Time moves so slowly. Especially when I’m waiting for my proof to arrive.
Viridia, Viridia…when will you arrive?
I love the way students are curious about details of a teacher’s life. And, given half an opportunity, how they will try to dig out a few extra details.
As I was teaching a class this week, the subject of a person’s age came up.
One student piped up, “Mrs. Tabares, are you 26 years old?”
“No,” I responded, “that would be pretty much impossible, since I have a 23 year old daughter!”
“Oh, you have a 23 year old daughter,” chimed in another student, “are you 50?”
“No, I’m not 50.”
“You’re 27!”
“No you’re 35.”
“I think you’re 65.”
“Are you 43?”
Immediately, the entire class erupted into a multitude of guesses–a wide range of guesses.
Only a few took the time to add in order to make an appropriate guess. Just like I could not be 26 and have a 23 year old daughter, I was not likely to be 27 or 35 either.
I told the class I was somewhere in between their guesses, and that we had to get back on subject.
But in a way, their inability to guess my age was very appropriate to the subject of study, which was the difficulty of figuring out if a person really was the age they stated on the Web. I was trying to teach the students that the Internet was a foggy place, where it is very hard to see the true identity of a person. People with ill intent often give false information about themselves to gain trust.
I have no ill intent, and I in no way am trying to change my identity. Which is a good thing, since these students are as yet unable to decipher truths about a person standing right in front of them!
No worries.
No, no, no, I’m not being insensitive or uncaring! This is all planned.
You are shocked I would be a part of this dastardly deed? What are you…oh…I understand now. You are confused about the fireworks. Maybe I should explain a little.
The Space Needle is not under attack. Every year, when a new year begins, people want to make a lot of noise and celebrate the new beginning. Kind of have the old year go out and the new year come in with a bang. To to this we….
No! We do not “sacrifice a building to the great one”. You’ve got it all wrong, we are not blowing up the Space Needle, we’re just making noise!
Well, I guess we just want to make a big show, you know, just because we can.
What? No! I do not want you to help out with the fireworks! That would be scary. I think the people in charge are doing a bang up job by themselves.
Yes, I know that you could easily bring down the building, but that’s not the point. We want the building to remain unharmed, all the buildings.
Yes, I know you think we are missing out in the fun. But trust me, it is better that you let us celebrate our own way, even if you don’t understand. We Earthlings are rather odd that way.
Well, why don’t you just yell “Happy New Year”!
And a Happy New Year to you.
My daughter, who has her own apartment, has a cat. To be more accurate, she has a 3 month old bundle of mischievious fur that knows no rules and acknowledges no boundaries.
The patience of every person in this house has been put to the test this last week, as my daughter’s little bundle of feline energy was brought to visit in this canine dominated household.
Commonsense told me that since both animals are still babies they would learn to get along if we gave them the opportunity to get used to each other. Conversations with other animal owners reinforced this belief. Predicted length of time-two days.
Well, things often don’t go quite as planned. Instead of the predicted two days, it took a little over a week for my stubborn dog to learn to accept my daughter’s pig-headed cat.
The cat repeatedly tried to prove to the dog that cats rule and have the right to roam the house at will. The dog decided that herding cats was a great game, and she was determined to keep the cat confined in one particular room.
The cat would make a break for it, the dog would pounce. Everyone would jump up to rescue the cat, since Pepper weighs about 16 pounds, and Jinx only about 4.
Of course, we also wanted to protect Pepper from Jinx’s sharp claws. It is amazing how scary a tiny cat can appear if she hisses and shows her claws. And that creepy, low-pitched growl! That growl was very scary.
Or it was to the humans in the house. Pepper seemed to think the show of menace was all a part of a wonderful, exciting game. The more the cat hissed and swatted with her razor-like claws, the more involved Pepper became. Not only did she not back down, there was no holding her back! She seemed more like a hunter than our cute little puppy.
Luckily, we were forced to leave the two alone for several hours yesterday. I’m not sure exactly what happened but we returned to find them playing happily together.
What a relief!
Such is life that the new friendship will be broken up tomorrow, when the cat returns to her usual abode.
There are still a few days to go, but outside it looks like the perfect Christmas card.
Looking out my window I can see about 8 inches of snow piled up on our fence. It is still early morning, so there is very little contrast between the white of the snow and the pale gray of the sky. But still, it is beautiful.
What is it about snow? It can turn the ugliest landscape into a thing of beauty. Even town dumps are transformed. Gone are the dirty piles of trash and discarded couches, they are magically replaced by pristine white mountains, seemingly untouched by mankind.
I guess every so often, God wants to remind us that there is a ton of beauty in the world. We only have to look at things the right way.
So we are given the gift of snow. It is cold, wet, potentially dangerous, but painfully beautiful.
Thank you God.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Step by gingerly step, Pepper cautiously inches her way across the yard.
The puzzled look on her face reveals her thoughts. What is this cold, white, wet mess that has hidden all the wonderful smells? Why does it stick to my feet? Will it hurt me?
Suddenly, she spots a lump in the snow that in some way looks familiar. Her innate curiosity resurfaces, and she trots over to investigate. Could it be, could it be….
Yes! Pepper jumps about in joyful glee as she digs her favorite toy out of the snow. The toy is cold and wet, but unharmed.
Pepper’s whole demeanor changes in an instant. Fear is replaced by courage, cautiousness by speed.
A black blur races around and around the yard, defying slippery spots, overcoming hidden obstacles.
Pepper the dog, snow day racer deluxe. Zero to sixty in less than a minute.
I was so happy yesterday! I ran a report to see which books have been checked out most in the last 30 days in my library, and was totally shocked to see Behold the Eye: Braumaru listed as #1! I ran another report, but this time for most checked out in 1 year. Braumaru was #4. Not bad for a book that has only been published about 8 months!
Then I got home, and waiting for me was a rejection letter from a contest I had entered Braumaru. Not only had I not won, but the reviewer thought that the book was too complicated for kids in Middle School, so they would become frustrated and not finish it.
Listen, I know that not everyone who reads my books are going to like them. This is a fact. I can live with it. I expect it.
But I would much prefer for the reviewer to state that s/he did not like my book rather than say that the middle school/young adult crowd are not smart enough to understand my books. That they would not be able to follow the storyline.
It makes me wonder if the reviewer actually reads fiction written for this age group. Does s/he not understand that books that have been dumbed down are quite often mundane and boring? Is it possible that s/he is not aware that the young mind is perfectly capable of handling and detangling complicated plots? Could it be that s/he does not know that a book that challenges while it entertains is a powerful encouragement to continued reading? Books need to be fun!
I am a mother, a librarian, and a writer.
As a mother, I’ve watched the reaction my children have had to various stimuli. And after watching, I made a conscious decision to be involved in what they were exposed to. Yes, I will admit it. I made careful selections (aka censoring) of my children’s computer use, television viewing, and book choices. But my choices were never to dumb things down, only to keep out the inappropriate.
As a librarian, my job is to choose reading material that will encourage the love of reading and learning. I spend hours every day evaluating books to that end. What age group do I evaluate for you ask? Kindergarten through 12th grade. And to do this I ask a lot of questions of the kids, about what they like in a book, what keeps their interest, what makes them think!
As the writer of the Behold the Eye trilogy my goal was to write a story that I, as an adult, would enjoy reading, and that I could read aloud to my child.
Which is why I know some people will not like my books. The Behold the Eye trilogy has no vulgarity, no vampires, and no scenes that would make a person blush.
They are complex, interesting, and fun!
I am thankful for the many blessings I enjoy, and the most important blessing to me is my family.
Therefore, I am thankful for that first awkward, but strangely magical, blind date with my husband almost 25 years ago. Everything that could have gone wrong did. Which makes it important to remember that an uneventful date is a forgetable date.
Aren’t I lucky that that first date was very like our marriage has been? Unforgetable, eventful, and full of surprises…surprises that my husband and I have learned we can always handle, as long as we handle them together.
I am thankful for my four wonderful daughters, who have all grown into beautiful, witty, intelligent, strong young women. I radiated pride yesterday at the family dinner when aunts, uncles, a grandmother, and cousins were able to partake of the numerous dishes my children had cooked, packed up, and transported to the get-together. To know that my children have grown to be so giving, so hard-working…it does make a mother’s heart glow with joy.
I am also thankful for…what? You want me to let everyone know what you are thankful for? Why certainly, I’ll read your prepared speech for you, though I am a little surprised. I didn’t know Jupiterians celebrated Thanksgiving Day.
Let’s see…it says, “We like to thank our fellow Jupiterians who have always given us support. We would like to show our gratitude to the Foundation, without whom we would not be here today. We would also like to thank the Saturnians for clearing a path through their moons so that we could make the great strides we have in space exploration. Without their help, it may have taken an extra millenium…”
Wait a minute, this speech isn’t about Thanksgiving!
Yes, I know you are giving thanks, but it is not the same. Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for blessings, not giving thanks to people. Okay, okay, so officially they aren’t “people”. Still, I don’t think you get it!
What? You are positive you know all about it because you watched it on TV? You saw a show about Thanksgiving on TV?
Oh, I see. You saw the Academy Awards.
I think I’ll just let it go. Some things are just too hard to explain!
Maybe I should find a way to limit their TV time!
Jupiterians,
Word has been sent from your homeland that you are desperately needed there. You must drop any and all projects you have here, and zip back to your planet before it is too late. Quickly. Right away.
What is that? You think your project to slow down Viridia is too important for you to put aside?
But you must obey the call of your fellow Jupiterians. You cannot let them handle this crisis alone. They need your help. Now. Right now. This minute.
What is the crisis? Well…I think is is best that you get the details directly from those that are living the tragedy in your homeland. So you must hurry back.
Why did I get the message instead of you? Ummmm…well…there is a very good reason they sent the messge to me instead of you. They…they…they tried you reach you, but you didn’t answer. They couldn’t wait so they gave me the message to pass along to you.
The message? You must return at once before all the trees on your planet are destroyed. Your help is immediately and urgently needed.
Why are you looking at each other like that? This is serious! All the trees on your planet have developed a rare and deadly form of the Dutch Elm disease, and you must take a few of our trees back immediately so that you can start to replenish your forests right away.
Why are you laughing so hard?
Your planet doesn’t have trees? It is made of gas?
I knew I should have paid closer attention in Astronomy!
In my youth, I had a theory that people could easily be placed in generations based on their place in a family. If you were a parent, you belonged in the parent group, you were the parent generation. All parents were the “parent age”, and should willingly hang out with the other parents. It worked the same with grandparents, who enjoyed the company of others of “grandparent age”.
But then, people started talking about Baby Boomers. I was shocked to learn the long span of years that were included in a “generation”. Around 20!
Okay, so here’s something to think about.
A generation is defined as approximately 20 years. If I was born at the beginning of my generation and I had a child at the age of 18, my child and I would be a part of the same generation.
Totally destroys my theory!