Dress Kevin

Happen to be watching CNN news today and saw a spot on Kevin. He has a web site dresskevin.com where the public chooses the clothing, shoes, etc. he will wear for each day. He said it was kind of like dressing Ken. He never has to worry about what he is going to wear, because the items that receive the most votes become his outfit. How sad. But then he was on CNN while I was at home, still in my p.js.

Sign Language Class

Had the opportunity to offer a beginning sign language class this week. I knew there would be at least 7 people present. Several of them had asked me to offer the class, but the timing wasn't right for me, since I am so busy. Well, I was pleasantly surprised to have 16 for the first class. We had a good time learning the alphabet, numbers, and a lesson of pronouns, contractions, and prepositions. Hope each one practices, because that will be the only way to learn and be fluent.

The Blame Game

Babysitting with my granddaughter the other night brought us great joy and laughter. She had filled her diaper, and it smelled so badly that I could detect the odor across the room. She climbed up on my lap to sit by Pepe', our cat. I asked if she had poo pooed in her diaper. Quickly she turned to look me in the face with a look of astonishment as she shook her head no. Without missing a beat, she turns and points to the cat. When I asked if he did it and now he stinks, she pointed again and said, "Kitty schtinks." I asked if kitty needed a diaper change. I thought I would crack up when she lifted his tail to look. And she is only 16 months old. They learn so young.

Journaling for Health

I have a friend who suffered a tragic loss of her husband just after (or was it before) Christmas. I won't go into the details of how, just that it was sudden. I have prayed for my friend many times as has many of her other friends. Well, one day, soon after the tragedy, I ran in to her at the card shop. I was earnestly praying that God would help me say the right words to her. We shared small talk, then I expressed my sincerest sympathy. During our conversations it came to me to tell her about journaling every day. I urged her to use the writing in a book to vent, to cry, to praise, to get everything out. The journaling book would be hers alone. No one would be reading it. I felt compelled to tell her to be sure to vent any anger and frustration by simply writing it in the book. That way she would not be eaten up by those feelings. I have not seen her since then, but have heard by way of a mutual friend that she has been journaling daily. Also heard that it has been a tremendous help to her. I thank God for bringing the idea to mind to help her in this way. I also thank Him for learning about journaling from our preacher's wife at our ladies' retreat last fall. God is good, all the time.

Valentine's Day Happenings

Well, another one over with at school. Whew! I should get double pay on party day. The whole school was wound up even before the first bell. My fourth grade students knew that our party would be at 1:30, but that didn't stop them from asking if they could start passing out their valentines at 8:00 a.m. Did I do that in school? Did I drive my teacher crazy? With all of the treats they brought in, they had too much to eat. Most managed to gobble down the cupcake and nibbled on the iced cookie before they tore into their valentines. Remember when the valentines were individuals, and you could match each one to your classmates? And remember the fun of stuffing the valentines into envelopes that didn't quite fit or made you fold the card where it wasn't marked? Well, not the ones today. The whole box is themed and no envelopes. I gave my students the Twisted Dogs and Cats. I picked them up on sale one year. They seemed to delight in them, and I did try to match each ugly bulging face to each personality. Wonder if they will figure that out? As the party was in full blast, several adults stopped in to say that our room was the quietest on the whole floor. (Tell my head that, would you.) We did have fun and were able to enjoy one another's company without too much noise. The kids even liked the one game that I played with them: tear a heart from red construction paper while holding it behind your back and without folding it. A few turned out to look like the traditional heart while others were various renditions of famous artists. The most surprising thing was to hear the class utter in unison, "I can't." Would you think it devious to post the hearts on the wall outside our room for all to admire? Me neither.

My Son

My son is a secretive person when it comes to telling his family about his love life. Some day he is likely to introduce us to his wife. And children. The few girlfriends that we have met over the years have been very pleasant. Who could blame us for being nice to them? Who could blame us for being open with them? Guess the way to please him would be to dislike and mistreat his next girlfriend. I only fear that he may introduce us to one that we won't fall in love with. Just a thought.

My Fourth Grade Teacher

I went to the funeral visitation of my fourth grade teacher today. She died of natural causes at the age of 102. One of her sons said she was not on any medication. I thought I would be one of the eldest of her students at the funeral home. Imagine my surprise when I saw many students, much older than I. My husband reminded me that she could have an 81 year-old student still surviving. That is just too much to fathom. As a teacher I wonder if any of my students will come to my visitation. Many of them already think of me as ancient. It would be interesting to hear what they would say about me. On the other hand, I would rather not know.