A Second Look--October 31, 2012

or Okay after Sandy

As everyone knows, this has been the week of Frankenstorm Sandy. I was able to get out and explore a few days before she came, and I went out today in her remnants of cold rain to access the damage. We were very lucky that the only real effects we had from the storm were a few downed branches. My thoughts are with those who were not so fortunate.

Here's what I saw this week during a Second Look.

These mums were covered with flies and bees*. However, the flies were too fast for me to get a picture.

This Virginia Creeper added some welcome color to this tangle of briars and vines.

Hydrangea

Ward surveying one of downed branches from Sandy.

Of course the storm brought down lots of leaves.

These are pictures of the same mushrooms taken several days apart. The blue one appeared after the storm.

* Please forgive me if this is a wasp. I know that wasps and bees are not the same thing, I just don't know how to tell them apart.

Sandy

or Anticipation

Noon, October 29, 2012

The water and food are secured. The generator has been tested and the flashlights have fresh batteries. The lawn chairs have been put away and the firewood is in the garage. The laundry and dishes are washed and we have extra bread and toilet paper. And now we wait.

Even though the rain has started and winds have picked up, they are nothing to write home about. But the "best" is yet to come. Or so they say. I hope "they" are wrong.

School Days--Wally's Field Trip, Part Three

  School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here.

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This week will be a little different with an account of Wally's first grade field trip instead of an interview. I wrote this soon after we returned from the trip, so there's no looking back with nostalgia here. The story is fairly long so it will be posted in three installments. They will follow each other weekly on School Days Mondays. Today is the last installment.

Wally's First Grade Field Trip 

Part One and Part Two found me reluctantly going on the field trip and trying to control some very active first graders as we toured the zoo.

Now for Part Three

A favorite joke on the bus ride home.

After continually hearing that they were hungry, we stopped for a snack at noon. Before the trip, the chaperones agreed that we would buy each child one treat. They could chose one thing from the zoo snack shop and everyone in my group chose ice cream. The first thing that they had agreed upon all day. However, they didn't seem to understand the one treat per child policy. After they finished their ice cream, they said that they were thirsty and asked if they could have a soda. When I showed them where the water fountain was, the used the, “Everyone else got to have a snack and drink,” argument on me. When that didn't work, they tried to make me feel bad by saying, “I wish I was in a different group.” As soon as they figured out that I was unyielding, they all had a long drink from the water fountain.

When our snack was finished, we headed for our ever important stop at the gift shop. Jessica finally purchased two small plastic animals with her money after receiving a lot of advice from the other group members. It was almost one o'clock by now and time to head back to the front gate to load the bus. I was glad the trip was almost over because I was exhausted.

The bus ride back to the school was a little more subdued than the ride in the morning had been, so I guess the kids were tired too. Krystal and Pink Feather weren't talking to each other because of something that had happened in the gift shop. However, they insisted on sitting together. Many of the kids were delighting in telling riddles. I actually found this riddle funny--Why was 6 afraid of 7? Because 7 8 (ate) 9.

But the kids found their version equally funny--Why was 2 afraid of 3? Because 3 ate 4.

The trip was officially over at 2:15 when the kids followed their teachers back into their classrooms. As I was driving to pick up Theodore from the sitter, I realized that the trip had been successful. Even though it hadn't left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling, I had managed to survive the entire experience without the need of a single aspirin. Having children has taught me to appreciate the small things in life and surviving six hours on a first grade field trip was one of them.

Thankful Sunday--October 28, 2012

I am thankful I get to spend time with Sarah today.

Below I am rerunning a post about Sarah so you will see why.

The Present is the Present

I am lucky that I get to spend some Sunday mornings with my friend, Sarah, a special needs teenager. I buddy with her during Sunday School as we visit different programs that she enjoys. Two things you need to know about Sarah (other than how sweet she is) is that she loves nature and can be quite determined.

She was exhibiting these two traits one day last fall as we were walking from one building to another on the church campus to go to a singing activity. I was trying to hurry her along only half listening as she showed me a bug or a leaf that she found interesting along our path. When we were almost to our destination, she said she was not going any further and sat down under a maple tree. After a brief moment of frustration, I stopped and remembered that there was no agenda for the morning except for Sarah and me to enjoy ourselves. It was okay if we skipped singing this time.

Sarah then told me to come and that we were going to play a game to see if the falling leaves would touch us as they fell from the tree. We sat still and felt the warm air of the morning and watched the leaves float around us in a gentle breeze. Up until this point, I hadn't even noticed what a beautiful morning it was.

You have probably heard the saying, “The present is the present.” Never has this been more evident than it was that morning with Sarah.

(In case anyone is wondering who won the game—she did. Sarah had a total of three leaves fall on her and I had two.)

Voting

As cliche as it sounds, I'm glad to live in a country where I have the right to express my opinions on many issues including who is going to represent me. So today I'm going to vote and I encourage you to do the same when you can.

You may wonder why I'm voting early. I'm going with Theodore who won't be able to make it to the polls on November 6th. However if I'm going to do a full disclosure, here it is. I heard that once you vote, your name will be taken off the call rosters and you won't get any more political calls. I hope it's true. I don't think I can stand another political ad whether it's by phone, mail, sign, or TV.

Note: I have a good example of exercising your right to vote. My mother, who is 82 years old, has never missed voting in an election--local or national. I think that's impressive.