Thirteen Things I’d Like To Write in the Sand

Once when I was getting over a heartbreak I went to the beach for a few days by myself, and I wrote the name of the person who had broken my heart in the sand.  Then I watched as the waves washed away the letters - symbolically washing that experience from my mind.   I liked the symbolism of it.  So this week I have listed thirteen things I’d like to write in the sand and then have the waves wash them away.  I’ve also included quotes about each hurtful habit or attitude.

(1) Unkindness  (Be kind to unkind people — they need it the most. ~anonymous) 

(2)  War  (War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. A war to protect other human beings against tyrannical injustice; a war to give victory to their own ideas of right and good, and which is their own war, carried on for an honest purpose by their own free choice — is often the means of their regeneration. ~Mill, John Stuart)

(3)  Selfishness  (Love is what is left in a relationship after all the selfishness is taken out. ~Richardson, Nick)

(4)  Foolish Pride  (The owl of ignorance lays the egg of pride.  ~Proverb)

(5) Gluttony (Gluttony is the source of all our infirmities and the fountain of all our diseases. As fire extinguished by an excess of fuel, so is the natural health of the body destroyed by an intemperate diet. ~Burton)

(6) Regret  (A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams. ~ Barrymore, John)

(7) Worry  (Little minds have little worries, big minds have no time for worries. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson)

(8) Impatience  (A populace never rebels from passion for attack, but from impatience of suffering.  ~Burke, Edmund)

(9) Unloving attitude (Love means to love that which is unlovable; or it is no virtue at all.  ~Chesterton, Gilbert K.)

(10) Terrorism  (In every child who is born under no matter what circumstances and of no matter what parents, the potentiality of the human race is born again, and in him, too, once more, and each of us, our terrific responsibility toward human life: toward the utmost idea of goodness, of the horror of terrorism, and of God. ~James Agee)

(11) Disorganization  (The fact is, the old clichés work for us in abstract terms, but they never work out in real life quite the same way. Life is messy; clichés are clean and tidy.  ~Hugh Macleod)

(12) Clutter (Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow. ~Og Mandino)

(13) Superficiality (Do not judge men by mere appearances; for the light laughter that bubbles on the lip often mantles over the depths of sadness, and the serious look may be the sober veil that covers a divine peace and joy. ~Edward Chapin)

THIRTEEN REASONS I LOVE LIVING IN THE USA

(1) Just look at the variety of landscape - mountains, oceans, beaches, rivers, forests, snow, sun.  There is something for everyone here.

(2)  If our elected leaders don’t follow our wishes, then we won’t vote for them in the next election. 

(3)  Alaska - what a wild, unusual and wonderful frontier

(4) Hawaii - what a gloriously colorful and magical place

(5) The Great Lakes - lakes so big they’re almost like the ocean -  well, no salt water!

(6) The people who are against the war in Iraq can say so without fear of being arrested or otherwise officially punished in any way for disagreeing with the administration’s actions.  While I might not agree with the people who protest, they have that right, and that is a positive thing about the USA.

(7)  We’ve reached the highest level of human and civil rights of any nation on earth at this moment in time.

(8) We live relatively free from fear. 

(9) There is NOWHERE in the world where people have as many freedoms and privileges as we have in the USA.

(10) We have a system of capitalism.  That means that if I want to prosper, I must work for it.  However, what I earn, I get to keep (minus taxes).  Except for Welfare cheaters, I’m not working to benefit those who choose to be slackers.

(11) Materially, we have more than our forebears ever dreamed of.  Unfortunately, we tend to take our bounty for granted. 

(12)  I can attend our little Methodist church.  We have friends who attend a Catholic church.  Others go to Jewish synogogues, while still others go to a Muslim mosque.  Still other choose not to worship God at all or even to believe in God.  And that’s okay with our government.  It’s our choice.

(13)  I was born in the USA.  It is my home.

 

Here are the thirteen people and things I love most in this world

(1) RT - What a great husband!  He keeps me laughing at his antics, and he’s still just as romantic as he’s always been.  We have fun together, and it is almost spooky how often we start saying the same thing at the same time.  Building the house with RT is fun because our tastes are so similar.  We have agreed on everything of importance.

(2) Our daughter - Stinkeroo - She’s my good friend and confidante.  We talk with each other just about every day.  I’m so proud of her.  She’s funny, and we laugh a lot together.

(3) Our son - Scalawag - Such a motivated and industrious young man.  He started his own business and is doing great with it.  He’s kind and funny.  We laugh a lot together, too.

(4)  Our oldest granddaughter - Sweet Stuff - Such a gentle and helpful spirit.  She’s always eager to do whatever she can for others.  She’s funny, smart, sweet - and precious.

(5) Our youngest granddaughter - Sunshine - Such an independent and loving spirit.  She’s funny and cuddly and smart - and precious.

(6) My mother - Ruth of Ruthlace - She has demonstrated in her life the “can do and will do” attitude that accomplishes so much.  She’s not only a wonderful role model, she’s a wonderful mother.

(7)  My six siblings - I won’t even start on each of their character traits.  Each of them is talented beyond measure, and I love each of them so much.

(8) The children I teach

(9) The teachers I work with each day

(10)  My church family - RT and I have only been members of our small United Methodist church for a little over a year, but the people have welcomed us with open arms, and we love the friends we’ve made there.  The minister is led by God, and we feel that specific church is where we belong.

Okay, I could go on and on and list “all the people in the world” but I’ll stop there with the people.  Now, what “things” do I love/enjoy?

(11) Blogging - It may sound silly to some (not to other bloggers, probably) but I love blogging.  I enjoy writing, and I enjoy seeing my words in print.  I love reading other blogs.  I enjoy it so much I started a new meme last week - SUNDAY SEVEN.  It’s a great way to end one week and start the next week with a little review and thankfulness.   (P.S. If you want to join - do it now.  Just email me and let me know.  We’ve already got a great collection of headers and a good blogroll.   Everyone who joins in February becomes a charter member of the Sunday Seven meme!)

(12)  A good night’s sleep - I probably mention this too much, but I still marvel at how wonderful it is.  There are few things better than a good night’s sleep.  And I am thrilled that I normally sleep very well now.

(13)  Computers - they save so much time.  I guess they waste time, too.  I love the convenience and ease of email and word processing and web surfing.

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WHY I WANT TO GO TO A BEACH . . . NOW!

(1) I’m cold.

(2) I want a little bit of a tan.  Yes, I know it’s bad for me, but it looks so nice, and it feels so good to have the sun shining on me.  Pasty white skin is not very attractive.

(3) I like to watch the waves.

(4) I enjoy the sound of the ocean.  It is soothing and relaxing.

(5) It’s winter.  Did I mention that I’m cold? Snow is forecast for tonight . . . and tomorrow night.

(6) Walking along the beach is good exercise.  It doesn’t even feel like exercise.

(7) The sunset over the ocean is a spectacular sight.  I could take some great photographs.

(8) The feel of cool sand under my feet and between my toes is wonderful.

(9) The ocean breeze softly blowing through my hair feels good.

(10) Maybe I would find a beautiful shell.  And if I don’t, I can stop by one of the tourist shops and buy one and SAY I found it on the beach.  No one would know the difference.

(11) I haven’t been to a beach in several YEARS.  I can’t believe it has been so long since I’ve been to a beach.

(12) A fresh seafood dinner - and/or lunch - would brighten my day.

(13) The warm air would feel good.  Did I mention that it’s COLD here in Tennessee right now?

1. three bottles of hand lotion
2. a white carousel of pencils, pens, rulers, emery boards, markers and glue
3. a tape dispenser
4. a magnifying glass
5. a Better Homes and Garden cookbook
6. a box of legal-size envelopes
7. a hair dryer
8. a Christmas card
9. a box of blank CDs
10. a stapler
11. a nail buffer
12. a camera case
13. a hair bow that the grandgirls left here

1. ITALY - What’s not to love about Italy? I’ve never been, but it’s #1 in my list of places I want to visit.
2. AUSTRIA - I love the photos I’ve seen of it.
3. ALASKA - Since I was there in September, I don’t want to return real soon, but in a few years, I’d like to go back.
4. HAWAII - Such natural beauty.
5. - North Georgia mountains - Another beautiful part of the country. I drive through little bits of them sometimes on my trips to and from Georgia. I’d like to find a mountain cabin somewhere and spend a few days hiking and exploring.
6. New York City - I want to see a Broadway show.
7. Australia - I’d like to throw a few shrimp on the barbie and enjoy that culture for awhile.
8. Maine - I’ve never been that far northeast.
9. Sunburst Campground - When I was in middle school or high school my family camped out there. I don’t even know what state it is in, but I remember how it looked and how COLD the creek water was.
10. Indian Springs Campground in Georgia - and old-fashioned camp meeting place that I’ve attended a few times in my distant past. I’d like to go there again.
11. A Caribbean Cruise - I’ve done this twice before - once with RT and another time with my daughter many years ago. I’d like to go again sometime.
12. Grand Canyon - I want to do the mule ride to the bottom and back - camp out in the bottom. I went there with RT years ago when he was on a business trip, and the vastness of the canyon was amazing.
13. Seattle - Don’t know why, but I’ve always thought Seattle sounded like a nice place to visit.

Here are thirteen of my favorite education-related posts from 2006.  This was suggested by aquiram at “Education in the Twenty-First Century” in last week’s Carnival of Education.  It sounded like a good idea.  So here goes:

Perhaps in succeeding weeks I’ll do my thirteen favorite political posts, or my thirteen favorite “that’s my life” posts.  We’ll see.

1.  The Words That Strike Fear in the Hearts of Teachers  - Whether you’re a teacher or not, you might identify with my reaction to these words.  (January 26, 2006)

2.  Getting Whupped! - You never know what children go through at home before coming to school. (February 4, 2006)

3. How Do You Spell “Penis”? - Seems like a perfectly legitimate question for a first grader. (March 18, 2006)

4. A Totally Unscientific and Irrelevant Study of Second and Third Graders’ T-Shirt Slogans - self-descriptive.  They’re funny, cute, obnoxious, and/or puzzling.  (April 20, 2006)

5.  The Truly BEST Reward of Teaching - I’ll never forget Alicia. (May 25, 2006)

6. What Do Principals Look For in a Teacher? - I must’ve been on summer vacation because I didn’t have an educational post in June.  So I choose two posts for May.  Forget all that “philosophy of education” stuff.  In this post I tell what principals REALLY should look for in a teacher  (May 2, 2006)

7. The Writing Workshop and a Gift - I write about a professional development activity that is interesting and helpful!   (July 27, 3006) 

8. A Test for Aging Teachers - Here’s the scene:  You’re in a restaurant and an adult walks up to you and says, “You were my second grade teacher!”  Children change, and you have no idea who it is.  What do you do?  (August 15, 2006)

9.  Recess - Memories of Bygone Times - (September 24, 2006)  Remember recess?  It’s in danger these days.

10.  Did You Really Have to Tell Me That?  (October 10, 2006)  Sometimes kids provide TMI!

11.  Being Evaluated - Is there ANYTHING more Time-Wasting and Aggravating?  - The title says it all.  Thank goodness it’s over with for five years.  (November 4, 2006)

12.  Walking in Memphis - He sounded like Johnny Cash, Looked Like Jerry Springer, and Sang Eric Clapton -  What happens when a group of 10 teachers goes to Memphis for a workshop (December 9, 2006)

13.  And to round out the thirteen, I’ll take a post from November that tells a story I love.  The story comes from my niece who is a teacher, a mom of three and just happens to have a new blog (Sleepless Juggler)   Cows Have Many! - I still chuckle whenever I see that three-word sentence.  (November 25, 2006)

 

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  BEAUTY PRODUCTS I LIKE

1. The yearly Christmas parade.
2. The children’s Christmas program at church
3. Singing Christmas carols at church
4. Making dinner for my family (R.T., our two children and their spouses and the two grandgirls)
5. Shopping with R.T. The man knows how to shop!
6. Wrapping gifts
7. Squinting when I first look at the Christmas tree so I can see how evenly the lights are distributed
8. Putting the old, familiar and treasured ornaments on the tree
9. Seeing my collection of nesting Santas
10. Buying something that I know will be perfect for whoever I’m shopping for
11. Christmas Eve candle-lighting service at church
12. Feeling so close to my family
13. Two weeks off work.

 

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1. Christmas Eve candlelight service at church.

2. Singing Christmas carols in church with piano accompaniment. Christmas carols are some of the most beautiful music ever!

3. Decorating the Christmas tree with our special ornaments. Almost every single ornament has some special significance to me.

4. Sending and receiving Christmas cards - although I have to admit I don’t send cards every year and most certainly won’t send them this year.

5. Decorating the house - I love Christmas decorations.

6. Drawing names on my side of the family - We have over 50 members in my family. So drawing names is the only sensible ways to handle gift-giving.

7. Buying gifts for my family. I love trying to pick out just the right thing for each person.

8. When I was a child - a small bottle of Welch’s grape juice in my stocking each Christmas. They don’t make those little bottles anymore, though.

9. Driving around a couple nights before Christmas and looking at all the decorations.

10. Buying gifts for family and some “angels”.

11. Christmas dinner - turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet potato souffle, pecan pie.

12. Sitting in front of a warm fire with R.T.

13. Advent Wreath & Devotions.