I Will Not Give Up

~ rdicarne ~ 9 Comments

sol#SOL17 Day 21

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.  ~Thomas Edison

This slice comes from an app I have on my phone called Transform Your Life.  Each day there is a quote (and for those of you have been to my blog, you know I am all about the quotes!) and beneath that is an assignment for your journal.  This is today’s quote and assignment.

Today I am making a list of things that I will not give up on even though I am not too sure how close to success I am in each area!  These are in no particular order.

  1. I will not give up on having good health.  Even though I am still using the walker and am not sure what is going on exactly, 58 is too young to be old and decrepit. I want to be a grandmother who can actually do things with her grandchildren.
  2. I will not give up on losing weight.  This is a battle I have won and lost numerous times over the years.  I need to look at one meal at a time, one day at a time and not sabotage myself.  It is about feeling good and be healthy, not about a size or a number.
  3. I will not give up on publishing a picture book.  I have a couple of ideas that are in the works.  I just need to go ahead and submit them.  Stop being afraid of rejection!
  4. I will not give up on any of my students.  Some days are a challenge. Some students are a challenge, but each of them is worth the extra effort it might take to help them discover their gift – their voice.
  5. I will not give up on trying to make a difference.  I may only be one person, but my actions can be examples for others.  I always want them to be examples of goodness, and kindness, and compassion.
  6. I will not give up on being the best version of myself, whatever that looks like.

Password Perils

~ rdicarne ~ 7 Comments

sol#SOL17 Day 20

Treat your password like your toothbrush. Don’t let anyone else use it, and get a new one every six months. ~ Clifford Stoll

How many passwords do you have in your life?  I don’t know about you, but I have decided I have too many.  A couple of years ago, I bought a “little black book” at Barnes and Noble and began to log all my passwords onto its alphabetized pages.  It was made especially for this task and was more detailed than just using any old address book. I am the bill payer at my house, and my husband use the computer only to check mortgage rates and car prices.  If something happened to me he would not have a clue how to pay bills online. He is definitely a paper check and postage stamp kind of guy.  I thought putting all the passwords in one place would be helpful to my daughter who would take care of all these things in the event I could not.

At home, Google saves most of my passwords online, and I don’t even have to think about them.  Things like my AOL email account, Facebook, and Twitter appear without me having to put in a password.  That’s great when I am working at home on my desktop computer, but when I need to access these sites on another device I am at a loss.  So, then I end up changing the passwords.  The problem is, I forget them before I get home and change them in my book. 

I know that the experts say that you should not use the same password for multiple accounts, but it is so tempting!  I think that the plan for this weekend is to go through the entire black book and change all the passwords.  I am glad that they are written in pencil! 

 

What a Writer Needs

~ rdicarne ~ 16 Comments

sol#SOL17 Day 19

 

All good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. ~Anne Lamott

IMG_5042

 

What a Writer Needs
(is) Room to Write
(so make a) Small Change
(by looking through) A Different Mirror
(then) Escaping Into the Open
(riding the) Western Wind
(and) Crafting a Life
(that will make) Lasting Impressions

This book binding poem was inspired by another slicer.  I have read so many posts this weekend I forget which one I “borrowed” this idea from.  Thank you, whoever you are!

 

 

 

 

 

Good Morning

~ rdicarne ~ 6 Comments

sol#SOL17  Day 18

daybreak

However long the night, the dawn will break. ~African Proverb

Dawn is breaking.

The sun’s rays

gently awakening

the tree tops,

spreading slowly –

from top to bottom

until the entire tree

is bathed in yellow

ready to say,

“Good Morning.”

 

My Notebook

~ rdicarne ~ 11 Comments

sol#SOL 17 Day 17

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~ William Wordsworth

My notebook is coming apart at the seams.
A little like me it seems.

It has hardly been written in or read,
But its demise has me seeing red.

When I bought it, it looked really great,
but now on my nerves it does grate.

It’s not like it’s just a small piece
If it were then I could have peace.

I don’t want to leave it bare,
but this rip is more than I can bear.

To abandon it doesn’t seem right,
Within it will I be able to write?

Oh, I’ll keep it and stop my whine
As I pour myself a nice glass of wine.

 

 

 

 

Waiting for Inspiration

~ rdicarne ~ 8 Comments

sol#SOL17  Day 16

The quieter you become, the more you can hear. ~Ram Dass

I choose to sit in the silence

away from the idle talk – meaningless.

In the silence, I am alone with my thoughts,

Alone yet not,

Thinking yet not,

Waiting for vision, clarity,

a knowing of what to do,

where to go –

waiting for inspiration.

Gerbil on a Wheel

~ rdicarne ~ 3 Comments

sol#SOL17  Day 15

Beware the barrenness of a busy life. ~Socrates

Today I am feeling like a frustrated gerbil on the wheel.

  1. My cul-de-sac was not plowed out yesterday.  I thought the township would have plows working all night, so when I woke up this morning and saw untouched snow gracing the end of my driveway I was angry.  That meant that I was not going to be able to get my Honda Accord out of the driveway.  My husband had to drive me to work, and my sister-in-law had to pick me up.  I really hate not being able to be independent.
  2. We had a two-hour delay which shortens all classes to 35 minutes.  Ugh!  I had a test scheduled, and I really needed to get it in before we begin standardized testing on Friday.
  3. Speaking of standardized testing, I also need to get in another practice test before Monday which meant it needed to be today or tomorrow.  Great – Thursday I have a double period. That will work right?  Wrong!  I forgot that several of my students were going on a Model UN trip on Thursday, so I had to find time to get it in today. Just where will I find that time?
  4. With snow on the ground, we had indoor recess, which means I had to stay in with my class.  I felt like I had about 10 minutes for lunch, although it was actually 30. I didn’t have time to eat my orange though.
  5. Today was report card day.  Usually our principal distributes the report cards to each student, but due to the schedule change he was not going to be able to do it.  We were to give them out at the end of the day.  I almost forgot.
  6. I got home to a few voice mail messages.  I returned a call to the insurance company.  I knew that they probably wouldn’t talk to me about my husband’s insurance, but I gave it a try anyway.  Shot down.  I will put that on my list for tomorrow.
  7. I have a broken tooth.  I wanted to call the dentist today and try to get an appointment, but that did not happen.  I hope I remember to call tomorrow, so that I get appointment before I break any more of it.  Thank goodness it is a back tooth.

My day was not bad.  I definitely have had worse.  It was just too crowded!

Snow Day Sounds

~ rdicarne ~ 5 Comments

 

sol#SOL17 Day 14

A snow day literally and figuratively falls from the sky, unbidden, and seems like a thing of wonder. ~ Susan Orlean

Hear the wind whipping
The sleet slamming against the bedroom window
Snowstorms should be quiet

As day breaks there is silence
Just snow falling, no alarm clocks ringing,
No whispers of showers, no hustle, no bustle

Soon the voices of newscasters fill the air
Reporting from near and far
The heater clicks on and off with greater frequency

Later the sounds of shovels scraping the blacktop
Combine with humming snow blowers and car motors
Reverberating through the neighborhood

The house begins to crackle and creak
As the sun makes a short appearance
Crunching boots resound through the frozen precipitation

Spoons stirring in cups of hot cocoa
Sputtering popcorn jumps into the bowl
It’s good to be home on a day like today

 

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

~ rdicarne ~ 2 Comments

sol#SOL17 Day13

When snow falls, nature listens. ~ Antoinette Van Kleeff

Do you want to build a snowman?  I left school almost giddy today.  As Winter Storm Stella bears down on the northeast, I am already planning my snow day.

  • No alarm to set
  • Look out the window
  • Spend time with my husband who will also be home
  • Look out the window
  • Watch daytime TV (as long as we don’t lose power)
  • Look out the window
  • Read the book that I haven’t had time to read
  • Look out the window
  • Nap
  • Look out the window
  • Watch the latest storm report
  • Look out the window
  • Brew a cup of tea
  • Look out the window
  • Eat one of the many snacks hubby bought for our confinement
  • Look out the window
  • Write in my notebook
  • Look out the window
  • Check Facebook
  • Look out the window
  • Call my kids to see who has the higher snowfall totals
  • Look out the window

We already got word that we will be off tomorrow, so there will be no alarm setting tonight! So I guess I can stay up until I see that firsts flake fall.  I know that if tomorrow is anything like past snow days, I will spend most of my day looking out the window. What does your perfect snow day look like?

 

 

Feeling Helpless

~ rdicarne ~ 5 Comments

sol#SOL Day 12    

 

This past Friday marks two weeks since I received a tearful phone call from my best friend’s daughter telling me that her dad had suffered cardiac arrest, and they weren’t sure if he would make it through the night. The fabulous medical staff was keeping him alive with a special machine called an ECMO.

That call set off a chain of phone calls.  First to our pastor, and then to the women in our book club.  The ten of us have been together for the past 13 years, and have experienced a variety of life events together. But nothing prepared us for this. We began to storm the heavens with prayers and wait to hear good news.

Over these past two weeks I have only spoken to my friend, Robyn once by phone, a few times by text.  Her journey is unimaginable.  For every step forward they take two steps back.  Her husband of nearly 40 years is in the fight of his life, in a drug-induced coma, unable to communicate with his family. Robyn is a strong woman, whose strength is being tested beyond belief.

Robyn and I have been friends for over 25 years.  We worked across the hall from each other for 20 years.  As our friendship grew, we talked every morning before school began, sharing almost everything. We talked about our husbands, and children, life events – happy and sad.  We shared our feelings and fears, joys and accomplishments. We were each other’s therapists.

We still work together, but are not across the hall, so we have to make a point to see each other and keep up with the news of our families. Robyn is always the first one I want to share good news with or ask for advice when I am struggling with a situation. She knows just what to say.  She is good at helping me put things into perspective, as I hope I am for her.

Right now I feel helpless.  I want to talk to Robyn, help her somehow through this ordeal, but that’s not what she needs.  She needs me to be here when she is ready to talk.  I want to respect her wishes.  She just can’t rehash every day’s details even though so many of us want to know how her husband is doing – how she is doing.  I text her every couple of days with an inspirational picture/quote just to let her know that I am thinking of her.  She knows even without the text, but I need to do something.

All I can do is pray. I think about Robyn all the time, every day. I send good thoughts her way, and keep the women in our book club updated, and we pray.  I want to do more, but I pray.