Butterfly in the Wind

  Today I received a writing prompt: "What are you listening to?" The author of the email had recently had a writer's workshop and this was her prompt. As I have been resting for the past 7 days I listened to the radio a lot. But she said, "Not the radio, the sounds you hear..." Well, for a couple of days it was: The pounding of my own heart.  The keys on my computer as I wrote essay after essay. The sniffs from going off my allergy meds. Molly "Meowing" loudly in the bathroom at the dissatisfaction of whatever... My windchimes. My own breathing. Finally, about Tuesday my heart stopped racing. I got caught up on the university essays, and I ordered a new RX for my allergies (Why do I have allergies in the Fall/Winter?) Wednesday morning I went in to get my fasting blood work that was ordered in August. The receptionist chided me for not getting it done before as they are open at 7 a.m. every morning. "Yes, but I work at an elementary school."...

  Chet the Praying Mantis This week I read a story with my 3rd grade reading group about Chet, the Praying Mantis. He is a private investigator who is asked to solve the Case of the Missing Drops . My students guessed the drops were chrysalis for butterflies. The villain in the story was Batty Bat. Near the end of the story Chet uses his camouflage skills to hide in a tree while Batty Bat and his gang are discussing the location where they hid The Drops.      We had 5 minutes left in the period and as we were sitting outside for the lesson... I asked the children to imagine Chet hiding in the tree next to us and Batty Bat with the gang. Then I suggested the town of Bug Box and Buggy Hall at the base of the tree. A few hours later as I was waiting outside the 3rd grade class with my 5th grade tutoring group one boys says, "Ms. Deena can I go see the Praying Mantis on the tree?" "HUH?! WHAT!?" Sure enough, there was a real Praying Mantis on the base of the tree exactl...

  For Everything there is a season....     This week I had a milestone moment while writing a paper in Multicultural Education . This class has not been a stretch for me, however the instructor has made me look at my childhood and that has been difficult. On the surface I had a two parent home with a mom who did not work out of the home until I was about 12. My family had dogs and cats and we went to church a lot. It was the 1960's and no one I knew went to Vietnam to fight in the war. My memories are lonely and filled with pain.     My assignment this week was regarding a classroom project that a 3rd grade teacher performed in April of 1968 following the  Assassination  of Martin Luther King Jr. I pulled out my photo album and realized that I was in 3rd grade in April of 1968. Little Deena is bottom right above Tom     The experiment done by Jane Elliott  could have been in my classroom by Mrs. Terrill. Mrs. Elliott divided the chi...

  September 2, 1978 What would you say to your 18 year old self? That was one of those Facebook questions a few days go. My mother told me on this day, 43 years ago, "You don't have to go through with this, we can just have a party and go home."  I would say the same thing to my 18 year old self. "You don't have to marry him." I felt I did. Five years later when he cheated on me with my best friend I wished that I had listened to my mom.  So many times I wished my children had listened to me, but they are all doing well. I am doing well. We all have life experiences that are unpleasant. We all grow from these experiences and hopefully become wiser, kinder, and more understanding people. same Bitmoji What is going on in this world?      49 weeks ago I made this my Bitmoji. I've lost 20 pounds since then. I have longer hair and a perm. I got permanent lip makeup since wearing makeup with a mask is impossible. For over a year now I have a mask in my purse o...

Hat in the Wind      Today I wish there was a wind that would blow the smoke away. A wind that would blow the fire back onto the area that has been burned and put the fire out that is near my community. One of my coworkers told me yesterday that the McFarland fire is within 15 miles of her home. My son has been out fighting that fire for 2 weeks.      For the past two months I wore a different kind of hat. Actually, a bandana tied around my head for the sweat caused by the Redding heat. I have worn this "hat" before as a I had my own custodial business for over a decade. During that time I had many hats. Mum, Mommie, Wife, Home-school teacher, Taxi driver, Nurse, Counselor, Worship leader, and Student.      After two months of 8 hour days as a school custodian I had three days to dust off my "Teacher" hat and get back to my school job as a classified instructional aid (CIA). Even there I wear many hats. Yard duty, Reading teacher, Cafeteria s...

       March 16, 2020 is a date that will be remember throughout California for generations. 14 months ago the Shelter in Place Order was declared.   The next time I left my home I wore a mask and my collection of  Face Shields and Masks started to grow.      It was a struggle the first few weeks at Pier 1 Imports to wear the mask in June when we reopened the store. I got the Face Shields and that made it easier to breathe plus the glasses didn't fog as bad. Wearing a mask was a struggle for all of us at Pier 1 Imports through the summer months. When it was 110+ degrees and we had to close the store for local forest fires; wearing a mask or shield just seemed to add insult to injury. We were a sad crew as the "Going out of Business" signs were installed.     Then in mid August school started and one of my nieces got married in Grass Valley during the heat of the month. I made an "Auntie of the Bride" for me and "M.O.B"....

 Synod 2021 I arrived home in time to pick up Molly at the Country Aire Pet Resort and get my car unpacked before the clouds burst. As I type there is a wonderful Spring rain pouring down on my thirst plants. After screaming through the apartment letting me know how happy she was to be home...Molly has settled in her crow's nest.  The 2021 Synod for the Dioceses of the Western States was held at St. Augustine of Canterbury in Chico this past week. The Anglican Provence of Christ the King Synod was hosted by our neighbors to the south from Tuesday through Saturday morning. This was my first Synod and I had an amazing time. On Wednesday morning I dropped Molly off at the Country Aire Pet Resort   where she was boarded for three nights. She had a nice little two room apartment and a play area to visit with her keepers. I arrived in Chico just before noon as my 2015 Camry rolled over 56,000 miles on the odometer.      Our group had rooms reserved at the Ho...