A Morning Walk in the Yard, and Darfur

Sometimes things happen to you and around you when you seemingly do nothing to make them happen. When we can step away, we can retrace our steps to discover why we are where we are, and what we did to get there. There's a cause for every effect, and an effect for every cause.

In a global sense, certainly there are things that occur, and the distance that separates us from these events gives the false impression that it doesn't concern us. But our hearts tell us it does concern us. There is much discord, suffering, and inhumane things happening in the world, in Africa, in Darfur today. Pray that the suffering is brought to an end. If you want to help, here's a link and another.

'At least 400,000 people have died in Darfur since 2003. Every 8 minutes another Darfuri is killed. Over 2.5 million have been displaced and are trapped in refugee camps. Peace remains a distant goal. While foreign media and politicians move on to other issues, those concerned hold their breath, believing themselves powerless'. AOL News.

There seems to be no end to the inhumanity the people of our world are willing to participate in, put up with, and pretend it isn't happening.

In a more local sense, more local than one's own country, one's state, one's county of residence... even in one's own backyard, things take place seemingly beyond our awareness. We forget our input that begins the process when we first planted a seed, or transplanted a bulb. We forget the life that already existed before we even set foot on the piece of land we come to call the homeplace.

In our backyard, flowers bloom without any attendance from our hands. Trees stand taller by the year, shading our yard to our gratitude, and grass grows where it can. Moss carpets what the grass cannot tolerate. Hostas, Ajuga, Solomon's Seal, Daylilies, Creeping Myrtle, Goldenrod, Irises, Lotus, Water Pickerel, and others with names forgotten... all come forth each spring, without our assistance. It surprises us, and I don't know why because we planted themat one time or another. Still, their return pleasantly surprises and delights the senses.

Misty, Max, and I took an early morning walk through the yard, my camera in hand. For a few minutes, all was calm, all was bright. Darfur seemed so far away.

She's Okay.

Warning: Graphic Photos!

Apparently, the surgery went well.

She doesn't appear to be in any pain at this time. I have some pain med and antibiotic to give her for the next few days, and I'll know next week what the lumps were when the pathology report comes back.

She won't be running off without me attached to her leash for a few days. And since her teeth were cleaned (they looked great, said the vet), she'll need soft food for this evening's meal.

I'm glad she's back... so is Max.

Thank you for your concern and well wishes.

 

Evidence of change

When you learn a new thing, it often takes a lot of time and effort in the initial stages to get the process under control. In other words, to reach a stage of automaticity. Learning how to get those bigger pictures into my journal is taking more time than I thought it would. I'm getting the help I need from our journals editor, but it just takes time. At this point, I have to read through the steps, repeat them, wait, test them... but it will lead to speed and expertness. That's what I'm counting on.

Which means I haven't got the pictures ready to put here this morning the way I had intended to. I did learn how to upload them from my computer to the Hometown File Manager, but while playing with them in my test journal, I found out that the pictures appeared much too large on the journal page. My next step in this learning process is to find out how to reduce these photos so they are less than 4 inches wide.

I'm going to use the AOL picture viewer again. Which is good this time because you can View Larger, and select Slideshow. It's more fun to see them in that format.

I took Misty to the vet this morning. She is having two lumps removed... one from her neck and one from her back. I won't know what they are until the pathology report comes back, but I was advised by the vet three weeks ago to get them both removed. She wasn't too happy when I left her there, and I wished I could have stayed until they put her to sleep, but that was a couple of hours away yet. It's noon. She's probably in the middle of the surgery right now, or at least, coming out of it. I will be able to pick her up after 4pm.

Max, on the other hand, was not happy when I left him behind, alone. He knew we were going for a ride in the car, probably became aware of that when I said 'Misty, let's go for a ride in the car!' He didn't understand why he couldn't go. He loves the ride in the car. He barked his little mini-schnauzer heart out as we walked away from the house.

When I came home, he was so anxious, so I took him outside. Grabbed my camera, and out we went for a little stroll through the woods and the yard.

I had planned to include four of the photos in the larger size, and the slideshow the rest. Like I said, I'm still learning the steps.

However, the reason I came to make this entry was to offer this startling observation: today I walked across the front yard for the first time in 17 years.

How could that be, you may ask? I've walked through our yard many times over the years, but today, I walked from the woods toward the house, across the portion directly in line with our front door.

For seventeen years, there has been a koi pond in the front yard. For all those years I have walked around the yard, around the pond. There was no straight line from the woods to the front door.

I didn't realize I was making this momentous trek until I was in the middle of the newly grown grass, still soft, the yellow straw beneath peeking through broad green blades. I stopped briefly and thought, 'I'm standing in the middle of the pond!'

And then, sadly: 'The pond is gone.'

(Good thing it was gone or I would have been standing in four feet of water!)

I turned to look at all the parts of the pond, the stones that outlined it at the ground level piled neatly around the base of a tree, the filtering system laid out to dry over near the creek, the liner also laid out.

The sound of splashing koi no longer turns my head, the waterfall is silent, and the resident water snake has found a new home somewhere.

Yet, peacefulness surrounds the place. I found new wonders of nature to ponder upon. Trees I did not know the names of, berries I had never noticed before.

Max led the way through the woods, for he had paths he knew, paths I didn't walk. He stopped to look back at me. I wondered what he did during the day when I didn't go outside with him. He seldom leaves our property, is always within earshot... except once in a blue moon when he runs to Marlene's house. We must have had a blue moon this week.

So I watched him, and did what he did. I looked at the ground. I poked into the grass. I studied critters that crawled in the leafy detritus on the ground. I noticed birds playfully pursuing each other amidst a pile of tree limbs, chirping. Squirrels chattered away above our heads, declaring us invaders. Max did not chase the critters he saw today. I think he would have if Misty were here.

Happily, I just received a phone call from the animal hospital. Misty is out of surgery, she is doing well. I'll take pictures when she comes home.

Now, I need to focus on the most important event of the summer: Vacation Bible School!

Bear with me. I will be writing about it as it progresses. We are having ours July 16-21. Fiesta! is our theme. Anyone working on that one?

About Me picture was added today.

Thanks to Journal Editor Joe's help, I was able to read his instructions on how to post a picture to my journal. Today is the first day you see my picture in the About Me column to the left. The photo is not recent... it was taken 18 months ago... I will try to update it now that I know how to do this.

I hope to apply this new skill (adding larger pictures) to future entries. I enjoy using the aol pictures window... the slideshow feature is a fun way to view several pictures. But sometimes I just have one picture, and I want it big.

John Monday Photo Shoot: Patterns and Textures

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Patterns and Textures
Part of the idea of the Monday Photo Shoot here is to try to look at familiar things in new ways.

Find an interesting pattern or texture somewhere in your home. Take a picture of it.

View larger to see them better.

 

#1-4 In the first four pictures you see the pattern in the wood on our main bathroom door, as seen from inside when the door is closed. In color,and b&W. It was 1982, and we had been living in our house almost a year before I noticed the dark nature of the patterns. I saw hooded figures, faces of wizards, and mischievous, magical dwarves. I chuckled at first when I noticed them, but then I wondered if my 3-year old son would think they were as funny.... I never pointed out the images to him, never told him what I saw. He didn't like sleeping in his own room at the time, so I hadn't wanted to further add to his already active imagination. I was afraid he'd see them as scary monsters, and he'd never want to use that bathroom again. I waited until he was older, and able to understand fantasy to point them out. Still, the wood texture images amuse me even today.

 

#5-7: The curving nature of the leaves on my candle holder inspired the shapes and patterns I would choose to remake the bathroom three years ago. I found the same patterns in two separate places: at Bed, Bath, and Beyond in a sheer shower curtain, and at Sherwin-Williams in a wallpaper pattern. I was so happy to find what I was looking for. Well worth the hours I had put into the search.

 

#8-11:  Mother nature is always just outside my front and back doors. I took the camera with me yesterday for a walk in the woods.Found lots of interesting patterns and textures on the ground, and on the trees. I especially love the cushion of moss growing in the backyard. Up close, the soft carpet of green-ness looks like a community of tight and tiny ferns.

 

 

 

If you wish to participate in the Monday Photo Shoot, please come back and leave your link in my comment section, and leave one at John's journal as well.

16 Ponderous Questions to answer

I found these questions over at Jackie's journal, Waiting to Exhale, and decided to borrow them for my entry tonight. Some of the questions were hard to answer. If you want to participate, just copy them into your journal, then leave a link here in the comments so I can come read your responses.

1-What do you want people to say about you when you die?Good things, I suppose. To note the good I did, or the good in me. That I loved my husband and son, and that I became a better person because of them. That I loved the Lord, and tried to follow

2-How long does it take you to get ready to go out? Most of the time, about 20-30 minutes. It depends upon whether I have to fix my hair. If I have to wash my hair first, then give me an hour.

3-If you were an animal what would you be? Hmmm, I would love to be a bird, not a caged one, but a free one. Most any species with the ability to fly… except a vulture for obvious reasons. Not too small that I’d be a predator for many other animals, but a larger one. Not one hunters would want to shoot down (so not a duck or a pheasant). I’d like to be a bird with a long life span and a plentiful food source. Flying is the reason. (so, not a penguin, peacock, or chicken).

4-What's your biggest fear? That I will die before my husband… I want to take care of him, I want to make sure he gets all the care he deserves. I want to make sure he is comfortable, not in pain, that he is not left alone. I think I can handle being alone better than he can. Even in the end.

5-What’s your most prized possession? I have accumulated lots of things over the years, and I have a problem throwing things away if it’s something I may find a practical use for. However, if the house were to burn down, and everything in it, I would not grieve, as long as my family, including pets, were not hurt. I don’t feel attached to any thing.

6-What’s the funniest word you can think of? Onomatopoeia (you know, words that make the sound they represent, hiss; yap-yap!; buzz; woof!)

7-Do you get along with your parents? Yes. When my dad was alive, yes. I still get along with my mother. I wish she would come live with me!

8-What do you look for in the opposite sex? Humor, patience, intelligence, and a good heart.

9-What was the most difficult thing you had to do? Be strong for my parents after their El Paso accident in June, 1997. My father was in a halo, his neck broken, and we were on the 3-day Air Force Nightengale flight back to Georgia. He was so uncomfortable, in pain. I sat one row down from him. My mother sat beside him, her scalp still missing a big piece. She would need skin grafts when she got home. He kept asking me to adjust the pillows behind him, and I got up every time to do it. I was so very exhausted by the time we were on the plane to get them home. I’m sure he could see that in my face. I felt so sad for him, for what he was going through, for his loss, our loss. I cried every moment I was alone, but not in front of them. Lost in my grieving thoughts, I heard him call my name one more time. I turned to look at him, and his eyes welled up. He apologized for bothering me about the pillows so much. It was all I could do not to cry right then, seeing the suffering he had to live through. I knelt before him, took his hand in mine, and said, “Daddy, I’ll move those pillows a hundred more times if you ask me to. As many times as you need them moved. You tell me where you want me to put it, okay? It’s not a bother.” The hardest thing I have ever had to do for nearly three weeks: watch my parents suffer.

10-If you were given one day to live what would you do? I’d probably want to see my husband and son, and speak to my closest friends, to tell them what they have meant in my life, and how they made my life richer and more meaningful, and that I had had a good life. And have a big group picture made with all my favorite people.

11-If you could relive any day of your life either for good or to change it what would it be? The day when there was a terrible storm in the area, and I drove my son home from a ballgame, through the wind and rain, and he was so scared because he thought there might be a tornado in the area. Tree=limbs were everywhere, the sky was dark. I made light of it, and made fun of his fear, even as we grabbed pillows and headed for the basement room. I was laughing, and he was getting more and more hysterical with each passing minute. If I could relive that one more time, I wouldn’t make fun of his fear, and I’d try to say encouraging words, comforting words. I was being so silly, perhaps to hide my own fear.

12-What's the worst feeling in the world? guilt, after doing something you know is absolutely wrong.

The best? Being forgiven for having done something you know is absolutely wrong, whether the other person forgives you, or you forgive yourself. Or you forgive another for something they did wrong.

13-If you could meet anyone who ever existed who would it be? why?  One of my family's ancestors. I don't know who in particular, but someone from either my father's or mother's side, whichever one it was that came over to this country from France, Ireland or Scotland. I want to hear them tell me what motivated them to come here, and to tell me what they had to do to get here. I want to hear the stories of that family, good or bad. There is someone, I'm sure, who did a new and good thing that would make us all feel proud of him or her, someone that we could say, "yeah, that relative's blood is my blood." I want a story from that past to give my child and his children.

14-What was the meanest thing you ever did as a little kid? I let the boy next door kiss me just so he’d let me read his comic books. I didn’t like him for any other reason. He had the coolest comic books, and he always stared at me, so when he asked if he could kiss me, I made a deal with him. After he kissed me, he gave me the comic books, and we sat on the doorstep for the next hour, me reading, and he staring at me. A few days later, he came to our back door, and gave my father a nickel to give to me. My father told him I couldn’t have it, and sent him away. Then he had a talk with me about why I shouldn’t accept gifts from boys. I was ten years old, or so. That day I learned that it wasn’t very nice to use people like that.

15-What have you learned about love? That you have to give from the depths of your heart, that it doesn’t hurt when you do. That you have to learn how to receive love from another. Giving love is easy, receiving love isn’t so easy. More people are likely to refuse to receive love than to give love. Some people are harder to love than others, but they still need to be loved. A closed heart hurts worse than an open heart. A broken heart is able to love another more than one that has never been broken.

16-How have you changed in the past year? I’ve become more open to change, looking for opportunities to change rather than avoiding them. I’m stepping out of the boat because someone is asking me to come out and walk on the water again!

Fifth Day: Magic Kingdom

Universal Studios.

Animal Kingdom

Epcot

Disney/MGM Studios

Our fifth day, the 19th of June, we finally headed for the one place where it all began, Disney's Magic Kingdom.

Right away you encounter a minor problem. You can't get to the Magic Kingdom without the Monorail or the Ferry Boat. We chose the Monorail, thought it would be faster. Wrong. The line was so long, but you really can't see how long from the ground level. I'm sure the ferry boat got there before us. If you go, take the ferry boat. Everyone thinks the monorail is faster, but the line slows you down. You are tired before you even get to the Park!

To truly enjoy this park, imagine you are a little girl or boy, immersed in the culture of Disney animation and the best of recent family-rated fantasy adventures. You know the names of all the characters of all the Disney animations, from Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, Little Mermaid, Aladdin's Lamp,  Snow White, Pinochio, Peter Pan, to other favorites: The Swiss Family Robinson, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, Milo and Stitch, and Pirates of the Caribbean...

well, I know when I watched Cinderella receive her crown while her friends Ariel, Snow White, Belle, and their beaux accompanied her, ... well, I just had to look at the faces of all the young mothers and their daughters that stood around me. You could hear the glee in the young children's voices.. "look, there's Belle! Look momma, it's Ariel!" I was sure they imagined themselves upon that fantasy stage of romantic storybook characters.

What little girl didn't dream of being a princess, her handsome uniformed prince standing beside her, his eyes only on her because she was all he could see? Well, I'm sure some little girls by-passed that stage, but I was one who dreamed such as this.

That's what true love feels like, isn't it? When you've found the one you could live with forever, the one who makes you laugh, who pledges his life to you, and you to him, and with whom you cannot imagine living without. He rescues you, and you rescue him right back! (Pretty Woman).

I married my prince charming long ago. Now we both look more like the king and the queen in our gray crowns, but we know, and we remember the early days of our youth. Yes, there are some magical moments to treasure.But this is about Disney's Magic Kingdom, not Bea and Steve's!

If you never liked Disney story characters, if you never fell in love with Bambi's eyes, Snow White's ruby lips, Cinderella's plight,  Belle's power to transform the beast, or the fantasy flight with Aladdin and Jasmine on the magic carpet, then you may not care to indulge in the magical stories told here. This park is for die-Hard Disney fans. Cute, adorable, sweet, musical, whimsical, playful, and sparkly. You just have to get into the fantasy of it all, and go with it. Here you are the kid.

Tomorrowland was a gentler version of Epcot's futuristic exhibits and rides. Here, we considered the Indy speedway, but saw that the cars drove very slowly... fun for the 4 year olds and their dads, I'm sure. Space Mountain was a roller coaster ride. Decent. Probably one of the faster rides at Magic Kingdom. Also in Tomorrowland, Disney's Carousel of Progress was much like we remembered it twenty years ago. Nostalgic and sweet. For a fast ride with interaction, meaning you get to shoot at targets as the ride progresses past moving and still targets, get on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. You even control the spin of the vehicle.

We got FastPass tickets for Stitch's Great Escape. Not worth it. Don't make that mistake when you go. If you miss this ride, youhave missed nothing! It was most disappointing, probably because there was such a great buildup with the backstory.

The building is new, the ride sounds mysterious... what is going to happen in there? I am familiar with Stitch, the little blue alien that spits acidic, slimy, slobbery stuff at his enemies. I figure we'll get squirted with water again, like those other 3D shows.

We are told we are prison guards in training, at some future alien prison ward. Inside the cavernous room, circular rows of seats beg to be filled, suggesting some adventure with motion. Heavy harnesses come down over our shoulders to protect us.

The room darkens. Laser cannons are aimed at Stitch, trying to keep him under control, but he gets away. I wait for the ride to start, for the floor to drop, for the walls to open, or even close. Something! The room fills with disgusting odors, fog, and we get wet, the kids are screaming all around us... colored lights flash, Stitch appears to be running around our seats, touching us... whatever,... nothing else happens! The seats never leave their position, we never move one inch, nor even feel like we have been moved. What were those harnesses for? To keep us in our seats so we wouldn't get up and leave I suppose. The little kids seemed to love it, probably because it was in the dark, and it was scary to them. And stinky. Boring!

The most surprising ride was Splash Mountain in Frontierland. As the name implies, you will get wet. No problem for us, except we had to be careful with the camera. We watched the ride for awhile to figure out which side would get the wettest, so I could sit on the dryer side. We watched one log plume and noted when we'd get the wettest, near the bottom. We had it all figured out, and placed the camera in Steve's right pocket. He sat on the left, the side we figured would get the wettest. I sat to his right, and leaned in over the pocket with the camera, covering it further with my denim bag.

I said it was the most surprising ride. In fact, we were just starting up the first climb, when a log came gliding down the steep hill where the big splash would be, and we got splashed from their splash!!! Did not see it coming... we got soaked right then and there (the camera was dry, though). All of us in the log ride laughed at our own surprise.

The rest of the ride was cute and tame by comparison, with Brer Rabbit and brer Fox story being told through song and audioanimatronics. We enjoyed it. The great anticipation was "when are we going to go down that big steep drop, the one that makes the big splash?"  There are so many twists and turns, you just never know when it's going to happen. The last plunge did not get us wet at all... not after that first drenching. It was fun. Worth getting a FastPass for.

In Fantasyland, another 3D show, Mickey's PhilharMagic, was great fun to watch. There was something a bit off with it. I mean, the 3D action was awesome, but there were some parts that seemed not to focus very well, the objects that appeared to float right in front of your face, so close you could touch them, were actually troublesome to see in clarity. Still, it was a fun story, where Donald Duck takes off with Mickey's Wizard Cap, and passes through the landscapes of several other Disney animations and characters as he tries to catch the cap and return it to Mickey Mouse, who is about to conduct a Symphony. Very entertaining. No disappointment here.

The Spectromagic Parade was on Main Street at 9pm. It was like watching larger than life snow-globes pass by with all the famous Disney romance couples (Cinderella/Prince, Aladdin/Jasmine; Snow White/Prince; Beauty/Prince) inside waving at us.

It began to rain about 7:00pm or so. We headed for Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station. We thought it would be a great place to hunker down and have some dinner, rest, and wait for the Spectromagic show at 9pm. Followed by a 10pm fireworks show. We were tired enough, since we hadn't left the park to go home for a rest.

The fireworks were breathtaking, and watching from the Terrace was a good choice because we had a seat.

Disney Survivor Tip #1: You may not opt to go back to your room at this park because it takes so long to get back and forth (monorail/ferry), then tramto parking lot. But you should pick out a cool spot, and rest for a couple of hours if you decide to stay. We chose a restaurant. It really made the difference by the time 10pm rolled around.

Disney Survivor Tip#2: If you are going to buy souvenirs, wait until it's time to leave the park so you won't have to lug them around all day long. Or rent a locker for the day, but that will cost you. Don't know how much, didn't look into it. I waited until my last day to buy souvenirs from Magic Kingdom, although I did buy one at MGM Studios, but it didn't weigh much and fit in my bag.

Disney Survivor Tip #3: Do not wear flip-flops! Wear good, solid comfortable athletic shoes! All that walking is hard on your legs and back... you will notice it by the time you go to bed at night. You need shoes with good arch support. Sandals look great on your feet, ladies, but you will suffer for it later. You will not want to walk far with flip flops on. And don't wear new, unbroken shoes... you don't want to deal with blisters. What a way to ruin your day!

Disney Survivor Tip #4: Carry some aspirin or tylenol or advil, you know, you're favorite OTC painkiller, just in case you get a headache. Dramamine for those susceptible to motion sickness.

Disney Survivor Tip #5: Drink plenty of water all day long. Don't let yourself get dehydrated. That's a recipe for a headache and constipation if anything is. Combine dehydration with dizzying motion, and you are gonna feel miserable all day long. Be good to yourself so you can enjoy the day. It's hot in the summer... can't do anything about that except step into the shade as much as possible, drink water, drink water, and drink water. I told you there were plenty of bathrooms, right?

Magic Kingdom was as much fun as it was 20 years ago.

Fourth Day: Disney/MGM Studios

First we played at Universal Studios.

Then we spent a day at Animal Kingdom.

On the third day we visited Epcot Center.

On the 18th, our fourth day, we drove over to Disney MGM Studios.

My entries will be shorter because it's taking longer than I thought to put this all in my journal. But I did want to mention the highlights from each park.

We had never visited MGM studios before, so this was our first trip. By this time, we were familiar with using the Fast Pass, and it became something we looked forward to using. We would plan all our activities upon the times we could get and use the fast pass, and it helped us see and do more with the time allowed.

There were two great Stunt shows:

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! was my favorite. I wish we had been able to get a seat closer to front and center, but we arrived just minutes before the show began. It was very entertaining. I was surprised they could do so many stunts, change the scenery so many times, and use fire and explosions without anyone getting hurt. Audience is placed far from the action of course, so picture taking wasn't very interesting. I loved all the Indiana Jones movies, so I was thrilled to watch these stuntmen and women in action as they re-enacted our favorite movie scenes. Try to get in early so you have good center row seats for the best view. We had to sit on the endseats. Bummer.

The other stunt show involved fast stunt cars: Lights, Motors, Action! I'm not a fan of fast cars movies, but this show was totally cool! There's the red hero car being chased by the bad guys in black cars, and there's the motorcycle chase, the speed boat chase, bad guys shooting it out with the hero, one stuntman falls from a three story building onto an airbag, and the car stunts were even more spectacular. Ooh-la-la! C'est bonne! Tres bonne!

Our favorite ride had to be the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. It was such a thrill we went back for a second turn with the Fast Pass. This ride puts you in a service elevator of the Grand Hollywood Hotel, placing you in the notorious Twilight Zone during a wicked thunderstorm (chilling backstory comes with the ride) with your travel companions. The elevator ride starts out normal, but you feel anxious if you know nothing about the ride. What's going to happen, I wonder? Suddenly, it shoots up quickly to the top of the building, out of control, then drops the 13 stories. Several times it raises quickly, several times you are dropped from varying heights. You are in the dark most of the time, except for a peek of daylight when you reach the top floor, just to let you see how high you are before the elevator plunges to the ground. Of course, you are well belted in, and there is no real danger. Another nausea producer, but it was such thrill! Get a FastPass and do it again!

One ride I could have done without was the Rock'n Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith, which gave me such a head-ache from all the jerking around and the loud music. The music itself was good rock n roll, but it was so loud, and my neck began to ache from all the jostling. However, two Tylenol extra strength dissipated the ache well enough and I was able to enjoy the rest of the evening.

Star Tours was another thrilling simulator ride. You board a Star Wars style space vehicle with the others in your crew, and quickly find that the pilot of this ship is an android, and it is flying its first mission solo. It makes a round about exit from the Star Base, nearly crashing into walls and cargo, but finally you are flying through space alongside X-wing fighters, right in the middle of one of their battle scenes. It's truly fun. And for me, a nausea producer. I guess I should have taken some dramamine with me. It was mild. Didn't hinder the fun-seeker in me. This is worth a FastPass.

There were oh so many more rides and shows, but we were unable to do them all in one day. Phooey! Journey into Narnia was a magical walkthrough show... I was so tired at the time. Wished it had been a ride through. The Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage performance was fun, but again, we had end seats and didn't enjoy it as much.

 

Disney Survival Tip: Go early in the day, as soon as the park opens, stay until 1pm or 2pm leave the park, go back to your room, have lunch, take a nap, then return after 5 or 6pm and stay until closing for the most magnificent fireworks/laserlight/waterworks show, Fantasmic! with music and live Disney action. It lasted about 25 minutes. You don't want to miss this show! Miss anything else, but not this.

Go early to the Fantasmic! night performance.... we arrived nearly 90 minutes early because we had heard it filled up quickly. We were able to get good viewing seats... must have been 5,000 people there! Well managed crowd control, bathrooms, food vendors. People are very polite in these parks. well,most of them were considerate.

Next, the last Disney Entry: Magic Kingdom

 

Third Day: Epcot Center

Our Disney trip was full of surprises and man-made wonders. First stop was Universal Studios, then Animal Kingdom. On the 17th, the third day of our vacation in Orlando, we set out for DisneyWorld Epcot Center.

We had been to Epcot back in the mid-80's, when our son was about nine or ten. Not much has changed about Epcot, except for a couple of great new rides.

The most impressive one was Soarin'. If that was the only ride I could have taken all day, I would have been happy. You are a hang-glider, seated safely in your hang-glider along with five other companions, soaring over beautiful, scenic California. You truly feel the air whipping at your face, your feet dangle freely, and the air smells fresh like you are outside, not in a dark building filled with machinery and computer controls. While you soar, you see only the magnificent majesty of mountains below you and before you; a river passes below only inches from your feet. Truly exhilarating, breathtaking, and wondrous. #1 ride in all of Disney theme parks.

Mission: Space was fun in a geeky kind of way. For the duration of the experience, you become an astronaut (without the uniform, drat!). There is a preparation period as a younger Gary Senise explains your role in the crew of four that you are assigned to. I was assigned Commander, Steve was the Engineer, and the two other people on our ship became the Pilot and the Navigator. Each of us had two jobs to perform during the ride, involving pushing a certain button at the right moment. We had to listen very closely because with all the sound effects and action taking place in the confines of our ship, it would have been easy to miss the instructions. Claustrophobics should avoid this ride. It's tight inside the ship, and the console is lowered over you snuggly. I had no problem with it, however, nausea was definitely a side-effect. The backstory is good science fiction... the launch felt as real as I could imagine... we appeared to be launching straight up into space at the very beginning, and all my senses assured me that we were defying gravity to get into space. I felt the pull against my face... I suppose we were spinning at that point, but the screen in front of us showed us launching into space. It's all very high tech and sophisticated, and twice you are given the opportunity to turn away from the experience. Don't turn away!

The Living Seas was pleasing. It's more than a huge aquarium. Another educational opportunity, air conditioned. Even if you don't have kids with you, you will be amazed at the interactive show, Turtle Talk with Crush. I don't know how they did it, but you see the Pixar animation of Crush, the turtle that says "Dude!" and "Righteous, Dude!" a lot, in Finding Nemo. Crush is an animation, no doubt, and he is on a screen, but he talks to the audience, just like he is alive and present in the moment. He responds with facial expressions, asks questions, answers questions, and reacts with physical turtle-like gestures. The kids weren't the only ones watching and listening with their mouths open.

Finally, the fastest and longest ride at Disney, Test Track. You are buckled into a car that is scheduled to be tested for speed, durability, braking, and crashing. Not a roller coaster ride, but much faster than any ride we have ever been on. Exhilirating. Had we more time, we would have done this one twice.

There were many other rides I didn't mention here, and there were many we didn't go on because Epcot is filled with so much to do and see, it's easily a two day trip. We gave only one day to Epcot, and only saw three countries before the fireworks began in the evening.

I had entered captions to go with the pictures but they don't seem to be showing up here. However, I noticed when I clicked on View Larger, and selected slideshow, the captions showed up.

Next entry: Disney/MGM studios

Second Day: Animal Kingdom

On the 14th, our anniversary, we left Graham, NC at 8:30 a.m. and arrived in Orlando, Florida by 6:30pm.

On the 15th we visited Universal Studios. Click here for that entry.

On the 16th, we visited Disney World Animal Kingdom. It was our first time there, and is the most recent addition to the DisneyWorld theme parks in Florida. I had heard others say I had to visit Animal Kingdom. I was not disappointed!

The most outstanding feature in Animal Kingdom has to be the Tree of Life. It's at the very center of Animal Kingdom, much like Cinderella's Castle is the center of Magic Kingdom. No matter where you go, you can always figure out where you are by looking for the tree of life. The most amazing feature of the tree are the carvings in the wood of over 100 animals native to Africa. They are hard to see in this picture. I had intended to come back later in the day for some close up pictures, but forgot to ... I think the late afternoon downpour distracted me.

It's Tough To Be A Bug! was absolutely adorable. In 3D, of course, it was probably the best of all the 3D shows we saw in all five parks. Based on characters from Pixar's A Bug's Life, we were treated to a show that combined audioanimatronic characters and 3D movie action to shake us all up. The ending was the best. Hopper, the dictator-like grasshopper and bad-guy in the story, is trying to annihilate the human population because humans are notorious for killing bugs. Spiders drop from the ceiling (but never touch us) to scare us. On the screen, though, in 3D, they appear to fall to the floor and tiny blasts of air touch our legs. We scream and yell because it feels like spiders running past our legs.  Hopper tries to spray us with poison, and the room fills with a foggy cloud. He sends a giant beetle to squirt us with acid, which stinks (it's really water that hits us, though), but in the end, he gets eaten by a lizard. Through it all, Flik is there to humorus and protect us. When the show is over, all the bugs are told to leave first, and we hear their voices below our seats as they scurry away... little bumps and jolts against the seat bottoms give us the chills as we imagine the critters crawling away under our very seats. It was very cute and startling!

Kilimanjar Safaris was a pretty interesting safari trek through an African Savannah. Of course, we didn't just ride through in a jeep-like vehicle. No, there was a story, and adventure, and we were told that there were poachers in the area, we had to watch for them. Then the driver got a call on his radio that little Simba, the baby elephant was being captured by the poachers, and our safari crew was told to stop them. Of course, the driver jumped into action and chased the poachers down, and we stopped the poachers. The wild animals looked well treated and happy in their habitats.

Flights of Wonder: I love watching birds perform. The birds in this show didn't just do tricks like I used to see on TV. These birds became part of a story and flew in on cue to perch for a few moments on various props set up while the trainers discussed bird behavior. Of course, it was difficult taking most of the pictures because they did not sit still for long (the birds), and because I could never time the camera shot for the action I anticipated. There were many species represented. I only caught a few.

Expedition Everest: Ooh, this had to be the longest line ever. We were standing in front of a family of parents, three boys, and a grandmother and uncle. What unruly kids, and what irresponsible parents they were to let their kids run about amongst the bushes to catch lizards, and spit upon the props. One child almost spilled his drink on me, and nearly spit on me. I kept telling myself it was because the wait was too long, but there were other kids not misbehaving. The ride was awesome. You are in a dark mountain, on a speeding train. It's very fast, bumpy, and it goes backward in the dark when you don't expect it. Great fun, thrilling, if you like surprises, speed, and dark adventures.

Dinosaur: This little ride is also fast and bumpy, it is in the darkness at times, and there are dinosaurs everywhere. You are travelling back in time to find the last dinosaur. A little scary for little ones, I'm sure.

If you want to get out of the sun for 20 minutes, Festival of the Lion King is just the thing to do. We had to watch this show standing, since we arrived just as it began, and they told us it was standing room only by the time we arrived. Since we didnt' want to wait until the next show started, we went in. I was a bit disappointed because we were way in the back. However, the music was joyous, the costumes were fabulous, and the dancing at times resembled Cirque de Soleil quality. Great show if you have a good seat!

There were other rides and shows, most of the rest were of a slower pace. Characters from Disney shows Lion King, Bug's Life, Pocahontas, dinosaurs, and of course Minnie and Mickey were seen throughout the day. Wild animals from all over the world are here, even a petting station. Lots of environmental information and educational displays as well.

I loved walking through the Tree of Life and the 3D bug show the most. Even the rain didn't spoil the day for us.

Tip #1: Bring a cheap, lightweight rain poncho. It rained nearly every day for part of the day while we were in Orlando. Not for long, these showers. Most folks just waited under a roof or awning or other shelter-like area until it stopped raining, but those with ponchos could keep walking and get into shows and rides without having to wait.

Tip #2: Even if it doesn't rain, the poncho will help you stay dry on those rides that brag about how wet you will get. Unless you want to get wet, of course.

Tip #3: Carry a light snack with you, like a pack of peanuts or a package of peanut butter crackers. Something to eat, to hold you until you are ready to leave the park and eat. It will save you some money. But if money isn't a problem, you can eat most anywhere for under $20 per person per meal.

Tip #4: When you pick up a map as you enter the park, and do pick one up, pick up two instead. You very well may lose one of them. A fellow sitting beside me on the train ride to Rafiki's Planet Watch had lost his map. I overheard him talking to his daughter about it, so I gave him my extra map. He was relieved to have one immediately upon realizing he had lost his. The map is essential for performance locations, ride descriptions. It tells you which rides allow fast pass, which rides may be too scary for children, where wheelchairs are allowed or where you must be able to transfer from one to get on the ride. Even tells you which restaurants have vegetarian options, and the price ranges of restaurants. All this on the map! But if you do lose the map, don't worry. Most every shop and souvenir station has them.

For the best view of the photos I've included here, click on View Larger above the photo, then select SlideShow once the larger pictures are displayed. I really like the slideshow feature in this journal.

Animal Kingdom is definitely a must see if you go to DisneyWorld in Orlando, Florida.

Next entry: Epcot Center!

First Day: Universal Studios

We chose to go to Universal Studios first. There were several new rides or shows since our first visit nearly twenty years ago, and we love movies. Well, I love movies.

I was not able to take pictures inside the rides, nor did I take pictures of everything we did. Most of the time I forgot I had a  camera because I was having fun and didn't want to miss a single sight or sound.

Here's what we found to be the most fun, and worth doing twice if one had the time:

Twister...Ride it Out! The line was long, but moved constantly. You don't just walk through and get on a ride here. The line snakes through a house that has been hit by a tornado. Very realistic (but safe of course), with wires, pipes, broken and torn apart furniture, walls, windows... the place is all but flattened. As we walk through all this, ceiling mounted TV screens show Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt talking about the making of the movie Twister, with some favorite scenes. Then we get into the main event, where we are standing in the back of a warehouse or other structure, beneath an aluminum awning, facing a parking lot and field, a tree, telephone pole, house, restaurant, trucks, tractors, etc. All arranged in a realistic fashion, all life-sized. Then a storm appears in the distance, overhead the sky grows black. Thunder, lightning, rain... the wind is blowing, building in intensity. A tornado appears before us... we can't figure out how they managed that, but there it is, twisting and blowing just twenty feet away from us. The rest is special effects designed to make us feel like we are standing before the finger of God! No one gets sucked up, however, a cow flies past our viewing area, the tree gets struck by lightning, and the telephone pole falls onto the truck... there's more! Don't want to spoil all the fun for those who want to see it... or experience it is a better word. Kids were scared! I was in awe of the special effects people.

Revenge of the Mummy: The walk through, again, is made interesting so you don't get bored waiting in line. We walk through a darkened, but dramatically lit place that leads us into a pyramid, an ancient pyramid, with heiroglyphics, and great authentic paintings, sculptures, artifacts, and mummies... as if they are being stored for some great museum delivery. Then we board the ride itself. It's a roller-coaster ride like none other... often in total darkness. Fireballs follow us, giant scarab beetles scurry across the walls before us, and warrior mummies pursue us. It's great fun... more thrilling because it's in the dark and you don't know what's coming up next. First time I ever heard Steve holler during a ride!

Men In Black: Alien Attack. We did go back for a second turn on this one. While walking through the line, you are prepared. You are an MIB agent in training. You are shown a myriad of space-age weapons, taken through the control center (same as in the movie), and finally, you step into the vehicle (which holds six people). Each agent gets a "laser" gun. We had to shoot targets that varied in size, alien looking targets, like aliens seen in the MIB movie. Scores for individuals shone before each participant. Steve scored way more than I did. That's why I wanted to go back and do it again later in the day. I did score better the second time, but he still scored better than I. Not a fast moving nor a scary ride. Just fun.

Terminator 2: 3-D Battle Across Time: Of all the 3D shows, this was our first, only we didn't know it at the time. It was one of the best. There was more live action integrated with the 3D and special effects. It was like a mini Terminator 2 movie in itself, telling another stand alone story. The Terminator returns to save the boy John, future hero. Lots of action, cleverly melding 3D and live action. Might be scary for some kids, but most are used to this kind of action on the tv and movies. They may not be prepared for the 3D effect, however, and the silver creature appears to reach out into the audience many times to destroy us. However, it was very entertaining. The special effects came from every direction, sprinkling us, fogging us, bumping our seats, and vibrating all around us. Loud. Very sophisticated technology.

Back to the Future: The Ride. Pretty much the same as it was twenty years ago. The line is interesting because we are told a story, of how we become involved in the story, and why we have to go back in time in the latest time travelling vehicle designed by Doc Brown. Even the people paid to direct the lines are in character, one looking very much like Michael J. Fox himself, even speaking like him in character. The ride itself is bumpy, jerky, fast.... more simulated than a real ride, but the screen upon which the scenes are projected is huge, and we feel like we are truly being hurtled through space/time, dodging mountains, attempting to avoid giant dinosaurs. I was nauseous by the end of the ride. But it was fun.

Shrekd 4D was fun 3D movie with lots of interaction coming from the floor, the seats before us, the ceiling above us... the effect was that we were in the carriage being pulled by a donkey, or that we were riding the horse, or flying through the air. I loved the movie Shrek, so I really loved this show.

These were but a few of the rides... we did not go into the Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone. Jaws wasn't fun enough for me, but little kids loved it. Earthquake was boring by comparison to the other rides only because, I suppose, we had been on it before. So if you haven't done Earthquake, do it, but if you have, you can bypass it. It hasn't changed in any way. The ET Adventure is slow... great for ET lovers, and small kids, and folks who don't like jerky, bumpy rides that make you nauseous.

All in all, Universal Studios was a fun day in the park. We did not take a break and come back...stayed there all day, was totally wiped out by end of day and left before the evening performance. Wish we had, though.

Tip#1:  If you bring large backpacks or diaper bags, you may not be able to store them in the lockers provided. The lockers are there to store your bags, purses, cameras, for the faster, bumpier rides. They won't let you on these faster rides with anything. The lockers are small, though. I saw one kid who had won a huge stuffed animal and it wouldn't fit in the locker. Unless you have someone with you who can watch your things while you ride, you should try to carry what you'll need for the day in as small a bag as possible.

Tip #2: Bring water. We carried two water bottles with us. I kept them in the backbag I carried. Whenever we drank all the water, we could refill at the water fountains. Better yet, don't bring any water, and just drink at the water fountains. Sometimes the water is cold, sometimes not. Beverages are very expensive here. A small bottle of water was $1.25; One can of soda from a machine was $2.50; drinks in cups were as much or more.

Tip#3: Dress for the heat in the summer time. There are plenty of shaded areas to sit in and get out of the sun. Most of the lines are arranged to run through shaded areas and buildings. I wore a hat, but it became a hassle. Made me sweat even more. Some people were leaving their hats behind in places because they'd take them off and forget that they had taken them off. I found one on the floor under my seat at the SHrek show.

Tip#4: Wear sunscreen... high number. I wore spf 45 and got a great tan. Like I said, most of the time, while you are standing in line, you are in a shady area.

Tip#5: Use the fast passes as much as possible. I will explain more about those in the next entry. At Universal, we didn't know about the fast pass. We wondered how other people were getting on the rides quicker than we were. But we didn't bother to look into the fast pass that first day. It would have enabled us to do two or three more rides that day had we used them.

Next: Animal Kingdom

We're Back from Orlando!

We're back from our 6-daytrip to Orlando.

I was hoping to add an entry tonight with lots of photos from each theme park we visited, however, while I was editing the photos, I encountered a problem, and now I've lost them all. I've emailed aolpictures help.

I tried again, but none of the pictures showed up when I loaded them to this page. So, no pictures today. I'll try again tomorrow.

I haven't read all of the 200+ email messages and journal alerts that I received while I was gone, however, I will attempt to make my rounds this week.

We had an exhausting but great week at the DisneyWorld theme parks. Wish I had had my laptop with me so I could make an entry each day, you know, true journal fashion. We were miles down the road last Wednesday morning when I realized, to my dismay, that I had left my paper journal at home! I could have brought it with me and made entries, the old fashioned way: paper and pen. As it turned out, by the end of each day, I was too tired from all the fun in the sun to write anything more than the date and the name of the park we visited on that day.

Here's my blogging plan: I'm going to make a brief entry about each park (Animal Kingdom, Disney MGM studios, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Universal Studios) with photos tomorrow, I hope. Each entry will be titled by the theme park. Which means there will probably be five separate entries.

In case any of you are planning a DisneyWorld vacation, I will include some Disney Survivor tips!

I'm glad to be back home... thank you for your well wishes on our anniversary last week.

Now it's time to get ready for Vacation Bible School: Fiesta!

Happy Anniversary to us, and I will blog when I get back!

For all my regular visitors and friends, and any curious first-timers:

Tomorrow, the 14th, is our 31st anniversary!!

I never wrote about how we met, did I?

He was a country boy, in the Air Force, when I, a college senior, met him. He was three weeks from being discharged when he asked me to dance at the NCO's club that night. I was with my parents (had no date, but loved going to NCO club with them... loved to dance with the GI's... I was 20 at the time and looking for someone to carry me away)... it was the only way to get into the NCO club if you didn't have a GI of your own.

Mom and dad were regular attendees of the NCO club... mom could outdance me any Friday night... she could even outdance my dad. Sometimes my dad would quit dancing, and sit down to take a break, but mom would just keep dancing. She was a better partier than I, having a lust for life that most of us only wish for. Actually, at 75 years old, she still has a lust for life today. Dad quietly stepped out four years ago to take that long break we desire when we are tired and hurt from the pains of living, and is resting in peaceful eternity now. God bless my dad. He tried to keep up with mom, he really did.

However, essential to this story is a beginning that began before we first laid eyes (hands, lips, etc!) on each other. It began five years earlier, when I was a high school senior (1970) living in Georgia, and I first travelled through with my girlfriend and her family to NC, and fell in love with the Appalachian mountains. My heart did something that day that I can't explain, but I was left feeling quite certain that NC was the state I would return to one day. I had goose bumps, and tears in my eyes as I came to recognize the view in the mountains as being "home" for me.

Then in 1973, Dodge showed off its newest model of cars, the Challenger. I saw a picture of it in a newspaper insert. It was Plum metallic, and it was beautiful in my eyes. I kept the picture and told everyone that was the car of my dreams.

I was a college student between 1971 and 1975... and just before I graduated from the University of Georgia, I met Steve. He was on leave, just back from TDY in Turkey, and I was spending the weekend home with my family (I had 6 brothers and sisters).

Here's what Steve had going for him that night we met:

1) He spoke well of his siblings... he had six also!   

2) He owned a metallic Blue 1973 Challenger, which was close enough to purple to win me over!  

3) He was from North Carolina.

4) I liked him. Very much.

Not one to ignore all the signs that were pointing the way so clearly for me, I made ample opportunities for he and I to get to know each other, even though he had to return to NC while I was still in school in Athens, Georgia. Since he owned a car, and I didn't, he made several trips to visit me during those first months before we got married.

To make a long story short, we both fell in love, he with my incredible cuteness and many other things too numerous to mention, and I with his intelligence, good looks, his Carolina accent, his car, his vision for our future, and his brothers (his sister too). We married June 14, 1975 in North Carolina in the yard of his brother and sister-in-law, now my family, by a Baptist minister, in the North Carolina foothills.

His family is my family, and I miss those days we had when we were so very close, like best friends. We still are, but we don't do things together like we did twenty to thirty years ago. We live so far apart now, and we've all been raising our children. But we love each other and when we are together, it all comes back just like we were never apart.

We leave first thing in the morning for DisneyWorld. I'm pretty sure we'll blend in with all the real kids there.

I know you all have wished for me to have a fun time and a safe trip. We will have fun, no doubt. I hope that those of you who pray will pray that we have safe passage to and from Orlando. More than anything, I want to make it home again. Lots of work stillleft to do!

I will be taking pictures. Maybe not lots of them, but enough that I can make a journal entry with photos to show what we did. I'll be asking strangers to take our picture together from time to time.

I won't be able to make any journal entries unless there is a computer I can use at the motel.

So, I guess when I get back, I'm going to see at least 200 journal entry alerts.... I had forgotten about that one... that's a lot of journals to read when I get back. So, if I don't respond by commenting in your journals for a few weeks, just remember, I won't be back for ten days, and then give me some time to get back into a routine.

THank you all for your support these past several months. You have been wonderful people, and your words touch my heart. I hope you have a good two weeks in your own lives. I will be back!

Love,

Bea

 

YEAYYYYYYY!! Vacation begins today.

Summer Vacation Begins for me today!

I just finished a half-day at school, gathering up the last of the things that needed to come home, sending student work folders off to their middle schools, and checking off all the things that needed checking by various departments to make sure that all books and materials are in the room and accounted for, or in their proper places in other rooms.

I said a few goodbyes (I'm going to miss them all), completed my yearly Individualized Growth Plan with my principal (All teachers have to start the IGP in the first month of school, noting individual areas they desire to improve upon or develop further, and complete it in the spring. It's one measure of growth accountability. You say what you want to do, then you do it, then you show evidence that you did it.), sent off a couple of important emails to middle school teachers, then packed up the car, drove to town for lunch with a colleague, and stopped at the bank.

I came home, unloaded the car. Thought I'd share my jubilation for the moment before going to wash my car.

Now I'm gearing up for the trip to DISNEY WORLD!! Clothes to wash, house to clean, bags to pack... you know.

YEAYYYYYYY!

Circle of Life

The circle of life is everywhere, surrounding us as we each move through our own cycles of living. It is no further away than where my frontyard ends and my neighbor's yard begins.

My neighbor's grandchildren often visit them. They are 9 year old twins. I knew their mother when she was a child of nine, when she lived next door.

The girls are adorable, and opposites in personality. A is quieter, S is more outspoken. They both have distinct opinions, both are curious, polite, articulate with exceptional clarity, and have interests in many areas. They love their grandparents, their parents, each other, their baby sister, and are at peace with the world. I only see them when they visit their grandparents on weekends.

On Sundays, I look across my neighbor's yard to see if the girls are outside so I can invite them to come with me. I saw them in the yard Friday afternoon, when I met their 4 month old baby sister for the first time. I invited the twins to come to church with me Sunday.

I can tell they've been to church before. They know how to behave, how to pray, how to follow the program, and how to read music from the hymnal. They are such a joy to have in Sunday School, their comments and questions a welcome opportunity for me to share what I have learned, and to further reveal what is on their hearts.

During worship service today, the more outspoken one, S, had asked me if we still did the thing where we call out names of people to pray for. I told her we did. She said she wanted to lift up her aunt's name, and I told her she could do that. Then she sat back and waited for the right moment.

When the time came to make announcements, I looked at her and whispered if she still wanted to say something. She nodded, so I reminded her to raise her hand, which she did. Her sister, the quiet one, sat quietly, and watched.

When our Lay Leader called on her, she indicated that she wanted to come to the microphone, and he told her to come on up. She ran up to the front of the church, stood behind the podium, and realized she could not see over it. But that did not deter her from speaking.

With only the top of her head showing over the podium, she spoke into the microphone without an ounce of fear or nervousness and said, "Oh, I can't see anyone over this thing. But that's okay. (she giggled) I don't come to your church very often because I don't live around here, but I can tell that you do good things in this church. This is a good church. I like coming here, and it's fun."

You can imagine the soft sounds and murmurs that filled the room, of "awww!" and "Ohhh!" Like the sounds you hear when something very cute and very sweet was just seen or heard. Or something very profound spoken from the mouth of a child. Like when a child boldly walks up to the microphone to speak what they feel, and you know you feel the same thing but wouldn't dare walk up to a microphone to say it!

I must say that as the meaning of what she had done sank in to my heart, tears came to my eyes. I thanked God for the message sent to me, and no doubt to many others, that we do do a lot of good things, and sometimes we forget that because we are just so caught up in the doing of them. We grow tired, and disappointed, we become overwhelmed with the work that needs to be done because we see so much more that needs to be done, and we think "No one is doing that... who is going to take care of that?"

But someone notices, someone hears, someone sees. And she is a little child. Not just that little child I speak of here. There are lots of little children who are watching and listening.

Let's not forget that all that we do for them does not go unnoticed. You don't have to hear the accolades and applause from a crowded room, or receive an honorary medal to know that you are doing a new and a good thing. You just need to hear it in the small, soft, musical voice of the child who watches and follows.

If that doesn't make you want to minister to children, I don't know what will.

For those of you who teach children, in Sunday School, whether they are pre-schoolers, elementary aged, or middle and high schoolers, and for those who lead other youth ministries as scout leaders or other youth groups, and teachers of the public school system... if many, many days and weeks and months go by without someone telling you you've done a good job, or thank you for leading the youth of America, let me say it.

THANK YOU for leading a child, through knowledge and through faith. Thank you for letting them ask their questions, and for not criticizing their thoughts and opinions when they express them.

Thank you for not belittling them, or humiliating them, for guarding the sensitive things they tell you, for giving them suggestions on how to deal with problems, for supporting them when they describe their fears, and for encouraging them when they falter.

Thank you, all guardians of children, for seeking in your own heart what is right and true, so that you lead no one astray. Thank you for giving your time, your talents, and your energies for the classes you teach, the VBS programs you plan, the games, the crafts, the snacks, the plays, the songs, and the stories you will teach them... to all of you, a big THANK YOU!

It will come back to you, in a way you won't even expect, but in a way you will certainly recognize. When you work with children, you are in the Circle of Life.

School days nearly over

You've been wondering when school lets out, haven't you? Here in NC, in my school district, yesterday was the students' last day... they came for half the day.

Tomorrow will be my last teacher workday. Am I excited? Oh, yeah!

Bittersweet, though, as Fitzzer noted in an email to me today. Happy for some time off, some time to recharge the old teacher's batteries, but sad because I'm not returning to the same school in the fall. I am going to miss the teachers with whom I have worked so closely with these past seven years.

Seven years of planning, worrying, laughing, crying, managing classrooms, attending workshops, and generally attempting to solve problems that arise each year within the classroom, within the grade level, within the school. Oh, yes, and teaching. That's life, after all. Always the school vision to keep in mind, and teachers to collaborate with, personalities that meld and others that clash. But always the understanding that we will work together for the students, to carry out that vision.

I know I will make new friends in the new school. I have no doubt about that.

Today the teachers presented me with a wide-matted photo of me with four of my fourth grade students, taken last week. Caroline, another teacher, had popped into my afternoon writing class, the same day we had had the writing test. I was reading out loud a book to the kids at the time, to take a break from the writing since they had already taken the test. It was a fun book, How To Talk To Your Dog, can't remember the author at the moment.

She walked in with a digital camera, told me she was going to take a picture, and of course we all said okay. The kids leaned in just a little closer than they had been sitting a moment before, and Caroline snapped the photo. Took two in fact.

Today, I remembered that day, and thought I should talk to her and try to get the digital copy onto my computer. I knew it had to be a great photo. All of us had smiled, and the kids are so photogenic.

But I never had time to talk to her about it, and forgot about it.

About 3:00, just moments after we completed an IEP meeting, in walks a teacher with a big smile on her face, and she holds out to me the framed picture I just describe at the start of this entry. There had been a meeting to recognize those teachers who would be leaving. I could not attend due to the IEP meeting that had already been scheduled long before the recognition meeting. Teachers had signed the mat around the photo with well wishes and best of lucks and other nice thoughts to keep me from forgetting them. I would never forget them!

But the photo...! I wish I could put it here for you to see. I cannot without violating the privacy of the students. Just know that I treasure the photo, and it brought tears to my eyes. Such a wonderful parting gift.

When you spend so much time with a kid, you cannot look at their picture and not miss them when you have moved on and away from them. I miss them already. I hear their voices saying my name.

I know in the fall, I won't be there to greet them and see in their happy eyes how glad they are to see me. Oh, that does a teacher's heart so much good!! I know the children feel the same way when they look into my eyes and see that I am happy that they are walking toward me, and into my life.

I take solace in knowing that there are kids at the other school who will probably need me even more than the ones I am leaving behind. I can't wait to meet them.

Even so, I am sad. I know I will get over it, but for now that's where I am, and that's where I will let my heart stay for a little while.

Spring Fling a Success!

How does one measure success? Regarding fundraisers, you would think it would be measured by how much money was raised for whatever cause was behind the fundraiser.

The weather cooperated with us, it being a perfectly beautiful day to hold a Spring Fling.

I don't know how much was raised at this time, but I can say that our Spring Fling, in which I was not involved in the planning stages, but had my hand in painting a game booth, was a veritable success.

I base this on the number of new faces I saw on our church lawn. People I knew in the community, possibly from other churches, and many parents or grandparents of students at my school, came to participate in the games and eat the good ol' southern barbecue style chicken.

As I floated about the games area, admiring the handiwork of the volunteers who planned and set everything up, I took lots of pictures. I included a few here in this entry. You get the idea. Small country church has a first time fundraiser event in the spring, and a pretty decent turn-out I might add.

I think the adults were having as much fun as the kids. Even the Youth were there in numbers, manning the booths, applying "tatoos", coaxing the children to test their throwing skills, or putting skills. There was a bean bag tic-tac-toe game, a basketball net set up for those inclined to shoot a free throw, a ring toss, horse-shoes, a duck pond, the baseball throw, a football throw, fishing booth, air bouncer, and a ventriloquist with his puppet, James.

There was a woman, Patti the Clown, who could tie balloons into just about any shape or form, creating swords, aliens, princess crowns, monkeys on palm trees, a dog on a leash, just to name a few. The kids loved her. Holding this altogether was the DJ blasting out the great hits of the 50's, 60's, and 70's... of beach music, Tina Turner, and the ever popular "YMCA"... well, kids of all ages still love that one. I certainly enjoyed today's music to whatI heard yesterday... but I have to remember that yesterday was for the 5th graders and what they liked. It was their dance, not mine!

I carried in my pocket a twenty dollar bill, thinking I would need it to buy tickets to play the games. I found out that there were no tickets. The games were free... even the air bouncer was free. The only place accepting donations was inside the fellowship hall where the barbecue meal was being served. I found a jar to drop the twenty in, knowing the money would go to worthy cause.

The beneficiary of today's successful money raiser? the Armenian Orphanage. I could write a lengthy description of what has taken place in that area of the world, and how the United Methodist Church, in addition to providing necessary funds and materials to reconstruct and refurbish old orphanages, is helping families gain control of their lives, and helping them to keep their children in their homes rather than sending them off to the orphanage. I could, but you would gain more insight if you read about it yourself.

Click here to learn how UMCOR is helping the Armenian people.

Fundraisers like this help raise awareness of the needs of people far from the comfort of our own homes and the safety of our own communities. Our church is always involved in helping local charitable organizations (Just tonight, for example, the Spring Fling organizer told me that all the leftover barbecue chicken and sides was delivered to Caring Kitchens in Burlington. She delivered it herself.) and local families in need. But we must be ever mindful of those in other parts of the world who are hungry, lost, in pain, and suffering like we cannot even imagine.

Jesus would want us to do that.

Yes, I would say it was successful. Dot thanked me profusely for painting the fishing booth. She said it was exactly what she had in mind... she had hoped I would paint a pond scene, though we had not even talked about it prior to my decision to paint it.

Many people helped out with this event, but I want to thank Dot for all her enthusiastic work in this event. Mostly I want to thank her for her deep dedication to being an active part of the Body of Christ. Truly, Dot's hands are the hands of God!!

Spring Fling invitation

Spring Fling! The words conjure up fundraiser fare: booths of games, prizes for everyone, barbecue cooked on-site, people gathered to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine of fellowship on the church lawn. Today at 4:30-7:00pm that's where I'll be. If you are a friend or neighbor who lives within driving distance, I hope to see you there at Cedar Cliff United Methodist Church. See you there!

Thoughts at the 5th Grade Dance

This week the big school event was the 5th grade dance, which was held directly after school was dismissed.

Our principal, yesterday morning during the awards program, had given the fifth grade students valuable words to take with them as they moved onto middle school. Showing a clip from The Wizard of Oz, she spoke about the qualities they would need to live their lives: perseverance, courage, compassion, wisdom, and the love of family and friends. Yes, with these in their hearts, they will go and do something good in this world.

Before they leave elementary school, however, they had to have their 5th grade dance. 

Parents of the graduating class went all out for their fifth graders. Following the theme of "Hollywood," for which each and every student was honored with a star on the wall with their name on it, parents decorated the school gym with gold and white balloons, darkened the high glass windows with black paper, brought in a live DJ (a friend of the family, I think), and hired a local catering duo to provide tasty hot food. I was very impressed.

While the students changed their clothes, I drove home to let my dogs out. Some had brought something special and dress-up for the afternoon dance, but most wore what they had been wearing all day. By the time I returned to the dance event, they had already eaten and were in the gym on the dance floor.

Oh my! What I saw! Girls and boys dancing like I have not seen dancing. Nothing recognizable. I don't know what to call what two of the girls were doing. Very energetic, highly demanding postures, innocently suggestive. I may have seen that style a few years ago... Britney Spears I think. But what I've seen of her is not innocently anything. Maybe it's what they see when they watch music videos. I'm in the dark, you see, because I haven't watched a music video in possibly ten years. I should watch them just so I'll know where their influences come from.

I may be out of touch, but I'm uncomfortable with little girls dancing like that!

Although the girls were dancing like they had a figure to flaunt, the boys were very cool in their stepping, hopping, turning, flipping, and facial expressions. I’d say you would have to be an athlete to make some of the moves they made. The DJ guided them into dancing the usual line dances at one point, and even played one seventies tune.

After awhile, I left the gym seeking a cooler temperature and air flow. In the cafeteria I  had a bite of the tasty catered food while I spoke with the two ladies whose talents created the meal. There were sweet and sour meatballs, lightly fried chicken nuggets, vegetables and dip, fruit and dip, cake, and iced tea. It was much better than the usual fare of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and sodas.

After I'd eaten, though, I regretted it. Something akin to indigestion continued until just about an hour ago. I'm sure it wasn't the food, but rather the problem I've been having with my stomach this week.

About 6:15 pm, the dancing stopped, the DJ took down his equipment. A large wide-screen TV was wheeled out onto the stage. A student-made slide-show was about to begin.

Before the slideshow began, however, all the students were herded out of the gym, and lined up alphabetically while parents and others set up chairs for viewing the slideshow.

The students were then introduced one by one as they re-entered the gym. One parent announced their birth names, their interests, and the middle school they would be attending (depending on where they live, they might go to SMS or HMS). When the student was introduced, he/she walked down the stairs onto the red "carpet" lighted runway. Parents could stand at the end of the "runway" to photograph their "star" as she made her walk in the spotlight of fifth grade fame.

I thought this was a special way of recognizing every student... not just the A-honor rolls, or the PE awards, the Music awards, or the Science Awards. To be in this spotlight, you just had to be a graduating 5th grader, and they were all that. Every student was honored for their unique, personal qualities. Very nicely done, parents!

The slideshow began after all the students were seated. Several students were introduced who had been working on it this week, putting together photos students had brought in. It was very cute. Cool, upbeat music had been added.

First, a baby photo of each student was shown, followed by a second or third photo of the student older. It didn't take long for the kids to recognize the pattern: baby picture, older picture, 5th grade picture. Within a minute, they were calling out in unison the names of their classmates as their picture appeared on the screen.

There was laughter, giggles, and gasps of surprise. I found it amusing that they were calling out a student's name when the baby picture was shown. There was clearly a great bond among these students, most of whom have been together since kindergarten.

What is particularly sad for them, though, is they know that they are being split up during their middle school years. Some will be attending HMS for three years, and some will be attending SMS for three years. The reality is that many of them will not see their best friends again until the 9th grade (unless of course there are home visits among them).

As I watched my students dancing and strutting their little stuffs, acting shy around each other except during the dance-off, I was happy for them. I was happy that they had completed their journey through elementary school. They will no doubt experience great anxiety about starting middle school, but they will persevere, and they will make it. They have what it takes to work with and around what life has dished out to them, and to succeed, whether because of it or in spite of it.

I knew the parents were happy, on the one hand, that this chapter of their child's life was over, and a new one was about to begin. However, as they stood watching their little ones, girls who no longer looked little in their heeled shoes, styled hair, and dance dresses and boys in their ties and dress pants, I'm sure they were thinking of the passing of time, and how the teen years were just around the corner.

I'd be worried if I didn't remember the wisdom that had been offered to them yesterday morning during the awards program!

Winding Down

The nausea won't go away. It doesn't feel like a stomach virus anymore... everything I eat brings on waves of mild nausea. I've been meaning to go see the doctor. Tomorrow I'm going in for some routine follow-up blood work. Perhaps the doctor can fit me in then.

There is an awards program at school in the morning... I should be able to get back in time for it if I'm only getting the blood work done. Right now, I'm more interested in feeling better than watching kids get their awards. Normally, I'm all into the awards program, which we have every 9 weeks or so, but I haven't felt 100% since Saturday when the stomach thing hit me suddenly.

Could be a response to the end of the year? I'm winding down fast. But I feel like I'm getting everything done that needs to get done. And the kids are hanging in there, which is hard because testing is over and some have the attitude that there's no point to school if there are no more tests.

I got an idea from a Project Wild workshop for teachers two weeks ago. I enjoyed searching for bugs around the campus, and thought the students would too.

One reading activity I will fit in involves a brief study of common insects. We'll browse through some insect books I checked out of the library, and talk about what kinds of insects they expect to find around our school and why they are valuable to the environment.

Then I'm givng each of them a bug collector. That's a plastic container with a special viewing lid, vented, with tweezers and magnifying "glass". I bought them for a $1 each at the dollar store.

The students know how much I love to study bugs, and they like my bug collector containers that I keep in the classroom to temporarily house insects we find in the building throughout the year (we always release them after we look them up in the insect book).

After we go outside and collect a bug or two for them to study, we'll identify them, ask questions, talk about where we found them, what they saw as they looked. They'll write a description of the bug, where they found it, and what it was doing when they found it.

We'll let the bugs go, and the kids will keep the bug collectors. I want them to take them home and find bugs in their own yards to study. In this way I hope to encourage a healthy respect for insects, and instill a new response when they see one, to replace their usual response (that is, to step on them without asking any questions).

This will be an interesting activity that would incorporate reading, science, and writing. Something I don't do often enough since I am an EC teacher and my focus is generally reading, writing, and math. But that is going to change.

After all, this is a year of transformation for me!