Again,
I'm here. Motivated by the kind encouragement to "keep
writing" from a long-time friend I'd recently shared my
blog-site with, and by the dedication of my son serving as a Peace
Corps volunteer in Africa--who committed himself to posting to his
blog every day for a month, and who nobly fulfilled that goal--I'm
again feeling compelled to attempt my
as-of-yet-way-less-than-successful objective of publishing more
frequent and regular posts. I am wondering if my former,
unimpressive progress resulted from the inordinate amount of time I
take to complete a post, and my "need" to share SO much in
each post. In hopes of addressing these flaws, I feel that a
"reorganization" here may help provide direction and focus
for my ideas. My blessed life is a colorful autumn forest;
multitudes of leaves--brilliant scarlet, rusty red, shimmering
gold--collaborating to create stunning arboreal artistry. Each
beautiful leaf that comprises my life-masterpiece may become a
separate share-worthy topic. So, if it unfolds as I imagine, my
succeeding posts will be a magic mixture of musings from any of the
following sections. Join me in fervent hope that this
"revamping" will accomplish my desired intent, and we'll
"connect" more consistently in the future.
Fun Shirt Friday
Not
a whole "new leaf" topic, but maybe an intriguing addition
to my posting, the Fun Shirt Friday Report will show up in
the left sidebar. Dressing casual on Fridays is nothing new in
the work-a-day world, and at my school that's followed different
trends through the years. Seems when I first started at my building
years ago, jeans paired with a Hawaii print shirt was the guys'
casual dress choice. More recently it's trended into jeans and a
t-shirt with school colors, mascot, or team. I've haphazardly
followed both those patterns from time to time. Definitely sticking
with the jeans on Friday thing; but this year, I personally decided
to switch it up a bit with the t-shirt. While I am perfectly okay
with showing pride in my school, our school colors are orange and
green--and frankly, the t-shirt is kind of ugly--in my opinion.
Since my family through the years has gifted me with
various t-shirts with interesting pictures/logos that always garner
positive comments, I declared it the year for "Fun Shirt
Fridays." Let me tell you, middle-schoolers DO notice and
appreciate fun t-shirts. After the first couple of
"Love-your-shirt!"-filled Fridays, I thought I needed to
devise a plan for tallying an actual number of verbal "thumbs-ups"
the shirts brought my way. Haven't quite figured out that
accurate totaling method yet though; any suggestions? Anyway, keep
your eyes open for facts and figures (possibly even photos) regarding
my fun t-shirts in the weeks to come.
Middle School Moments
When
you cram over a thousand "tween/young teens" into a
contained rambling space, sprinkle in several dozen adventurous,
caring and dedicated adults, and stir in liberal handfuls of
creativity, methods and models, and ordered ideas--you get a
delightful, magical mixture called "middle school." I
bet for most folks the term conjures up two or three
all-but-forgotten--or deliberately-unremembered--years of life from a
hazy past; maybe a few wispy, rosy memories of a first crush, or
possibly some dark, angsty recollections of being misunderstood, or
unaccepted as you bravely attempted to forge the stormy social and
emotional abyss. Middle school definitely is all that, and so
much more. The observations from my vantage point as one of the
caring adults sprinkled in differ greatly from those of a tween-aged
participant--of course. But, as you may imagine, "life"
at a middle-school could never be described as "dull." The
vast range of maturity, abilities, intellect, behavior, and
life-experience in a building of this size is astounding.
Consequently, I am witness to countless moments of ridiculous,
silly, clever, bizarre, and amusing drama; comedy, nonsense, farce,
tragedy, musical. . . it's all part of daily life at a middle school.
I figured, why not share the wealth with others? So,
the Middle School Moments column will present for you
actual scenarios, statistics, or trends that I've encountered, and
found compelling in some way. Hope you enjoy traversing the
broad expanses of middle-school life with me.
Glories of the Garden
Figured
the other portion of my "nurturer" life fits well into the
"new leaf" options too. Not only are the busy months
caring for garden goodies at my greenhouse job impactful moments for
me, but plants and gardens have been an influential constant in my
life since childhood. Growing up as a country kid, the folks
always grew (still do) a sizable vegetable garden which supplied the
"root-cellar-closet" and freezer with potatoes, carrots,
peas, broccoli. . . for a good part of the year. Mom has
also always been a "flower" enthusiast, so there were
always patches of blooming this and that here and there around home,
not to mention the sometimes 30-40 houseplants that decorated inside
the house. And, wildflowers--of course--reliably bloomed nearby
in the forests, meadows, hills, and creek bottom all around our
mountain ranch. Mom made it her business to know the names of
all of them, and happily shares her knowledge with those around her.
Small vegetable gardens and plenty of ornamental pretties have
augmented the landscape at our home as well--a reasonable
intersection, I suppose, of my "garden-ous" upbringing and
my spring/summer job through the years. So, I figured
photos, ideas, experiments, plans, thoughts. . . from my "garden
experiences" might be appealing material to post. Let me
know what you think of your virtual "garden-stroll."
Festival of Family
If
you've been one of the faithful few followers of my very tenuous
tenure as a "blogger,"--or if you actually know me--I'm
certain you are aware that I consider FAMILY premier among the
influential blessings of my life. If we're
as-of-yet-acquainted, consider it fact. Accordingly, then, the
relative likelihood (pun intended) of me desiring to share facts,
emotions and activities that revolve around this remarkable blessing
is very high. So, this section will provide my descriptions,
reactions, discussion, analysis, and inspirations from all
things family. Welcome to the clan!
Away Adventuring
My
final "leaf" also will likely be no surprise to many
readers. My wife and I essentially met, courted, and married
while living and working in Japan. Prior to uniting our lives as one,
both of us had separately traveled in other countries as well, and in
the quarter-century-plus since, we and our kids have chalked-up
innumerable highway miles, motel nights, airplane rides, and vacation
moments seeing sights and doing stuff wherever the winds of whimsy
wafted us to. Always a thrill to fill the tea thermos, pack the
trunk, and head out for a weekend--or a week, or two-- of adventuring
together. We revisit favorite locales, connect with family or
friends, soak up solace and scenic sights, or seek new and inviting
ventures--finding fun and making memories along the way. So,
look to this section to read my "adventure-logue." Sit
back, relax, and enjoy the journey!
So,
this introduction to the reorganization plan that's supposed to
shorten my writing process has taken over two weeks to compose. Is
that irony? Will it succeed? Or, am I simply too verbose
and passionate to achieve my goal? Well--guess only time will
tell. Come back soon to find the answer. Until then, God bless
your moments!
