Gentle Summer Days

Gentle Summer Days-- The temperatures hovered near 100 degrees last week, but this week we've had the most perfect week of gentle, cool summer evenings that we all long for in the depth of winter. Phillip has been working in the yard-- trimming trees, tending to his vegetable gardens, and cleaning up the front yard flower beds. The yard has never looked so good! Fawn has benefited by spending more time outside than she ever has :).

How nice to be able to enjoy summer naps in fresh grass! The life of a dog... the life of perfect summer days... we have so few of them as it's usually too hot, too humid, or there are too many mosquitos-- we'll enjoy this while we can!

A Segment of American History- The Civil Was Battle at Gettysburg

The Battle at Gettysburg was the turning point in the American Civil War, also know as the was between the states. This was a war in which brother fought against brother, and almost broke the United States of America in two. More than any other war, this war is studied in history classes. It is almost unfathomable to think that 53,000 troops died here over 2 days of fighting. The Confederate soldiers cam charging across flat farmlands charging Union forces poised on top of a hill. It's also mind-boggling how far north the Conferederate troops came given the nature of how troops moved in the 1860's. I learned so much about battles and battle strategy this afternoon-- and it was great to be with colleagues who were so knowledgeable!

Memorial Day Holiday

Today it is Memorial Day in the US. It's a day when the country remembers and pays homage to those soldiers who have fought in various wars, and remembers the fallen. It is also a day that culturally, marks the beginning of summer, and so everyone plans to go to the beach for this wonderful 3 day weekend (remember that in the US we don't have so many holidays)! For quite a few years everyone was so focused on going to the beach and enjoying this beginning of summer that the reason for the holiday was almost forgotten. However, in recent years there has been a greater emphasis on remembering our soldiers and the sacrifices they've made. For us, it's been a nice weekend to stay at home and relax.

Pretty Feet

Spring has sprung and when dear daughter #1 came home for Spring Break a while ago, the three of us (dear daughter # 1 and dear daughter # 2 and moi)went for our Spring pedicure. The result? Three pairs of pretty feet, and lots of fun spending time together--- priceless!

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

This was, again, one of those books that is hard to put down. Having raised children, I was curious about what this mother could possibly have to say about child rearing that I didn't already know. However, I was in for a surprise! Amy Chua was much tougher and much more disciplined than I was in my mothering. I sometimes kept my kids home from school, hated school projects because I knew that most of the parents did them, and hated the competition of all the other parents who pressured their kids to come in first in everything and anything. My kids and I did things together, napped together, and just enjoyed simple things and being together. If this sounds like pampering, it wasn't. They were told to do things on their own, deal with adversity because it "builds "character," and take the good with the bad. While Amy Chua represents the extreme of parenting,most parents could take lessons from her. I have watched most parents protecting their children's self-esteem, but not giving them the backbone they'll need to get through life. Amy Chua worked at building her children's talents so that they would be successful in life, which is different from what many parents do. Most parents push their children to succeed because their children's successes are validation to the parents--when their kids do well the parents feel they are also successful people. While I won't go so far as to say that how Amy Chua parented is the best way to parent, her approach did have some merit, as the discipline she instilled in her children would benefit everyone. Read this book- the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is worthwhile and thought-provoking.

Scrabble & Word Games

I love having children! They teach me something new all the time. Without them, I'd be stuck in a rut of seeing and experiencing the world according to my generation's view. It's true that kids do keep us young. For example, I learned something new from my daughter-- how to play scrabble and word games using my smart phone.

Now you might think this is not new or novel, but to me it was. Over the course of several days we played a game of scrabble, and I have to admit she’s much better at it than I was (even though I did give her a run for her money!). In the process, I also learned that she scored higher points than I did because she was focused on playing a word that earned the most points, while I was focused on playing the most letters per word. I played to create longer words that would give us both more opportunities to form words in the future. She played to score points. She won- I lost.
Perhaps the lesson is to focus on the here and now, on what's in front of you, instead of looking ahead for opportunities that may not materialize.
Now we’re on our next game, but the fun doesn’t end there. She showed me that one can play a word game with an anonymous opponent “out there, somewhere.” So now I’m playing 2 games of scrabble, one with Lili and the other with "Doobus." In the meantime, I've also researched scrabble playing strategies online, and stopped at Barnes & Noble to pick up a Scrabble Players Dictionary so that I can expand my vocabulary.
I do hope that I’m building lots of dendrites in my brain!

Polar Bear Plunge- Mission Exceptional!

Every once in a while you just have to "take a left" and do something different-- in my case, it was plunging into 34 degree water of the Atlantic Ocean today. The day was perfect-- 42 degrees and sunshine. It could have been a prettier day. This plunge was on my bucket list and I convinced my honor society members to participate with me as a service project for a good cause. We raised over $1400.00 which exceeded my expectations! It

as a great day... :)