Frog and Toad are Friends

  Frog and Toad are Friends.  They are different, but still like each other.  The following are new items in my Etsy shop and make great companions to lessons on the Frog and Toad books.  Dramatic play in the classroom helps to boost reading success!

Getting Out of Here

      This was taken on our way to Kansas City, Missouri to visit my husband's family.  It reminds me to think about the feeling of driving on the highway at dusk.  It reminds me to plan more outings.  The house may be a cozy, warm, safe place to spend this unusually cold winter, but cabin fever has set in. 
      I realize that this blog needs to get out more too.  Looking ahead, I plan to take pictures of all the places we love to visit in our city and beyond.  Perhaps I'll discover something new in the ordinary, or something unexpected.  What do you do to stay happy and healthy during winter?

Thoughts after Arizona's Tragedy

      One of my roles as a staffer in an inner city library was to serve teen gangsters and homeless guys who pretended not to sleep on the dirty vinyl chairs.  Every night there was a new drama.  Drunks would throw things at the glass doors. Teens regularly gathered and at the entrance, with nowhere to go and nothing interesting to do.  This fact usually meant that they got into trouble. The police were called at least five days a week for incidents as minor as panhandling and as serious as assault.  I was one of the assaulted. But I still kept working long after a homeless patron attempted to strangle me during closing time.  It was only later, when a man arrived waving a semi automatic at the group of teens that I decided to leave for good.
     I'm not a martyr.  I lobbied for security for months but this was repeatedly denied.
     So I'm home now. There are no more books to shelve, people to assist, or crazies to manage.  There's no driving social concern to bring up at every meeting.  There's just me, our son, my husband, a dog, a cat, five fish and some plants.  I don't have a regular paycheck, but I don't miss the extra money.  I have learned to see my life in terms of other kinds of assets.  The real value of my life is now measured not in the things I know or the numbers in the bank.  My biggest assets are the people who keep loving me despite my faults.   Another asset is my ability to wait patiently for inspiration, for direction and for peace.  Another is my ability to teach myself new skills and to stretch myself creatively.  And after watching the coverage of the Arizona tragedy, I'm reminded that the biggest asset is simply my life.
    I am deeply saddened by the tragedy in Arizona.  There's no way to comprehend the depth of grief that those families now face.
   At home I am privileged to be safe, warm, healthy and free to think and feel, to work and go about my ordinary life. But my friends who still work at that library do not always have those luxuries, just like many people who work on the front lines, with a public that includes increasingly violent and unstable individuals.   Librarians, teachers, students and political leaders are not the only people who have this nagging, unsettling worry.  After 9/11 we are all afraid.  There's never enough security to put us all at ease.
I've recently been asked to join a focus group for safety in schools.  This week I'll attend the group's first Forum.  I'm not sure what value I can add to the discussion.  Does it make a difference when concerned people gather to discuss the issues?  Or is it a complete waste of time?
Wishing you peace....
~Jenny

Confidence, my fair weather friend

     Last night, while watching Dragonfly, I was captivated by the line "imagination is what gets us there".  A story of a man who loses his wife and unborn child to a natural disaster in Central America, this film is suspenseful, intelligent and visually beautiful.  The main character, played by Kevin Costner, is an ER physician.  When things start to get intense, someone says,  "the reason you are doctor is that you previously imagined yourself to be one."
      The idea that we construct our current reality is an attractive but complicated message. There is a part of me that believes this.  I read this prior to taking a leap into business. On some level we do shape our lives out of imaginations and desires.  But it takes faith to walk this path.
      I lose my confidence often.  It comes and goes like the wind.  One day, I'll wake up feeling full of energy and purpose.  Then a random set of events sends me in a tailspin, straight down a hole of negative blathering.
      And then there's this nagging thought that my imagination is atrophied. There are stretches when I don't create.  I don't write.  I hardly think clear thoughts.  There's a million interruptions.  Something always needs my attention.  I lose my focus.
     If I would only remember that sitting quietly in a patient waiting mode brings great things to the surface. To listen for the still small voice.  Wait to feel the presence.  Spend time with the source of all that is good and beautiful.  It is accessible all the time, but I forget.
     And then I'm left with this question.  When people are ready to die, it seems like they remember their lives as truly beautiful, with amazing and wonderful memories.  I think they are thankful that God was the one who imagined and created it.  The gift of their lives was something they didn't have to create, but something they were blessed to experience.
    So maybe I should stop trying to construct my own future and let it go where it's going to go.   Do you ever wrestle with this?   I'd love to hear what you think.
     

3D Glasses Aren't One Size Fits All

     Today, for the first time in weeks, nothing happened.  Well, nothing as in the TV, washing machine, and pipes did not break.  The power did go out for a moment and the dog did chew up a custom order I was working on, but other than that, it was an exquisitely ORDINARY day.  It was so quiet and peaceful that we  were able to go out to the movies like normal people.  We decided to see TRON in 3D.  We ordered the large popcorn and two drinks that were too heavy for a six year old to carry.   Even with my sore throat and sniffly nose, I relished the taste of  buttery, chewy puffs of golden awesomeness and washed it down with nearly a two liter of cold, fountain Coke.  Having sworn of soft drinks in my attempt to lose weight (I gained 15 pounds anyway)  I really enjoy soda pop when I'm sick. Secondary to the experience of theater popcorn and fountain soft drinks, the movie was also entertaining.  I was entranced by the light show and loved that it was  a commentary on the error of perfectionism.  My favorite line in TRON is "perfection is unknowable."

He wore the child size glasses for the entire 127 minutes of the show.

And although it was a perfectly ordinary Saturday, my husband realized that 3D glasses are not one size fits all.

Two Front Teeth

Elliot is happy that his two front teeth are arriving just in time for Christmas!

But I want to remember what he looked like with his baby teeth.

He's going to grow up faster than I'm ready.

Optimist and Megatron

In the home where Knees and Paws are created, there now lives an actual dog and cat.  I don't keep them around for inspiration; that comes directly from children and their imaginations.  As it so happens, our cat Annie has an aversion to dogs.  Perhaps this is because she was chased repeatedly by my Mom's dog, the infamous talking Chocolate Lab, Bear.  Or possibly she hates dogs because of the four yellow labs that live on the other side of the fence. They love to rush the boundary between our yards and bark whenever we walk outside.  In any case, Annie has every right to hiss, groan and swipe when dogs are near.
But some of us feel kinda sad for Ozzie, who is terribly sensitive and gentle.  He loves cats and spent a lot of time with 14 them on the farm with his rescuer.

Amid our crazy holiday that included an unlikely snowstorm, loss of power (we camped indoors with NO HEAT!!!), a broken washing machine, broken TV, lots of dog pee on the carpet and other random bad juju, the cat was not getting along with our new family member.  I overheard and  joined in on the following argument:

Emily:  "The cat and dog are not friends and they never will be, Elliot!  So keep Ozzie away!" (I thought it was sweet that she brought up the cat litter box and food dish to her room to protect her.)

Elliot:  "I think one day they will be friends.  They can learn it.

Me:  "Elliot is an optimist."


Elliot:  "What's an optimist?"


Me:  "Someone who sees the good side of things, with hope."

Elliot:  "Then Emily is a Megatron!"

And if you have been reading my recent posts, I came up with two New Year's resolutions.  The first is to relearn to play my French Horn.  Now that I'm a non smoker I can actually make some sounds!

  The second is to not be Megatronian in my daily attitude.