Summer Series

Wow!  It's been a while since I've written anything.  I had a really busy end-of-the-semester and right before finals, my daughter came home for her summer visit.  Busy, busy!

But now that things have settled down a bit, I thought I'd get back to this blogging thing.  I changed my format earlier this year, having specific types of stories on different days.  (Read about the changes here.)  However, that's too regimented for summer.  You never know what will happen, so I'll just go back to my whatever-I-happen-to-be-thinking-about style of writing.

Some of the things I've been thinking about lately include:

• Many college freshmen are woefully unable to write complete sentences.
• Some people share information that is far too personal on Facebook.  TMI, people!
• How can I incorporate more technology into my summer classes?
• I need a kick in the butt to get back to working out regularly.  Thanks a lot, Achilles Tendon!
• Maybe there are some life lessons to be learned in rock songs.

As for that last thought, I actually got to thinking about that during the Bon Jovi concert I attended in St. Louis this past Sunday.  Yeah, I know that's a weird thing to be thinking during a concert, but that's just how my brain works.  So anyway, I had the thought during the song It's My Life.  I really like the line, "I ain't gonna live forever - I just wanna live while I'm alive."  I know it was perhaps put more eloquently by William Ross Wallace when he said, "Every man dies.  Not every man really lives."  Either way, it's a good principle to remember.  This summer, while you're working, playing, swimming, fishing, and doing all the other fun activities we enjoy in Southeast Missouri, take that thought with you and use it to make your life and your relationships great.  Don't just exist.  LIVE!

Good Advice

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble. - Helen Keller"

I went with my mom to visit some relatives on Monday. We were at my Aunt Rita's lovely country home and I noticed that a small cross-stitch I'd done for her was hanging in her kitchen. When asked if I did much cross-stitching now I explained that I always felt like I needed to be making something for someone else in order to work on cross-stitch projects. "No, no, no! You've got to do one for yourself."

Rita is a quilter. She makes quilts for her grand-daughters' graduations, for new babies, for charities, for auctions, you name it, she's made a quilt for it. I treasure a quilt that she, another aunt, and my grandmother made for a family reunion back in 1979.

Aunt Rita explained to me that she once had a similar outlook about her quilting - only making quilts for other people. But one day she realized that she should have samples of her handiwork in her own home, and now it is decorated with lovely quilts and quilted wall hangings.

So I'm taking my aunt's advice to heart and I'm going to cross-stitch the quote above to hang in my home office. It's a favorite and has hung on cork boards in my classrooms for years, but only in simple copied-from-a-book form. Now I'll have a nice cross-stitched version.

Unless you're the oldest person on the planet, I think it's safe to say that there are probably older, more experienced people around. Be sure to listen to your elders - you just might learn something.