Ready for action? I once told my dad that I thought it would be better to be your own boss. That way you wouldn’t have to please anyone but yourself. He looked at me like I wasn’t quite right in the head and told me that, if you work for yourself, you must please everyone […]
Category Archives: Uncategorized
A Storefront on a Shoestring
A wealth of possibilities! After a layoff of about 11 years, I got back into the field of education by teaching a class of about 25 fifth-graders. The intermediate grade levels are exciting for me! They have the creativity of the primary students but have had enough life experiences so that they have a better […]
Don’t Fence Me In
It’s interesting how a favorite song can expose aspects of a person or a family. When my folks were dating, Mom decided that they should have a song that was just theirs – a song that would symbolize their deep, abiding love for each other! In Mom’s mind, whenever this song was played, they would […]
Mama
After Dad died, I settled into his house for a time. It didn’t take long, however, to discover that his three-bedroom house with full basement was too big for a single person with an aversion to house cleaning and yard work. I looked around and found a duplex that I could rent. I was hoping […]
Jazz
I discovered Jazz when I was living in Tulsa, Oklahoma several years ago. I fell in love with Cool Jazz. There’s something about those rhythms that I love! The Hot Jazz is too fast, but the Cool Jazz is laid back and relaxing to me. Kenny G, Dave Koz, David Sanborn, Miles Davis, David Benoit, […]
The First Mowing of Spring
I’m not sure why it is, but the first time I get my lawn mower out, when spring is technically here, it is a time fraught with nerves! When the trees start greening and flowers start popping up, I begin watching the yard. I’ve never yet been able to time it right. I decide that […]
My Lawn Mower
A few years ago, I bought a house through Kenny Alefs with Coldwell Banker. He sold my dad’s house for me and helped me find a rental to move into and even recommended me for a job! When I decided it was time to settle down and buy a house, I called Kenny. He found […]
Pam
I was invited to join an educational conference in New Orleans by a friend who officed in the same building where I was working. It was an amazing conference and I learned a lot. This was the first time I had heard about the studies done on trauma and how it affects learning. At one […]
Mom and the Little House
I don’t remember a lot about our life in Pratt, Kansas, or in Memphis, Tennessee – just little scenes of our lives. Most of my memories start with my second-grade class in Morrison School. My life in Great Bend is remembered in two parts. The first part was grade school, when we rented a small, […]
My Backyard Bird Feeder
My mom’s dad had a sister, Jennie, who was actually named after the famous singer – Jennie Lind – the Swedish Nightingale. He called her his “Jennie Wren”. I’m not sure exactly why except that she was small and tidy and cheerful. When I started setting up bird feeders, I was hoping to have lots […]