but fun." Mainly, I'm just proud that he is viewed as a leader among his peers, someone deemed a good choice to be among those representing our school with this opportunity. I worry to often that he's just seen as "McHenry's kid" and not as a young man that chooses to give of himself  to his school and community. I am particularly worried about this come scholarship time next year.

Benjamin is FOUR!

Nothing makes me realize how quickly time is fleeting more than seeing how quickly Benjamin is growing and learning. I have to really stretch my mind to remember a time before he was walking and talking. These years have just flown by in a blur.

 



He is full of personality. All boy, equal parts rambunctious and loving. His favorite color is blue and this is a very popular topic right now. He likes to find out everyone's favorite color and always remembers when choosing things like plates and bowls or pointing out when someone is wearing a shirt in their favorite color. He remembers so much of the conversations that he has. He asks questions, takes in tidbits of information all the time, and then surprises us by mentioning something we talked about casually at unexpected times much later. (Will need to be careful around this one ;)

 

 

There is a Mexican Restaurant that is the traditional local place to go for birthdays. The iconic SoCo (Southampton County) Facebook pic for birthday celebrations is at Don Panchos in a sombrero. For Benjamin's actual birthday date, we sent cupcakes to his pre-school class and took him to Panchos for dinner. He was quite enchanted by the singing and birthday treat in his honor.

 

 

Jason was set on having a "real" Birthday Party for Benjamin. I was not. This dipped into one of my major social phobias of having an event that no one attends. Our social circle is small. We have no family close to us and no friends with children Benjamin's age. Jason was not deterred though. He actually polled another pre-school Mom in The Wal-Mart about which kids from the class show up to the birthday parties.  Eventually, I gave in to the idea... but thankfully had a late-coming and sudden inspiration to have the party at the local bowling alley and not in-home.

 

We timed it for 3 p.m., thinking that would sprinkle a little post-nap goodness over the event. It also worked out great because it was a "dead time" at the bowling alley and we had the place to ourselves during the hour'ish that the kids bowled, and danced, and ran around. I learned that the rule of one party guest per year of the child was a good one. Before I would have thought just four party guests was a failure but in this case it was at the brink a barely containable snowballing bundle of energy. (Did I mention they had the entire alley to themselves to run through?)

 

It was a good day. A good memory. Then, as perfect timing would have it, we came home to a big box from Ohio family with birthday presents too.

 

Sitting on top of the kitchen table (of course) "reading" his Birthday card in the Lightening McQueen (Bam Chow!)
 chair sent from Ohio family with Ninja Turtle pajamas and other goodies.

 

 

We also had our first dentist visit recently. He wanted to show me his "shiny teeth" as soon as I got home. I have to admit that I was thankful that our schedule led to Jason taking him to this appointment and not me, but I should not be surprised that he was a model patient. He is a curious child and this was just one more new experience that intrigued him.

 

 

Four has been a time of loving to be outside. Going for walks with Cameron, especially to see the peacocks down the road from our house. Going to the park  with Dad and seeing his friend, "Sheekah." The Big Four birthday present for Benjamin was a bicycle but he's not feeling too confident in those skills yet. Hopefully lots of summer days to practice will cure that quickly.

 

 

Four is a time when the world is divided into Super Heroes and Bad Guys and both are very real. Everyone is your friend, regardless of sex, color, or if your only name for them is "Hey Girl." It is a time to give a name to every encountered animal, in the pet store and stuffed, our favorite being "Dahma," the stuffed dog received on Valentine's Day. A time to give freely of hugs- good, strong, tight ones- but to be very reserved in kisses. Lately it has been a season of singing- remixing tunes we already know or just describing activities or latest thoughts in melodic verse.

 

Thankfully, Four is still an age of long naps- some so long that we have to wake him up. Also thankfully, Jason has such a routine set with Benjamin that he will usually go to bed without much fuss... now staying in his own bed for the night? That's a different story.

 

 



Thanksgiving Traditions?

Justin came home for Thanksgiving Week. It's comforting how quickly family life can fall into routine again. Our home had adjusted to one less son, and then when he returned home, he just melted into that Justin-sized hole left in his absence. We didn't feel that void, life gets busy, life goes on, but when he returns everything just fits together as if he never left. In many ways the same son that I knew a year ago, in many ways also showing a sense of maturity and reality-adjustment that only perspective and reflection can give... not too much maturity though.

On one of his first nights back home, Benjamin asked Justin, "Why do you have Cameron's face?" That's an astoundingly perceptive question for his 3-year old little brain. I have occasionally noticed a shared trait between the two but I have never thought they looked alike, despite the comments of many others. I guess since Cameron has just sprouted up and changed so much physically lately, I can see it a lot more.

My sophomores read the short story "Everyday Use," by Alice Walker. The pre-writing activity is writing about a family tradition. The students often struggle over this and say that they don't have any family traditions. So, I tell them to just think about something they always do for the holidays. This, of course, causes me to stress and worry if our small little family has any traditions and would my boys be ones to struggle over responding to this prompt. I imagine they would.

Our Thanksgiving morning traditionally begins with the boys running the Turkey Trot 5K with the YMCA. This year, they actually walked down there themselves, food donations in tote, and ran. So, I can't really say that's much of a "family" tradition. Second to that, I would say we traditionally watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Except this year, I gave myself permission to admit that I just find the whole thing irritating. Is it a parade or is it a collection of musical melodies? And do we really need commentators identifying the overly-inflated socially iconic balloons harnessed down and drug along "Fifty Shades" style? No, this year I didn't need that, and just skipped the whole thing.

Does Black Friday shopping count as a family tradition? It probably shouldn't since it is the epitome of why I dread the "holiday season." If it could though, we could check that one on the Thanksgiving traditions list. We didn't get crazy about it, didn't head out until after 10 in the morning. Of course with the (much debated) beginning of "Black Friday" specials on Thanksgiving Day, it doesn't seem there were the normal early morning hour crowds and craziness.

We did a little bit of this...

 

And a whole lot of this...

 

Getting the boys new phones was first on the agenda of the day. However, it became the greater part of the entire day. After spending nearly two hours waiting in the Verizon store, we were (thankfully) told by our Associate that the phones we were looking at were $200 cheaper at Best Buy that day. The really sad part of the whole "adventure" was the phones we were getting were the most decent of the nondata-required models, and thus not at all the ones anyone else wanted, but yet the ones that consumed our day in wait. Case in point, when we arrived to Best Buy, there were only two models in stock. Over two hours later when we made it to the front of the line (which was not that long and should not have taken two hours), there were still two models in-stock. Of course with both boys having phones requiring duct tape to hold them together, speaker phones to call anyone, and advanced cryptology skills to decipher the texts, I was approaching the modern-aged definition of neglect, and they needed to be allowed to just die... the phones, not the boys.

After a bit of shopping, post phone-buying-marathon, we did go see "Catching Fire." Come to think of it, the last time we did Black Friday shopping, it was to stand in line over 3 hours to buy I-pod Touches after going to see the late showing of one of the "Twilight" movies.

So, I guess the best summary of our Thanksgiving traditions is prolonged shopping to buy mildly outdated technology coupled with Hollywood's raping of young adult literature?

Thankful.

I'd like to think I am a grateful person.

I have saved every note or card given to me by a student (even the one by a German exchange student that said after taking my journalism class, she knew she didn't want to be a newspaper reporter anymore).

The greatest moment of kindness in my life was eleven years ago. I was at CNU, about an hour from home, and as I was walking to the car at the end of the day, I was struck with such a wave of sickness that I had to lay down and rest before I could even begin to drive home. Then, I had to take several more rests from driving to nap before I could make it home. I went to the doctor the next day and he said I had the flu and pneumonia. I had/have never been so sick in my life. I had to drive myself to the hospital for a chest x-ray. I remember sitting in the car in the parking lot, just about to get out of the car, and I sneezed. It made my head swim with such dizziness that it took several minutes to recover. Eventually I made it through the bureaucratic process of hospital administrations and onto the x-ray table. The tech that was taking the pictures brought a cold washcloth and laid it across my forehead. Have you seen one of those movie moments when angels descend to earth, all aglow, and lay their hands on a mortal. Yeah, it was like that- an ethereal experience. It is bringing tears to my eyes right now to write about it... and making me realize just a little how sad it may be that one act of kindness eleven years ago meant so much.

I believe in Random Acts of Kindness. On the day last week that I received flowers for Teacher of the Month (yay me! I really avoiding giving myself the kudos on that, as pointed out by a reader... so kudos to me!), I also left a Seed of Happiness  in a co-worker's mailbox.

 

Check out the website if you want to more about them; it's a great story. Basically, it's a random token gift to bring a smile to someone's face. I saw a display of them last year and bought a bunch at Hallmark. I received far greater satisfaction from the co-worker's anonymously thankful comment on Facebook than the flowers sitting in my room for a week. Though it was nice to get flowers...

Perhaps though, I don't recognize the every day, every moment reasons to be grateful.
Thankful.
Happy.

I dread November on Facebook. Worse than all the Pinkness of October... and cryptic messages about where we hang our purse... to promote Breast Cancer Awareness, are those dreadful "Thankful" lists that emerge in November. Every day for the month of November people post about what they are thankful for, from loved ones to coffee & chocolate, soft beds & warm blankets, to the simple act of waking up to live a new day. Well, I find the whole practice to be irritating and self-serving. If you lived a life of gratitude, do you need to proclaim it on Facebook for all to see what a loving and appreciative person you are? Does that give you the ticket to not feel thankful for those same things the other eleven months of the year? Do the very people that receive your accolades of gratitude on a social forum of an anonymous million, feel that from you every day?

I have always thought it would be much easier to make a month-long list of things that irked me for 30 days. I think it would be much more entertaining to read too. That would not be very holiday-oriented of me though, would it? Heh...

So, I decided at some point earlier this month, that I would challenge myself on Thanksgiving Day in this much smaller forum in a more condensed fashion to determine the 30 things in my life that I am most thankful for.

1. I am thankful for Second Chances, that we live in a society that allowed me to pick up and move into a new life- new husband, new home, new town, new career. The "me" I am today is a very different person than the "me" I was in my 20s.

2. I am thankful for Military Insurance. There are many benefits to Jason's military career but with his health issues over the past several months, I have felt the tangible benefit of health insurance- free and for a lifetime.

3. I am thankful for my Resolve, that I didn't live to repeat the cycle of dysfunction and abuse that defined my childhood; that even though it took too long into my adult years, I gave myself permission to divorce my family roots.

4. I am thankful for a Husband who likes to cook and lets others know how proud he is to have me for a wife. I wasted too many years of my life with someone embarrassed by me and not realizing I was too worthwhile to endure that. As far as cooking, I don't know how it evolved to this point- but the more I hated cooking, the more he enjoyed it, and the balance is working out well for our family right now.

5. I am thankful for my life as a Teacher. It was my dream deferred, one that I never thought the chances in life were going to line up and support, but eventually they did. And it was the right time for it, after over 35 jobs during my 20s, it is near impossible to believe I am in my 10th year of teaching... in the same school even.

6. I am thankful for my School Administration. I have certainly had my stressful years and my low years when I was unsure of what the next one would hold for me, by my choice or not. However, I have grown to a place with those people I work for that makes me feel like a valued and integral part of the school system. I feel a tangible support in everything that I do, every day.

7. I am thankful for Co-Workers who feel teaching is their privilege and not burden. Namely, I am thankful for Angela, our new English teacher, who I would like to call my first Mentee, but who has taught me just as much as I could ever teach her. It has been a long time since I have worked closely with who someone shared my student-centered views on  teaching. She enriches our Department and improves the entire school. I am thankful for the other teachers too that take engaging approaches to teaching, that have stories about their students to tell me because they simply love their job... or just don't ask me "How long until Friday?" every. time. I. pass. them. in. the. hall.

8. I am thankful for my Students. I truly believe that every single one of students has something to teach me. In some cases, their lesson may be more important than what they learn from the 90 days of mine. Unfortunately though too, I know many of those chances to learn from my students are lost to class sizes and curriculums. I am extremely thankful for the students that I am able to teach for two years and really see their growth in writing skills and just how they view the world. It validates my efforts. Those are the very same students that often influence how I see the world too.

9. I am thankful for the Key Club. There is a line in a praise song, "This is the air I breathe." When I think of my Key Clubbers, that is how I feel. Few people in this life are given the chance to learn their purpose, to see their legacy. I am one of the lucky ones. Most days I think I will retire from teaching high school. Some days I think I will move back to publishing or forward to teaching at the college level. Whichever path my life winds through, I am certain that I will forever seek opportunities to work with youth in volunteer service.

10. I am thankful for Former Students. Honestly, #9 can be broken down to a list of 30+ gratitudes all on its own. For now, I will only break away this one. I am thankful for Amanda, Leannah, Jordan, Jessica, Grace, Ashley, Christian, Kristen, and several others who let me know how important Key Club was to them, who let me think I had just a little influence on the amazing young men and women they have become, who remind me that it is worth the time, the frustrations, the effort.

11. I am thankful for books. A good book is one that you are as equally anxious to see as it ends as you are regretful that the end has come. I am thankful for those.

12. I am thankful to be a Home Owner. Childhood nights spent in the spare rooms of relatives and friends. Early adult years spent in a homeless shelter, a motel, an attic of a church member, in a roach-infested duplex. I am thankful not just to be in "a home." I have been in "a home" most nights of my life, but that this being the first home that had my name on the deed is big and beautiful and newly refurbished... and unique and quirky.

13. I am thankful for my car. (I know this is starting to sound superficial.) Most cars in my life were chosen for me. I had to find a dealership that would work with me and then pick among the ones I could afford on their lot. When it came time to buy my most recent car, which was actually nine years ago, I knew the specific car I wanted and went shopping for it. Now it has over 120,000 miles on it and has not cost me any money in unplanned maintenance. It did not even need new brakes until this year. The current plan is to give it to Cameron for college and I will buy a new one, but the truth is I'm a little hesitant to let it go.

14. I am thankful for life's unexpected surprise that is Benjamin. I always thought I wanted a third child, but Jason did not. I thought we needed "our" own child to truly define a marriage. Then there was this very distinct moment probably about five years into our marriage when I passed my reflection in the mirror one day and told it that we were done with babies. Life was entering a new phase when the boys were old enough to be home alone for an undetermined amount of time and it was a pretty great phase to be in... now, like when unexpected things often happen, I cannot imagine a life any different than the one that delivered me a newborn at 39.

15. I am thankful for my Health. There is no one that is going to look at me and think "healthy." Obviously I have issues to address. However, in the grand scheme of living life, mine has been pretty healthy. My only surgery has been a cyst drainage. I have never broke anything, had any major or long-term disease. My biggest battle is eye allergies. I have encountered so many people, so recently in life- those younger, those healthier- dealing with so. much. more.

16. I am thankful for Technology. Being part of the 80s generation saddled between staying up for all night talks stretched to the couch with the long winded cord from the wall phone to brief text conversations with a phone shoved in my pocket, I have first-hand experienced the shifts in society from ovens to microwaves, from TV Guides to DVRs. I know the benefits and conveniences of technology, and I am thankful.

17. I am thankful Justin asked to come for Thanksgiving. No, he doesn't have to "ask" to come home but I am glad that he sought out the opportunity to come home for a week. I won't use the trite phrase "Tough Love," but when unexpected turns took his life off-course, he fell into a holding phase that he had to just be kicked out of. And, he's still figuring it out, but things are looking much better.

18. I am thankful for Cameron's sense of inclusiveness. I would worry at times that Cameron didn't have friends. He could be an awkward child. I learned my lesson with Justin and just stayed out of his social life and let him make his own decisions, his own mistakes. Now that he is in high school I see that it is not friends he is lacking, but a clique... and that is not a bad thing. He considers everyone a friend, and treats everyone as a friend... even when that can be a very irritating thing.

19. I am thankful for Night Skies and Roaring Oceans and other majesties of nature that remind me how insignificant we are and how temporal life is. I could never live too far from the ocean, even though I rarely visit it, I just need to know that I can. And some of my favorite memories with the boys are laying outside during the early morning hours to watch meteor showers.

20. I am thankful for Dishwashers, Washers and Dryers. This is our first home with a dishwasher. Oy vey! Welcome to the 20th century! I spent childhood hanging out laundry to dry (into stiff sheets of fabric during cold weather) and had far too many visits to the Laundromat in my early adult years.

21. I am thankful for uncontrollable outbursts of Laughter. Let's face it, I'm a bit of a cynic. So when something takes me by surprise that I can't help but laugh about, it's a good thing.

22. I am thankful for Relay for Life. Cancer is a beast. Its scars are visible on its victims and the families of those victims. No one is outside of its grasp. It paints a scary world to live in, but through Relay I am able to help empower hundreds of people in our community, many within our own school, to thinking they can do something. From scooping spaghetti, to washing cars, to doing the Wobble on a Relay field at midnight, they can raise the money to provide the services and research to conquer this beast. It is all we can do... but it is a lot.

23. I am thankful for my freedom. I know that sounds trite, but I mean it with sincerity. I spent half of Jason's military career with him. Our family knows first-hand the costs of freedom paid by our military men and women, and their families. I am thankful for every single one of them. There is no single more tangible feeling of freedom than a military Homecoming following deployment. I am thankful for every one I was able to experience and only wish we could have did it together for the full twenty years.

24. I am thankful for People who are Good at their Jobs. Sofrina, my favorite barista at Starbucks. Amy, our favorite waitress at Applebee's. Tommy, who manages our car repair shop. Jason and I often have a conversation about the myth we feed children that the goal of every one of them should be to go to college and get a white-collared job. We, as a society, devalue so many jobs, yet we could not function as a society without the people to do them. I make a conscious effort to show my appreciation to anyone that has an optimistic and responsible work ethic, from our custodians at work to the girls at the drive-thru window.

25. I am thankful for Reality Television. (Ha! I know some folks expected to see that one!) It is my drug of choice. It is my guilty pleasure. Project Runway, Real Housewives of New York City, Dance Moms, Extreme Cheapskates, Million Dollar Shoppers, America's Next Top Model, Snooki & JWow, the list goes on- anything that doesn't involve alligators or long beards.

26. I am thankful for Office Supplies. Seriously. The way some women have that stereotypical genetic predisposition to shoe addictions (missing that!), I'm like that with office supplies. If I were to win a limitless gift card to any store of my choice, it would be a hard toss-up between Barnes & Noble and Office Max... although, Barnes & Noble would win because they do carry a limited amount of office supplies. Pens for color-coded agendas, journals with inspirational or quirky covers, funny folders, most of which I will never use but fill my closets and filing cabinets, I. must. have.

27. I am thankful for the perfectly carbonated Diet Coke. Again, yes, seriously. A poorly carbonated fountain Diet Coke can ruin my day just as quickly as one well-balanced in carbonation can make my day a little better.

28. I am thankful for Days when I have Absolutely Nothing To Do after coming home from school. These days are rare and treasured. No pressing household needs. No school work or Key Club or Relay to-do's. Just my bed, lap-top (not for work), television, and Benjamin snuggles.

29. I am thankful for the Gift of Animals. I wish I could be a pescatarian, but am not. I don't feel guilty for eating seafood but am riddled with guilt when I think about the meat I do eat. I love all animals. All except the occasional insect. I am filled with joy to come home and see a wild rabbit in the yard, and will just sit in the car and watch it for a while. Wow, that sounds corny, but it is true. Zoos make me sad, and hunting season even more sad.

30. I am thankful for Moments of Calm. My life is bordered by stress. I have an ongoing internal dialogue filling my mind with chatter. Prattle. I mute the television during commercials and rarely listen to music because the influx of information, in addition to my internal dialogue planning the next event, the next day, the next few minutes is just too much to work with. So, those rare moments when life is just calm, my mind is just calm, I am thankful.



Ok, confession... this list wasn't so easy. I found myself walking away from it a few times and having to come back. I don't think it's because I'm not a grateful person (the lady doth protest too much?) but that doing it in this format was hard because it called for much bigger umbrella examples (not that I am claiming in any manner these are all gratitudes of great or equal worth) rather than a lot of the small or immediate things that you think to note when doing it daily.

That, of course, causes me to begrudgingly admit that those expressing their gratitudes daily have a purpose... however, I still don't think it needs to be publicly broadcasted, on a schedule, highlighted during one month of the year.

Zoo Day!

Only rainbows after rain. The sun will always come again.
Its a circle, circling. Around again, it comes around.

This was our backyard surprise last night.

Rumor has it that it has been unbearably hot lately. I could neither confirm or deny those rumors since I have barely made it outdoors the past few days. One thing I can definitely confirm though is that it has rained a lot this summer. A lot. Torrential downpours. There were several afternoons during Summer School when it poured so hard that you could not see out the windows. Flash Flood Warnings became a normal icon on the corner of the television screen. I told the kids that it was good that we were getting pass the rain while still in school so there would be nothing but sunny days when we were out. It still rained. It's still raining. A lot. Once upon a time you watched the weather report to see what day it was going to rain that week. Now, we watch the weather report to see which day has the best chances of not raining.

Well, today was that day this week. It was also the one, the only day, that Benjamin realized he's a kid, it's summer, and he could actually sleep in. Until 9:30 a.m.! So, it took a real effort to peel myself out of bed and carry the boys to the zoo. But I am so glad I did. It was an absolutely perfect day for a zoo trip. Per-fect! The weather was mild and breezy. Every single visit to the zoo until today has been a game of strategically making it from one temporarily cooler spot to the next because it was so blazing hot.

It all worked out well because our zoo annual passes end tomorrow and we wanted to squeeze in just one more visit. I don't plan on renewing the passes for at least a couple of years. I waiver back and forth between enjoying the zoo... and feeling guilty for finding entertainment in the animals being trapped outside of their natural habitat for human display. It does help some to realize that with deforestation, industrialization, and poaching that it is quite possible zoo exhibits will be the only remnants of some species.

I liken the whole conflict to feeling guilty for eating animals and wanting to be vegetarian, or at least Pescetarian (shrimp are lot less guilt-inducing than cows)... until I just need a big hunk of steak from The Outback.

Following  the pleasant trip to the zoo, we stopped by the playground for a short while... until it began to rain... again.

 

 

 

 

Elephant Paintings!

 

 

 

It's a Wrap!

This is not going to be a post bemoaning the end of Spring Break and the return to school tomorrow... although it could be.

I am not going to express regret for not making a To Do List... although I should have.
Or express regret for not actually taking a "break" during Spring Break... although I should have.

I am not going to muse on how the days passed at a leisurely pace at first, and then all too quickly piled on top of one another as they whisked away at the end of the week... although they did. They always do.

Instead, I will just recap the memorable moments of Spring Break 2013.

Because there certainly were some. The most memorable would have to be on Wednesday afternoon. As I was sitting in the living room sewing (Seriously! I was sewing. It was just a button... but I was sewing.), I heard a loud BANG outside. It sounded like when the back end of a tractor trailer with an empty bed hits a bump in the road. I looked out the window just in time to see the cables running from the top of telephone poles snap and fall to the street. When I stepped outside, I saw a truck driving across the neighbor yard and heard wheels spinning. The view was obstructed by the hedge of trees and bushes dividing our yards. When I crossed over to see what was going on... I don't really know how to describe the scene.

An elderly gentleman was driving a truck carrying a flatbed trailer with a riding lawn mower. He hit the telephone pole across from our house then drove two wheels down the sidewalk, knocking out mailboxes, until the truck hit the next telephone pole then tumbled the lawn mower into the middle of the street before racing across the neighbor's yard, stopping just a few feet from crashing into their garage.

The driver was unconscious when I approached the vehicle and for the next several hours our section of the road was shut down to a parade of police cars and fire trucks and ambulances and tow trucks and animal control. What made an intense situation even scarier is that Cameron was in the front yard with the neighbor when the truck came ripping through. It's too much to grasp the reminder of how fragile life is. (Forgive me if that borders dramatic.)

 

 

Cameron filling out his police report for the accident. (Hopefully not a foreshadowing for future dealings with the police.)

On Thursday, Benjamin had an appointment with the doc following one month on a stronger anti-biotic for ear fluid. Unfortunately, it did not help enough and there is still enough fluid behind his ear drums that we are being sent back to the ENT for a follow-up appointment, which will likely lead to new ear tubes. The ones he had put in a bit over a year and a half ago have just recently fallen out, although they are still laying in the ear canal, which makes my own ear twitch a little just to think about.

Perhaps the only good note about our sometimes frequent visit to the doctor is that Benjamin has visited the office often enough without having to get shots that he has no apprehension about going. He fussed at Cameron for sitting in the doctor's chair and when the doc came in he insisted on rolling up his pant legs and showing the doc his "boo boo" (scraped knee). It is, however, incredibly more difficult to entertain (and restrain) him in the examination room now that just crumpling the paper on the tables are not enough entertainment to capture his attention.

Cameron had his first experience in his LTG role for Key Club over Spring Break. He went for Board Training in Herndon, Virginia, Friday - Sunday. Thankfully, he was able to drive up with one of the Adult District Board Members so I only had to drop him off and pick him up from Williamsburg. Friday morning we ran some errands before the drop-off, including picking up presents for Benjamin's birthday, and items for the Relay Team's summer-themed raffle.

I needed beach chairs, towels, and an umbrella with stand. So, we drove out to Virginia Beach to find good deals at the tourist shops. I have to admit that I have felt twinges of jealousy (and maybe even a little hatred... just a tinge) towards all the people on my Facebook page posting their updates and photos from Busch Gardens, the beaches, and Florida (Florida!). We, on the other hand, managed to put our feet in the sand for about 20 minutes between errands.

Looking ahead, after next year's Spring Break, Jason will either be teaching in my school district, or hopefully teaching in a district with the same schedule and taking "real" vacations on school breaks will be an option. In the mean time, I need to strive towards not always bringing so much work home with me. Not having that never-ending To Do list churning through the back of my my mind during the entire break.

Be right back... in 9 weeks