Scattered thoughts

I'm ready to blog again but don't have anything special to say. Some scattered thoughts are on my mind so I'll see what comes out!

Work life

Sometimes I feel like my job takes up 75% of my time and I don't have much of a life outside of work. This week has been especially intense and I'm ready for a weekend off. It's been over a month since we had a "normal" weekend at home! This is the time of year when performance evaluations are going on. Each employee rates themselves on how they are upholding the core values of St. Joe's (reverence, integrity, compassion, excellence) as well as job performance. The manager also rates the employee on the same points and has a one-on-one talk to discuss how you are doing in your job. This is not necessarily a pat on the back and "you're doing a great job" type of situation. Mine went well though, and I made it known that I would like to be the main ante room tech. I was told I am one of two people being considered for that position. In the meantime, I'm scheduled to work in the ante room most often. It can be high pressure and very demanding, which I usually like. There's days when I constantly have five or more things to keep track of at one time. In my eval, my manager asked if I had anything to bring to her, and I mentioned the way our schedules our made. It's a complicated process that I feel should be managed a little differently, so I suggested a few things. In the discussion, she said something about "you should try making the schedule" and I said I'd like to! She let me do the next schedule as a trial and had the lead tech look over it. It sounds like I might be doing that more often now, too! It's like doing a puzzle. It took me quite awhile to fit all the pieces in and make it work, but I enjoyed it.

Family life

We've been feeling pretty lonely now that Shelby and Kait moved to Tennessee. Since they lived a couple hundred yards down the road from us, we saw them often and Cliff especially had a lot to do with them. When I'd work evenings or weekends, he'd do things with them, and frequently went to eat ice cream there in the evening.😄 It's kind of painful to drive past their place several times a day and be reminded they're gone. 

Foodie talk

August is Pennsylvania produce month. There's an abundance of fruits and vegetables available, and I'm loving it! There's very few things so delicious as a fresh peach. I cooked up a vegetable soup the other night with fresh tomatoes, eggplant, green beans, carrots, and more. It's so satisfying to make soup.

End of summer

The night is loud with the late summer sounds of crickets/cicadas(?). I love their noise but it also makes me feel a little melancholy because I know summer is coming to an end. Every chance I get, I'm going to soak up the sunshine and warmth while it lasts. Schools are starting, and the nostalgia for teaching is still there, just less intense the longer I'm away from school.

Words that thrill
I had this on my WhatsApp status, but had to post it again because it resonated with me so intensely.

This one I saw on a friend's status and it really made me think. I relate too well to the ones that show regret. I want to do more enjoying and doing.

Boston, huzzah!!

To celebrate our 15th anniversary, we took a weekend trip to Boston. I've always wanted to go, now I know what it's like! We had absolutely beautiful weather the whole time - the kind I can never get enough of. I wasn't expecting Boston to be so citified and we were surprised by how similar to New York it is. Traffic was terrible, parking expensive and hard to find, and hordes of people walked the streets. The general population seemed more average than high-class, unlike New York. We weren't really interested in experiencing city life, but wanted to see some historical sites. On Friday we took a walk into history tour, which covered sites along the Freedom Trail such as the Boston Massacre, Boston Common, and the graveyard where Paul Revere is buried. Tour guides are dressed as a character from history. Ours was Samuel Prescott, one of the Sons of Liberty who was part of Paul Revere's ride. He did a great job retelling historical events and relating little-known facts. He told us the British way of cheering was to shout "huzzah!" and several times gave us the cue to cheer. We really enjoyed it, but were ready to go somewhere by the water and relax the rest of the day. We decided to go to Castle Island, the site of Fort Independence.

It was a fantastic place to walk, watch airplanes and boats, and lie on the grass in the sunshine. Boston Harbor is full of sailboats, yachts, and all other kinds of vessels, creating a picturesque view. We got some fresh seafood at Sullivan's, a restaurant on the island.

After awhile we left and checked in at our hotel, got ice cream, then went back to Castle Island to walk along the water and watch the sunset. True vacation mode!

On Saturday we had reservations for a whale watching cruise. We arrived about an hour early and spent the time on Long Wharf, watching ships and people. Cliff looked through his binoculars at all the activity and spotted a lone man in a tiny dinghy anchored a little way out, just lying in his boat, reading and soaking up the sun. 😄 Finally we boarded our boat and made our way to the top deck.

Once we were out of harbor, the ship picked up speed until we were cruising along at approximately 35 miles per hour. Our destination was Stellwagen Bank, a protected marine sanctuary and whale feeding ground. It took about an hour to get there. We never lost sight of land and there were always boats nearby and in the distance. Whale watching tours departing from Provincetown and other locations come to the same spot. Our ship slowed and we began looking for spouting and other signs of whales. While watching, our tour guide gave us some interesting information on the behavior and kinds of whales common in this area. After a short time, we saw the first one make an appearance and motored closer. It was a humpback whale and very active, so we all were able to see it surface and dive.

These whales even have names, and can be identified by their tails. Another whale was spotted and we moved closer. This one had a calf and really put on a show! She repeatedly surfaced, swam belly-up with her fins above the water, and waved her tail back and forth. Our tour guide said she had never seen that particular whale being so active and commented that this was one of the best trips she had been on! The first whale we saw was still nearby and there were others farther off in the distance. It far surpassed our expectations of what we might see and was totally worth it. On the way back to Boston I went inside for awhile because it was so windy and cold. The cabin was really nice but I liked being outside best, so I went out again for the last thirty minutes. The wind really picked up as we got closer and at one time I felt my head covering starting to blow off. 😂 It got warmer the closer we got to the city but was still too cold for my liking. The whole cruise lasted a little over four hours. Afterward we walked around a little but decided we were done with the city and headed to a quieter part of town to get something to eat.

We love going on outings like this and I had a few revelations this time.

•  Don't worry about how much it costs, enjoy the time off and go back to work when it's over.
•  Go traveling now, while we're in the prime of life. Tomorrow is never promised.
•  Summer doesn't last long enough. Soak up every minute possible. 
•  Less city, more nature.

Huzzah!

A child who reads will be an adult who thinks

I've had a topic on my mind for awhile and decided tonight I was ready to tackle it! A lot of my thoughts come from what I observed and learned about reading comprehension when I was teaching. For as long as I can remember, I've loved books and reading. One of the first books to make an impression on me was Charlotte's Web. Dad read it to me before I could read and I cried at the end when Charlotte died. Another favorite was The Digging-est Dog. At one time I probably could've recited the whole book from memory. Jan and Faylene Weaver read the Curious George books over and over to me and my siblings while babysitting us. By the way, thank you!!

It's well known that children who read have an easier time in school. There's many studies and research that proves this. Here's a few statistics I found interesting.

• The single most significant factor influencing a child’s early educational success is an introduction to books and being read to at home prior to beginning school. 

•  By the age of 2, children who are read to regularly display greater language comprehension, larger vocabularies, and higher cognitive skills than their peers.

•  Children who are read to at least three times a week by a family member are almost twice as likely to score in the top 25% in reading compared to children who are read to less than 3 times a week

I'm not a parent, but I believe reading to your children is one of the greatest gifts you can give them. To build reading comprehension, take time to explain words they might not understand, ask and answer questions to make sure they are following, and explain background or historical context. Don't be afraid to read books that are above their level. This stimulates their mind and can actually build comprehension.

As a teacher, I loved reading to my students and introducing them to new books. Seeing their interest and hearing their comments on the book we were reading for story hour was one of the most rewarding parts of being a teacher! I never felt bad about reading past schedule because I felt it was just as educational as any other subject.

I know not all children like to read, but are there any who don't enjoy being read to? Also, I firmly believe that those who think they don't like to read just haven't found the right kind of book. Expose them to a variety of genres - nonfiction (kids love true stories!), fantasy, historical fiction, mystery - try it all!

I love to hear of families who go to the library, read out loud to their children on trips or winter evenings, and read chapter books to their pre-school age children. Kudos to you and keep it up!