With Pebbles at my feet...

Last week, a dog walked onto our yard. She was the third stray in probably a year. She was a big Golden Retriever, beautiful actually. We played with her, fed her and eventually found out her owner really is having a bad go of it, so we ended up delivering her to the nearest shelter. But not before we thought of names for her...Whiskey, Zena the Warrior Princess, Hera (wife of Zeus - Zeus is the Rottweiler that lives next door), and Vega - like a falling star. But we let her go.

Our dog, Pebbles, came back from getting spayed a little while after that. She's a good little dog, a little on the submissive side, but we're working on helping her build confidence. A little petting here, a little reassurance there. Hopefully she'll learn to sit pretty.

But my question is this: why do we get so attached to these animals? Pebbles is silly, distracted, and a little whiny. But I think I speak for the whole family when I say she's just one of the bunch of us now. It's fun to be with her when she's experiencing new things. It's hard to figure out how to redirect her weird behaviors, like shying away from passing vehicles when we're on a run. I like her so much, I'm even looking for another Brittany. Know where I can get one?

Where will I be in 10 years?

It's a snow day. The first snow day I've experienced as a teacher (well, I'm still a sub, and I was scheduled for today for about 15 minutes until they called school off, but you get the idea.) 

So I was thinking because I have time today that I was asked recently, where will I be in 10 years? That's a difficult question to answer when you're me. I answered, I'll probably be teaching somewhere, several of my children will have graduated from high school and be moving on in their lives, but 2 will still be with us at home, although I don't know where "home" will be for certain. I will be 46 years old, and married 25 years! Hopefully, I'll be planning a trip somewhere...

Then I got to thinking, 10 years ago, am I now where I thought I would be? Hmm. I suppose I thought I'd have a crowd of kids and still be with my awesome husband, but I didn't know much  about the 3 boys that I was still going to have. I think 10 years ago, I would have doubted that I would have my college degree, but now I do have it. Check one off in the "success" column. Some of the other cool things I've done in the last 10 years? Going to Yemane's wedding ranks toward the top. Going to Nashville was wonderful. Seeing Las Vegas was a mixed deal. Visiting the art museums in Kansas City and Omaha was really cool. I loved hearing the symphony, and some of the other events I've been fortunate to be audience to with my husband. I've learned to be a much better cook - even though I didn't really desire that - is an accomplishment anyway. Keeping in touch with long distance friends. Being an auntie to some really cool nieces and nephews, and becoming friends again with my sister. Being a writer. I'm in love, and I'm being loved, in a way that I never knew was possible which is probably the best of all.  

But I also thought I would have traveled more than I have. It's ok that I've been to a few states, but, seriously, there's more out there than what my limited view has been. I assumed we might move the family to somewhere east or south. In my fantasy world, I thought I might get a job that would require me to travel somewhere once in awhile, if not regularly. Oh well. Something for the next stage, right? I guess the idea is to set a priority and work toward it. So if you're a mom of 5, in college again, and hoping to see the world, what's the next step I take to see it all?

What else will happen in the next 10 years? I hope to meet a lot of really cool people and experience their culture, even if it's different families just like mine. I want to have a few more snow days like this. It's really beautiful. And I want to keep running because I feel stronger than I have for a long time (the only time I felt stronger was when I used to swim in college, and when I hiked Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park at like 7 months pregnant with Jackson.) I'd like to build more confidence and become a better public speaker... although those goals seem distant. Other than that, I'll be just as curious as everyone else to see what happens... 

Bikes and Teaching Better Writing Skills

So Casey wanted to ride his bike to school today. We'd previously talked about this, so I wasn't too surprised. It's homecoming week, and he and Jackson have been a little excited, so I guess that pushed him to decided today was the day. 

We live on a fairly busy highway which is especially busy in the mornings as people go to work, young people drive to school, busses run their routes, so I sucked in my mom-anxiety and said, "yes." I needed to work out yet this morning anyway, so I told Casey I'd come along. Jackson overheard the positive reply and said he'd come too. Ok. So we got out the helmets, which Casey said were going to give him helmet head, and we adjusted the helmets so they were the most comfortable. Dad came out and gave a little bass to my helmet argument, so they put them on. I had to get ready quick and adjust my helmet, and we were off.

We goofed around a little on the road as we started, but then got serious when some cars approached. Jackson had to stop to adjust the height of his seat on the way (the kid grows an inch between bike rides, I swear.) I gave them instructions for the ride home, and I let them go once we were in town. Casey called back, "Bye Mom!" Jackson stopped dead in front of my bike, and I almost ran into him, but I forgave him because it was to give me one last good bye hug, and off they went. I drove home by myself. 

What a great way to begin a day! There's no wind. It's probably in the low 60's. Not a cloud in the sky. A little dew on the grass. Sweet. I love to be the hero sometimes too. (And they don't even care that they're getting a little more exercise today!) Woohoo!

I'm a novice worker-outer, so I'll let you know what comes out next. 

Wisdom begins in wonder...

How this blog started: My first real assignment for my Master's is to learn a little about Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato's vision of education. I suppose it's fitting to begin my trek into teaching with a study of the philosophies of Socrates since I've been using his quote when to sign my email for a few years: "Wisdom begins in wonder."  I've wondered and wondered about a teaching career, and I'm now embarking on the journey to find out. This blog is one of the next assignments, but I've been wanting a reason to blog for awhile now.

So a little about me... in case you wonder. I'm a mom, plain and simple. But I've got these wonderful 5 boys and tantalizing husband that mix it up for me. I'm not a super-Mom by any definition. I forget things. I burn food regularly. I usually have lots of dust and laundry waiting for me. I bicker at my husband. I don't pray enough. But my intentions are good. I try to be as involved as possible with the kids. I try to keep my husband "interested and excited." I work really hard to keep everyone healthy. My family is always number 1 on my list, which is probably why my "stuff" falls further down the list somewhere. Usually when I meet people, they wonder how I do it all. I used to, but it tired me out. Now I just put one foot in front of the other and distract myself with other stuff.

As a student, I'm ambitious. It makes me giddy when there's something new to learn. I try to stay organized. I hope I can find ways to keep every student engaged when I'm the teacher. My field is English. (This is the part about the "Words" if you missed that.) My "field" philosophy is that you need to read to be a good writer (If you've read a good book lately, please comment!), and you need a lot of revision to be a good writer, and if you're a good writer, you'll be more successful in the rest of your life. You don't need to be wordy; you do need to be understood. Asking questions is the only way to understand. Do you get what I'm saying? Currently, I'm a substitute teacher, and I'm learning a lot with every position I step into. I hope to share some of my adventures here.

So, the woman part. I'm not a girly girl. I don't mind snakes or rodents, if I'm not surprised by them. I like to dig in the dirt. I like to wear a sexy dress now and then, but I hate lace. If I'm having a bad hair day, the rest of the day is going to be a challenge too. Pink is not my favorite color, brown is. But pink is often a complement to brown these days. I like fashion. I like flowers - growing and receiving them, not wearing them. I'm my husband's #1 fan. My new hobby is running. I've never been really athletic, but accomplishing a run that's a little further, or a little faster, or that makes me feel stronger than before is motivating for the rest of my life. I like girl talk, dancing, and chic flicks. I like to eat, I don't mind baking, but I'm not a fan of cooking even though I'm the default cook in-house (see the above comment about burning food.) I'm pro-life for the best interest of women, both the unborn baby girls and the mothers (and their little boys too). I have found, at least in my house, that if I don't create an environment that feels like "home," no one else is going to, and the whole family is more stressed because of it. So I think my main role here is to be a homemaker. If I truly want to make a bigger difference in the world, I can delegate to my 5 children and teach them to care about and affect a bigger world around them. They and my husband can do much more if they are well prepared than I could ever do when we all are scattered in the head because we have no "home" to rest in. Everyone says people can do anything they want, but they should include that you don't have to do everything to be truly great.

In this blog, I will talk about books, self-discovery, a little politics and current events, teaching and learning, and a lot about being a mom. Please don't think of me as a super hero with a golden lasso in a stars & stripes bikini. I'm more of a jeans and stars-n-stripes-t-shirted van driver wielding a keyboard. My hope is to connect my thoughts to things around me. I hope to make it interesting for you, so we can all have fun.

Cheers!