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Sunday, August 25, 2013

Football Thoughts


It's finally football season!  Yippee!  Go Broncos! 

I've always liked football.  It's not just about hitting and scoring, but about strategy and timing and so much more.  It's about statistics and strengths and weaknesses. 

It's about rooting for a team and feeling like they're playing for you!  It's not always pretty and not always fair, but neither is life.

Football is real emotion, and certainly can bring it out in its fans!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Summer is Over!


Bummer!  The summer is over!  It's time to go back to school.....at least that's what the homebody part of me is saying.  The other part of me, the teacher me, is excited to begin a new year full of possibilities.  I've been back two days now and have learned about the changes this new year will bring.  It will be interesting to say the least. 

One of the most challenging one will be adding Edmodo (like Facebook for school communities) to my arsenal of tools.  I'm a bit apprehensive about how it will work in the classroom, but can definitely see the benefits, so here I go.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Grandmother's Glasses


My grandmother, or Abuelita Tome (short for Tomasa) as we kids used to call her, died when I was 20.  She was my favorite person in the whole world, and the first death of someone close to me.

These were her glasses, one of the few things I have left that reminds me of her.  I think of her often and wonder what she would make of life today.

I wonder what she would think if she could see me today, would she be proud of the woman I've become?  I think so.  I hope so.  She's part of the reason that I am bi-lingual for she mostly spoke Spanish.  She raised a family and owned a bakery with her husband.  She was strong and endured a life I could never understand in a time I've never lived. 

My life, she would never understand, but I know she would have walked it with me if she could have.  It was a hard road with lots of lessons learned, but I finally got to a place in my life where it all makes sense now.  And I couldn't have done it without all those who came before me and the lessons that they taught me.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

LAUGHTER...


There is just not enough laughter in the world today.  People seem to be more serious these days, and while there is a time to be serious, there is also a time to laugh.  Not just a giggle, but a true deep down tears rolling down your face it's just too funny laugh that can't be stopped no matter how hard you try. 

I used to share a lot of these with my sister.  One time I remember it hit us at the dinner table one night.  Dinner time was sacred at our house.  Food on the table as soon as my father got home from work, and we all sat down together to discuss the day's events.  One particular evening something said (trying hard, but I can't remember what) really tickled our funny bone, and my sister and I erupted in laughter.  We tried to stop, but couldn't.  Finally my father got so mad that he sent us from the table to the bathroom with the words, "Don't come back until you stop laughing."

Now this really should have frightened us into compliance because my dad (Pop) could be a formidable force.  As we walked into the bathroom still giggling, we looked at each and again tried to stop.  We finally wiped our eyes and stopped (or so we thought.)  We were quiet as mice as we exited the bathroom and made our way to the kitchen.  We stood in the doorway and watched our parents still engaged in dinner stop to look at us.  We had just picked up our feet and crossed the threshold, when that laughter bubbled up inside us again.  We turned and ran into the bathroom again, and out of the corner of my eye caught the sight of my mother start to laugh.

My memory is a bit fuzzy on the rest of the details.  I assume that we eventually returned to finish dinner, and more than likely my father had retired to his bedroom to wash up after a long day at work which was the ritual, but I can't be sure.  It remains a happy memory so nothing significant must have occurred.  And we lived to laugh again.