April 26

We could all come up with plenty of stories of people who cramp our style, people who arbitrarily limit our self-expression. But today, tell us a story of someone who did the opposite. Who helped you *expand* your style? Who helped you find ways to be more yourself than ever before? 

A one word answer tonight:  Jen

 

April 24

Think about your personal style, your own distinctive way of doing things. What are the common threads that tie your style together? How would you sum up your personal style in four words or less? *This week's theme is your personal style.*


Style brings automatic connotations of fashion.  My fashion style in 4 words?  Easy, wash'n'wear, neutral, fuss-free 


Is there more to style than that?  Would "wash'n'wear" be a common thread that ties my whole style together, that defines my persona?


Maybe.  Just maybe. 

April 20

Some environments tend to support your strength of character, and other environments tend to undermine your best intentions and lead you astray. What is one place in your life where it seems to be easier for you to be a better person? This week's theme is character strengths and virtues.


 I think this question is almost too easy to answer, what with being a teacher.  There is nothing like working in an environment devoted to the emotional, moral and intellectual development of children to make one be on their best behavior. In that place, I become that virtuous role model, whole-cloth.  My best self, in theory-- but only one dimension of the true me...

April 17

Think of character strengths, such as loyalty, integrity, perseverance, discipline, resilience, boldness, creativity, teamwork, courage, and responsibility. If you had to pick one, which of these is your strongest trait? And which is your weakest area, the one you would most like to improve? This week's theme is character strengths and virtues.


Out of just those listed (and let's keep it to those, thanks; time is short and the world of character traits is wide...)


I would have to say my strength is creativity.  Certainly that's the one I have the most fun with, and have claimed as my own for the longest.  Creativity manifested in the arts, yes-- writing, singing, drawing (I did that, too, once upon a time) but also a bit of an impractical visionary streak that comes out in my vague notions of how the world ought to be, or how it could be if we just...moved that.... there.... no, wait, maybe there....?  Creativity, dear strength of mine, you are not always the most efficient of virtues.


What would I like to improve?  Tonight, cowed by the fact of having two sick children, and attempting to deal with my phobia of vomiting while still being a mother to my ill daughter, I would have to say I'd like to get myself some more courage.  At various moments in my life I've found reserves of resilience and perseverance and even boldness (three other areas I might cite as needs-improvement) but the times of which I am least proud, the situations that have left me frozen or powerless or embarrassed and have left negative imprints in my impression of myself... those are the times when I needed courage.  


I tell my son that being brace means trying something even when you don't want to.  Even when you're scared.  Courage, I tell him, does not mean you're not afraid.  You just go on anyways.  


I think that's solid advice, don't you?  Now, to follow it...

April 16

Tell us a story about an unexpected shopping triumph. Where were you when you stumbled across something rare and special, or got something you needed or wanted at a laughably low price? 

If you know me, you know I have a bit of a substance abuse problem.

That substance being, namely, kids' resale events.

I just can't get enough:  all those clothes, all so cheap!  Toys, toys, toys!  And the promise, ever-elusive, of finding the perfect bargain, the ultimate "steal," THE thing that will make my life easier and make my children's future lives more fulfilling...

I'm still searching for THAT, but in the meantime our playroom is overflowing with toys, toys, toys and our storage closet is gradually filling with bin after bin of outgrown, wonderful clothing... all of them something special....

April 13

The ancient hero Hercules proved his strength by singlehandedly cleaning up some notoriously filthy stables. What is your claim to fame in the annals of cleaning? What monumental cleaning task did you take part in? What impossible stain did you expunge? What epic mess did you clean up? This week's theme is dirty and clean.


Monumental cleaning tasks...  besides my kid's playroom?  :)  


When I was in college I went on a Habitat for Humanity service trip to Camden New Jersey. It was an amazing week, in so many ways.  We were rehabbing crumbling townhouses-- pouring concrete for soffitts, rebuilding brick walls... and cleaning.  Taking out the debris of decades, boards and nails and dust dust dust.  Glowing through the dust was the promise of new life-- for the people who worked side by side with us toward their dream of a home-- and for the house itself.  For those beautiful old bones still standing tall, for those arched windows with their proud proportions, narrow rooms and the way the light slanted in.  Sweeping those floors, I fell in love with the intoxicating promise of renovation, vision of glory rising out of the decay.  I've never looked at old houses the same way since. 

August 9 and 10

Which would suit you better: working in a place where everything is perfectly clean and tidy, or working in a place where making a mess is accepted or even part of the job? This week's theme is dirty and clean.

I love working in a place of cleanliess and order, surrounded by peaceful clear surfaces, bright colors, filtered sunlight and modern design.  

That said, I am sadly not a tidy person.  I am piler and a procrastinator and I can barely keep my desk clean for a moment.  I would probably do well in a place where a mess is part of the job, particularly is the space is designed for such messes.  An art studio, for instance.  My classroom, sadly, is not one of those spaces.  And so I will continue to strive, and rearrange my piles, seeking order. 

What the dirtiest or messiest room in your home right now? And what's the cleanest or tidiest room? This week's theme is dirty and clean.

Right now??? After two trips to IKEA in one weekend (don't ask)??  This is a tough question.

Right now the cleanest room is the living room, as long as you don't look toward the foyer where we've gathered the detris of a lot of furniture assembly.  We've very recently moved, removed, assembled, moved, removed, and reassembled a number of couches here, and so the floor has had a chance to be swept and mopped in places it didn't know existed.  The new couch, finally happy in its spot, is raised on legs with a space underneath to showcase future dustbunnies for all the world to see.  Somehow, I am imagining that this will keep the room cleaner...?

DIrtiest place?  As always and usual, the basement.  I still harbor a secret dream of just backfilling the entire basement with concrete.  A slab foundation would be preferable to the pit of doom we currently have under our house.  Barring that drastic measure, I also dream of a day wherein I remove every nonessential item that is not stored neatly in a rubbermaid, and paint all the walls and the floor a uniform glossy grey.  Somehow, I am imagining that this would keep the basement cleaner....

A girl can dream.

April 8

Tell us a story about a time long ago when you helped plant something, such as a vegetable crop, a tree, or flowers. Who were you with? What did you plant? And were you around later to watch it grow?


An appropriate question for this Easter day, in this season of new life and growing things. 


I am thinking of the day last summer, at the Botanical Gardens with the kids... in the magical Hershey's children's garden.  There was a potting bench set up, with young plants and seedlings in soft pots, and a bed of turned earth nearby, all child height.  A chalkboard proclaimed in whimsical lettering that we were to plant, or pot; leave, or take.  We dug and placed and watered, sunk our fingers into dark rich soil, side by side with other  polite and lovely young ones, each so very excited to dig up a plant and put in in a pot, to cradle the roots and water them, to gather them and choose them and even take them home.


We didn't take our plants.  We left them to continue their back and forth journey, to bring light into children's eyes.

April 5

We always prefer to avoid frustration — or do we? There are many puzzles, games, and sports challenges that are deliberately packed full of obstacles, and we enjoy them all the more. What are some "frustrating" forms of recreation that you enjoy? And what's the difference that makes some experiences aggravations and others entertainment?


Apparently, I am really serious about avoiding frustration.  No seriously.  I am having a hard time thinking of any of those "puzzles, games and sports challenges" that I actively enjoy. Perhaps its simply that I  Sports of choice?  Solitary, things I'm good at, smooth.  Swimming, biking, running (but not too far), skiing (no moguls, thank you very much....)  I don't like games; though I'll play them now, especially at my son's behest, I wouldn't choose a competitive game on my own accord.  Video games, puzzles, logic games, brain teasers-- all well and good as long as there's no penalty for just "taking a break" when frustration kicks in.Being around other people?  Lovely as long as they all agree with me and don't frustrate me with banality or offensive comments...  I prefer to stick to activities, conversations, jobs, hobbies that come easily to me, smooth sailing, obstacle free, firmly in my own control.


That's the secret to it all, isn't it?  Turns out maybe I'm not an introverted perfectionist after all..


I just have frustration-phobia.

April 4

What is one thing other people find enormously frustrating that you can tolerate with no problem? Do you sometimes do this particular thing as a favor for other people, in order to spare them frustration?




I really don't mind cleaning the bathroom.  In fact, I get rather an inordinate amount of satisfaction from a clean toilet, and keeping up with it myself is a lot easier than waiting for it to happen on its own.  To tell the truth, I am not sure that other people find this task "frustrating", per se (other people, in this case, mainly being Nat)-- but I do hear that people find it to be distasteful.  I'd certainly take this chore over cleaning a litterbox, that is for sure.


I am perfectly fine with paperwork.  I even enjoy writing IEP's and progress reports and data summaries and evaluations (provided, of course, that I have the time to focus on them.I enjoy crafting the words, capturing ideas and strengths and the very essence of a child succinctly and with respect.   I'd love to help other people with their paperwork if time allowed, actually... a full time job writing IEP's, with occasional moments of teaching reading 1-1 with students.... sigh....


Working with my students.  I have heard other people say they couldn't do it, they don't have the patience, etc.... I am not sure I've got all that much patience myself-- but somehow I get more of it when I am teaching my kids.  Somehow that element of being truly needed kicks in and it almost doesn't matter what they throw at me, I can handle it and figure it out.  The frustrations come after.  Or because of adults.  But rarely because of my kids.  I suppose, in a way, I am doing the school a favor by creating a haven for these children so that frustrations can be lessened, just a tiny bit, for the other teachers at the school.  Anything I can do!  Personally I think I've got the best gig going....

April 3

Today's question:

Was there a period of your life that had a slow, maddening progress, a time that you were just counting the days until it was over? What was impeding you, and how did it end?


Waiting in lines. I feel there is an incredible injustice to waiting in lines. No one should have to spend such a significant portion of their lives just... waiting.  


Beyond that?  


Slogging my way through the online course I took on behavior modification.  Interminable.  It could have been that I was also dealing with a 4 month old baby and a 3 year old boy and teaching, all while trying to listen to lectures given by a video-taped man who strongly resembled a frog.  But it was among the driest material I have ever spent time learning, and it seemed a long, long time before I finished that class...

A new month....

Well, March was a bit of a wash.

It's difficult to go to bed early when the weather is so delicious, you know?

And it's difficult to stick to a diet when on vacation with two small children.  So there.  I have excuses.

But, it is April!

And I have just now, just this very minute, decided on a 30 day challenge.  I follow a blog, Ten Thousand Questions, which is updated daily by its very dedicated author, who poses interesting questions based on a weekly theme.  So, there at the top of my blogroll, every day, is a new question.

For the month of April, I am going to answer them.

I am looking forward to the focused act of writing that this will bring on, as well as the chance to explore unexpected topics beyond my usual sphere of home and school and children...

Today's question: 

What are some otherwise worthwhile things that you avoid because of the likelihood of running into difficulties and frustrations? This week's theme is frustrations. 

Frustrations!  An appropriate theme as frustrations come every minute some days...  This evening I avoided any further shopping at Target due to the likelihood of being frustrated by my exceedingly whiny children... but I am not sure that counts as "otherwise worthwhile"....

But here are things I do avoid:

Washing the windows
Painting the trim of the house
Getting the playroom organized
Applying for new jobs
Committing to a program of study (any one!) to further my future
Attempting to finish/publish any completed piece of writing