Spring

This is little Abbie.  We went for a walk today.  Don't tell Chloe and Lola!

Gratitude Day #5

Spring brings warmer temperatures, freedom, hope, and growth.  It is so wonderful to feel the sunshine on  my face, and to be able to spend time comfortably outside.  It means I can go out and walk.  It is a time to begin planning my garden. Right now I even have the windows open, so I can feel the breeze gently blowing into the house.

It also means my mom and her dog, Abbie come home from Arizona. My sister, Jacci, flew to Arizona and drove Mom and Abbie home last week.  I am so grateful for my sister and her kindness.

The seeds that I planted under the grow lights are already sprouting.  They will be ready to move outside five or six weeks from now.  That's where the hope comes in. Hope for more beautiful weather, fertile ground, plants growing, and flowers blooming.  I love spring!

1. I am grateful for sunshine and spring breezes.
2. I am grateful to have Mom and Abbie back home.
3. I am so grateful for my sister, Jacci.

Good Friends

Gratitude Day #4

I am very blessed to have good friends in my life.  As we share our stories and time together, my life is made so much richer.  Today was a day that I was really reminded of that. This morning my friend and neighbor, Holly, helped my mom to get her taxes done.

Holly and her husband, Ken, have lived across the street from me for a long time, probably about 17 years.  We didn't really start getting to know each other until about six years ago when I was recovering from foot surgery, after fracturing my ankle and foot.  It was January, and our mailboxes are at the curb. There was no way I could get out there to get my mail.  Holly and Ken brought me my mail, cleared my driveway, and watched out for me.  I will never forget their kindness.  Since that time, we have shared lots of laughter, and become good friends, and we dog sit for each other.  Holly is Chloe and Lola's Fairy Dog Mother.  I am Fairy Dog Mother to their dogs, Frank and Fannie.  I am very very fortunate to have such wonderful friends and neighbors.

I spent the afternoon visiting my good friend, Nadine.  When we meet for lunch or coffee, it usually takes us a minimum of three to four hours.  We refer to them as our therapy sessions.  I have known Nadine since the beginning of my teaching career.  We taught together at Edmunds, and we have stayed good friends, even when we moved on to different schools and jobs.  In the 32 years we have known each other, we have supported each other through great happiness and huge losses.  We have laughed together and we have cried together.  She is more than a friend.  She is family.

1. I am grateful for the kindness of friends.

2. I am grateful and fortunate to have friends who listen to me and support me.

3. Best of all, I am so thankful to have friends to laugh with.  They bring great joy to my life.

Creativity

Gratitude Day #3

I am so grateful that God gave me the urge to be creative.  It brings me so much joy and I love it when I can create something that is useful. Early in the project, it can be frustrating, but in the end, more often than not, I look at what I have made and I feel surprised that this creation came from me.

My latest knitting project:   the pattern for this shawlette is called Hitchhiker.  I love color, so I always enjoy the opportunity to work with lots of beautiful colors and textures. You can never have too much yarn.

There is also a certain amount of danger involved.  My house is filled with yarn, knitting needles, rubber stamps, ink, art supplies, paper, beads, and lots more.  It is always tempting to add yarn, fabric, or whatever because you might use it for that next project.

Fortunately, I have been in a profession where there are many ways you can be creative, and it is one of the things I really enjoy about my AmeriCorps tutoring.  There are other jobs that pay better, but I like the fact that I can create a game for us to practice sight words, or use my photos in a power point, so we can discuss a book we are reading.  I enjoy coming up with the ideas, and I know the kids enjoy playing the games, and it makes learning more fun for them.

My sister, Jacci, taught me how to make this pin.  I need lots more practice with wrapping the wire, but the beads are beautiful, and fun to work with.  I was excited to see how it came out. I gave it to my daughter for Christmas along with the knitted shawl that is serving as background in this photo.

Whether it is knitting, learning to draw, or make jewelry, it is always an opportunity to learn, grow, and discover new things about yourself.  When you accomplish something new, you can't help but feel proud of yourself. 

1. I am grateful that I like to make things.
2. I am grateful that I am continually learning new things.
3. I am grateful that I have beautiful materials to work with.

Tea

Gratitude Day #2

I love tea, but I confess that I am a tea snob.  I started drinking Lipton instant tea when I was a kid. Since that time, I have become very picky.  I prefer only black tea, brewed, and I like only good teas.  I am a regular customer at Gong Fu Tea in the East Village.  When I am in Minneapolis, I always pay a visit to the TeaSource.  Lipton tea would never cross my lips these days.

In order to brew good tea, you need lots of tea paraphernalia; teapots, teaspoons, and good teacups.  I also have lots of metal canisters to hold my favorite teas.  Believe me I have way too much, but some of the cups bring back good memories.  I have picked up cups from trips I have taken, and places I have stayed.  My son, Michael, and his friend, Sergio, gave me teacups from Spain, where they both live. I visited Michael in Spain two years ago.   Last year, my daughter, Lisa, and I made a trip to the North Shore. I came back with a cup from the hotel, as well as a Starbucks mug for Minnesota.  In the fall,  my sister and I visited the Joselyn Art Museum in Omaha.  We grew up in Omaha, so I had to add a Nebraska mug to my collection.  When I drink from these cups, it brings back cherished memories of time spent with my family in beautiful places.

My sister and daughter share my love for tea.  We each like different kinds, but it is fun to share that love for tea.  We include trips to tea shops in the time we spend together.

1. I am grateful for tea

2. I am grateful for my family.

3. I am grateful for the memories of travel and time spent in beautiful places with people I love.

Choices

I am very fortunate to be at a point in my life where I get to make more choices about how I spend my time.  I can choose to work just part-time or not at all.  I get to choose what kind of work I want to do.  You don't always have those choices when you are younger and trying to support a family.  I am grateful for the opportunity to choose.

We had spring break two weeks ago.  I used that time as an opportunity to try my first activities at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden.  I assisted with a class called "Looking at Leaves".  We taught children how to use a microscope.  They made a slide with a bit of a leaf, and examined it.  It was really fun, and I learned a few things.

The next day I had a table where I taught children how to use a Chlorophyll meter to examine the amount of chlorophyll in leaves.  I had never seen an instrument like this, so it was fun to experiment with it and to show others how to use it.  It was fun to be in such a beautiful environment, and I felt very encouraged about volunteering there in the future. I am grateful that we have this beautiful garden in our community.

After helping at the Botanical Garden, I was inspired to come home and get seeds going for my own gardens.  While I have some flowers, I mostly like to grow vegetables.  So far I have two types of tomatoes planted, two kinds of peppers, both green and Anaheim, and some Kale.  I also have some marigolds started.  I am fortunate to have a big backyard.  I am really grateful that I will not be teaching summer school this year.  It will give me a lot more time to work on my garden, which hopefully means I will win the war with the weeds this year.

I saw this meme on Facebook from the Power of Positivity. 

I am going to give it a try. Day #1:

1. I am grateful for having choices about how I spend my time.
2. I am grateful for having the Des Moines Botanical Gardens in our community.
3. I am grateful that I have a home with a place to grow a garden of my own. 

The Des Moines Botanical Garden

This morning I went to a meeting about volunteering at the Des Moines Botanical Garden.  I am still working as an AmeriCorps reading tutor during the school year, but I will not be teaching summer school this year. I am so excited to have the time to be home, work on my garden, and just enjoy some free time.  It also is the perfect time to try some new things.  I am a gardener, so it seemed natural to explore working at the Des Moines Botanical Garden this summer.  I attended a meeting there in January, and I am amazed by all the different opportunities there are to volunteer there.  

It has been a difficult winter. It is bitter cold, and everything is encased in ice and snow.  It was really refreshing to be inside the Botanical Garden where it was warm and green.

I recently read the book, Retirement Reinvention by Robin Ryan.  That really got me thinking about pushing myself to try something new.  Not only is it a chance to help out, it is a great opportunity to learn something new. Instead of waiting until summer, I'm going to help with a couple activities during spring break. I'm always a little nervous to try something new, but I am also excited.

Another goal of mine is to get back to blogging.  This is my first post in almost two years.  I hope I can do better than that in the future.  

Summer School

Summer school begins on Monday!  The room has been arranged, the plans are written, and I am excited to begin.  This summer I am working as an AmeriCorps Tutoring Member, which is a new position for me. I already know a lot of the kids I will be working with.  Unlike most summer school situations, I will be meeting with students one at a time.   In my volunteer work, I have really enjoyed working with kids individually or in small groups.  It is a much different situation than being a classroom teacher with 25 or more students, and it gives a teacher the opportunity to connect and get to know students.

I have a lot of people who tell me that when they retire, they won't be going anywhere near school. That's the cool thing about retirement, you get to decide for yourself. I feel very blessed to be at a point in my life where I can choose my own path.  I love being able to connect, teach, and learn with kids, because I am always learning something new.  This is my idea of retirement, at least for now.  I am very grateful for this new opportunity.