Hmmm….

Several months ago, I snapped the picture below at my neighborhood Starbucks.

This caught my eye because someone had taken the time to label the pitcher so that it would have a specific use but then it was used for something else.

There was nothing wrong with the way it was being used.

No laws were broken.

Nothing bad happened (I hope) from this.

But it caught my eye and made me look a second time.

Possibly for the first time EVER, I have nothing really to say about this. In fact, I have no objections. I am sure that it made sense at the time, that it did not last long, and that everything turned out just fine.

So – I’ll ask the readers instead…what comes to mind when you see this? 

I’d love to hear from you!

Phrases To Make You Think

On the first day of summer for my kiddos, they had a little get together with their friends which required that they drive me to work, go have their fun, and then return to my office to pick me up. This will likely be a routine that we visit often this summer as the girl having her license means that she wants to have a car some days.  And that requires some creative scheduling.  I do not plan to walk to work as I did to the dentist’s office last week.

In my office, there are some fun blocks with fun phrases on them. This was a gift from a former co-worker, and they are now fond friends who share my office. They will likely join me should I ever change locations again.  Although they are a fond memory of the gifter, it truly is the gift itself that I love in this instance.

Side note: I am not terribly sentimental.  I am known for my habit of throwing away items with sentimental ties.  This is why I must make a distinction about the why I keep the blocks.

Enough babbling…here are the blocks…..

By geometric definition, each block has six sides which means that these four blocks host 24 different phrases.  They are in the same strain as the demotivational posters that one would find on despair.com.  Being an educator has meant that I have been tormented by motivational posters and sayings for most of my professional life.

The problem is that I am not motivated by them!

In fact, I have been known to turn green and nearly vomit in staff meetings which start with some motivational sayings.  I am much more fond of demotivational poster/sayings because I think that they are much more honest.

The four pictured above are the result of a forced-choice exercise run by my son while I was trying to pack up my stuff and leave the office. The idea is that I could not like all six of the sayings on one block, so he asked me which I liked better in order to narrow down from 24 phrases to four phrases.

He created my Tower of Power…

In case reading them on the photo is difficult, I will type them out below.

• Teamwork: A lot of people doing things my way.

• I am open to suggestions just not taking them.

• Those thinking it’s impossible should not interrupt those doing it.

• If you don’t like my attitude, quit talking to me.

I have to admit that some of these make me cringe especially because the question that the boy posed to me was, “Which of these two phrases best describe you?”  Some of them are down-right incriminating about my haughty and arrogant spirit which tends to crop up more in the work setting than anywhere else.  And I will likely have to spend some time on my knees confessing about this attitude issue that I have.

The one that I am not ashamed to have on this list is the third one: Those thinking it’s impossible should not interrupt those doing it.

Very little is impossible if we choose to put our everything into making it happen.  Of course, there are some obvious things that can’t happen no matter how much we try such as humans flying without the assistance of aerodynamically designed flying suits or contraptions.  But, for the most part, what holds us back from making the impossible happen is our own doubt (or the doubts of others), funding, and time.  All of these items can be overcome with a little help from others.

From Steve Jobs to the International Justice Mission organization and everything in between, there are examples of the people making the impossible happen.  I am writing this post on a machine that would have been an impossible dream 100 years ago.  You are reading this post through the internet – something considered impossible. 

We need a few more dreamers, many more do-ers, and far fewer interrupters.  Our world would be so much better if we stopped interrupting those who are dream up great things and instead got on board with them and helped them to achieve great things.

The question that I have to pose to myself today is this: am I a do-er or an interrupter?

Do I dream things and then strive to make them happen?

Or am I busy interrupting those who are working hard to make their great happen?

Two notes as I end today:

1. Today, I have the exciting opportunity to be at the Search Institute’s training titled “Building Developmental Assets in School Communities.”  I am so excited to be at this training and to be learning more about a concept for which I have a ton of respect.  Stay tuned!
2. On Sunday, our family will see Man of La Mancha at the Festival Theatre in St Croix falls.  I cannot wait to laugh, cry, and be inspired by Don Quixote once more.  I have been listening to the soundtrack in my car for the past few weeks.  You can be guaranteed that a blog will follow.

Urgent–In Whose Eyes?

I took the photo above myself.  Can you guess what it is?

When I saw the item where you would find the phrase, I immediately thought to myself, “This is worth blogging about some day.” And that is precisely how the photo ended up on my phone and eventually in the download folder (the repository of all things to be blogged someday) on my computer.

It made me pause – as many things do – because of its potential power over me.  If we say things a certain way, the listener (or reader) of the message may feel more compelled to do what we say.  And “URGENT” is one of those words that compels me to follow the directions of whatever it is that has that word stamped on it.

The photo is of a mere envelop. The contents of the envelop ask me to provide the requester with information about the student, and this information most likely will determine if the student will continue to receive financial benefits.  Depending upon how I respond, the student may or may not continue to receive those benefits.

This is a lot of responsibility!  With a mere response, I determine the financial fate of the student. The problem is that I often have information that would stop students from receiving financial benefits.  I am not the cause of this information; I am merely the one who provides truth to the requester.

But that is not how many students see this.  I often receive phone calls with content such as the following: “You made me lose my monthly stipend.”

Well, actually, that is not true. That monthly stipend depended upon full-time attendance at a school, and the student chose not to attend.  I had nothing to do with that!

But that is really not the point that I want to share in today’s post.  It is this idea of urgency, how it compels us, and how we need to step back and consider before we give in simply due to a word.

The envelop pictured above is one of many “urgent” envelops that I receive each week.  This is in addition to the “urgent” emails, phone calls, and office visits that I receive each week.  In fact, one would believe that everything that I do is urgent based on the piles in my office, the emails in my inbox, and the phone messages.

There are times that I even give in to this sense of urgency and cruise through all of these urgent requests, clearing off my desk, cleaning out my inbox, and returning phone calls.  I understand that financial assistance is often urgent, and I do my best to attend to these matters with that mindset.  It can be hard, however, when everything on my desk is marked urgent.  When that happens, I do them in the order in which they were received.  The idea is that urgent matters should be handled in sort of a first-come, first-served fashion.

My favorite phone message about these urgent matters goes something like this: “This is [student].  I have these papers that you were supposed to sign and turn in last week, but I forgot to send them to you.  Could you take care of this today? I don’t have access to a fax machine, though, so can I just bring them to your office?”

Did I mention that the call usually happens on Friday at 4:30 p.m.?  “I’m sorry, but no.”

I am starting to believe that nothing is truly urgent – unless chest pains or bones sticking through skin are involved. 

But we live in an urgent society.  We urgently need food (McDonalds), we urgently need to stay in touch with one another (texting), and we urgently need to be the center of the universe (Facebook and, dare I say it, blogging).  We fill our lives full of urgent moments and need transportation to get there (cars – one per person now…).  In fact, what is considered urgent may actually just be a change of plans to something that is more fun than the obligations that I have agreed to in the past.

And our urgency spills over into our relationships.  You need to meet my needs right now regardless of your schedule for the day, of poor planning on my part, or of lack of follow through on my part when I say “yes” to one thing but then another (preferable) option comes along.

I do not have an answer to any of this, but urgency is making me tired! 

Unfortunately, I often am an urgency hurricane and am the cause of others’ urgency fatigue.  In a little manic conversation, I can cover quite a bit of ground (verbally), create grandiose plans (let’s cure all of the world’s problems!), and get another person’s heartbeat going (or nearly stopping from all of the urgency).  More often than not, though, these plans do not come to fruition, and I am just tired from the thinks.

When we place demands on one another with little planning or consideration for others, we are not helping anyone – including ourselves.  We all need to learn to take a breath every now and then, to consider the cost of our request or the giving in to the requests of others, and to slow down in our approach to life. 

I am not advocating for us all to become couch potatoes, but I am advocating for us to consider if we have time for ourselves, our families, and God in addition to all of the “urgent” parts of our lives.  When I do not carve out time for my family or for God, I need to ask myself if all of this urgency is really as urgent as it seems.  The needs of others may need to wait, and – more likely – a consideration of whether it is truly a need at all may be required.

This consideration seems urgent to me because fatigue caused by this concept creeps its way into me.  I would like to think that the end of the school year does this to everyone, but there has to be a more balanced way to approach life so that the end of the school is not such a relief and so that the beginning of the next school year – only weeks away – does not create so much dread.

What do you think? 

Can we live differently, expect differently, and respond differently? 

Or has our society taken over at such a rate that everything really is urgent?

Walking to the Dentist

The girl (my fond reference to my daughter) has entered a new stage; she now drives.  In addition to this, she has a summer internship and several random commitments such as caring for children and driving an elderly woman to Bingo. With two cars in our house, two working adults, and two busy teens, scheduling is of the utmost importance.

As I looked at the schedules for last Friday, I noticed that I could alleviate the stress of too much scheduling if I chose to make my day a walking day.  I was thrilled about this.

• With a late start to my first destination – a friend’s house for breakfast – I was happy to have the huz drive me part way and drop me off at a convenient spot that still gave me about a half mile of walking. 

• I left my friend’s house with Cub Foods as my next stop to pick up a wedding card and gift card (our standard gift – sorry to ruin it for anyone getting married in the future!) as our family attended a wedding on Saturday.

• Interruption here that I will detail in a minute…

• The final destination, of course, was to be the dentist’s office.

• The huz then picked me up from the dentist’s office on his way home from his errands that day.

The total walking distance for this trip was about three miles which is just shy of the 5K that I am constantly hoping to conquer.  I would love to do a 5K every day.

 

“A 5K a day keeps the doctor away!”

As I walked on a busy street from my friend’s house to the Cub Foods, another friend (driving) saw me and stopped on the side of the road to offer me a ride.  I insisted that this was the plan and that I was fine.  The friend went on, turned around, and came back to make sure that I was sure of what I was doing.  I was sure, but I was also sure this friend would not take “no” for answer in response to her offer of a ride.

I crawled in and said,”My next stop is Cub Foods.”  As you can see by the Google map below, my friend’s kindness shaved off an entire half mile from my trip!  She offered to be my chauffeur for the day, but that really was not the point.

Eleven years ago, our family headed off on the adventure of a lifetime; we moved to Scotland for a year.  For many reasons, mostly financial, we saw no reason to purchase a car while we were there for that short amount of time.  We lived in the heart of Edinburgh – almost dead center between the kids’ school and the huz’s school.

Thus, we walked almost everywhere.

From time to time, we would take the bus (for long distances or if we were loaded down with groceries); however, most of that year was spent on our feet.  Our walk to church each Sunday was nearly the same distance that my friend save me on Friday.

I fear that we have become far too dependent upon our automobiles.  In doing so, we have lost many things, and I learned some of those things on my walk on Friday.

Our health is one thing that we are losing.  So many of us have gym memberships, and we drive to them.  If I would walk a 5K a day, I would not need a gym membership.  In addition, the endorphines released as I walk help balance the rest of my emotional self.  I work off anger, frustration, hurt, and sadness.  I sleep better when I walk because I have done something that day.

We lose sight of the people and places around us.  When I drive past an area or through an area, I spend very little time there.  I get through it and on to the destination.  When I walk, I engage in the area.  I pay attention to the people, the places, and the little things – like flowers in bloom.  I see things when I walk.  I get places when I drive.

Driving places allows our lives’ paces to get faster and faster while walking requires that the pace is only as fast as our feet.  When we lived in Scotland, we had far less going on than we do now that we are in the US.  In part, this was due to the limitations of making commitments within our travel distance.  When I took a job at the zoo and eventually at a school on the outskirts of the city, I had to factor in bus travel time and bus changes because the distance was too great to walk.

Even a trip to the grocery store required planning!

Our family does not regret living in Scotland and walking that year, nor do we regret having the ability to drive here in the US.  It is not that one way is better than the other; however, we need to count the cost in both situations and see what we could learn.

As I walked to the dentist on Friday, I was reminded again of the pace of our time in Scotland.  Much of my day required careful planning with distance and time accounted for in order to ensure that my feet could accomplish all that I needed them to do that day.  It is possible, and it is good to do it now and then to remember that three or four miles is not unconquerable for most of us.

Where will your feet take you today?

A Passion for Panties!

A few weeks ago, I saw a page-share on Facebook from a friend with the picture below.  It caught my eye, so I clicked through to check it out.  Once there, I found an incredible story of a young person with an incredible passion for women of the world to have the dignity of owning underwear.  I asked my FB friend to connect me with her so that I could share her story, and today is the day. 

In the information that follows today, you will meet Anna whose story is amazing.  All photos shared on this post are her originals and are shared with her permission.  It is my hope that all of my readers would be moved to help her in some way through giving or through prayer.

Anna, who also goes by Rosie, is a busy girl.  When I contacted her, she was on her way out the door to the Minnesota Girls’ State where they had no phone or internet access.  Upon her return, she graciously answered my questions.

Tell me about "Anna's Skivvy Drive...what is it...
Anna's Skivvy Drive is a collection drive to benefit the beautiful women of San Jeronimo, Honduras, and the surrounding area.

How did this plan come to be?
The past two summers, I have gone to Honduras for missions trips. I have been a member of the clinic team. Distributing anti-parasite meds and running the pharmacy. This past summer, one of the ladies we worked with told us that there was a huge need for underwear.

Why underwear?
A pair of underwear can cost up to two dollars in Honduras. Which isn't a lot for us, but that could pay for most of a meal down there. When faced with the choice between a meal and underwear, food triumphs. The women have been deprived of the simple dignity and piece of clothing of underwear. It is my mission to change that!

Why the women of Honduras? Where did that passion come from?
When I came back from Honduras after my first trip, in the summer of 2010, I left my heart there. The openness, happiness, and generosity of the Honduran people touched my heart. I had fallen in love! I firmly believe that God has called me to long-term missions, and Honduras is my way of beginning that passion. I have a passion for healing and bringing God's Love to new places.

When do you leave for Honduras?
I leave for Honduras from Minneapolis on July 18. Super duper early in the morning!

You mentioned that this is also a senior project for school - tell me more....
I attend Spectrum High School in Elk River, Minnesota. It is a charter school focusing on technology and community interaction, outreach, and service. In order to graduate every senior must think of, plan, and successfully execute a project reaching to the community. I had thought of several different ideas in the planning stage of my project but I always came back to this one because it was where my passion was. After I complete the project, I will also have to write an eight page paper pertaining in some way to my project and present the project to a board of judges. If I pass all three portions of the project, I will be able to graduate!

Details - when do you leave for your trip?  When do you need the undies by?  Where is the best place to have them mailed and to whom?

I leave on July 18, 2012. I will get back on July 25. I need the undies by July 10. The skivvies can either be dropped off at my church(NorthRidge Fellowship), or mailed to my dad's office. The address for his office is 26515 Tucker Road, Rogers, MN 55374. The sizes I need are small, medium, and large women's girl's and women's underwear. Just put my name on any mailed packages, even though they are going to my dad's office!

 

Anything else you would like to share...

I want to thank all those who are donating right now. I am so very blessed to have wonderful people like you to help me in my ministry!  I will bring back many pictures and stories and I am excited to share them with you! In addition to the Facebook page, I do have a blog that I write on. This blog has been the place where my supporters can check up on me for the past three years now. Here is the link for that too! http://rosie-honduras.blogspot.com/

 

 

What is your goal?

Previous to today (June 17), my goal was 200 pairs of underwear.  I counted today, and I have 395 pairs!

What is your goal?

Previous to today (June 17), my goal was 200 pairs of underwear. I counted today, and I have 395 pairs!

New goal?

My new goal 500 pairs.

Author’s note: I am amazed by this young woman’s passion, and I would love for her to reach her goal and go far beyond it.  What an incredible vision!

Fighting Sioux Anonymous (FSA)

In most newspapers and their online versions around the country, there is a section listing recovery group meetings, times, and locations.  There should be a recovery group formed for those of us who have grown up as Sioux fans and who now, after the recent day at the polls that concluded with a move to retire the nickname, have to move on from that reality.

Hi.  My name is Stacy.  I am a recovering Fighting Sioux fan.

From my earliest memories as a resident of Grand Forks, North Dakota, I have been a Fighting Sioux hockey fan.  (Side note: I do know that UND has other sports, but hockey is the most exciting and contagious sport for a fan.)  This is part of my existence, part of my definition of self, and part of my core being.  To change this is like saying that I am a girl one week and then changing that statement to something else.

Let me say for a few moments that I understand the move that voters made on Tuesday.  If school and state officials are telling the truth (and why would they not???), this is a necessary move.  The battle is over.  The fight has been fought.  The NCAA has won.

Tangent: I was in Indianapolis in November and walked past the NCAA headquarters.  The Italian in me really wanted to stop in and demand an audience with some important suit-wearing person (I will assume man…) who is at the heart of this decision.  I wanted to tell – him – that he should attend a Fighting Sioux hockey game (what the pastor huz refers to as a religious experience) so that he could see how much we love our name. 

I did not do this; I really did not think it would help.  But it was fun to think about.

Back to my thoughts: So – the logical side of me says that this move was needed.  “The Man” has won, and we will do as “he” says so that our athletic department can still recruit the finest athletes and compete with other schools around the nation.

All of that works with my brain, but my heart is sad as I feel like I am losing a part of home.  I understand why there are so many who have worked so hard to keep the nickname.  It is who we are: the Fighting Sioux.  And changing who we are will not be easy, will not be fun, and will not happen overnight.  Perhaps it will never actually work. 

We could follow in the footsteps of Prince and take on a symbol as our nickname.  Then we could be announced as the team formerly known as the Fighting Sioux.

Either way, we will likely need a recovery group.

Spotlight: A Proud Mama Moment

Walking up to the Orpheum Theatre on Monday night, I noticed that my heart started to pump with excitement when I saw on the marquee that the show was sold out!

How exciting to know that my daughter would be on the stage of a show that was sold out!

I need to step back…

The Spotlight Showcase is an event put on by the Hennepin Theatre Trust as part of their education and community engagement arm.  (Side note: it would be so fun to work for them!!!)  It highlights excellence in Minnesota high school musical theatre, and students from 56 schools - metro area schools as well as schools from as far away as Bemidji – participated in this program this year.  Next year, the list of participating school will grow, and we were told at the event that next year there will be two showcase nights. 

Judges anonymously attend productions throughout the year and evaluate the productions on many levels.  There are several awards that Spotlight judges give to schools ranging from dance performance to community involvement.  Schools whose productions receive an outstanding overall production award send their entire cast to perform a medley from their production.  For me, this is a great way to see what is out there in musicals.  I had no idea that there was a musical titled Urinetown until Monday night.  (Side note: after seeing the medley, I honestly have no need to see the entire production.)

Judges also evaluate the performances of individual students from each production and choose outstanding performers as well as honorable mention performers.  These groups of students have the thrill of being part of one or more numbers on the Orpheum stage during the showcase production.  The students spend a few days prior to the production practicing together and working with professional choreographers and musical directors.

My sweet girl received an honorable mention for her performance of the pastor’s wife in Footloose this year.  The huz and I were so proud and wish that she had been able to sing her solo for everyone that night.  However, as we sat in audience and saw the number of students with great talent performing alongside of our girl, we realized that, although the girl is talented, so are many others from around the state.  We sat in room full of other proud parents and family members, and we had no way to get the girl’s picture while she was on stage during the performance.  We just sat and glowed with that acceptable parental pride.

Fortunately, I was quick at the ready with my phone camera at the end of Sunday’s rehearsal – the one on the Orpheum Stage.  To the left, you will see my sweet girl along with Julianne, the gracious choreographer who assisted me in convincing the girl to pose for the picture.  The girl was trying to give me a hard time for wanting the picture. 

“This is a big deal,” I said – hoping that would convince.  Julianne was off to the side and heard me say that.  She agreed and popped into the picture.  How could the girl turn down this professional choreographer?

One of the things that came out over and over during the showcase was the impact of adults on students through theatre.  Julianne’s thirty second support of a crazy photo pushed my girl to realize that performing on the Orpheum stage is a big deal.

And it is.  How many people in Minnesota can say that they have performed on that stage?

So – I want to thank the Hennepin Theatre Trust and all who support it with their time and their finances.  You gave me as a mom a proud moment.  More importantly, though, you gave my daughter something that I could never have imagined as part of her path – the chance to feel honored for her talent.

Funny moment: When we got to our car to head home, the girl share with us a little tidbit: the dressing rooms have bathrooms.  Did she use them?  Of course – if you have the chance to use the bathroom in an Orpheum dressing room, how could you pass that up?

Related posts from the production time of Footloose in November 2011:

• Mama Says…
• World Prematurity Day
• The Saga Continues…

Nine Years…

It was a “Friday the 13th” morning in June 2003, and I was supposed to jump in a car to drive from Grand  Forks, ND, to Minneapolis, MN, in order to attend the wedding of some good friends.  But when I went into her bedroom to say goodbye for the wedding, I knew that attending a wedding far away from her bedside would be a bad idea.  Instead, I called the huz and told him that he and the kids should come to Grand Forks. 

And before noon that day – before they had arrived - she was gone. 

The six month battle with cancer – one with an unfair disadvantage of being too rare and found too late  – ended quietly and most likely, aided by strong medication that had clouded her thinking for a few weeks, painlessly.  In fact, to call it a battle implies that both sides fought, and – though she tried a few medical treatments – for the most part, her side of the battle was fought by those on their knees. 

Many people had begged God to intercede…

On the Monday night before, she had eaten her last real meal with us  - ravioli. From then onward, she sipped on liquid food; I think it is called Ensure which makes me think of old people…and, at 53, she was far from old. The hospice nurse visited often, and we knew that we had entered a new stage.  She no longer argued with my presence to help her with her needs, and – though she tried to help – I had moved into “the know” of the business side of their lives.  Just the night before a medical professional had visited her in person and had said, “It is most likely weeks at this point rather than months.” 

We did not know it would be hours.

In the nine years since my mother’s death, I have wrestled with every stage of grief, have revisited them often, and have found that the strangest parts of life will make me the saddest.  Perhaps others “do grief” better than I do, or perhaps they just do not wear their emotions on their sleeves. 

Maybe I do not either. 

In fact, for the most part, I would assume that anyone who does not read my blog frequently would guess that I am “over that.”  It often catches people off guard – those who did not know me through that time of my life – when I talk about my mom in past tense, but past tense it is as there is no other tense which serves well.

There is also no tense that serves well the limbo that a now motherless daughter can use to talk about the years between her mother’s death and the present.  There are so many things that serve as time markers in our lives, and the death of parent is definitely one of those markers.  It works well in the list of markers (put in the order of my life which differs from others): graduation from high school, marriage, the birth of a child, graduation from college, the birth of another child, moving to a new state, moving to a new country, returning to the original country, moving to a new state, and the death of a parent.

And a line is drawn there – at the ominous moment when all that was became different, when what I knew to be true no longer was, and how I lived my life was altered by that one permanent outside force called death.  When we moved to another country, we knew we would return some day…it was temporary. 

But there is absolutely nothing temporary about death.  Someone who was here is now gone, and that person will not come back. For those of us left to grieve, it is a new state of being that is full of difference, overwhelming feelings, and an utter loss at how to move forward. What was is gone, and nothing that comes to be will replace what was.

Life as we knew it will never be again.

But life goes on.  Each morning greets us with new daylight.  Children must be fed and nurtured.  Businesses must be run.  Jobs await our return.  Life goes on…and so does the sadness.  Every day, it is different.  Every year, it changes.   But (to steal a line from Les Miserables), “the grief goes on and on and on…”

The amazing part about grief and hope is that they are not opposites; it is not that we have a certain amount of one and a balance of the other. They can co-exist.  We can be 100% grief-stricken while having 100% hope.

I do not think that I knew that or even realized that until recently when a friend introduced me to a new version of Myers-Briggs type personality scale called LuminaSpark. The concept of the Myers-Briggs scale is that you are either introverted or extroverted, either intuitive or sensory, either feeler or thinker, and either judging or perceiving.  LuminaSpark measures how much of each one uses in every day life.  As readers might guess, in my bipolar tendencies I find this to be true.  In fact, on the scale I am nearly 90% extraverted as well as nearly 90% introverted.  It keeps every one guessing, I am sure!

When we apply this thinking to grief and hope, we no longer have to think about whether we are grief-stricken or hopeful.  We can be both!  And that thought in and of itself gives me life.  I used to think that if I missed my mom too much or too often that I was just caught up in grief and neglecting the hope that I have in the resurrection through Jesus Christ.

But this is just not true. 

It is not grief or hope. 

It is grief with hope.

That makes all the difference in my life. 

Accepting that grief and hope will be my reality – possibly for the rest of my life – has been so comforting.  I do not have to get over anything in order to be a healthy and productive individual.  I can give grief its due and embrace the hope that I know to be true – that one day I will dance with the angels next to my mom who has been practicing for years.

Hot Dogs at the Pharmacy?

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I was recently in a Target store to pick up some medication from the pharmacy.  While there I saw some things that caught my eye.

It seems that I am pretty much always an observer of the world around me and that I see things that make me look twice.

This scene did not make me look twice.

Nope.

In fact, I just stood there – most likely with my mouth dropped in complete shock that a huge hot dog would be hung from the ceiling within feet of the pharmacy sign.

For so many reasons this is wrong.

1. The food court is on the other side of the store.  It is not easy to miss because it is the first thing that one encounters when entering the store.  If the store peeps want me to go to the food court, this sign does not show me where to go.
2. What do hot dogs and a pharmacy have in common?  Nothing!!!  They could be related, I supposed, as too much of one (the hot dog) makes us need the other (the pharmacy) more.  Other than that, though, I am at a loss.
3. The hot dog sign is ugly and completely blocks the view of the pharmacy.  If I am supposed to be able to find the pharmacy, a huge hot dog sign makes it a bit hard.

I know that I try to pull deep thoughts from pictures that I see (see Out of Place from a few days ago), but I have nothing, zip, zilch for this one.  There is nothing deep, let alone appropriate, that I can share from this.

However, it was simply too good of a photo not to share with readers.  I hope that it brings you a bit of joy, a smile, or a giggle.  Sometimes that is what we need, right?

Happy Sunday!

Decorative Duct Tape?

I used to be a staunch Wal-Mart patron.  I have no idea when this changed, and it may change again now that a new store is going up close to my house.  But recently I have found that I am in Target stores much more than Wal-Mart stores.  I know that this will cause great joy in some of my friends while great despair in others.  It is kind of like the Starbucks vs Caribou debate.

Regardless, the other day I had enough time to stop at Target to pick up my anti-crazy drugs (click here to read why I take them if you do not already know), and I found a couple of items that caught my eye…it is much like the “squirrel” moments in the movie Up (which, by the way, I do recommend for adults as well as children – but bring the tissues!). 

Item #1

Several years ago, I taught English at PACT Charter School in Ramsey, MN.  During my time there, I had a few students who were quite creative with their uses of duct tape – purses, wallets, vests, and more…I think there was talk of a prom outfit even (if someone has a picture of one of my students wearing those items, I would love for you to email me!).  The point is that they did not have “decorative” duct tape with instructions; they used various colors, but purists stuck to the silver duct tape.  And they made lovely items by applying what they knew or by finding out information.

I have to admit that I am a little shocked that there is now decorative duct tape available with instruction booklets.  In fact, I am a bit sad about it. To be honest, I think that any time there is a craft kit in a store with instructions, it is a sad moment.  Where is the creativity in that?  I know that I would be much better off with instructions, but sometimes even with instructions a project is not successful (evidenced by my 9th grade home economics sewing project – a shirt with three arm sleeves and nowhere for my head…).

What do you think this?  What are the pros and the cons?  Is it better to follow instructions and create something just like someone else? Or should kids be left to their own devices to create?

For item #2, you will need to stop by tomorrow or Monday (depending on when I get the energy to write the blog).

Happy Saturday!

Out of Place

Over the past week, I have seen a couple of things that just do not seem to fit very well where I found them.  Thankfully, I had my phone (fully equipped with camera, of course) along for both viewings. 

These are both “Can you find the out of place item?” types of pictures.  I have to admit that they made me take double takes, and I am glad that I thought to pull out the camera. 

The photo above was taken outside of the Cub Food store on Brooklyn Blvd in Brooklyn Park, MN.  It is not my typical Cub location, but I had already been to two other stores in search of a specific item, and this store was “sort of” en route home.  Rather than wait for my typical Cub store, I pulled in here.  And am I ever glad that I did!

Had I skipped this stop, I probably never would have seen a smoking (you can’t see the actual smoke coming out of the thing) butt collector sitting right next to beautiful plants.

Is this irony?  That is one of the English concepts with which I have always, even as an English teacher, struggled.

You may have to look really closely to find the out of place item in this photo which was taken on the patio of Wilde Roast Café in Minneapolis.  It is within walking distance of my office, and the huz biked there on Friday to have lunch with me.  It was a gorgeous day; we had great food and conversation.  And of course – I had a blog-able moment.

Side note: my children have decided that they can now identify blog-able moments for me.  Whenever I whip out my camera, they think it might be for the blog.  To be honest, it’s kind of annoying, but I’ll get over it. I like blogging….

Back to being out of place:  the question in the photo with the bird eating food off of someone’s leftover plate is really which part of the photo is out of place? Who was here first?  The birds?  Or us?  Are they out of place on our restaurant patio?  Or are we out of place in their environment?

Hmmmmm……..

I have to be honest that there are many times that I feel out of place in situations.  I am not always sure how I fit into things.  I struggle with this in just about every setting you could imagine.  The odd thing is that if I am in charge of some event, then I know my place – I am the one in charge.  But other than that, I struggle.  And because I have done so much work in shedding “in charge” moments in many aspects of my life, it means that I do not know my place in many current situations.

A few years ago, a remake of Alice in Wonderland came out starring Johnny Depp.  I loved the movie as did my children.  We went to the midnight release of it, and I would do it again.  Shortly after seeing the movie, the kids and I did a crazy road trip to Grand Forks, ND, via Duluth, MN.  (Yes, I know…this is not the most direct route from Minneapolis…it was work-related).  On the trip, we listened to a cd (Almost Alice) full of songs inspired by the movie.  We still listen to the music today!

One of the songs on the cd is titled, Strange, and it talks about how someone feels – well – strange in a perfect world that has been created by someone else.  It basically speaks to the expectations that others put on us that simply do not fit us.

In your golden cage
All I feel is strange

As an oldest child who happens to be a daughter, I often see expectations even when there are none placed on me by anyone else.  I read into things and find things when they do not exist.  And then I create an entire existence and response system based on these false ideas. 

And the chaos that it creates in my mind is exhausting…

I love another song that is in complete contrast to Strange.  The Avett Brothers are a group that I have come to truly respect and enjoy in part because of their song titled, Head Full of Doubt.  The song basically talks about how we have a choice to live with our doubts or to live with a road full of promise.

There was a dream and one day I could see it
Like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it

So … what to do when I feel strange and out of place? 

Break into that cage and demand that the dream is free to fly and do whatever it is meant to do.  No one else can put cages on us unless we allow them to lock us into them.

What dreams of yours need to be freed today? 

Author’s note: I found out yesterday that I have the opportunity to attend a workshop about a new curriculum from Search Institute called Sparks.  I am so excited to experience this because I think that our young people today lack Spark.  They have been fed lies that they can do anything while at the same time being held back from pursuing their dreams.  We need to feed them truth that they are capable and that they should dream.  We need to break into their cages and free them to fly with their hopes.  And we need to give them the skills to set goals so that their dreams can become realities.