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  • Begin Again Day Thirty-One

    Whenever I finish something I started, I try to take a minute to appreciate what I have accomplished and celebrate myself. As I write my final post for this particular endeavor, I wanted to stop and turn it around. I want to take some time to thank everyone who was a part of this community. This past month has been such an interesting adventure. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read so many wonderfully thoughtful, insightful, and personal words. I have looked forward to ending my day, by curling up on the couch and reading such an interesting variety of ideas all in one place. I have learned many new things, challenged my thinking, found humor in the ordinary, and traveled down memory lane. And I did it all in 31 days. I am thankful for the journey and I look forward to doing it all again next March. I wish you all a future filled with good health, happiness, and wonderful new experiences to share with us all next year!

  • Begin Again Day Thirty

    I just saw that commercial again. And let me start by saying I don’t see a lot of commercials. My husband is quick on the remote control, so he typically changes the channel when faced with an ad. But between the Superbowl and the fact that we now own a crazy number of remotes to navigate all these new channels, there have been some commercials on the tv. It fascinates me. It is the one where the woman is complaining about parking, and then she lifts up both her hands and continues to talk to her friends in the car, as her CAR parallel parks itself. If you haven’t seen it, I am probably not doing it justice. The car actually places itself into the tight parking space. The steering wheel spins on its own. Again it intrigues me. I am not a car person. My car is a basic model, definitely no bells or whistles. As long as the windows go up and down and the radio works, I am good to go. But I have been in Iowa for the last few days visiting my daughter. We have to move the car around because the parking meters have a time limit, so I have been doing a lot of parallel parking. Neither of my girls is very good at it because I was the one who taught them to drive. ( Both girls are excellent drivers though!!) So I have been taking an embarrassing long amount of time, pulling forward and backward with their guidance until the car is kinda, for the most part, in the space. I am thinking if the technology exists, wouldn’t it be a great standard package item on cars moving forward. Definitely a step (or drive) in the right direction.

  • Begin Again Day Twenty Nine

    Road trip baby, my oldest daughter( a fourth-grade teacher on spring break), and I are headed to the University of Iowa to visit my youngest daughter. We are excited to hit the road. We like the same music, enjoy similar fast food menu items, and enjoy each other’s company. But before we get to Iowa City we will make a stop at the World’s Largest Truck Stop. It does not disappoint. So here is a list of why you should take the opportunity to stop if you are headed west on Interstate 80.

    There are over 900 parking spaces

    The gas prices are always fabulous

    The buffet has the best-mashed potatoes in Iowa

    You can get your laundry done

    You can get a haircut

    You can visit the dentist

    You can buy Christmas decorations 12 months a year

    You can take a shower

    You can buy any number of cool University of Iowa Fan items

    You can drink an Orange Julius

    You can buy giant monster slippers (I have them in pink, huge hit with my students on Jammie Day)

    You can check out the wall of Military pins

    You can buy keychains, stuffed animals, and many other toys to amuse on a long car ride

    You can visit the chiropractor

    You can pretend to drive an antique car

    You can watch a movie in the theater

    You can take your picture with a fake pig in a cornfield

    Oh, and you can buy just about anything for an actual truck.

  • Begin Again Day Twenty Eight

    We need to paint my daughter’s old bedroom. She got a great new job and relocated over the summer. The room is quite lived in. It had posters covering the walls, and sparkly hooks to hang jewelry. It definitely needs a little TLC. Looking for some inspiration, I went online to see the popular paint colors of 2023. Drumroll, please…..Ivory Brown. Now I can tell you, even if this is the most beautiful color I have ever laid eyes on, I will not be painting the room with that paint. Seriously, Ivory Brown. That is the most unoriginal name for paint ever. They simply took two everyday colors and put them together. Half the fun of painting is finding that perfect paint color that sets the mood for the room. I love picking out paint because you are manifesting what the room will bring to you. When my roommate and I painted our room in the sorority house we bought a gallon of Dreamer’s Paradise (purple). When my husband and I painted the living room in our first house we choose Champagne Tickle (Beige). Our nursery was a pale shade called Baby Love(pink). My youngest daughter rocked Cosmic Lime (bright green) to compliment her new bunk beds. Her sister, a huge Peter Pan fan found Canopy Mist (The perfect match to Wendy’s blue dress) to match her canopy bed. Choosing these colors was like going on a treasure hunt and finding the loot. With that in mind, I will continue my search for the perfect color with the perfect name to set the tone for what comes next for this room. So far we are stuck between Quiet Nook and Bravo! I am still hunting…

  • Begin Again Day Twenty Seven

    If you have read my previous post, you know I spent the night at my parent’s house last night. They live in a 55-and-over community in a ranch home. The houses are packed tightly together, but my parent’s house backs up to a berm. They love all the nature and creatures that often visit their backyard. Their favorites are the birds. They have many bird feeders to attract their fine feathered friends. They have actually turned their yard into a bird paradise. The birds wait patiently for them to slide open the blinds in the morning and toss out the seeds. There are also hanging feeders conveniently placed directly outside the sunroom windows. This way, they simply open the window and fill the feeder without going outside on icy, cold days. It is a safe alternative. But last night, I was sleeping on the couch in the sunroom when I heard a banging sound. It took me a minute to get my bearings, but when I did, I realized there were some new friends at the feeder. Two deers were standing on either side of the feeder licking it with their tongues. They had pushed the feeder into the house and were now passing it back and forth between them. As I got up to check it out, they saw me, gave their heads a tilt, took a long last lick and ran off into the berm. The clock on the tv said, 4:23am. Talk about a wake-up call! This city girl is happy to be back sleeping in her own bed tonight.

  • Begin Again Day Twenty Six

    I usually head over to my parent’s house once a week for a visit. They are both in their eighties, but honestly act like they are much younger. They need very little help from me at this point, as they have both been blessed with good health. They both also possess an extremely positive outlook on life and the changes that aging brings to everyone lucky enough to be given another day to celebrate. Usually, my to-do list is filled with technology questions. And I am probably the last person that should be helping anyone with tech, but here we are. My mom has some questions about how to “reply all” to an email. She also needs to set a new password on her phone, after a recent update. My dad wants to order a pan from Amazon( they will not use a credit card over the internet:)) He also wants to look into a getaway to Wisconsin in May. Thankfully this week, I am able to take care of everything on the list. We then get caught up in watching the basketball game, and before you know it, it is dusk. My parents no longer like to drive in the dark, and recently these feelings have extended to include all the people they love. If my daughters, (ages 26, and 21) are visiting, they are gently and loving kicked out the door before nightfall. The other option offered is a sleepover. Last night, I opted for the sleepover. We stayed up late watching old episodes of the television show Fraiser, laughing and reminiscing. We woke up early for church. ( My dad records it and watches it from the living room since Covid changed his routine.) It was a beautiful reminder of all the bounty in this life. This was then followed by a traditional big breakfast. The term was coined when my girls were little. I would call in the morning after the girls had slept over and they would say, We are having a big breakfast. Translation – grampa is cooking anything and everything we can think of to eat for breakfast. Pancakes, hashbrowns, strawberries with whipped cream, and ham were usually a good start. And today, we continued the tradition. Great food, great conversation, and great company. I was a little bummed to be staying home for spring break. After listening to everyone’s plans last week, I wished I was going on an escape. But now I realize you don’t have to go very far to get everything you need to recharge your body and your mind. Guess we are never too old to learn from our parents.

  • Begin Again Day Twenty-Five

    My daughter called me this morning and I was still in bed. I was not sleeping, I was actually reading a book a friend had recommended to me. As I am usually an early bird, this behavior was instantly questioned. What are you still doing in bed?? I reminded her that I had dragged myself across the finish line and was on my spring break. But you never work on Saturdays, your break starts Monday. She is a very logical person. But in this instance, she is actually mistaken. Saturday is my catch up day. I can’t think of school on Sunday, I need my peace. But I have always tried to get ahead of the game on Saturday. I grade the papers I couldn’t get to during the week, I start my newsletter, I plan out my guided reading groups, etc,. I haven’t met a teacher who only works their contract hours. If they exist, I would love some lessons. So my daughter is incorrect. I am on spring break because I do not intend to do one thing that even remotely relates to my job. Oh wait, I have to write my blog every day of spring break. Like I said, if you know a teacher who only works during their contract hours, please introduce me, I think I need their help.

  • Begin Again Day Twenty-Four

    Today is the last day of school before spring break. That truly is reason enough to celebrate, but today just got much better. Typically on the last Friday of the month a group of teachers signs up to bring in some treats to share with everyone. It is always a great pick-me-up. But today was extra special. This group decided on a chip-and-dip theme. And it did not disappoint In the past people brought sweet treats to eat after lunch, but today, lunch became dip! Spicy dips, cheesy dips, chicken dips, crab dips, veggie dips, corn dips, and the list went on and on. I don’t know if I have ever had a whole meal dipped until today. Some many delicious combinations to try. And let’s not forget the dippers… chips, pretzels, crackers, Fritos, and veggies. It was a smorgasbord like no other. So if you haven’t had a chip and dip day, what are you waiting for? Let’s cheers, wait no, let’s dip to nine wonderful days of whatever makes you the happiest!

  • Begin Again Day Twenty Three

    I have a boot on my foot. I was dog-sitting for my daughter for the weekend and put up a gate to block the stairs when my husband and I were going grocery shopping. Did I mention I set up the gate? Right before we were ready to leave my husband asked me to bring his glasses from upstairs, and I proceeded to get them by walking directly into the gate. My pinky toe has been broken before so it wasn’t in the best shape to begin with, but after the crash, it swelled up like a balloon. There was no way I was getting a shoe on my foot any time soon, so I decided to go back to the boot. It is now week two and my toe has changed from blackish purple to blueish green. I take this as a sign that I am on the mend. It is still swollen but I could probably find a wide school to wear to work. That being said, I still have a boot on my foot. Something weird happened the first day I wore the boot to work. My students usually follow me around and walk right into my personal space all day long. But when I am wearing the boot, they actually give me a little extra space and come at me with a little less energy. It has been quite pleasant. Being the time of year when noses are running, coughs are spewing, and stomachs are erupting, a girl enjoys the luxury of a little distance. I am sure I will definitely be bootless when I return from our spring break, but I think I will be holding out for one more day. Breaking my toe turned out to be just the break I needed!

  • Begin Again Twenty Two

    As first-grade teachers, we often spend a lot of time brainstorming ideas together before we actually begin our activities. Sometimes young learners need a little support. One idea jump-starts another until everyone has contributed to the discussion. We even have a special map we use for this purpose called a Circle Map. You basically write a word in the center of the paper and draw a circle around it and then write your ideas around it. (Kind of feels like reinventing the wheel with another wheel, but that is a whole different can of worms). Typically, when we brainstorm, several students will raise their hands to get the ball rolling. Sometimes I need to add some ideas to move the topic along. But today in SEL we were discussing worry. I showed a picture of a little boy whose face looked upset. There was no other context to the picture. The activity was to start a discussion on why the boy might be worried. Instantly, all hands were up, and I found myself taken aback for a few seconds. As I started to call on the students, they mentioned that maybe the boy was bullied, or maybe he didn’t know who was picking him up from school, or maybe he forgot his lunch, or maybe he is worried someone bad will come to his school, or maybe he missed his Dad, or maybe….. The hands kept popping back up. I let everyone share multiple ideas and then we stopped to talk about what worry feels like in our bodies. The time ticked by, but I couldn’t transition to writing. We spent the afternoon matching each worry with a strategy to help ease the mind of the worrier. My heart breaks for my students. As they try to enjoy being a kid, the world is making that harder and harder every day.