Updates...some good...some bad.

WICKED was terrific! I loved it! It is a prequel story [written by a different author] of The Wizard of Oz's background story. It has so many twists and turns that you wouldn't expect. What a creative person to weave such surprising slants to that classic story!!
When I returned, one of the tougher twists and turns of my life...as a pet owner.
My cat Weasel [18 years old] needed some medical attention. I called the vet and got a 6:30 appt. She examined her, took x rays, and did a blood profile. The xray showed some fluid in her abdomen and her lungs.[She showed me the xray while explaining ]. The blood work showed her to be anemic with a high white cell count. And upon examining her again after 48 hours of antibiotics, Weasel's liver was enlarged. We weren't sure of the length of her future, but she wasn't going to recover. I saw no reason to put her thru any length of suffering nor a reason to probe [test]further. 18 years old, loved by many, and she had lived a good life.
As peaceful a mode as possible for her, I held her until she slept. It was difficult and so very sad. She was so-o extraordinary and special.
I told her [Wease ]that I'd meet her at the gate. Family.

So, until words flow freely again, I'll be reading blogs, but might not be writing one.
I think it will be soon. Just not feeling very wordy at the moment.

WICKED at Last!

Today's my traveling day: Jer and I have tickets to WICKED and I am so eager to see it. So many preparations just for an overnight in relation to family and pets[wait a minute...the pets are family, too!] Details when I get back.

A little bit of heaven...

My good fortune of the day...to hold a 6 week old baby and have her perfect,little hand wrapped around my finger while she slept in the crook of my arm. Truly awesome!
And when the little one was held in front of my 96 year old mother[a known baby whisperer], the baby smiled at her! Perfect!

Farewells!!

I went to a retirement party last night for a colleague who is retiring from teaching after 33 years. It was fun reliving some of those memories and laughing together. And visiting with friends with whom I haven't been in touch with lately. I will be attending another one tomorrow. The three of us all began teaching in the same district in the same calendar year. There were different assignments in different buildings over the different years.



This afternoon, while out doing errands, Flo, Nic, and I stopped at a local ice cream stand for a cone. One of my former 5th grade students waited on me. She is graduating this year[ from high school ] and going to college in the fall to study...what?? Elementary education!! And so the cycle goes on. So I relayed my personal best wishes along with my strong belief that she will need to remember that her students are people...little people...and that they grow up!! And she will see them later on in life as adults. And that, 'Nice Matters.' Going both ways.



I used to tell my son that for every kid that I ran into...that there was a story that would come to mind. After saying hello and catching up on what they were doing in life [when I later ran into a former student], m y son would say, "So, what's the story?" Without names, here are a few of those memories:

A 3rd grader swallowed a fly [ upon inhaling]when her nose was all stuffed up from a cold. Boy...did her eyes scream PANIC!

There was a shy 1st grader who got upset when it would rain. The sound of the rain pounding on the skylight would make her cry. She is now a state trooper!!

The kindergartener who brought his mom's birth control pills to school for 'show and tell.' I had to call her and say, "I think that you might want to stop into school and pick up your medicine!" "Medicine? What medicine? "Oh my God!!"

Another shared with the class that she was adopted. Her mother later called and told me that not many people knew that! [Did I know that?]

The little boy who participated in the vocabulary discussion about the word 'fatal' with, "You mean like fatal attraction?"

The little devil who missed the bus on purpose [I'm pretty sure] so that I could see the nine new puppies that his dog had produced...And yes...I did adopt one!!



What entertainment!! And then there's the stories of blooper-like teacher happenings!

Maybe another post on another day.

TTFN

A little bit of normal

I was chatting with a friend about everyday things...and the conversation came around to,
"What are you going to do today?"
Being retired, it was a little bit of this and some...normal stuff.
And she said something like, "Ain't normal great!!"
Now, being a person who's been known to comment, "Normal? Whatever that is!!", I really did understand what she meant. And if you watch the news, in between the human craziness and Mother Nature's craziness, a little bit of normal [whatever that is!!} is a good thing.
So, what are the little bits of normal that I enjoy?

LAUGHING and SMILES

Laughin' with Flo...no words to describe it.
Listening to my favorite sports broadcaster [my son] on the radio.



Having my 18 year old cat jump onto my chest, settle in, and purr contentedly.
And Scout, too.[the bad cat] when she talks to me.


And then there's 'Amazing Grace' [dog extraordinaire] and all of her antics. Very entertaining! Especially when she charges at me like she hasn't seen me in a long time [5 minutes]...the look in her eyes...the height of her bounce...the joy in her exuberence!!

Acts of kindness.

Being thankful...grateful...patient.

Babies.
Watching the plants get greener and the buds open up into blooms.

Breezes.
The birds at the feeders, especially the hummingbirds and cardinals and chickadees.
Interacting with people[ most of the time ] .
Seeing the UPS truck deliver the QVC special of the day that was a great item for me.
Appreciating the great picture on my TV set. [one of those UPS deliveries] .

Morning coffee.

Climbing into my bed at night...ahh! Sleeping.

Playing scrabble online with my son, nieces, and friends[ and happening onto a great word in a great spot for a great score...Wahoo!].

Macaroni salad...creamsicles...peach Snapple... chocolate chip cookies

Hearing a favorite song on the radio and knowing the words and singing along with gusto!

Reading.

Going online...email...blogging...games,etc.

Looking forward to seeing 'WICKED' next week.
More to follow. Have to go for now.

Please add some of your favorites. I'll be looking for them.

It just makes you wonder.

I was paying bills, and trying to get some stuff done that I have put off. While I was outside staking my tomato plants[!!], word came that there was a tornado warning. Let me first say that a tornado in central NY is relatively rare. The sky was dark, and trees were swaying bigtime!!

So I came inside and there were all kinds of 'storm team forecasts' happening. It always amazes me how the weather people can pretty much predict what time the impending danger will arrive in each town. And they are accurate more times than not.

We got wind, rain, thunder,...

Later on in the day, I was calling in a book order for a friend 'cause I'm retired and she's still sweatin' with the kiddies. After placing the order, I was chatting with Patricia [the woman on the phone ]and I asked her where [what state] she was in, and what kind of weather she was having.

Missouri...in the center of the country.

Patricia then told me that she was so happy that they were able to get a roof on her house today. She and her three dogs had huddled in the central hallway of the house while a tornado ripped through the area. Her roof had been blown off, there were 37 trees down in her front yard, and she mentioned that the land in the back was now 'toothpicks.' There were eight of her neighbors who lost their entire house. Think about it.

Patricia is happy to be alive, and shared that she will never forget the loud, constant, roaring sound of the tornado. Or the devastation.

On the news, there were videos of entire houses being washed into a river. And many rivers are on the verge of overflowing...dams and levees at breaking points...worst scenario in many

years.

So...count your blessings and say a prayer for all of the people in crisis.

Things are scary for many, many folks.

Perspective is everything!

The following is an excerpt from , "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson". I have shared it many times with people, especially when events in their life are up in the air. It brings a new prospective...

Grandfather had told her[Shirley Temple Wong] many times.
"Things are not what they seem. Good can be bad. Bad can be good. Sadness can be happiness. Joy, sorrow."
"Remember always the tale of Wispy Whiskers, who did not cry when his beautiful stallion ran away. All his neighbors, though, were certain that it was a sign from heaven of his ill fortune.
"Later, when the stallion returned leading a herd of wild horses, he did not boast of his newfound wealth. This time his neighbors were equally certain that it was a sign from heaven of his good fortune.
"Later still when his son broke his leg taming one of the mares, the wise man did not despair. Not even when behind his back all his neighbors spread the terrible rumor that anyone with even one droplet of Wispy Whiskers' blood was forever cursed by the gods.
"And in the end, only his son lived. For the sons of all the inconstant neighbors, being sound of body, were forced into military service and one by one perished in a futile battle for a greedy emperor."
How wise Grandfather was, Shirley thought.

Sometimes the things that we perceive to be negative, unlucky, or sad ..hold some kind of positive results in the end. We just don't know it.

One day at a time.

Don't forget to smell the roses.
Be nicer than necessary.

Practice sharing acts of kindness.

Smiles are contagious.




`

The earth laughs in flowers.

I love flowers.

There are so many varieties,

infinite colors and hues,

a multitude of sizes, shapes, and textures,

fragrant and cool to admire.

Plentiful or rare...valued or unappreciated

I especially enjoy witnessing the process of a flower emerging from a tightly wrapped bud...

into a great big honking sunflower!!

And there you have it.

Sometimes it doesn't take much to amuse me.

And for that, I am thankful.

'Cause there are a whole lot of people who miss the beauty of Mother Nature.

Who wrote the book of...

I have just returned from running errands, the last stop being the public library. I had a couple of books reserved for me and I managed to come home with seven instead of two. And I placed a new request for an audio book that will be arriving from a library within The Finger Lakes Library System in the near future.
There's something about a library that fascinates me. Such potential within its walls. All kinds of info: fiction stories, how-to and nonfiction books, magazines, books on tape, newspapers, computers, classes, quiet places to read, and floors to explore. And free.
My grammar school didn't have a library. So, once a month we got to walk the four blocks to the public library and check out books. It was the only field trip we ever took. High school and college libraries had more extensive collections and larger buildings.
The library was always my favorite place in an elementary school. When there was no one scheduled, I would take my reading class there and the kids would inhabit every nook and floor space as we ventured through the pages of our current novel. It was great! I loved the excitement when the new books were put out to preview. Within reading class, I also had a room collection of 25-30 books[ that were hand selected]] and we sometimes began class by taking some time to 'smell the roses.' That was when everyone, myself included, chose one of the picture books and read it [silently and independently] from start to finish. [To debunk the myth that you had to read a long chapter book to enjoy a story.]It started a lot of kids reading for entertainment and took 10 minutes or so. Aside from my professional bias, I found it very upsetting when schools would downsize library staff and/or have one librarian travel between schools in an effort to save money and 'trim the budget.' How troubling is that!!

When my son began walking, we often went to the children's room and picked out cool books. Lots of them...every two weeks. Quite a fun and positive thing. In today's world, kids aren't reading very much on their own. Television, movies, computer games, play stations, etc. have taken a toll and sad to say-reading is becoming a lost art.
Oh well. I'm off to read my reserved selection,"The Everything Tarot Book...Discover your past, present, and future: It's in the cards!" Not sure exactly how or why I went in this direction, or for that matter...how long it will hold my attention. I guess the answer might just be in the cards. I'll keep you posted!!

You couldn't script this kind of stuff!

Another round [part one of two] AARP Safety Driving class.
Watching people enter...some acquaintances and others strangers,
Some very outgoing/outspoken
and others the quiet/silent type.

After a couple of hours there are only few people who have not entered a conversation or shared a comment. Often there is laughter among the shared insights.
And you begin to feel like you are not strangers...but rather new friends who have come together for a purpose.
In the discussion that began after the chapter on medications and health issues, we were reflecting about how the 'altered states' of a one-day surgery procedure [ like a colonoscopy] could affect you. One man took issue with the fact that the hospital policy insisted that you be driven home by someone else. He stated that he was going to call a taxi, only to be informed that it was not an option. It became a lively discussion and some joined in to help the cause.
One woman said," Call me the next time and I'll give you a ride home!"
The guy then said, "What's the difference ...if you give me a ride home, or the taxi driver gives me a ride home?
"About ten bucks!!" said the 84 year-old 'quiet man' who up until that point had not spoken.

Are you smiling???
The place erupted in laughter.
It was unscripted...perfectly delivered...and one of the reasons that I volunteer to host these events.
Priceless.