Forced to Receive
At precisely 2:35 PM today, the sky tears open and pours out the hardest rain. It’s so loud in my car that I can’t hear the radio. It’s so heavy that both sides of the streets fill up with enormous puddles that rise up like waves around passing cars. I’m parking to then go walk […]
Life and Peace!
All weekend, I remember this passage of scripture in the book of Romans: “The mind of the sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” Oh, how I want that life and peace! Right now! Every day! To control means to maintain authority or influence over. How […]
It All Goes By So Quickly
When you have a glorious weeping cherry tree right in front of your bedroom window, you watch that thing every single day once the snow melts. It’s because the blooms of the weeping cherry last for a week at best. It all happens so quickly–from bud to blossom to thick green foliage–that I’ve learned over […]
Now That’s School Spirit: The State High Lipdub 2012
I just love this lipdub! (A lip dub is a type of video that combines lip synching and audio dubbing to make a music video.) Our town’s public high school students and faculty came together (all 1,800 of them) to make an amazing lipdub to showcase their school. Here’s the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9LJNvBNl0Y It’s a […]
How You Know It’s Blogworthy
After two years of blogging at Live with Flair, I’m always looking for blogworthy material that I haven’t already used. On the walk to school, the sweetest little second grade girl asks me what I’m going to blog about today. I have my camera in my pocket, but I haven’t pulled it out yet. “I […]
In a Crazy-Fan Kind of Way
Today, I write to a student who receives a low grade that “I’m rooting for him.” The phrase just seems so very important and necessary. I’m rooting for you! You can do this! I normally don’t think about rooting for students but rather for teams or certain players in sporting events. Maybe I root for […]
Today Was the Day
This day brought forth threats of rain, ominous clouds, and wind. Although we had patches of sunshine, the morning mostly promised nothing of bright vibrant blooms. But today was the day. Today was the day the first daffodil of spring stretched out one petal of greeting and sent out that unmistakable scent. Today was the […]
A Pep Talk for the Grumpy
This morning on the walk to school, my oldest complains and complains and complains about the state standardized testing she must endure this week. She’s miserable. She’s envisioning an entire week of hunching over little bubble sheets to prove her worth. Besides, the timing couldn’t be worse: It’s sunny and warm today with birds chirping […]
Is Today the Day?
Every morning, we race out to the side of the house to check if the daffodils have bloomed. Not yet. Soon, but not yet. We see, as if by x-ray vision, the water stored inside alongside the tightly wrapped daffodil bloom. By what command do they emerge? Who says? When? One morning–we […]
What I Found in Jack’s Eye Today
Jack’s never going to get another eye. I realize this fact as I call to him; he has to turn his whole head to see me with his one eye. So much about this little cat has healed, and you know if you’ve read his story. But some things won’t heal. Jack has learned coping […]