Smorgasborg

The choir was gone this week--on tour, so several of my classes
were smaller than usual and a couple were decimated.
We did puzzles--Bible puzzles of all kinds--and we worked on
research papers and personal manifestos.
We even took a walk one sun-filled, wind-blown afternoon.
Some of the students thrived on the one on one attention.
My seventh-graders did all the puzzles and asked for more.

Instead I gave them chess, Stratego,
Authors, and Bible trivia.

It was a relaxed week, for them, full of smiles and cozy times.The seniors worked on papers, the sophomores wrote stories,
but my junior class surprised me. They sighed, grumbled and muttered just loud enough to make sure I would hear and be properly insulted:

"Busy Work".

It seems that the ultimate insult to a student is to be given busy work.

Yet as I pondered, it seemed to me that all work done well is busy work. . . and any work which teaches in the working or dislodges the mind--overcoming the inertia of rest--is valuable work.

This is a message for my "I'm so bored and can't handle a little free time" students:

So school was different for you this week. There were no lessons in English or history. There were no notes in Bible; no tests in math. Life departed from your steady diet of pizza and taco grande. What you didn't realize was the veritable smorgasborg spread before you in this unusual five days. In chemistry you made huge progress on piecing together a class quilt. In Bible you learned how to do a cryptoquote and read scripture as well. You played academic games; you helped pack away all the theater seats in the auditorium so the janitor could clean the floors over spring break. You filled in for various kitchen jobs and developed a better appreciation for those who normally leave class early so they can help in the cafeteria, and though all smorgasborgs are not about food, you even got to eat fresh strawberries over ice cream and pork chops with gravy. You watched movies, you got scheduled quiet time to get ahead on your reading requirement for the quarter, and you ate cherry filled donuts made by the home economics class remnant.

Yet all week, you dragged your feet and murmured.

If my name had been Coach, I would have made you run laps and run laps and run laps. Now that's busy work. Yet even in that, there is strength and training. Can't you see what I'm telling you? Life is all about work, and I fear for those who disdain it.


Sunday Scribblings

Fresh Spring "Round-Up"

My neighbors’ sprayed gardens show “care”
For blue-green’s the color they wear
My own is quite brown
I’ll never live down
The lack of my lawn savoir faire

The Final Thirteen Proverbs

(At least until next year)
I had to use these last thirteen. My students are eagerly awaiting their guesses in print. (Once again, the real proverbs are at the bottom. Just in case you are shaky on your axioms.) See earlier lists of proverbs here and here.
Thursday Thirteen

1. The first step is...
... before the second step

2. The way to a man's heart is...
...surgery













3. Too many chiefs...
... equals a war















4. One swallow does not...
... fill you up.








5. It takes two...
...to play a three-legged race

6. There's more than one way to...eat chicken

7. The spirit is willing... but the mind is asleep.

8. Misery loves...coffee
(True for me, anyway)

9. Don't judge a man until .........you know how much money he makes. (I'm not sure I'd want my son to date the little girl who said this.)

10. The best things in life are... chocolate

11. Don't bite the hand...of someone who will bite back

12. Nothing hurts like..... the dickens

13. The Pen is mightier... than the pencil.

(I'm not sure why, but fully one third of the students responded with this guess.)

The Real Proverbs
1. The first step...is the hardest.
2. The way to a man's heart...is through his stomach.
3. Too many chiefs...not enough Indians.
4. One swallow does not...a summer make.
5. I takes two...to tango.
6. There's more than one way...to skin a cat.
7. The spirit is willing... but the flesh is weak.
8. Misery loves... company.
9. Don't judge a man until...you've walked a mile in his shoes.
10. Don't bite the hand...that feeds you.
11. Nothing hurts like...the truth
12. The best things in life...are free.
13. The pen is mightier than the sword.

The Next Twenty Years

Seven years ago on Thanksgiving they made a list in Sunday School: "Things I'm thankful for", and while they fidgeted and complained and racked their brains for new, expensive gifts, not one remembered to thank the Lord for healthy legs and bones that worked and grew year after year. She sat writing fiercely--a long epistle of gratitude. At the top of her list was "wheelchair: I'm thankful for my chair". She lived in the chair.

Yesterday, early in the morning, before anyone was up, she died quietly in her sleep. It was sudden, unexpected; yet people were thoughtfully resigned when they heard the news. Somehow they felt that she had already outlived her life expectancy.

"Out lived?" Well I should say not. "Lived out" is more like it. For although her body was stiffled and twisted with a genetic disorder that crumples the bones, her mind and spirit looked outward with life, growth, and understanding. Her entire family wrapped themselves around her and the life they saw and loved. They took her to school, to church, to games, to vacations and to academic team tournaments. Last year she graduated as valedictorian of her class, and this year she started college....still outliving and living out past the expectations of many who did not know her well.

Yesterday was her birthday. For nineteen years I saw her as a smile and a pair of sparkling eyes. She thought and talked and laughed and wrote and played monopoly.

For the next twenty years she will dance.

We Are Too Mortal

We were not meant to die. I know it. See how the life in me cries out for living. Whenever a friend dies, however remote and distant from my circle of daily encounters, there is a solemn hush; a pause that cuts into whatever mundane activity I had planned for the day. It's a quiet rebellion for the outrage.

We were not meant to die. For while all the other dimensions: height and breadth and length are expanders--extending our reaches in two directions--time only goes one way. Time is broken. We gasp at the flying of days and the fearsome reflection that ours are numbered, that all those we love are getting older and falling. No.

We were not meant to die. We were meant to soar on angel wings, to plummet and not crash. We were not meant to spend our physical lives repairing what deteriorates. We were meant to "grow in wisdom and understanding and favor with God and man".

We were not meant to die. And so we sing sad songs and wrap our arms about ourselves and others. We hold on to the life we have, lest it slip. We take comfort in prayers and the arms of our Creator. For it seems we've fallen into a hole, a dark and dreadful hole, so we dare not kick the ladder. Above we see the light of a world as it was intended to be...and will be...when we are once again immortal.

When death is dead and gone, our lives will once more carry on, and the solemn hush of awe we feel for the passing of Death will give way to shouting.

We were meant to live. And we shall.

I Feel Like an Almost Designer

I haven't seen my cousin from Albuquerque in years, but I communicate with her at least twice a week via blogging or e-mail. Now, she has made a quilt for me. This was entirely her idea and shows her generous, caring spirit. I really didn't beg and plead for one.

But since she asked, I just happened to have a guest room/grandchildren's play room/room for the computer and keyboard for composing jazzy video tunes at midnight/wii room that needed a bedspread.

The twin bed in there is one built by my husband years ago for our own teenager when she shared a small room and needed storage. It needed a little spread that would fit without having to be tucked in. The rest of the furniture is left over from my son's room. So I had white furniture and black furniture in the room and didn't really want to paint it again.
She found fabric to tie it all together.
I added a couple of red pillows, bought a frame with a demo picture in it that I liked, found an old green matte up in the closet, painted it black and put it around the picture, snitched a few red/black/white things from around the house and Voila! Here it is.

I'm still lacking a wall hanging or two, and I'll certainly have to replace the knobs on the bed,
but I feel proud of what I've done so far. She also sent a pirate book for the grandkids. This evening, Grandpa, Grandma and Mim put it together. (That's it, sitting on the book case in the first picture)

So, dear Cousin, look what you started.

Thank you.

More Famous Proverbs...Guessed at by my Students

Last week I promised you more of these...so here they are--More famous proverbs finished by my junior high students.

Thursday Thirteen


1. You can't have your cake...

...before your spinach.

2. Bad news travels...

...in circles

3. Don't cry over...
...guys

(particularly not junior high guys)















4. The road to hell is paved...
...with melted pavement










5. It takes two...
... to play ping pong










6. There's no fool like...
... one who thinks he is smarter than you.















7. The bigger they are the...
... better the football team.









8. Beauty is in the eyes... ...not the mouth












9. After the feast... ...comes dessert

10. You're never too old to.... ...skydive

11. Misery loves...
...food. (sad but true)

12. Barking dogs seldom......quit. (True. True.)

13. The pen is mightier.... ...than the county jail.

(just in case you've forgotten the real endings)
1. ...and eat it too.
2....fast.
3...spilt milk
4. with good intentions
5. to tango
6. an old fool
7. the harder they fall
8. of the beholder
9. comes the reckoning
10. to learn
11. company
12. bite
13. the sword

A Walk in the Dark

“It’s perfect for walking,” said my daughter last night, and that was enough.

We emerged without coats and scarves for the first time this year, out into the quiet street, under a dark sky, clear enough to see sparkles and clusters of vivid stars. Above our house, the Big Dipper was pouring out something—she said cheese, but if so it was the invisible kind. As we walked south toward the courthouse at the center of town, we could see Orion standing over us, guarding the street, and when we passed the little bridge into the next block, a tabby cat joined us, first circling, then pouncing and bounding ahead. He accompanied us to the end of that block, then reluctantly let us go. The air was March cool, hinting of spring and warm, whispering breezes; all the bare, white tree branches looked hopeful against the night sky.

So we walked on for a mile or so, talking about school, art studios, small towns, and the idiosyncrasies of the whole human race, because sometimes a girl and her mother just need to talk. Then we turned our back to Orion and headed home, where the Big Dipper was now pouring out music-- loud, lively strains as my son fiercely practiced on the piano. His chords and clusters of notes ricocheted off all the living room walls and escaped out onto the front lawn to greet us, where, oddly enough, they didn't even ripple the evening's quiet peace.

Today, I called my mom. We chatted for an hour about jigsaw puzzles, crocheted bedspreads, bread machines, and all the rest of the family. Sometimes a girl and her mother just need to talk.

So They Don't All Know Their Famous Proverbs

I think highly of proverbs--pithy little sermons that keep preaching--so, sometime during the course of the school year--preferably when we get to the book of "Proverbs"--I like to hand out a sheet of unfinished, famous proverbs and invite the students to finish them. If they know the proverb they fill it in, but if they have no recollection of the proverb, they are welcome to make up an ending. Then we discuss what the proverbs really mean. It's lots of fun. Especially for me because I need a break from grading serious papers sometimes. Here are thirteen of their recent responses to common proverbs. (For those who can't remember what the real ending is supposed to be, I've listed it at the bottom.)

Thursday Thirteen

1. A bird in the hand...

...will leave something behind.

2. A miss is as good as....

...a Mr.

3. Don't put the cart...

...in the middle of the parking lot.

4. The best things in life are....

...ipods!

5. Don't look a gift horse....

...in the eyes. (They were close on this one)

6. Familiarity breeds...

...like rabbits

( Well, we do live in a farming community)

7. Lightning never strikes...

...hippos.
(I wonder why not)

8. There is more than one way to...

...kill a cow
(see note about farming community)

9. Clothes do not make...






Themselves.

10. When in Rome...



...watch your back.

(There's a basic mistrust of European types here;
don't get offended, Romans.)

11. Haste makes...

mad state troopers.

12. The squeaking wheel...

...needs WD 40

13. "Don't put all your eggs.......

...in the microwave
(Makes sense to me)

...to be continued next week...maybe the next week too.

1. is worth two in the bush.
2. a mile
3. before the horse
4. free
5. in the mouth
6. contempt
7. twice in the same place
8. skin a cat
9. the man
10. do as the Romans
11. waste
12. gets the grease
13. in one basket

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