#sol14 Late Night Slicing

Two Writing Teachers host Slice of Life on their blog.  Join us and link up too!

It's late, I'm usually doing other things by now.  I'm basically unclogging my brain because I need to because I haven't been writing like I keep telling myself I would.  

So, I bring you, a post of random thoughts and wonders floating around in my head tonight.  

1.  Shortly before my Grandmother passed, we had an awesome moment together.  It involved me playing hymns at the piano, and no one else around.  (I nearly majored in piano for undergrad--a fun fact).  She told me I was "getting rusty" and "don't let those boys keep you from your music."  :)  Since we've returned from her funeral, I've played everyday for at least 20 minutes.  Man, I miss her. 

2.  Do you like to cook?  I mean Really like to cook?  2 hours prep time and the whole she-bang.  What do you cook for new friends coming over that you don't know well?  

3.  My firsties are the best.  Fish and all, I adore them this year.  

4.  I'm taking a tech class for grad school.  I wish the days had unlimited hours so we could do all the things!  I'm learning how to prioritize and keep it authentic.  

5.  Running.  To run the half or not run the half?  I have no idea how fast I am, but have been running all the miles without tracking my splits.  Simply glorious.  But am I now a runner who just runs but doesn't race?  Why am I struggling so much with that?

6.  I'm reading a couple of great books.  The Big Disconnect: Proteching Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age by Catherine Steiner-Adair, EdD.  Also, Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews.  Loving the tech read, highly recommend.  Savannah Breeze?  Completely an escape.  

7.  Today, I heard a child announce that Jesus was from Minnesota.  No joke.  Except I couldn't stop laughing.  

8.  I love this season where baseball meets football.  It should have it's own name.  

9.  I'm still considering the idea of choice in the math workshop.  What does that really look like?  Not rotations, stations, lamination.  I mean a true choice experience.  Are my kids ready for this?

10.  I think I'm ready to get in bed and read!  

*Feel free to chime in if you have thoughts on any of these topics.  :) They were all ideas for various blog posts.  

Joy!
Kendra

So This Happened Today...

You Guys...  It was one of those days where a couple of things happened that I just had to share with you.

So grab your favorite snack. Here we go:

First-a "Hooray" moment of the day!  So I'm teaching a mini lesson (that I can't take credit for, if you originated this idea let me know, I'll give you a shout out because I can't find the original lesson at this time) about reading everyday.  We are connecting it to riding a bike.  We discuss the following:

If you ride uphill all the time, that's like reading books that are too hard.  You aren't really falling in love with reading if you are working this hard everyday.  

If you fly downhill all the time, that makes me think you might be reading books you aren't interested in and you'll miss stuff.  You might end up crashing, and then you aren't falling in love with reading either.  

If you find the perfect trail, that's where the fun happens.  It's like finding the perfect book.  You might keep going for hours!  (And you might stop and get ice cream!)  

And then Blogging/Twitter Friends, this happens:  Li'l Girl pops up and says, "Hey!  When you are on a great bike ride with ice cream, it's totally like reading the perfect book and reading everyday.  You are on a journey, and sometimes it's hard, but you love it so you keep going."  

I mean--I swear to you the skies opened and Angels sang for the next 45 minutes. Friends--we don't celebrate these awesome moments enough.  I hope you had one today.  Mine lasted 30 seconds.  But it felt like a lifetime.  

And then, as we are ready to journey into our reading time; a new friend arrived in 1C:

Yep!  Today, arrived unexpectedly this beta fish.  If you know me, I love my students so much, so of course I will move Heaven and Earth to keep this Nameless Friend alive. They are over the moon for this new friend. You also know that I'm terrified of having a living creature in my classroom--because you know--fish die.  Fairly easily.  My flowers from June are still alive, so I'm taking this as a good sign.  I'm also still carrying baggage from a gerbil that I had when I was 85.6 months pregnant with my first son.  :)  Breathe deeply for me. They are so excited.  

So-How was your day?  

Joy!
Kendra

Celebrate Life!

I'm linking with Ruth Ayres, and her weekly link up.  Read More about that here.

Dear Mom and Dad,

In First Timothy, in the Bible, there are some pointed verses about caring for the elderly in our family.  I can only imagine that Jesus was smiling when he watched you.  And He still does.  

You could have said it was too hard.  You didn't have time.  You could have said this was your time to retire, relax, retreat.  But you didn't.  

You took in each Grandmother and cared for them.  Made your home their home.  For almost 15 years.  15 years.  

It wasn't all cheese balls and bagel bites.  I watched as you dozed off in the chair and then Grandma would need help as she finished getting ready for bed.  The exhausting and mundane work that needed to be done each day must have been lonely, frustrating and unending at times.  

When she wasn't sure what to do next, I'm sure there was this patience that you had that only came from Jesus.  She was your mom after all, it's not like you could always tell her what to do.  Respect for your elders, leadership in your home, which way do you go next?  

There was beauty in the family members that would come and just sit with her.  Drive her to church.  Drink a coffee/soda/beer and enjoy some snacks together.  (That really is a family trait isn't it?)  

In this true picture of servant hood, you've taught us so much.  Don't give up on your family.  Jesus sees when no one else does.  Love your family.  Reach out.  Be strong.  Say Enough when you need to.  Pray.  Embrace the honesty of what is happening, but see the joy/humor/funny parts as well.  

Grandma rests with Jesus now.  Oh the smiling that is taking place, and the rejoicing that there is no more pain.  

Mom and Dad, I celebrate that this journey of getting to watch you serve has rooted me in Faith even more.  I'm so proud to call you my Mom and Dad, and the Grandparents of my children.  

Joy and Love Always,

Kendra

#sol14 My Grandma

Two Writing Teachers are hosting Slice of Life.  Join us!

In the Spring of 2010-ish, I was running with my husband on a country road. 

I was carrying my husband’s cell phone.  It rang.  It was my dad.  I could tell by the way he sounded when I answered it that he really wanted to talk to my Mr. and not me.  That was because he had to tell us he thought that my Grandmother was not going to survive that Easter weekend.  (And he wanted Mr. to have to tell me, he didn’t want to do it.  Who could blame him?)

A little backstory: 

          My own parents are amazing.  For nearly 14 years now they have cared for Grandmothers in their home.  The amount of care and love they have shown these ladies has been amazing.  When one of my Grandmothers passed in 2008, they readied the space for my other Grandmother without hesitating.  There are no words for the amount of servant hood that takes place in this farm house every day. 

Fast-forward to 2014 (Yep, she proved us all wrong in 2010) and here I wait as the sun comes up with anticipation.  How did she do last night?  I’ve been remembering some times on the farm that we wouldn’t have had if it hadn’t been for this extra time. 

What I remember about this day, is we had spent the afternoon with the boys searching for “cool rocks” in the corn field.  (It’s a thing.  Trust me.)  This was right after my Grandmother had spent some time in a nursing home for rehab, and my parents brought her back to the farm to stay. 

What makes me smile about this day?  She wanted to look at and hold every rock Li'l T had. 

Also, at one point, she had wheeled herself onto this slab, and saw the boys riding trikes and bikes.  “I can do that too,” she says.  She then proceeds to lift her feet and give a “Whee!” as she rolled gently across the slab of concrete.  Then she stopped, and looked at more rocks, like nothing had happened. That was a moment that I will never forget.  In all the slices I could share with you about my Grandmother, this one is my favorite. 

It’s a story and a moment that I’ll always remember, no matter what happens. 

I’m hopeful this morning,“Whee!” 

Joy!
Kendra

#sol14 A Mission.

Two Writing Teachers are hosting Slice of Life.  Join us!

Last week, I had the opportunity to be trained in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  

There was much time for reflection and developing a purpose for what you want to accomplish as you go through life each day.  

Here's mine in very rough form:

Lean in.  Reach out.  Help.  Thrive.  Be Strong.  Love all.  Commit.  Spread Joy.  Stay Rooted and Growing in Faith.  I'm enough.  Pet Dogs.  Take care of Family.  Create.  Innovate.  When it's time, say no.  Have a soundtrack.  Dance in the kitchen.  Cook good food, then share it.  It's okay to take care of yourself.  Run far, even when it's slow.  Write. Share.  

When it's time, I want to use some graphic design to make it pretty, and then post it.  Do you have a mission?  Are you good at graphic design/using fonts?  :)

Joy!
Kendra

Celebrate! Week of August 16th

I'm linking with Ruth Ayres, and her weekly link up.  Read More about that here.

A quick celebration before the day starts.  

1.  The prospect of efficiency.  I just spent two days being trained in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  It was a fresh start that reminds me that I'm better with my time than I think I am, and it allowed me to reflect on what can improve.  

2.  School started!  The classroom physical space.  The new colleagues.  One of the things I love most about education is the ability to start fresh each year.  The anticipation.  

3.  I continue to celebrate my family and little people.  This week after spending a day at school so mom (that's me) could get her school on, we headed out to buy the newest Origami Yoda book.  As I pull into Barnes and Noble(it was close to school) my youngest yells out, "Hey!  Is this our independent book store?!?!?"  Needless to say, we u-turned it out of the parking lot and headed to the local book shop.  I celebrate that leaning into my community didn't go unnoticed this summer and made a difference.  We had a great conversation about how if we keep shopping at this local store, it will get huge!  :)

What are you celebrating this week?

Joy!  

Kendra

#sol14 Because Kitchens are Made for Dancing And Growing Up

Two Writing Teachers are hosting Slice of Life.  Join us!

I was thinking yesterday about what my slice was going to be as we head back to school.  I tossed around all kinds of ideas about classrooms, community, and creating.  

But then, I read this post at Momastery.  If you haven't read it, go ahead.  I'll wait.  It rocked my world, and I've been thinking about it all day.  Go ahead and click on that link.  I'll be here when you get back.  :)

Okie-dokie, now that you are back, it was this morning as I was sipping coffee and rereading this post again, that my slice hit me.  I need to tell you what I love about My Kitchen.  

Here She is.  22 years old.  The floor?  Cracked in some spots around the edges.  The cabinets?  Outdated.  The coloring?  Totally neutral.  Completely cluttered.  Sometimes---it smells funny.  (Just keeping it real Slicers!) 

But in our kitchen:

This precious face celebrated his first birthday with carrot cupcakes and party hats in our kitchen almost 10 years ago.  We brought him home from the hospital about 6 weeks before we were expecting to.  The health care and nutrition we could provide him in our kitchen was easy and accessible.  (Even if it didn't seem like it at the time!)  He would love it if I would allow him to declare the kitchen his Makerspace and he could cover it in origami.  

This precious face took his first baths in our kitchen sink late at night.  The warm water that was readily available for him was calming and soothing for everyone.  We've overcome food allergies in that kitchen.  He's my dancer, and we've two-stepped across that floor more than once as dinner was cooking.  He also grabs one of those stools and parks it next to me.  "I'm your shoe-chef Mom."  

It's a chihuahua cupcake.  Don't laugh.  :)  Okay, you can.

Fresh veggies too.  

Food we need, and food we don't--it's waiting for us in our kitchen.  

Life's conversations and tough questions?  They get wrestled with in our kitchen.  

Morning coffee and thoughts for the day?  Waiting for me in my kitchen.  

Some people I love the most?  Usually hanging out in my kitchen.  

Uproarious laughter with friends?  In my kitchen.  

Homework/schoolwork/blogging?  Usually in the kitchen.  

Funny smells and big messes?  That's totally my kitchen.  

Love and Laughter?  Always available in my kitchen.  

As my mister and I have chatted about updates for Her, I really loved the perspective over at Momastery.  She might not need a makeover yet, just some more two-stepping and chihuahua cupcakes please.  

What do you love about your kitchen?  

Joy!  Kendra