The American Way

Yeah, I know, it's too early for Halloween pics already.  What can I say?  I adore this child, and when we tried on his costume tonight, I just couldn't resist.  Besides, it's not like my blog readers are going to get to see him live and in person on Halloween night...

♥

P52, Somewhat: Week 15, "Tradition"

I grew up in a family with traditions.  We knew, more or less, what to expect at every major holiday, and it was nice to know what was coming.  Now that I'm a parent myself, I want Kaleb to benefit from these same types of traditions.  But the pressures of wanting him to have the perfect Rockwellian holidays, as I remember having in my own childhood.

What I have discovered is this: I probably actually never had a holiday that went perfectly according to my parents' plans.  My family holidays with Kaleb will probably never go perfectly either.  And that's ok.  Just as I never had any sense of things going wrong as a kid, Kaleb probably won't either.  In fact, the most important tradition is to simply spend time with Kaleb and do things to make his holidays special and memorable, just as my parents did for my brother and me when we were kids.

This year, for the first time, Kaleb and I dyed eggs.  Assuming I already had all the supplies we'd need, I didn't bother to read the directions of the egg dying kid my dad had given us.  I bought some eggs, and hard boiled 20 of them.  18 of them survived the boiling without cracking, and they were set aside to be colored.  On the day we were to dye the eggs, however, I realized we had no vinegar to add to the dye water to help the color adhere to the egg shells.  A quick glance around Google hinted that I might be able to use lemon juice instead, and I decided it would just have to work.  Kaleb and I spent some time dying the eggs, six at a time in three rounds.  They came out with plenty of imperfections, not at all what I had hoped for my first attempt at sharing this activity with Kaleb.  But you know what?  He didn't notice those imperfections at all!  He was overjoyed to be able to help, to get to participate in something new and fun.  When it was all finished, I couldn't pry Kaleb out of the kitchen.  He actually wanted to stand atop his stool and watch the eggs drying on the counter.

Spring Equinox: Life in Balance

For generations, the arrival of Spring has signaled the start of a time for renewal, for cleaning, and for refreshing.  It's the time when we begin to shake off the winter gloom and turn our thoughts toward the bright happiness of lengthening days.

The onset of Spring is a time of balance, both universally and personally.  In our solar system, the first day of Spring is the day when the sun is most-directly above the equator—rather, the equator most-directly faces the sun—causing night and day to be equal in length.  Today I will live half my day in the light of the sun, the other half in nighttime darkness.

In some ways, I think my body sensed the equinox even while I was still asleep last night.  I awoke refreshed, for the first time in a long while, even though I got less actual sleep than on a typical night.  Upon waking, I felt instantly wide awake, determined to have a productive day, ready to get up and being Spring.

From time to time we all get that feeling that we are precariously perched on the edge of some unstable precipice.  Our footing wobbles and we know that at any minute one wrong step could plunge us over the side into some dark abyss from which there is no simple escape.  We are faced with hundreds of decisions every day, every one of which determines the course of our lives.  The goal, through all of our decision making, is to keep things balanced so that we can move toward our goals and accomplish those things which are most important to us.

So, how do we get there?  How do we achieve this all-important balance we all need?

Unfortunately, this is a question that we each must answer on our own.  I cannot tell you how to find your perfect balance point.  In truth, I am still searching for my own.  I do know that I feel like I'm moving in the right direction.  I have finally identified what things make me happy and what leaves me feeling empty.

What is it that brings balance into your life?  Identify it, then do whatever you must to move in the direction of your happiness.  Take advantage of the promise of Spring, the promise of new life all around you, and let the warm breezes of the season breathe renewed enthusiasm into your journey toward balance.

The Real Reason We Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

Today is supposedly St. Patrick's Day, a day where people celebrate the undeserved fame of the man who is wrongly credited for driving the snakes out of Ireland—a country that is believed to have been snake-free since the end of the last ice age when the ice melted away and left no path for snakes to travel to the island nation.  Can you believe that nonsense?!

I could, like many other bloggers do, post a history of St. Pat's Day or a list of debunked St. Pat's myths and misunderstandings (like this).  But that would only further reinforce the false belief that anyone still genuinely wants to celebrate a saint from the 5th century.  Everyone's jumping on that bandwagon!  Even Google is honoring St. Patrick with a Google Doodle:

I swear it just amazes me the stories people will invent to hide their real desire: to celebrate the beauty and awesomeness of the world's natural redheads!  (And also to drink beer dyed green.)

So, as I don my GREEN and ORANGE—yes, that's right, both of them—to head out to run my errands today, I leave you with this collections of Facts & Myths About Redheads.

Happy Redhead Appreciation & Awareness Day!

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Milestone: Under 50

Today is the last school day of the 3rd grading period of the 2011-2012 school year here in Escambia County, FL.  Next week, schools will be closed while we all celebrate our Spring Break.  Then, when we return to school on the 26th of March, we will have only...

48 days left

until the school year is over!

This year has been so different from the year I had last year.  I don't know if this is because I'm more settled into the unpredictable nature of the job this year, or if it's because my daily schedule is so different.

In some ways, this year has been significantly better than last year.  I feel appreciated more days than not, at least by the teachers I directly work with.  Most days, I am able to leave work feeling as though I accomplished all I needed to during that day—unlike last year when I never felt like I was even approaching being caught up.  This year I've been able to get onto friendly terms with some of my co-workers, rather than just being professionally polite and making small talk.  I feel more free to be myself at work this year, and not as if I have to squeeze myself into the restrictive mold of predetermined expectations.

However, this year hasn't been all peach pie and picnics.  While I worked with only one teacher last year, I was able to learn her routines well enough to begin to anticipate what would be asked of me.  This year, working with many different teachers increased the time it took for me to learn these routines.  I have also had to be more adaptable throughout the course of each school day to change to fit the needs of the classrooms of these different teachers.  Moving around the school during the day has also increased my visibility within the school's faculty and staff.  Last year, there were teachers I never even saw....literally.  Now, however, most everyone knows who I am.  Sometimes this is great; more often, however, it just means more people scrutinizing my job performance and finding unnecessary criticisms.

Regardless, this school year is rapidly approaching its end.  Hopefully, budget cuts won't prevent me from still having this job next year.  And, if I am still working this job next year, there's no telling what my day-to-day will look like.  But that's all many months away.

Hello, Spring Break!

It's Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day, Friends & Readers!

Today, March 14th, is Pi Day....also known as π Day.  Why?  Because pi is an enormously long number, so is shortened to "3.14" for more practical use in teaching the concept to students.  3.14.  March 14.  Yep.

At school today, we are doing lots of fun Pi-related activities to reinforce this concept with our students: eating pi-e (apple and cherry) in homeroom, handing out pencils stamped with the first 60 digits of π, and watching videos schoolwide at the start of each class period—each with a song, poem, story, or historical fact about π.  Since these activities will be filling most of my day, I fear I won't have much time left for blogging.  So, today, I'm going to share with my readers some of the same information we'll be sharing with our students at school today.

A Brief History of Pi (π).

[Quoted from Exploratorium.com]

Pi has been known for almost 4000 years—but even if we calculated the number of seconds in those 4000 years and calculated pi to that number of places, we would still only be approximating its actual value. Here’s a brief history of finding pi:

The ancient Babylonians calculated the area of a circle by taking 3 times the square of its radius, which gave a value of pi = 3. One Babylonian tablet (ca. 1900–1680 BC) indicates a value of 3.125 for pi, which is a closer approximation.

Rhind Papyrus (ca.1650 BC), there is evidence that the Egyptians calculated the area of a circle by a formula that gave the approximate value of 3.1605 for pi.

P52, Somewhat: Week 7, "Love"

It's hardly surprising that the P52 topic this week was "love," being that this is the week of Valentine's Day.  I have plenty of things I love: my little boy, family, friends, pets, books, shoes, chocolate....the list goes on and on.  I could think of plenty of things to photograph for this week, from the mundane to the extraordinary and from cliché to unique.  But I couldn't narrow down my options and decide what sort of photo I wanted to take!

To: Minha ruiva! [My redhead!]
Love: Seu devoto! [Your devoted!]
(Brazilian Portuguese [English])

But today, my sweet Jack solved the question for me, sending me a gift with a story.

Most people who read my blog have heard of Jack.  He's my....well, I don't know exactly what to call our type of "us-ness"....but there's definitely something here.  He's my friend; he's the person who knows every single one of my secrets; he's the first person I want to talk to when I've had a bad day, or a good day, or a day that's notable for any reason at all.  I could spend all night extolling the virtues of Jack, but that is not the purpose of this post.

♫♪ Let's start at the very beginning....♫♪

In December of 2002, I was married to a guy in the Marine Corps and we were living in Ramona, CA just north of MCAS Miramar where my then-husband was stationed.  Several of the other kid-free military wives in our apartment complex had begun volunteering at a V.A.-run recovery center in downtown San Diego where a number of recently-wounded Marines were living while undergoing extensive physical therapies for a range of injuries.  The other wives invited me to come along with them, and it sounded like a worthwhile cause, so I went.

Major & Minor World Religions: Correcting Some Common Misconceptions

I assume that anyone who knows me much at all (or who has read the bumper stickers on my car) already knows that I long ago walked away from the Christian faith I was raised with, and have since "tried on" a variety of other religious belief-sets.  During my travels through the world of religions, I encountered any number of misconceptions people have about "other" relgions, and many of them are things I continue to hear on at least a semi-regular basis.  I'm sure that the majority of people do not openly disparage other faiths intending to be mean, but rather because they have been so routinely misinformed.  So, hoping to correct some fallacies, I've listed here a collection of the mistaken beliefs I've heard most frequently.

► Members of alternative religious groups haven't studied the Bible or heard about Jesus.

The implication of this myth is that if these people really knew about Christianity, they would become Christians. It is the fundamental basis for most of the missionary work - and crusades - in Christian history. It is not, however, the case for the vast majority of those worshiping in smaller religions today. Practically all of these members have a background in Christianity and chose to leave it for their current path. They are as well-versed in the Christian faith as most Christians.

► Those smaller groups aren't 'real' religions.

The American Heritage dictionary defines a religion as "A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader". This definition does not specifically mention which leader - or which teachings - these beliefs must be based upon. Therefore, any group, no matter how small their numbers or how unusual their beliefs, which bases their practices in spirituality is a religion.

It's A Magic Number

Today my baby turned 3 years old!

I can't believe that it's been three whole years already since he was born.  These have been three years filled with happiness and heartache, tears and laughter.  And there's nothing in this world that could convince me to go back to life before Kaleb. It's definitely true that 3 is a magic number.

Ok, so maybe my little family is just a family of two, but that's ok.  We do pretty well figuring stuff out together, and Kaleb and I are lucky to be surrounded by family and good friends who love us and are always around with advice or other help.

I know plenty of people who go all out and have crazy parties for their childrens' birthdays.  And while I'm sure Kaleb will age into birthday parties eventually, it seemed a little silly to have one this year.  I mean, he really only even sees other kids at daycare, and I don't know any of their parents.  I certainly don't want all those extra rugrats running around in my house on sugar highs, and there's no money for a party elsewhere.  Kaleb will be asking for parties soon enough, so since he didn't mention it this year, neither did I.  Instead, I planned a nice little family day for us.

2011: A Year of Firsts and New Experiences

The Pensacola Pelican Drop Pelican

Here we are at the end of 2011.  At some times during this past year, the days have seemed to fly by; at others, time seems to have been moving soooo sloooowly.  But slow or fast, the time has passed.  It's time to close the book on 2011 and prepare for 2012.

At the end of 2010, I blogged about the year in a post entitled "The Obligatory Year-End Blog Post."  The title, of course, was to make a joke of the fact that pretty much every blogger of any kind writes a New Year or End-of-Year post.  But after putting a lot of work into my blog this year, updating and formatting and improving and writing more often, I've come to see that blogging isn't such a joke.  Even if no one else cares to read my writings, I've learned that writing is my therapy.  Any time I've had a bad day, a good day, a boring day, a challenging day, or any other sort of ordinary or not-so-ordinary day, I can use my blog as a place to chronicle the events of Kaleb's and my life.  And on particularly emotional days, writing is more cathartic than crying, more of a release than talking, and more comforting -- and healthier -- than all the standard comfort foods.

Originally, I had planned to wait and post this on New Year's Eve, but I've decided to go ahead and post a little ahead of schedule.

And so, as we launch into 2012, here is my look back at the past year:

Christmas for My Child

In a couple of weeks, Kaleb will be turning 3 years old!  I can't believe how fast he is growing up.  And as Kaleb grows up, his desire to know everything about the world around him only increases.  As a parent, this is both exciting and frightening for me, as those of you who are parents are sure to understand.  I'm excited that he has such an appetite for knowledge; I'm entertained, and often amused, at his fascination with new things and the innocent ways he interprets the new things he sees; and I'm scared to death of all the many bad things there are in the world that he will eventually learn about.

One of the hardest things I have to decide as Kaleb's mother -- and I'm sure this is a personal struggle for most parents -- is deciding what to teach Kaleb, when to teach it, and what interpretations to teach him.  This year, for the first time, Kaleb is starting to understand that there is something special going on that has something to do with this 'Christmas' word he hears all around him.  But what does it mean?

Obviously, with my particular spiritual beliefs, teaching about Jesus will never be an issue.  The "real" holiday for us is the celebration of Yule, which is a more private affair on the day of the winter solstice, and certainly not something catered to by retail.  He'll learn, without being taught, that it is a time for family and charity to others.  When he's older, I'll teach him about that at the same time we discuss other things believed by people with different faiths.  The bigger concern for me is how or what to teach Kaleb about Santa Claus...and I'll have to teach him something because, this time of year, Santa is everywhere.

I grew up in an active church-going family, so I was raised with the story of the baby in the manger.  And our family was also a Santa family.  Stockings were mysteriously filled by Santa Claus as we slept and a few extra presents would also appear under the tree that night, wrapped in paper totally unlike the other gifts and with "fancy" gift tags bearing our names in unfamiliar handwriting.  As a small child, I never questioned the existence of Santa.  Sometime late in elementary school, my friends and I came to the consensus that there was no way Santa could be real.  I didn't feel cheated or disappointed or lied-to.  It was just another one of those "growing up" life lessons like the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy.  Of course, I still played along at home because I had a 6-years-younger brother and, well, Santa was just fun!

I always assumed I would be a "Santa parent" as my parents had been.  Why not?

The Origins of "XMas!"

Over the last few weeks, as with every year, my Facebook news feed has become flooded with the angry postings of my devoted and well-intentioned -- albeit misinformed -- Christian friends railing against the atrocities of substituting the word "XMas" for their perceived-to-be-holier term "Christmas."  I generally shake my head, since I know more about the origins of the word XMas than my Christian friends apparently do.  But, since I believe that knowledge is the key to solving many problems, I've decided to tackle the issue in a blog this year in hopes that my news feed will be more XMas-friendly next year.

I'll be quoting excerpts from several other sites, but will include links back to the original articles for those wishing to read them in their entirety.

First, quotes from this article on the Christian Resource Institute's website The Voice:

Stingy Jack of the Lantern

Last year, as Halloween approached, I wrote a blog post entitled "Halloween: Are You Being Tricked?"  It discussed many of the various beginnings of Halloween traditions and their roots in pagan holiday festivals.  It occurred to me today, as I am sitting here thinking what sort of face to carve into this pumpkin I bought for Kaleb, that last year's post did not include the Jack-O-Lantern tradition.  So, here it is!

================================

When we think of Jack-o-Lanterns today we think of the carved pumpkins with candles lighting them brightly from within; but did you know that the Jack-o-Lantern actually has deep historical roots and originally didn't even involve a pumpkin? The Jack-o-Lantern stems from an old Irish myth about a man named Stingy Jack.

The Obligatory Year-End Blog Post

This time tomorrow night, I will be preparing to say "goodbye" to 2010 and "hello" to 2011.  Ok, let's face it... this time tomorrow night I will be either asleep or wishing that dang ball would hurry up and drop so I could go to bed.  Either way, in just about 26 hours 2010 is going to end, whether I'm still awake to see it or not.

Having spent more time unemployed this past year than employed, I am thankful to be ending the year 2 months into a job that I can see myself working for a long time.  To my surprise and relief, it has turned out that I really do like this job (and even some of my co-workers) now that I've had time to adjust to a whole new work routine.  This is probably the first time in my life I have had a job that I didn't dread each day, and also the first time I've had a job where I don't get depressed over the thought of still working there years from now.

As my employment status has changed, so has my schedule.  Time has been a roller coaster for me this year--  sometimes being so empty that I could scream from boredom, and other times so busy and hectic that I was nearly too busy to breathe!  During my periods of unemployment, I had the opportunity to reconnect with some family and some friends from my past.  Kaleb and I got to visit my grandparents almost weekly for a few months!  My dear friend, Jack, has moved back to the States this year after working overseas for the last 5 years, and it has been so great to have him back around for visits!  I've even gotten to know, perhaps for the first time, some old acquaintances from my elementary school days.

A Special Christmas Gift from My Daddy

Well, today is Christmas!  I barely slept last night because I was so excited to see whether or not Kaleb would have fun with all his new Christmas gifts!  He has, of course, had lots of fun this morning.  He got his very own child-sized recliner with a footstool and an end table and an LED lamp that he can turn on and off all by himself.  He's gotten new toys and books and clothes, too, and played all morning up until nap time.

I got some pretty nice things too!  I had already gotten my new love seat from my dad a few weeks ago, and we had created a footstool to go with it by shortening and upholstering an old coffee table I had in storage.  Dad also came home a few days ago with a new rug for my living room, since the old one no longer matched (the new love seat is a different color than the old one).  Also, Dad had paid for us to have Kaleb's portraits made a couple of days ago, also as part of my Christmas.  I expected I might receive a couple of other smaller gifts, and I did.  One gift in particular, though, has already brought tears to my eyes a few times today, and I feel it deserves a blog post!

Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas

As much as I enjoy the festive season of holidays that begins at Thanksgiving and continues until the New Year's party hangovers have worn off, I'm always brought down just a little bit by the people who constantly bicker and whine about the "reason for the season."

I'd guess that nearly all of my friends (on Facebook and in real life) would identify themselves as believing in the Biblical God.  Being in the South, people identifying themselves as "Christian" are definitely in the majority, and that's not a problem for me.  I grew up in church, and many of my friends still actively live the Christian lifestyle.

My problem is this: around here (and probably in other places too) there are people who actually get offended if you wish them a "Happy Holidays" rather than a "Merry CHRISTmas."  Now, I understand that Jesus may be your reason for the season, and I respect that, but I also respect the fact that Christmas isn't the only holiday celebrated in the late-December/early-January window.  There are also Santa Lucia Day (Sweden), Las Posadas (Mexico), Hanukkah (Jewish), Boxing Day (Canada), Kwanzaa, Yule, Emancipation Day, Feast of St. Basil, New Year's, Guru Gobind Singh's Birthday (Sikh), Epiphany, Three Kings' Day, and Lohri (Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh).....and probably many more I've never even heard of!  So, if I tell you "Happy Holidays," I'm not trying to downplay the importance of your God and/or your religion in your life; rather, I'm making an ethnically- and religiously-neutral statement of good will, and trying to express that I hope you enjoy whatever holiday(s) you choose to celebrate this time of year.

Halloween: Are You Being Tricked?

As the weather turns cooler, the aisles at grocery stores are filled with orange-and-black packages of candy and toys, and  seasonal costume shops are doing a booming business.  Parents usher their little darlings up and down row after row of costumes, some cute and some grotesque, searching for the "perfect" look.  Every grocery store, every other street corner, and half the churches in town have all set up their "Pumpkin Patches" to bring in revenue by selling pumpkins to be carved into Jack-O-Lanterns.  Everyone prepares in their own way, even though many haven't got a clue what they're preparing for.

While some of us are preparing for one of the most spiritual holidays of our year, others are testing out various candy-carrying options to see which has the greatest capacity or weight limit.  Personally, I don't expect everyone to view this holiday the same way.  Certainly every holiday is celebrated by different people in different ways.  But, I think that Halloween is one of the least-understood holidays commonly celebrated in America today.

Perhaps the one thing that annoys me the most is people who do not live their lives according to their professed beliefs.....and this is no different at Halloween.  It seems to me that the same people who post scriptures and "God" statuses on Facebook almost daily and who, in less than two months, will be ranting and raving against the "commercialism of Christmas" are the same ones who are preparing to escort their kids to a local store to begin picking out Halloween costumes for Trick-or-treating and candy to hand out to the neighborhood kids who will come to the door one evening at the end of the month.  Please be aware: Christmas isn't the only holiday being commercialized.

A friend of mine shared on Facebook today this link, which mirrors many of her own views as to why she and her family do not celebrate Halloween.  While she and I are basically on opposite ends of the religious spectrum, I fully respect that she lives her life according to her professed faith, and I think that all professed Christians ought to read the article.

So, I thought that I would use this post to share a little bit about the origins of Halloween and how and where it began.

It's JUST a birthday, you know.

It seems to me that there is a growing trend among people I know: unnecessarily-prolonged birthday celebration extravaganzas!  Let's face it, people, it's really not that big a deal that you have "managed to survive" yet another year.

Yes, when you were a kid, I'm sure your parents made a big deal of your birthday.  They'd plan a party, and invite your friends over.  You'd have a sleepover or a pool party, or they'd rent one of those inflatable castles for you to jump around in all day.  They'd come up with a theme like Princesses, or Lisa Frank, or that year's biggest Super Hero or Disney character.  Or, maybe you had a roller skating party or a bowling party, or an all-day Chuck-E-Cheese's blowout!

But, let's face it, now that you're a grown-up, it's time you knew the truth.  While you and your friends were gorging on pizza and cake, watching "PG-13" movies until midnight, and jumping and laughing until you puked, your parents were busy celebrating one thing.....YOU were one year closer to adulthood!  Sure they had all those fond memories of the day you came into their lives, but the fact remains that you were one year closer to being responsible for yourself, and that was worth celebration!

However, many of my adult friends seem to have gone birthday-crazy!  Now, some of you celebrate your "birthday weekend" or your "birthday week."  I've even seen some people who, when their birthday fell in the middle of a week, have begun their celebrations the weekend before their birthdays and continued them all the way through the end of the weekend following their birthdays!  Does anyone really need 10 whole days of birthday celebration?  That's 2.7% of the entire year you've spent celebrating!