Category: 2022

It’s all fun and games until the weakly assignment includes the words “create” “Newsletter” and “Microsoft Office 365” in the same sentence. Add the words “photos”, “videos”, and “citations” in the same paragraph, and this is the thing my nightmares are made of. You see, as a 1900’s model here, I’m still learning about this wonderful little box on my desk. It was my practice 5 years ago to send paper Newsletters home in homework folders. This newsletter is for a college assignment, to be sent and accepted by a college and graded.

Oy Vey.

The content part is second nature. No problem-o. Having created “Mrs. Hurt’s Sneaky Peek at Next Week” every Friday since the fall of 1996, I have this down. A need for the newsletter arose that year because I had a student with very special needs. He was an adorable boy with the best attitude. He was two years older than the rest of the students in my class due to his challenges. If we would’ve been at a larger school, he would have spent a few hours a day in my class. We were tiny. He attended class all day, every day.

Early in the year, Mom, THE PRINCIPAL, and I decided that it would be of help if Mom had all lesson plans for the following week to preteach the lessons over the weekend. An extremely educated woman, she was an older mother. This boy was her first of three children. She’d turn this little situation around and her son would be absolutely normal by the end of his 1st Grade year. In her denial, she’d will this to be true. Bless her heart. She was a mama bear at her finest.

And so, Mrs. Hurt’s Sneaky Peek at Next Week was born. I found other parents were frontloading their children with enrichment about subjects we’d be studying. The newsletter helped everyone. It also held me accountable for all the subjects I’d finish teaching by Friday. Hence, my absolute fixation on time management. Teaching school does that to you.

For those of you not familiar with the classroom of the 2022, let me clear something up.

On any school work day, we start with 450 minutes. That’s 7.5 hours. Now, right away, take 85 minutes off the top for lunch and two recesses. That leaves 365 minutes of working time during the day. 200 of those minutes are dedicated to word decoding and comprehension, grammar, punctuation, handwriting, and vocabulary. And in learning about proper classroom behavior. That can take down the entire 200 minutes on some days. On a great day, we have 165 minutes left. Monday through Thursday, the kids leave the room for 45 minutes. Each day it’s for a different reason. Computers, PE, Art, Music, and Library. 120 minutes left, if I did the math right.

Well, we can’t forget math. Every day, math consumes 80 minutes. So now, we have 40 minutes. Settling in with the flag salute, announcements, and “Show and Tell” all take 20 of that. 20 minutes left.

Have you ever watched kittens? They play and play and play, and then fall over and sleep? Littles are a lot like that. A good rule of thumb used to be that a child’s keen attention to something is one minute per year of life. So, my six year olds really key in for the first six minutes of a lesson. After that, kittens. And just like kittens, they are the cutest little people in the world. Master teachers wrap there day in 15 minute segments of fun activities, and breeze through from morning until night. After 23 years of improvement, at this point in life, I am a master teacher.

With 20 minutes in which to fit everything else, you can see, there is no time to waste. Not one minute. I didn’t subtract time for the occasional fire drill, assembly, or other little time munchers. Just wanted you to understand a little about the classroom.

Now, back to the Newsletter. When I read the assignment, of which I had one full week to complete, I was gloating with happiness. I could do this one in my sleep, or so I thought. I started right away with a template with elementary school style. Off I went, not paying attention to the pre-designed format. I had four pages of beauty as I pushed Save. Great. But the Newsletter was formatted differently. It was 9 pages of things I hadn’t put in places to which the computer moved them. It was a disaster. And so the week began.

Finally, after six trying days, the Newsletter was complete. A thing of beauty. I could move it anywhere and everything stayed put. I was feeling absolutely giddy with delight. It was an “A+++” assignment for sure. I went into my college site and hit import.

Nothing happened. The submission box would not populate. A

ARE YOU KIDDING ME????? I HAVE “A+++” INPUT. IT MUST POPULATE THE BOX.

Time and time again, I massaged the entire situation. It would try to populate, no assignment would appear in the box. No pretty pink “Welcome Back to School” badge. No cute picture of Mrs. Hurt with her long flowing hair. No information about important dates. No research about the benefits of parent engagement in the classroom. No pleas for classroom helpers. None of it. Just an empty Submission box, with the clock ticking towards Monday.

Finally, after saving the file as a .PDF and employing the help of the sweetest tech lady from the college, my box populated. Totally. I submitted. Entirely. I was mentally fried, but my little assignment which would normally have consumed an hour, took almost 15.

Oy Vey.

Thinking all was well with my world, I bravely looked into the assignment for this next week. My heart dropped to my toes.

No. No. No, No, No.

“Next week, you will create a 20 side Microsoft PowerPoint presentation complete with…………………..”

I blacked out for a bit. Might have said a few un-teacher-ly things.

Such is the life of the coed. Even at 66, there are uncharted waters as I paddle down a river called college. I hear tell of some rapids ahead.

I was always an A student in school. From kindergarten. Shining star in the classroom.

Please, God. Hear my plea. I only need a C to renew my credential. I need this for my new job. Please hear my request. Even a C- will work in this situation.

With that off my chest, and just so you know, I currently have an A-. It’s the minus that just rubs me the wrong way.

Stay tuned as the saga of Mrs. Hurt and the Computer unfolds.

OH the days of REAL college. I remember all the assignments I completed. Some were A papers, and others went in the trash when I saw the grades. My GPA certainly didn’t reflect a 4.0 student. I was taking 21 units a semester of pre-med classes because those sciences had my attention and heart. Chemistry. Anatomy and Physiology. Statistics. Taxonomy. The list went on and on.

All of them were typed on a very unforgiven electric typewriter. Electric typewriters were new back then. I would start with a beautiful sheet of paper, get 1/2 way through the assignment and mess up. ZZZZIIIIIIIPPPPP was the noise of me pulling the paper out and starting over again. Typing a flawless paper would consume a very frustrating night.

As I sit here today, I’m sad to tell you that true-blonde-to-the-roots little 21 year old graduated in 1977 to get her MRS. degree. An heiress never really plans to work, right? Well the heiress thing didn’t quite work out any better than my first marriage which crashed and burned six years after the “I Do’s”.

My very wealthy mother was horrified that I didn’t use my degree until much later in life. After my divorce, I found that having my very own little cleaning business was the way to support two little boys, aged 2 and 4 at the time. “Silent Partners” was born. The trick with a cleaning business is to limit clientele to wealthy women over the age of 75. Cleaning on top of already clean is a wonderful way to spend the day. The wisdom I gained from watching my clients was amazing. They were a group of women that stepped up to mother me when I needed it, even though I was in my late 20’s.

The word’s of Adele’s new-ish song apply in my life and to this blog, so I will share them with you.

“Easy On Me” — Adele

There ain’t no gold in this river
That I’ve been washing my hands in forever
I know there is hope in these waters
But I can’t bring myself to swim
When I am drowning in this silence
Baby, let me in

Go easy on me, baby
I was still a child
Didn’t get the chance to
Feel the world around me
I had no time to choose what I chose to do
So go easy on me

There ain’t no room for things to change
When we are both so deeply stuck in our ways
You can’t deny how hard I have tried
I changed who I was to put you first
But now I give up

Go easy on me, baby
I was still a child
Didn’t get the chance to
Feel the world around me
Had no time to choose what I chose to do
So go easy on me

I had good intentions
And the highest hopes
But I know right now
It probably doesn’t even show

Go easy on me, baby
I was still a child
I didn’t get the chance to
Feel the world around me
I had no time to choose what I chose to do
So go easy on me

Yes.

Go easy on me, baby.

For the first time in my life, I’m able to chose ever single one of life’s details without consideration for anyone but myself. It’s the scariest thing in the world, but also the thing that has made me grow up and blossom into an independent woman for the first time in my life. It’s quite an accomplishment for me.

So, as this woman sits here, there’s still the internal child screaming for some fun. At least I didn’t choose to go the route of Barbie and her collection of possessions. Alright, I already drive Barbie’s Jeep and own her house and dog. But, there it must end with Barbie and me.

Legos.

Growing up on a farm, there were not bushels of toys. I had live farm animals to play with. I had school work and house chores. I had church on Sunday. A bicycle. One girlfriend that lived one mile away. An older sister who was the antagoniz-er and a little sister was the tormentor. The two oldest sisters got their MRS. degrees right after they finished college and hit the road, never really looking back.

Living 45 minutes from any stores, shopping trips were few and far between. My mother was excellent with at budgeting. She managed meal preparations for seven people 21 times a week. That’s 148 different meals a week, all delicious and perfectly balanced to grow healthy girls. Always on time at 7, 12, and 6. Like clockwork. She canned everything from the garden she grew. Dad did the butchering of meats in between farming and irrigating. We were 100% organic without trying.

So, no fast food. No neighborhood kids with which to run. No shopping malls. Hundreds of square miles of vineyards and one funny looking blonde girl with long straight hair. That was me.

One Christmas, (on which we each got one present and a stocking full of trinkets), my present was Legos. I was hooked. I loved them so much. Never would I have thought of leaving MY Legos on the floor. Never did I lose even one. At that time in life, they came in primary colors and in just a couple of different sizes. There was no instruction booklet to guide a person through. I absolutely was hooked for a few years.

Then I grew up and forgot all about Legos.

Today, I’m not interested in Lego Land. Not interested in most of the dumb projects Lego sells. That was, until I saw IT.

The Lighted Typewriter.

Now, I saw this item about 1 year ago. I started dreaming of the significant event that would need to occur in which I would reward myself with such a gift. Every writer of my age started on a manual typewriter and knows the QWERTY keyboard. I’m no exception.

This Lego product was insanely expensive. Another reason I would wait for the proper time. Just turning another year older wasn’t enough. Christmas wasn’t either. It had to be something really, really significant. So, I waited, checking in throughout the year to see if it was still available.

Last week, when the total reads on my blog passed 250,000, it was time. I ordered the Lego Typewriter AND the LED lighting kit.

When it arrived in the brown paper box, I shook it to hear the familiar rattle of the blocks inside. And then, I began to click the pieces together.

Due to the engineering of the design, it makes very realistic noises as you hit the keys making the carriage move along the track. When you manually move the carriage back, the resulting noise is realistic, as well. It even has a set of pre-typed letters you can choose to put in the typewriter when you are done. I’ll be creating my own letter to myself as a finishing touch.

So. Here’s the truth of it.

I have a meaningful relationship with God.

I have beautiful children and wonderful family memories.

I have the cutest dog in the world named Oliver

I have the best girlfriends a woman could have.

I have Barbie’s Jeep, Hot Tub, and House.

I have my own She-Shed. (It just happens to be my entire house, as a neighbor pointed out.)

I have a career that I dearly love.

I have my very own Winterpast.

I make my schedules, getting up when I want and closing my eyes to complete silence and peace when I go to bed to sound and restful sleep.

And now, I’m reliving a moment from my childhood while I choose to play with Legos.

“Go easy on me, baby
I was still a child
I didn’t get the chance to
Feel the world around me
I had no time to choose what I chose to do
So go easy on me”

Blessed, I’m off to start the day! Do something you’ve enjoyed in the past. Go ahead. Choose what you choose to do!

More tomorrow.

 

Precious hours last night were another gift from God. As I’ve said so often, this summer has been full of a million quiet miracles showering down on me like sequins and glitter. No. I’m not into lacey pink dresses or very high heels. But, I realized an important fact of life last night. Every girl NEEDS a tiara.

This week, our church is teaching littles about God at Vacation Bible School (VBS). There’s no more important mission than introducing children to God. Such magical times. I remember my own Vacation Bible School. During the hot San Joaquin Valley summer, it was a time to meet other children stuck in different rows of vineyards that went on forever in the land of Dancing Raisins. Kids and teachers I would only meet during that one week every summer because we all went to different schools.

If he feet would’ve been chewed off my wolves, my mom would’ve carried us there on bloodied stumps. She was always looking for enrichment because I was a very bright and busy girl, always thinking, exploring, and doing. My sister shadowed along for the ride. I was the true mastermind of exploration. It was my mom’s job to keep me directed in positive ways.

This week, I had intended to help at VBS, but, the tasks awaiting completion before summer ends became too much. Four more big college assignments need to finished by next week. Then, it’s time to see if my whistle still has its power.

Because of VBS, there is no Women’s Bible Study this week, so I decided to throw a little party celebrating my life’s surprises. New girlfriends that make me think and laugh a lot. A new chance at my career, at least for one more year. A new opportunity to be the best version of myself, without regrets.

The menu was simple. The guest list complete when everyone arrived. The food abundant. The minutes evaporating in an instant. From the first “Hello” to the last “See You Soon”, the girls and I had a blast. We never stopped talking for over two hours.

The Gal with the Golden Spatula whipped up the best spinach dip I have ever tasted. The Mother of Humble Beginnings made an extraordinary potato salad. Shy Shel brought my absolute favorite, RICE KRISPIE TREATS. First Grade Fran brought a touch of the islands with fresh pineapple and cantelope. Blossom brought fresh watermelon. And sweet and wonderful Miss Dyn-o-myte came with a green salad. Ladies if I forgot anyone, I’ll remember you in a second. My mind is swirling through everything that happened last night, remembering every single hug and smile. Added to the mix were two of the sweetest kiddos who tolerated a bunch of women who needed a party.

With hot dogs and hamburgers cooking on the Ninja grill, and homemade ice cream for desert, we did this up right. Winterpast was the perfect hostess. Even though the temperature was 104 degrees in the shade at 5PM, we were cool as cucumbers sitting around the kitchen table. There was no 6′ rule. So glad those days are over, at least for now.

I know these women are my new family for the most obvious reason. We all sat around the kitchen table. The best conversations and friendships form around a table. If it’s in the kitchen, all the better. If the table is filled with party food, BEST OF ALL!!!

When the food was gone and the party was wrapping up, my sweet and wonderful friends surprised me with TWO gifts. Most of them knew of my recent accomplishment of winning The Golden Pencil Award for 250,000 reads. If one is awarded The Golden Pencil, it should be accompanied by a diamond encrusted tiara. So, they gave me my very own!!!!! The first thing I put on this morning, I may well wear it when I do errands today. People will just be in awe of this Desert Jewel as she ponders the parsnips and pineapples while picking her produce. Just let them wonder. If they look too long, I’ll smile and wave!

Mine is the most beautiful tiara. Did I mention it is made of diamonds?? How they got the perfect fit I don’t know, but they did. It catches the light in just the right way and sparkles like crazy.

As if that wasn’t enough, there was a second gift to celebrate my new job! A travel cup that says, “It Takes a Big Heart to Shape Little Minds”. How sweet!! And exactly what I need for the classroom to avoid spillage on important papers. Every teacher needs a signature coffee cup. I’ve got mine.

As the sun dropped below the mountains, the party was over and they were gone. In an instant, standing in a cleaned kitchen, it was as if the party was just a sweet dream. I was left to praise God for the blessing of friendship in my life. These wonderful women sparkle more brilliantly than the diamonds sitting on my head. (I did mention that I now have my very own tiara, RIGHT????)

The time is short and I have extremely big shoes to fill. For a time, I can hide behind the new clothes I’ll be wearing. I can look the part with my 1900’s whistle and lanyard. I’ll put in long hours before and after school and on weekend to make this school year the best for 20 littles. I’ll assess record, talk, and listen. I’ll sing and make funny faces. The eyes in the back of my head will get tired from alerting me to tell student A to stop tormenting Student B.

I have five days, 4 hours until I get the keys to the kingdom. My Room. Not sure what the number will be, but Dahlia assured me my name will be one the door!!! How cool is that?

Ladies, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for enriching my world with your love and friendship. I know you’ll be right there with me when I open for business on August 17th. My coffee cup will sit proudly on my new desk and the tiara will go with me for the first few days of school. Don’t you worry! Mrs. Hurt is finally BACK!!!! Be ready!!!

More tomorrow.

If you are reading this at a later time than normal, let me assure you of two things.  At this writing, I haven’t died, and I awoke at my normal time of 4:00.  The problem was not on my end, but an irritating technical glitch on the blog site side.  Sometimes these things happen.  It’s fitting it’s happening on my last few days of summer.

Although the Autumn Equinox hasn’t arrived yet, summer is indeed ending of million in two weeks because we’re all heading back to the classroom.  For me, it’s a space I’ve yet to meet or nest.  Its appearance is like a nebula in my brain.  Swirling colors and possibilities more heavenly than you can imagine.  A combination of every teaching experience I’ve had for 22 years. In reality, it will be four walls that I will magically transform into a beautiful classroom in seven days or less. 

Reality will hit when I pick up my keys at 10:00 AM on Monday morning, August 1.  Early that morning, I’ll be at the Nevada County Office of Education finding out the procedure for getting fingerprinted and dropping off my grade for the course required to free my credential.

Ah.  My college course.  Well.  I’m holding on to my A-.  In my book a 92% isn’t an A-, it’s an A, but the screen shows an A-.  I was working on accepting the “-“  part until I got her explanation.  It was then, I came apart at the seams.

She explained……

Didn’t I KNOW that this assignment from the PRINCIPAL was to write a DISTRICT-WIDE Newsletter about parent engagement????  A K-12 Newsletter (there is no such thing, never has been, never will be, doesn’t exist).  AND, my Newsletter, although lovely in every way although not in a A+++ way), was a CLASSROOM Newsletter. 

Lovely in every way.  Every “A-“ way.  Fuming, I let this digest for days.  It ruminated, coming up like left over cud to chew again and again in my angry little head.  I re-read the instructions repeatedly.  Nowhere did I interpret this little bit of information.

“Your principal asked you to create a Newsletter explaining parent engagement”.  Period.

I finally did write a “lovely in every way” e-mail asking for more precise instructions for students to come.  Graciously, (because she is the nicest instructor I EVER), she offered to let me redo my assignment.  Well, we all know.  An A- in the hand is worth much more than what could come out from under a bush.  No, I’m back to working on humility and acceptance.  I’m at peace with my A-.

Yesterday, Winterpast got her yearly cleanup.  The gardens look fabulous.  I had one dead cottonwood tree removed from behind my garden shed.  Dead limbs and low branches were removed.  Bleeding stump scars were sprayed with sealant.  Dead leaves were blown and collected.  Stumps were ground, all during 5 hours of a whirlwind of activity.  She’s ready for the yearly shower of golden leaves.

I found myself at the computer most of the day finishing up two more major assignments.  With only left for Week 4, I see my CLEARED State of Nevada teaching credential flashing before my eyes.  My first paycheck will be deposited on August 20^th and just like that, I’m part of the working world.

Today, I’m putting all things computer-related away.  I’m closing up shop to run away with Miss Firecracker.  After one year, it is time to give her the biggest hug ever, and have fun laughing well into the night.  We are going to enjoy our old favorite places.  Share war stories about our wonderful husbands, now years gone.  In general, we are going to eat too much and sleep too little at a beachy little location known only to the two of us.  Just look for fireworks and a lot of laughing.  You’ll find us with our toes in the sand.

On Monday, I’ll be picking up my keys and officially morph into Mrs. Hurt, 1^st Grade Teacher, Room ?.  Amazon is loving my new career, sending me a little of this and a little of that.  As my classroom arrives at my door, one box at a time, I’m remembering all the stuff from my past.  A good teacher can teach out of a rolling cart.  I know.  I taught K-12 at a hospital in just that manner.  But a HAPPY teacher is something all together different.  She has a mountain of lovely teacher stuff.  That’s pretty great, too.

Ollie is off on Puppy Safari until Monday, searching for lizards, birds, toads and an occasional cat.  Everything just came together in the perfect jigsaw puzzle, as Ollie would have lost his mind with the party and yard clean up.  He’s far happier with his friend, Angus, on Safari.  Oliver is a very lucky little dog, indeed.

It is for the those very reasons, I will be absent for a few days, returning on Tuesday morning to fill you in on the fun created with my bestie.  There is nothing better than girlfriends.  True dat.

Please check out my early writing.  My very first post was in on September 24, 2020.  On the blog site, there’s a menu where you can find my posts from the beginning. Click on “Select Month” and then choose September 2020. I just fixed this link to include all my posts. September 30th will come up. If you scroll to the bottom, you will find a picture of VST and me as well as my very first post on September 24, 2020.

Please accept that my spelling and punctuation were rough on some days. Life is imperfect just like my blog. I smile through the eyes of an A+++ teacher and know my life was a D- at that time.  Continually leaking eyes do that to a person.  Some articles were too long.  Some too short, but all from the deepest sorrow and loss a woman can experience.  Widowhood.  Please remember, that woman has left the building, leaving bread crumbs of words so we can find her again, when needed.  Returning to those first days of widowhood is a wonderful reminder of how far I’ve come and how much I’ve grown as a woman.  I hope you like her as much as you like me.

More on Tuesday.

And just like that………..

I have keys. I have new Grade level girlfriends! There will be five of us. A perfect number to accomplish great things.

My room is as big as a cafeteria in the most beautiful shade of pale blue. Freshly painted, I’d have chosen that very color. Crisp white cupboards stand empty and clean. A beautiful new teacher’s desk sits in front of a private cupboard. Clean carpets. A quietness that screams anticipation and a bit of terror before the storm.

On the HUGE back wall from one side to the other, is a gorgeous mural of the high desert, complete with mustangs. Hand painted, the teacher before me was a very talented lady. God put me in this room, Room 56, just off a summer-hot first grade hallway. I’ll need to leave bread crumbs to find my way there again because it it an huge campus.

My heart is singing this song in every step I’m taking. For me, this beats any drug, glass of wine, or piece of chocolate I’ve ever eaten. Teaching is what God assigned me for my mission in life. I’ll be teaching with women decades younger than me. They all have rooms filled with stuff. Too the ceiling. But, as I already know, any great instructor can teach out of a rolling cart. Rather like Mary Poppins’ carpet bag, my rolling cart contains a bottomless assortment of adventure.

Let’s read in the middle of a thunderstorm and getting under the desks so we don’t get wet. Yup. In the next week, we’ll be doing that, thanks to the wonder of a thunderstorm CD and a student flickering the lights for the feeling of lightning. Let’s shoot into space with the shuttle laying on chairs flipped backwards on the floor, everyone in position for take off. Done that one when they used to show the Shuttle launches. We were right there taking off with the crew. Why don’t we ride our classroom chairs trotting down the beach with Black Beauty. Or pretend our classroom is the great land of Narnia because we just came through our very perfect kid sized closet door.

When you enter the world of the child, if the teacher is a smart writer, there are endless teachable moments that have nothing to do with books and materials. Teaching children to imagine and create is magical, and starting two weeks from tomorrow, it’s my curtain call. I can assure you, MRS. HURT IS IN THE BUILDING!

We’ll imagine and live through books. Some of them might even make us cry a little bit. We’ll learn numbers, addition, and subtraction. But, the very best thing is this. For 10 months, we’ll become a family of 20. We’ll practice respect, listening skills, and sharing. All while trotting toward the exit marked 2nd Grade.

I hear there’s a child that likes to run out the door. There’s a 20% chance I’ll get to know her by name. Don’t worry. After a bit, she’ll be running INTO class for a quick hug and lots of work. We’ll figure all this out, she and I, because there might be times I want to run out the door, too. I like her spontaneity already.

Today, I’m behind in a most important way. Okay, not REALLY behind, (my very last assignment isn’t due until next Monday). Behind because until it is out of my brain, it’s taking up valuable real estate rattling around in there. My college coed CULMINATING ASSIGNMENT. Rows of boxes in a chart need to be filled with valuable words that will take forever to grade.

After the last day of college, I’ll be waiting for my transcripts to arrive to clear my credential. I suppose it doesn’t really matter. The school has grown so much they’re hiring another 1st grade teacher this week. Her room will be even more bare than mine. Here’s the deal. You only need what you need for the first day. The same for the 2nd and 3rd, and so on. Pertty soon, you have a room full of necessary stuff, not cast off things you’ll never need.

It’s almost a relief that there’s nothing in my room. Not even a teacher’s manual. I wouldn’t even know where to locate them in this huge school. Today is the day I will finish this silly culminating assignment and close the college door. I’m pretty sure my grade will be above a D, and that’s all I need to clear my credential. No one will ever look at my transcript with disdain, asking why I couldn’t do better. I know, I did just fine. (Even if I get an A-.) Then, I’ll have time to go hunting for materials at school.

Time to turn on the music and dance a little.

Be happy. It’s the only way to roll. I’ll report back tomorrow with the progress I’ve made.

Preparing a classroom is a ritual I’ve always loved. You’re given a space that is very boring, and you have two weeks to create something warm and homey for littles. Of course, it must include creature comforts for the teacher, as well. My classroom is pretty bare. I have yet to find all the reading and math books. Last year it was used for another purpose, not a classroom.

In years past, I’d have been stressed to the max walking into a room with clean, empty closets and cupboards. I’ve always installed my own curtains, area rugs, and furniture to cozy the place up. But, this year, I’m going to keep that to a minimum. At least that’s what I had in mind until yesterday.

With all the tables and chairs in place and leveled books in order, I moved in the first load of belongings. Consumables for the kids. In my classroom, the parents pay for nothing, (if I can help it). As a young parent in this crazy world, no one will be bringing crayons or colored pencils to school if I can help it. I can’t imagine raising kids in todays world. The least I can do to help is provide the supplies necessary to learn. Teacher’s around the US are doing the same thing. People don’t realize what the classroom would look like if teachers didn’t donate hours of unpaid work and supplies. It would be a different first day of school. Our kiddos deserve much better than that and so teachers step up.

Yesterday was the moving day for my comfy Teacher’s chair to make it to the classroom. A recliner, this chair was a bad purchase from Costco. It’s never really fit in any house since 2007, always ending up in the bedroom. Too nice to give away, it’s been waiting for a purpose. Being beige, it certainly never reflected my personality. VST and I bought it because it was a comfy chair. Now, it’ll go to school.

Taking a recliner apart is simple. There are two levers at the base. Pull those up and the entire top comes off. The top was light as a feather as I carried it to the pickup. It was the base that was challenging.

If you have never moved a swivel rocking recliner, you’re in for a workout. With a round pedestal, rolling this way and that, every time I grabbed one arm of the chair, it would swing around and hit be in the behind. Try and drag it???? Like a stubborn mule, it wouldn’t budge. Stuck in place. Slowly, I worked this monster into the garage, having to turn it this way and that to navigate the doorway. I felt like a new episode of “Lucy”. You know things are not going well when you are talking to the bottom portion of a recliner. Let’s just not discuss exactly what THAT conversation was like. Kind of one-sided. Not pleasant.

Once at the back of the truck, I was licked again by my lack of strength. There was no way I could lift 70 pounds of chair into the back of the truck. Just no way. Heck, I could barely drag the chair out of the house. In my classroom now sat the top of the chair, with the bottom portion still at my house. It was then, I called Ninja Neighbor to the rescue.

At 7 last night, she and and her friend, an adorable new Top Gun agent came to the rescue. This young woman actually works at the Top Gun Training facility to the East of my town. She was in full uniform, not a hair out of place after a long work day. It was her smile and adorable personality that made me glad I’d just made another new friend. Military personnel are some of the most polite people I’ve ever met, and she fit that image perfectly.

So, Ninja Neighbor and Miss Top Gun lifted that chair like right into the back of the pickup like it was Forrest Gump’s feather The maintenance men will unload it for me tomorrow, and I’ll have a comfy chair in which to rest after long mornings with kids. I’ll also have a wonderful chair on which to sit during story time, my favorite time of the day. My chair will be shared with kids during Show and Tell, every morning. Yes. Dahlia told me. They still have Show and Tell in 1st Grade at our school.

My first graders are the class returning to a normal world. They weren’t scarred by two years of distance learning like all the older children in the school. However, they WERE raised in a sea of masks. Who knows how much that affected their emotional growth or speech development. Time will tell.

Just a note. I have a new principal. The darling woman that hired me was promoted. This was just announced. My newest, new principal is wonderful. She sat in on my interview. She’s friendly and seems to be on top of everything, having been the assistant principal last year. She and I have a first year in common.

There is a new math adoption this year which should be fun! It comes with shiny new work books that look colorful and challenging. I’m not sure if some of my students will be able to count to 100. I hope so, but, then, they are only 6. Think of that!!!! Walking for only 5 years. Talking for only 4. We’re expecting them to write on the first day of school? Many of them don’t really know their ABC’s. Or worse, many don’t speak English at home.

I need to get going. Today, I’m planning to be at school by 6. The classrooms are still very hot from the summer. I’ll be planting my indoor garden station with some herbs and flowers. In the olden days, I’d be gentling a gerbil, or placing a parakeet. In this day and age, animals aren’t allowed in the classroom. How very sad because animals add a lot of interest to a normal school day. Somewhere along the line, I’ll sneak in something. Maybe a few fish or a tadpole. There will be animals in my classroom by the end of the year.

Whatever you do today, make it count. Smile at someone new to your area. Wave at someone you don’t know. Tell a checker at the store “Thank you” for just coming to work. But most of all, “Choose Happiness”. It’s the only way to roll.

More tomorrow.

Life cruises along at such a wonderful clip, and then, just one little thing causes memories to spring to life. The monsoon rainstorms we’re experiencing here at Winterpast are very similar to widowhood. One moment the sun is shining and birds are singing. The next minute, it’s dime hail and 5″ of rain in two hours. Such is life.

You know what they say. If it’s not ants its fleas. Just heard that one this morning. That will be a staple in my first grade class, for sure. I may even make a bulletin board to help us remember, life has plenty of ups, but the downs are here to stay.

The college class is a big down-ER at the moment. Those of you from the 70’s remember that phrase. My final assignment rests at 29 pages of little columns and rows filled with information. It’s a grid of grief. The original template was three pages of questions and five columns of which to place our answers. Rather like the Who? What? When? Where? Why? game we played when I was a beginning writer in 1st grade. I felt trapped in a sea of repeated nonsense that has no relevance to my life as a teacher.

The assignment even involved script writing in which I had to write fictional dialog for an unpleasant meeting with parents. After creating the problem in my head, I needed to resolve the issue and then create a written visual of how it played out. I thought my skull was going to crack open and allow my brain to run away and hide. It was all something, I’m happy to say, I’ll never do again.

Today, I’m inserting random quotes and citations, and create the final reference page. The instructions to this assignment were almost invisible. If I totally missed the target, I’m afraid it’s a bullseye that wasn’t meant to be hit. Funny, I aimed my arrow carefully, but it only hit the A-. I have a very real career that needs my attention and life goes one.

I did find out that, of 18 students, I’m at the bottom of the barrel in my class with a grade of 92.7. Well, does this tell you something? It tells me lots and lots, but today’s blog has a different focus.

Through the summer days of the Zephyr Winds, my studio remains a bit of a mess. The gardens are pristine. The garage glistens. The RV barn is neat and tidy. Winterpast is sparkling. Everything is right as rain until you get to my studio. It is my She-Shed on steroids. It’s there that hides the little slob inside me.

I’ve been searching through everything to find bits and pieces of my teaching life. Little things for Room 56 to cozy it up for me. I decided to buy a brand new stapler for my classroom. Take note of the picture above. This is the most wonderful brand of stapler. One tiny little tap and your stapling is done, even if your document is 29 pages. I know this from my Bottom of the Barrel 92.9% college experience. The final count will be 30 pages including references.

VST was a brilliant man, but a man he was. He had the need to mark everything in his office to ensure everyone (me) knew these were HIS possessions, not to be taken anywhere. It was annoying. I think he even marked the television. He marked scissors and his hole punch. Everything was marked, and not neatly either. Now, if you are going to mark something, please do it neatly.

I was in a drawer the other day, boxing up staples and paper clips. Rulers and tape. The box was filing up when I found an extra stapler. It was just the item for which I’d been searching. As I tossed it in the box, it fell to the other side and it was then, my eyes started leaking. It was his very private and fully marked stapler. I cried for a little while clutching the stapler to my cheek, as if I could absorb the last bit of him through writing on the side of a stapler.

My widow’s journey is full of crazy little experiences like that. For a long time I had a drawer packed with his things. The things we would take if we could meet for one more weekend in Hawaii. The weekend we could be sure to have a proper “Good Bye”, not the hideous one we were given in which cancer won the battle. No sense keeping such a drawer, whatsoever. But, guard it I did, until I could let him go. It’s a process, you know. They leave you one thing at a time, on each widow’s time line.

Well, this stapler is more precious to me than just about anything I own. It sits in my studio and isn’t allowed to leave the room. It’s mine to look at and hold when I need to. Silly. I think I have three more here and a new one for school. This one is now mine, even though the name says otherwise. I’ll watch over it, VST. No one touches the stapler.

Today is a busy day with the end of my coed summer, classroom preparations, my last Bible study with the best girlfriends in the world, AND, a meeting with the principal. I’m already in trouble, but that story will wait for another day. This day must begin. Please pray for me as my new world unfolds.

Whatever you do today, don’t get in trouble. Just follow the rules. Hold hands if you cross the street and, for safety’s sake, use the crosswalk. Rules are there for a reason, even if you don’t find them necessary. It’s easier if we all just stay in our own lanes. 1. I will not get in trouble anymore. 2. I will not get in trouble anymore. 3. I will not get in trouble anymore………………

More tomorrow.

At least that’s the situation for this teacher. Helping children learn to read is just about the most exciting thing in the world. Little children are eager to learn. They really want to learn CURSIVE! At least, when CURSIVE was something approved by the school. Alas, Cursive is a 3rd Grade skill. We’ll be learning to print first. Being a writer, you already know that teaching 6-year-old’s to write will be my happiest part of the day. And, I’ve been given 30 state-approved minutes to do just that.

Here’s a break down of instructional minutes. The children are under the school’s supervision for 380 minutes in the day. I should have time to expose them to everything you’d think 1st graders would need to learn, including music, the library, PE and computers. These littles need to eat a hearty breakfast because they’re going to be busy all day. That much is quite true, so, let’s do the math.

380 minutes minus lunch and recess = 305 minutes. Still quite a lot of time. Four days a week, the children are away from my care for 45 minutes. Computers, Library, PE, and Music are covered by specialists in those areas four days a week. 305 – 45 = 260 minutes.

Still quite a bit of time left! Reading and Writing take up 120 minutes of that. 260 – 120 = 140 minutes left. Subtract 90 minutes for math. 50 minutes remain. Oh, yes, the students eat breakfast in the classroom which takes 15 minutes. So, 35 minutes remain to teach Science and Social Studies. Which leaves 0 minutes for being 6, zipping jackets, throwing up, having an exciting show and tell, enjoying teacher story time after lunch, being 6, veering off track a little, playing, being 6, getting back on track, pulling Sally’s braid, sticking a tongue out a Johnny, or remembering a potty break before it’s too late. Fergettabout birthday treats at the end of the day! And MY birthday is on a Friday. We will be banking minutes for that little celebration!

1st graders have an attention span of about 15 minutes before melt down begins. A good teacher creates a wonderful dance, repeated 187 times throughout the year. Everything in a constant routine, the kids learn the dance, but the song changes very frequently. It’s in that way the days go by like a symphony. But, they need to learn the dance first. Everything is done in 15 minute chunks with a lot of movement thrown in for good measure.

I can’t wait to teach the kiddos how to walk in a straight class line. One of the most darling and hilarious things to do and watch. We’ll be seen following the lines on the basketball court for a few times while watching the person in front of them. Classroom control can be a life saver in this crazy world. In our school, you only walk on the right side of the hallway. Tough, because most 1st graders still need to learn their right from their left. Just like driving a car, walking on the right side avoids crashes. And, please. Remember, no running. Don’t make me blow my whistle.

What will the kids be teaching me all day? That time is really an adult concept. That the place we left off in our chapter book was too exciting to stop. That thunderstorm reading (with the help of a magical cd) under the desks after a hot recess makes everyone feel better. You need to be under the desks so you don’t get wet, which makes everyone giggle with delight. They will teach me that I’ve been missing little hugs for the last five years. They’ll teach me that the eyes in the back of my head are not always open. And, they’ll show me love in a million ways every day.

The input does decide the outcome. When I first became a teacher, the best information I ever received was this. “The first day is everything. If you have them under your spell on Day 1, you’ll breeze through the year to Day 187.” Nothing else matters more than Day 1.

This weekend, I’ll be deep into Teacher’s manuals, choosing specific activities for each of the first 380 minutes. Next week, I’ll increase my vitamin intake in preparation for the influx of microbes. An input of germs = the outcome of a very healthy immune system with a few sick days thrown in for good measure. I’ll be planning my wardrobe for next week, while cooking up meals for the freezer.

I’ve received an invitation to the “New Teacher Gathering” on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday is “Go Time” in which all the teachers from our huge district will gather at the high school for a rally to kick off the 2022-2023 school year.

As I walked across my little campus yesterday, my keys click-edy clacked softly on my chest, hanging from a bright blue lanyard. My whistle, silver in color and a 1996 vintage model, added to the tune. Click, clack-edy, click, swaying right over my happy heart. I’m back doing something I’ve truly missed. I’ve been handpicked by God to help 20 littles I haven’t meant yet. He needs me to teach them important lessons. He needs me to make sure they all know they are as brilliant as the shining stars, as important as the sun in the sky, and loved to the moon and back.

I’m sure I’ll have some questions for God.

“God, are you sure about that one?”

“Did you really mean ME?”

“Did you check my year of birth?”

“Do I still have the patience?”

“Will you grant me patience, wisdom, humor, and peace to get through this year. Please?”

Those questions are ones I ask him every year. Then, as we celebrate Laborhalloweenthanksgivingchristmasvalentine’seastermemorial Day, (which does seem to be one long holiday), each hour the reasons will slowly be revealed as to why each child was selected for me. My students have so many things to teach me about life. I, in turn, will teach them to write their best stories for the bulletin board. Sounds like a fair deal to me!

Whatever you do today, think about inputting some positive and happiness in someone’s day. Smile. Wave. Stop to talk a minute. You can make up the time somewhere else, for you’ll never regret time spent with a friend. The outcome will be happiness. Just try it.

More tomorrow.

I can hardly believe the car sick little puppy placed in my arms on Christmas Day, 2018 has turned into this handsome boy celebrating his 4th!!!! He has grown up to be quite the companion, although, I’m the only one that knows this. Visitors still see the Tasmanian devil barking like crazy as he is led away. I wish like heck he would realize we are not under siege here at Winterpast. He is a dog on high alert and all visitors are suspect.

VST wasn’t a dog person. Yes, weekly, he would hoist 40 pounds of dog food into the back of the truck for the two English Mastiffs that guarded the ranch. He put up with the littles named Iniki, Chloe, Freckles, and Barkley. But, never did he enjoy them like a dog lover does. They were tolerated. They were MY responsibility. That was that.

So, in the fall of 2018, when I had been pining for a dog because I finally had time for one, I was shocked when he said, “Let’s look.” Of course, with VST, looking was the mission with no end. Every town we visited while RVing was a source of investigation. SPCA’s. Humane Society’s. Craig’s List. Every town could have been hiding my new furry friend, but as the towns fell to the rear view mirror, there was no dog for me. This went on for months of miles.

My very first dachshund was Fritz who was a red miniature smooth coat who lived outdoors on our ranch. He was a superb watchdog. Nothing got by him. He slept soundly on a burlap bag by the back door, eager to great us each morning. He knew everything about the farm and things were in order under his watch. No feral cats, skunks, mice, or lizards too close to the house, Fritz guarded us. I was six when my dad and I drove to an old red barn to pick him out of a litter of four. Fritz was the fun one.

My mother wasn’t a dog person either. Not that we didn’t have dogs, just like every other ranch. She did tolerate Guide Dog for the Blind Puppies in her house. But she found no enjoyment in dogs. They added to the work of a farm wife. So, when she mentioned to my dad that we needed to go get a smooth red dachshund one day, I was shocked. Fritz was the dog I remember growing up with and he was a wonderful friend. One night at dinner, when I had aged out into a Senior in high school, I realized I hadn’t seen my grey-muzzled friend when I came home from school. Mom and Dad were a little quiet at the table. Fritz died earlier that day on the farm he loved so much.

Many people doubt Oliver’s heritage. A standard dachshund is a biggish little dog. His size is the first thing that throws everyone off at 25 pounds. Then, there’s the color. He is a cream dachshund. The spots? He’s a piebald (spotted). He’s cream with brown spots, not brown with cream spots. Then, there is the liver base, which gives him the brown nose and green eye color (not shown in the photo, because his pupils were wide open in the low light. In the sunshine, their green). The wire hair is another difference. All those things together, and people ask what pound he came from. Often.

Although he didn’t come from the pound, he was a discount dog. His relatives cost three times what I paid for Oliver. No one wanted him and it was getting close to Christmas. He waited for me and I for him.

What a ride it has been with this dog.

Oy vey.

At this point, he impresses me more very day with the words and phrases he understands. He will immediately understand ANY command for a cookie. He knows them all and will work ONLY for food. Pay up or FERGETABOUTIT.

He no longer chews on anything but his bone. He’s happy to sleep hours on end as long as it is at my feet. Oliver only cuddles at night and loves sleeping with me. VST, stop frowning. He doesn’t snore or hog the blankets. He just burrows under the covers and sleeps until morning. At 3:59, his intent gaze awakens me. Nothing interferes with potty time and breakfast at 4.

Oliver’s morning potty breaks are on pee-pads. He learned to use them when we RV’d with him as a puppy. On long trips, his bathroom breaks were quicker than mine. This is so great when preparing to get ready for work. It is also delightful when winter temperatures keep the snow on the ground from melting. Done with morning duties in under 2 minutes, we have that down to a science.

I don’t have any idea how many hours I’ve spent training Oliver. I know, on some days, I’m rather tired of being trained by him. I know that after three weeks of his intensity, he needs to go on Puppy safari and I need a break. There isn’t a chore that he ignores, making them more difficult by his inspections to make sure I have all the necessary items. Oliver is a watcher.

I wish, in his life, I could’ve provided him with a job. He would’ve loved being a drug dog or TSA suit-case checker. He would have been a grand termite finding hound or been the best on gopher patrol. On the ranch, he would’ve loved sleeping under the stars to keep the coyotes at bay. But, he is just Sir Oliver of Ashworth Hall, keeper of the grounds at Winterpast. I mean, when your name is Sir Oliver, what else would one expect?

VST had been working on his genealogy the week I talked to the breeder about the strange little discount dog shown on website. I was having doubts about whether this puppy would be a good thing or a bad thing in Virginia City. We had no yard and 12 feet of snow in the winter. This puppy would be in the house 100% of the time.

“What’re you going to call him?”

I had not a clue.

“Here’s a good name. Sir Oliver of Ashworth Hall.”

He was named after VST’s relative from the 1600’s. That would do just fine.

I’m not sure how Oliver and I will celebrate this wonderful day. Lots of ear scratching and treats. He knows me better than anyone these days. He knows all my aches and pains and reminds me to get over them because it’s dinner time. He reminds me in the evening that unfinished chores can wait, but bedtime cannot. He loves me when I find myself unlovable. He is patient and considerate, until he isn’t, just like me. Yes. We’re a match.

VST, I’ll scratch Ollie’s ears for you. Sometimes I think he can see you sitting in your recliner watching over us. My sweet angel, thanks for the best Christmas present you could have ever given me. Like I told you then, it was the last one you ever needed to give me. Our little Oliver.

Whatever you do today, appreciate your pets. God was smiling when he decided to make dogs and cats. What wonderful little souls placed on this earth for no other reason than to love us and be loved in return. I’m sure glad they were part of God’s plan.

More tomorrow.

Happy Sunday, Readers!!!! Yesterday held so much fun with the birthday celebration for Oliver blanketing the entire day with a colorful confetti of happiness! Oliver thanks each and every one of you for the good wishes. Last night, he was so exhausted, he chose to sleep in his own bed. It was quite the party complete with two helpings of Iam’s Lamb and Rice kibble and his favorite bones. Pretty sure he might have eaten one unlucky lizard or toad as a party favor, but he keeps those things to himself knowing I don’t approve.

During the day, I worked on my schedule of teachable minutes. Assigning daily minutes to language arts, math, science, and social studies in 900 second blocks is always fun and challenging. In all my years of teaching, math has always been taught in the afternoon. Language Arts in the morning. Science and social studies included when time permits. That’s just how it is when teaching littles.

In reality, the littles have very few minutes left for anything else, although the science book looks so delicious, we’ll steal a little time from something else. The first lesson is all about living things and what they need to thrive. Not a threatening word in the entire chapter. The experiment involves sprouting beans and making observations. I can’t wait to hear their squeals of delight when the first seeds sprout. We will be observing them with hand lenses. Very scientific.

While getting jazzed about the first three days and instruction of classroom procedures while assessing and getting to know the littles, I ran across an unusual project. We’re going to adopt our very own COW!!!!!!! This is an amazing group of lessons offered by Nevada to classrooms across the state. If you want to learn more, Google “Adopt a Cow — A Mooving Experience” Kolo 8 News. It’s a great story about the farmer who owns a dairy in a little town east of here. It’s from his farm that the calves are adopted.

Our application is in, and Room 56 has been accepted. Our furry friend will be ours starting October 1st.. Possible fieldtrip to a dairy??? I can only hope so. I hope the principal loves cows, because I’m pretty sure the five 1st grades are all adopting them. Good thing we have a really big playground with lots of grass.

In the flurry of activities on the First grade wing, the four classrooms are about to become five with a new teacher onboard as of Friday. We are all pretty new to 1st grade and bonding!!! There is nothing better than the sisterhood of teachers, and I’ve fallen into the best group ever. We are smart, organized, and preparing to circle the wagons, hold hands, and pray for a great year.

God has all of us in his hands. At this moment in time, he’s presented me with a summer of the most lovely miracles. New friends. A career, refreshed and alive with wonder. A home dearly loved. Grown children and grandchildren thriving in their own worlds. Acceptance and appreciation that I am enough. It took a life time for me to realize that. I don’t need anything else to validate me. Not a mother. Not a father. Not a husband, boyfriend, or neighbor. Friends and family are wonderful jewels that enrich my life, but at the end of the day, I’m enough in my own skin. 66.5 years it took to grasp that concept. Slow learner, I guess.

Whatever you do today, be grateful for all the good things that happen. From a really great breakfast to a perfectly formed tomato in the garden. Maybe a bird happens to sing a beautiful song just for you to hear. Listen. Look around. Feel the summer breezes. Take time to smile. Life just doesn’t get better than it is this second.

More tomorrow.