The more things change, the more they stay the same....

I have a beautifully framed print of Winslow Homer's " The Country School" (1871) hanging on my dining room wall.  It was a college graduation gift from my parents when I was a "ink still wet on the diploma" first year teacher. That print has followed me around the country on our various moves and has served as a reminder that people have been doing this teaching thing for a while with far fewer resources than most teachers have today.

The original hangs in the St. Louis Art Museum.  The link to the original is much better than the amateur picture I attempted with my phone of the print.

https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/36767/

(And yes, the St. Louis Art Museum's acronym does spell: slam. I found that very amusing for some strange reason.)

The written description of the piece points out that the boys and girls are sitting on separate sides of the room, supplies are scattered on a table, the attention of some of the students has wandered, and there is, apparently, crying in baseball school.

If you were to look closer, you would also notice that students were sharing books. Shoes were optional. Clothes were tattered. The benches are crooked, the floor needs to be swept, and I'm pretty sure the table in the back right corner has the remnants of some drawing or botany lesson that still needs to be finished and put away.  And if you look very closely at the teacher, you notice that she is plainly dressed, she doesn't have her attention on all the students at once, and her hair is slightly mussed, as if she hasn't had time to herself to fix it after coming in from monitoring lunch and recess. Also, I'm still trying to figure out if the containers on the back table are very large coffee pots, or just a lunch pail and pitcher of water.  I hope, for her sake, its coffee...

From what we know about One Room Schools in the 1800s, she is probably single. Teaching may not have been her first choice of career, but it was what she was allowed to do at the time. Her students would have needed lessons for all subjects, but also for multiple grades. Her training, when compared to today's requirements, was woefully inadequate. Her salary was a pittance, and she may have had to board with the family of some of her students, meaning she never had down time.  Her ability to manage the school and her behavior in public was under constant scrutiny by the townspeople and school board. She still had to do laundry, sewing, and other chores when she was done with school.

But here is what she did have: She had the opportunity to build close relationships with her students and their families. Find out what the kids dreams were. Encourage them to try some thing new or do something they didn't think they could. She could take the time to dive into that drawing or botany lesson. She may have even played an inning of baseball with the children during recess. Whether she taught for just a one term, or made it her life-long vocation, she was going to have an impact on the lives of those children spending the day in that one room school with her.

We have all been asked to be that teacher for the next few months. Professionals and parents together. We didn't all choose distance learning, but it is what we have been asked to do. Our training and our workspace and our resources may seem woefully inadequate. Parents may have kids in multiple grades, studying multiple subjects. The townspeople are going to be watching to see how well we all do, on all sides of the teacher's desk. We have no shortage of other chores on our plate. Our down time doesn't exist. Our students may be inattentive, shoes may be optional, and the floor probably should have been swept three days ago.
There may even be some crying.....

But here is what we do have: The opportunity to build closer relationships with our students and families. Find out what our kids dream about. The chance to dive into that botany or drawing lesson. The opportunity to go outside, muss up our hair, and play an inning or two of baseball with our kids.

The more things change the more they stay the same....

Except now we have Google and Alexa.....and coffee...

'Cause I didn't miss the class on that. :)

For more information on One Room Schools : https://www.countryschoolassociation.org/online-resources--links.html

For more information on Winslow Homer (and to help you plan a trip to Maine ;)

https://www.portlandmuseum.org/homer

What to do when there is no class to miss.....


For all the parents who are now homeschooling, but never intended to, I present:

The Top Five Things to NOT WORRY ABOUT!

5) Access to technology.
 Seriously. Relax.  We somehow managed to educate children in this country without Ipads, internet, Google, Alexa, etc for hundreds of years.  Taking 2-8 weeks off from Google Classroom may actually be a good thing.

4) Not knowing Edu-Speak.
It really doesn't matter if you understand terms like "best practices", "differentiated instruction", or "curriculum integration".  When you are working with your own kids, you already have an idea of what works best for them, and what they need to work on.  Which is what most of those "edu-terms" mean anyway.

3) Not knowing how to "teach" something "correctly".
I'm pretty sure that school districts are already having or will soon have the conversation about state mandated testing scores and assessments coming up this semester.  I'm kind of hoping the whole country follows the example Texas is setting and that these tests will be cancelled.
If you do struggle with a certain concept on assigned work, don't be afraid to let your kids see you tackle a math problem or answer an essay question that is difficult. Your child may even be able to explain it to YOU, thus strengthening their academic confidence.

2)Having to spend 8 hours a day on school work.
NO ONE SPENDS THIS LONG ON ACADEMICS!!!!
At least half of every school day in an elementary school is consumed with managing groups and behavior.  A typical day may look something like this:
8:25 students BEGIN arriving
8:45 students are in class, ready for announcements, attendance, and morning routine
9:00 students prepare for their first academic block
9:05-10:30 Instructional block for math/literacy.  This includes a 15 min group lesson and 45-50 minutes of students working in small groups in centers to practice the new skill and review old skills.  After the 15 minute larger group lesson, the classroom teacher may get 15 more minutes per small group to do more direct instruction.  For most of this period, students are reviewing and learning without a teacher directly involved in their group.
10:35-11:ish.  Students work on a unit for science, social studies or writing....not the same subject every day.
11:ish-12:ish lunch and recess
12:30:-1:15 ish  Writing/Social Studies/Science or Special (Art, Music, Library, PE etc)
1:15-2:30 Second academic block.  Math or Literacy, depending on what was already covered in the morning block. Same situation....teacher does a large group lesson, then checks in with smaller groups as they work on review/practice.
2:30 ish-2:45 Pack up and get ready for dismissal and announcements.
2:45-3:10 Bus Dismissal and Parent Pick-Up.

Out of that whole day, a student may be focusing on academics for a total of 4 hours, and only part of that would include direct, one-on-one feedback from a teacher.
Considering the fact that you won't have to manage 20 other students in addition to your own children, being done with "school" by lunch will probably happen quite often.

1) Ruining your child's academic future.
Not. Gonna. Happen.
Even if you can't help with the grammar, math or science that your child has to work on, please remember this:  One of the best indicators of a child's success in school is parental involvement.  Just the fact that you may worry about this shows that you care about their education.  If you don't know something, learn it together. If you aren't sure about something, let your kids see you ask for help from someone else. Read together out loud or even just spend 20 minutes together reading your own books. These are the habits of life-long learners, and they are BEST modeled at home.

Don't worry.
You got this.

Your kids may trace their future success at NASA to the time they spent with you at the kitchen table practicing their multiplication facts....

If you don't send them to the moon sooner ;)

'Cause I didn't miss the class on needing some adult "recess time" either. :)

If you give an educator a February Break

With many apologies to Laura Numeroff.....


If you give an educator a February Break,

She will want to spend some time in the craft room working on a  quilt project....

When she goes into the craft room, she will see the piles of papers sitting in the corner that need to be sorted and added to the tax paperwork pile.

As she spends the day sorting the paper pile, she will be reminded of the fact that she needs to find her W-2 so she can update her license so it gets a fancy gold star.

While spending the second day of break gathering all 276 forms and proof of identity papers required by the BMV, she is reminded that she will have to drive to town to finalize this transaction. There are several things in the house that need to be purged and brought to the thrift store. She shouldn't waste the gas to make two trips civilization this week, so she spends day three sorting and organizing closets and corners to gather up a full load of donations.

While de-cluttering the bathroom closet she sees her reflection in the mirror and is reminded that the BMV will probably take a photo, and she hasn't trimmed her bangs in a while. After finishing the closet and trimming her bangs she will also Clorox-wipe the bathroom sink, faucet, mirror and backsplash.

Finally, on day four, she will drive the car loaded with donations, bottle returns, snack, drink, book, and all 276 forms and proof of identity papers to the BMV to get the fancy gold star on her license.
She will spend day four completing transactions, running errands and finding a few "new-to-her" school-appropriate articles to add to her wardrobe. She may also sneak in a quick trip to the beach, since its February and she won't have to share the ocean with tourists.
She will return home to add the clothes to the laundry pile, and start a load of laundry.

On day five, she will remember that she left the laundry in the washer and head back to the basement to switch the load over. On her way through the living room, she will spy the pile of 276 forms and proof of identity papers that she left on the book case and realize they should go back in the safe in the craft room.

Upon entering the craft room, she will realize that the quilt is still sitting on the cutting table waiting to be finished.

Sighing, she looks at the calendar to see how long it is until April vacation when she has another
week off.....
'Cause it looks like she missed the class on project management....

Dirigo*

1 Year
12 Months
365 Days

However you say it, December 3rd marks my first full year in Maine. It has been a year of transitions and discoveries, for all of us.

Some transitions were easy.  It was not hard at all to get used to the smell of salt air, walks on the beach and the cry of sea gulls when running errands in town.  It was also not a hardship to discover the wild strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry patches for fresh summer fruit.
Also not difficult....
Waking up to a backyard of pine, birch, and maple trees every morning.
Settling in with people who "get" my New England sense of humor, and who wear Red Sox shirts and Patriots ball caps.
Adding a chicken coop and eight chickens to the chore list.
Living life in our current town...where the library buildings are on the historic registry, a house isn't "old" unless it was built in the 1700s, and the families that aren't "From Away" have cared for and worked for the municipality for generations....and made room for those of us from weird places like "Iowa".

Some transitions were more difficult:
Leaving the #bestsummerjobever....and the people and cookstove that went along with it.
Starting a 3rd (short-lived) career, then restarting a first career...with all of the paperwork, testing, and licensing requirements that entails.
Kiddos making life changes and major decisions while I (mostly?) cheer on instead of nag....maybe....sometimes....
Knowing it was time to say goodbye to our beloved fur baby.

These were not unusual, or unexpected stressors, just all piled into a shorter time span than I would have liked.

*But today I finally looked up the translation for the Maine State Motto,  Dirigo   Latin for "I Direct" or "I Lead".
Which, intended or not, is the best summation of the 23rd Psalm that I have found.
There is an entire back story as to why I shake my head and chuckle every time I think of my plans in college to be hired on at a school in small-town Maine, settle in, and live in the state that has been tucked in a corner of my heart since childhood.  Ask me about it when you have a few minutes or time for coffee. It covers a few years/decades.  The short answer is.... I was led.

And I didn't miss the class on that.

Summer

A Mainer's*  timeline for summer....

May
1) For the first 3 1/2 weeks spend as much time as possible at the beach. This is the last chance for a long while to have easy-to-find, whenever-you-want, free parking.

2) Get your teens to start job hunting at the best local ice cream shops where they give family discounts.

3) Remind your husband to not mow over the wild strawberry patch in the yard.

4) Think about putting the snow shovel in the cellar.

5) Think about packing away your sweatshirts and jeans.

Memorial Day Weekend.  The Official Start of All Things Summer.  It is an unwritten state law that summer does not start until this weekend. Ever.

June

1) Forget the beach.  Unless it's a random, rainy, Tuesday morning, there will be no parking available, but there will be all.the.tourists.in.the.world** complaining about how cold it is in the ocean.

2) Find all the wild strawberries.  And eat them. :)

3) It may be warm enough to get your veggie garden it.  Or it may not.

4) Think about putting the snow shovel in the cellar.

5) Think about packing away your sweatshirts and jeans.

July

1) Spend some time looking at the long-range forecast to plan the 2-3 days you "maybe" will go to the beach this month.  Sometimes it's cheaper to pay for parking at the beach than it is to run the A/C....if you even have one. There will still be tourists complaining about the temperature of the ocean.

2) Find your local newspaper.  It will have all of the free concerts and firework displays to help with the entertainment budget, since you think you may pay for beach parking this month.

3) Remind your husband not to mow over the wild blueberries in the yard. Pick the blueberries. Make muffins, pies, and jam.

4) Forget about the snow shovel still on the front porch. It's blocked by the 4th of July decorations.

5) Dig out your two pairs of shorts and your summer T-shirt while you think about packing away your sweatshirts and jeans.

August
1) Still no beach. The tourists are still here. Unless you know someone with lake or ocean-front property that can be bribed with a blueberry pie to let you park at their place....then....beach.

2) Start picking the wild blackberries before the birds and bears get to them. Continue with the blueberry hunting and the muffin/jam/pie making.

3) Pick the green beans out of the garden your husband planted, because they were the only thing that survived the month of June.

4) Rediscover the snow shovel on the front porch when you finally take down the 4th of July décor.  Decide it's not worth it to bring it down to the cellar.

5) Put away your two pairs of shorts and your summer T-shirt. They're getting in the way of your sweatshirts and jeans.

Labor Day Weekend.  The Official End of Summer.  Also an unwritten state law that it can not be summer after this weekend.  Ever.

September
1) Start planning trips to the beach, mostly to avoid all the tourists/tour busses heading inland with leaf-peeping tours.

2) Get the rest of the produce out of the garden before the frost comes. Get the apples off the tree before the deer start snacking. Make apple jelly and pie filling.

3) Winterize the chicken coop....you don't want to have to thaw your eggs before you make breakfast.

4) Start thinking about adding another shovel on the front porch.

5) Assess the sweatshirt and jeans situation. You may need to add a few of both to the closet rotation.  And a new flannel shirt.

Because while the snow may be a few weeks off yet, nothing says "Fall in Maine" like a warm, comfy, plaid, flannel shirt.  And I didn't miss the class on that :)


*I know....I'm not a Mainer. My kids are not Mainers. My husband is not a Mainer. My dog is not a Mainer. My chickens are Mainers.  They were born here.   I'm from away.  But a piece of my heart has always been in Maine...


** I really don't have a problem with tourists.  I occasionally am one.  They bring money and job opportunities for the state.  Especially jobs for teens who work at local ice cream shops that give family discounts...

Lasts

This year has been full of them.

Some of them are good....
As in...This spring was the LAST time I had to drive through parent pick-up/drop off line at the freshman building.

Can I get an A-Men and a Hallelujah!



This August was the LAST time I had to drive the children to school in the morning or worry about pick-up schedules in the afternoon.

Woot!

Some of them are bitter-sweet....

Our son ran his last high school cross country race yesterday.
We used the last jar of pumpkin from the garden this week.
We paid our last car insurance bill with only adult drivers last month.




Some of them are hard.


I taught my last lesson in the one room school house this week.

Tomorrow I will "chaperone" my last 1875 baseball game.

Next week I will spend one last day in Greteman's General Store.




If you had asked me three months ago, I wouldn't have had any idea that October would be the month of "lasts".
But things have happened rather quickly.


My husband got a job that is perfect for him, that he wasn't even really looking for.
Total time from first inquiry to official job offer....5 weeks.

We put our house on the market.
Total time from official posting to accepting an offer.....6 days


We reserved a moving truck.
Total time to pack, move a child in with friends to finish their Sr. year in IA, get a second child set up in their new school, find a new job (ugh...resumes and cover letters), say goodbyes and move to Maine.......14 days.

I'm excited about the move.  I just wish I could take Iowa with me.

Cause while lasts are not my favorite, they do make me so grateful for all the firsts that we have had over the previous 6 and 1/2 year in this state.
First State Fair, First Caucus, First trip to Fareway, First ICubs game, First cookstove meal, First cow milking, First petticoat...….

And I hope that many of you will make your first trip to New England to visit, for your first taste of lobster, a first walk on the beach, a first bowl of real clam chowder (with NO tomatoes) a first Red Sox game and a first trip to Acadia National Park to see the sun rise on the first point of the United States for the day.

Because while lasts can be difficult, they hopefully mean that some exciting firsts are just around the corner....
and I hope I didn't miss the class on that.

Welcome to Iowa!

I may have mentioned, once or twice, that I am not from around here...…
That things like State Fairs, and crop reports, and weather(tornado) conditions and mid-west life in general are a cultural shift from my earlier years spent living in Massachusetts.  It has been a pleasant learning curve to adjust to a life of "Iowa Nice", low cost of living, and a grocery store chain that still has a butcher that will cut your meat to order.  I could probably do without the -20 temps in the winter and the 105-heat-index-for two.straight.weeks. temps, but as someone once said....It's not Heaven....it's Iowa.

In my current position as a museum professional, I have the opportunity to interact with guests from all around the world.  People from India, Pakistan, China, Japan, France, Germany...….have all meandered their way through 300 years of Iowa's agricultural heritage.  We have discussed the similarities and differences of farming and technology in our respective countries.   We have enjoyed learning new things about new-to-us cultures.   I have become entranced with Iowa life, and feel like I have been here long enough to  be able to say "Welcome to Iowa" to those who are newer to the state than I.  It's fun greeting people and assuring them that while Iowa may be new and different from the culture they left behind, it is well worth their time to settle in and make this their new home.


I have created a small check list of things to recommend to future Iowegians :)
Even if you don't participate in them, it is nice to know what they are so you can follow along in a conversation with the "locals".


In reverse order...
10) Maid Rites

9) Detasseling Corn

8) how to use a 4-way intersection with stop signs

7) bacon

6) E85

5) Cyclones vs Hawkeyes

4) Caucus season

3) RAGBRAI

2) Dyersville

1) The State Fair

I may or may not geek out over this list when meeting new transplants to the state.

Okay....I do.....geek out....more than a little...…

But that didn't seem to phase the young couple that found themselves in 1875 Iowa this past Saturday.  After passing a pleasant few minutes discussing all things medicinal in the Victorian Era, we discovered that we were from the same part of the world...and had experienced some of the same cultural shifts.   They had already started on the recommendation list....and had already prepped for the top 3!

After spending a few moments describing all the glorious things that are the Iowa State Fair and why it was so important for them to see the Butter Cow, I was able to leave them with this small bit of wisdom....


Iowa is a great place to work and live.....especially now that we run on Dunkin....


The look of relief on their face was almost comical.


Because while I didn't miss the class on all the things that make this place close to Heaven, I also didn't miss the class on comfort foods and having a small link to your former home.....


Welcome to Iowa, former New Englanders.....relax and have some coffee :)

April 20.....before and after Columbine

OK, I'll admit it.    I'm from the age of dinosaurs.  Old as dirt.  Maybe even pre-historic.

I know this because I looked at today's date, listened to the news on the radio and realized:

I remember teaching before and after Columbine.  

My student teaching practicum involved learning the emergency procedure for fire drills.  Just fire drills.  We did them once a semester.

For my first few teaching jobs, I'm not even sure if the front or side  doors were locked during school hours.

And then Columbine happened. And things changed.

Locked doors, lock-down drills, check-in policies, evacuation procedures....our new normal. Multiple times a year.

Things you never found in your college curriculum and training classes were now part of your  professional duties.

Such as:
Asking the school board to find enough money to re-do the locks on classroom doors because your current lock could only be turned from the outside, with a key.

Hearing an alert tone on the intercom and your first thought being...."How many students can I fit out the window before someone makes it into my classroom?"

Walking into work and thinking..."Hmmm, I wonder if today is the day...."    Every. Day.

And now, as a parent, making sure my own children understand their school's active shooter response.

It feels terrifying and hopeless to get up, the day after a school shooting, and drop your own flesh and blood off at a school building.  To watch them walk away from you and into a "soft target".   Sometimes it makes me want to go back to teaching, because if something happened, I would at least be in the building with them, and not one of those parents on the other side of the police line, waiting for some small bit of information.

Because this is life after Columbine, and Sandy Hook, and.....and......and......

There are days when it feels so dark for this generation.

But there is a glimmer of hope.  And I was honored to see it last night.

A group of freshman in our district presented their Humanities projects on Conflict Resolution.
They lead presentations and discussions on  everything from "How to handle conflict on Social Media", to the current events on the South China Sea, The Ukraine and Russia, The Israel/Palestine conflict, and how conflict in other countries influences  people to come to the United States.
It wasn't just the topics presented, it was the presenters themselves.  Freshmen, who can barely drive a car, were driving well researched conversations with their adult audiences.  They could even find The Ukraine on a world map.  They challenged the adults in their lives to be more informed about world and local issues.  They made us talk to each other about how we, personally, handle conflict in our own lives.  And one student spoke about his desire to return to his birth country to share the peace of Christ, which, despite being what could get him killed, could also be what brings an end to conflict in his home land.

I teared up a bit on the ride home telling my daughter how proud I was of her and her classmates.
Her response: "Yeah, sometimes I think people forget how much teenagers actually know. They should listen to us more often.  Things would get done."

Oh, the naivete of youth ..... and..... oh, the pain of my stepped-on toes.

April is an odd month.   It marks the beginning of so much conflict in world history.  Including two of our own country's wars for freedom.  Which were fought with guns.  Which brings me to today.  The day that marks 19 years of life after Columbine, and a national student walk-out.

No, not all of the students fully understand the issues.  Some may think this is just a way to get out of class for a few minutes.  Some, however,  may have done more research than most adults and have a future in law school or Congress.   Remember what you were like in high school?

Regardless of where you stand on the issues they are protesting, remember life before Columbine and listen with patience.

Because their school day reality is very different from when this dinosaur was a student.

 I hope I didn't miss the class on this one.  Because while I was not in Colorado 19 years ago, I was in a school, and class has never been the same.

Armistice Day

Someone once asked me to describe my favorite part about the Fourth of July.

My answer:  It is the one day of the year when there is a peaceful use for gunpowder.


I am an historian.  I know and appreciate the fact that gunpowder has been used to defend many of the rights and privileges  that I have been blessed with.  I watch the battle reenactments where the participants use a small fraction of the gunpowder and ammunition used in the actual event. 

And I cringe at the smoke, and the noise, and the chaos and the destruction.

And can't begin to imagine the real event.   
And because of the time and place in which I live, I do not have to.   But others must.


Here in the United States we are celebrating Veterans' Day.  We thank our current and former military members for their service and sacrifice.  Please don't confuse this with Memorial Day

In Europe they are marking the 98th anniversary of the Armistice of WWI.  Please don't confuse this with a Peace Treaty.

100 years ago this week, we were re-electing Woodrow Wilson because he "kept us out of the war".
April 2, 1917 that same President goes to Congress to ask for a Declaration of War. 
 For a comprehensive timeline of events in WWI please see this link:
You'll notice quite a few places that are still in our news feeds today.
https://www.theworldwar.org/explore/interactive-wwi-timeline


Armistice Day was when the troops stopped shooting each other, but not when the war was over.
Political Peace would take much longer.  Some would argue (myself included) that it never really came.  

And here we are.  November 11, 2016. 

Can we call an Armistice?
It is not a surrender, but a cessation of hostilities.   So that talking can get more results than shooting (our guns or our mouths).
But this time let's do it better than 100 years ago.   Let's not just talk, but listen.
Let's not send us straight into a political WWII.

I can think of no better way to honor our military veterans, than to be a part of the peacemakers who also help protect the country they defended.



Because political warfare can cause just as much smoke and noise and chaos and destruction as military warfare and is just as hard to heal from.
I have 100 years of history to learn from and I didn't miss the class on that.

Today

Election Day

The end of 3 years, 11 months and 27 days of campaigning.

Hey....I live in Iowa....it is ALWAYS campaign season.  (we take a few days off to watch some college football lol)


I know we all think this one has been a particularly brutal campaign.  Tweets, wikileaks, FBI investigations, SNL skits (ok...those were sadly funny) and all the blocking and unfriending on FB could make a person wonder why we pay attention anymore.

We all have it......the undeniable phenomenon known as Election Syndrome.   We.are.so.over.it.

Unfortunately we are not done with it.   We have to survive today, with it's wall-to-wall media coverage and post game analysis.  The potential lawsuits and result challenges hover like a grey specter over our beautiful fall day.  It feels like we are hanging on by one collective polyester-singly-ply thread of sanity.  If we hear one more rumor of an FBI investigation or rigged election we will snap.

Except we won't.


Because we are better than that.

Six days ago I woke up to a 6 a.m. national news report focused on my usually quiet and sane part of the country.
Just so you know.....hearing the names of cities near you, on a national news outlet, at that time of the day is never a good thing.

Overnight, we had lost two officers in an unspeakable act of violence.






But we had not lost our human decency.  In the hours and days that followed, the communities of Urbandale and Des Moines and neighboring towns came together to show support for the families of the officers. Flowers, cards, prayers, and financial donations from private individuals and local corporations came pouring in. 
And by the very Police Departments that were impacted, a request for privacy and safety for the family of the suspect.
Simple human kindness.  Because we will not stoop to the lowest common denominator.


We expect it from our political candidates, and yet we don't always expect it from ourselves.  Mostly preaching to myself here....but sometimes we gossip.  Sometimes we cut someone off in traffic.  Sometimes we yell at our kids, or our  spouse, or our dog.  Sometimes we lie, or cheat or steal.
Why are we surprised when our politicians do the same?
If we are not willing to hold ourselves to a higher standard, why are we surprised when our national elections turn into the political equivalent of Middle School Student Council elections?
 Wait.....that's insulting to the Middle Schoolers.  They behave better.


So today....if only for one day.... and if "only" out of respect for those officers being buried this week and the departments and communities they represent, choose kindness.

Because kindness IS a choice.  On a day when we have some important choices to make, start with the most important personal one.

And because it's Iowa....these are posted within 100 yards of my polling place.....
'Cause WE didn't miss the class on that...

changing the routine.....

Traditions are important to me.  Predictability even more so. 
Combine those two together and you've got a bona fide  "stick-in-the-mud" on your hands.

Since we now live in Iowa, we of course have to have a predictable tradition to go along with our adoptive home state.  

And "Nothing Compares" to the tradition of the Iowa State Fair.

For the past four years we have had our comfortable, traditional process of attending the fair.  As I am also an social introvert who usually avoids anything with crowds of more than three people, we typically head to the fair early on opening day instead of the weekends.  We go to the same buildings and exhibits, eat the same food and walk the same route through the grounds....we even use the same entrance/exit gate every year. 

This year things went a bit haywire.

I forgot to ask for a day off on Opening Day.
The family calendar was packed for the entire remaining days of the fair.  The only day left open on my schedule was Sunday, Aug. 20th.

Also known as the last day of the 2016 Iowa State Fair.

Which is also known as half-price day.  And Free Concert night. And it was the best weather we've had in the last three months.


Which mean everyone and their cousin was going to be swapping oxygen molecules with the equivalent population of a small European country.

Ick.

But I couldn't not go.  It's the Sate Fair.  In a state known for being nice, it's the one time a year I can think of when Iowans get just a bit competitive with each other.  Quilting, canning, photography, baking, agriculture, animal breeding, horsemanship, 4-H and FFA everything, and the world famous Butter Cow are all not to be missed.

So we broke tradition and headed to the other side of the county to join thousands of our closest friends and neighbors for the afternoon. 
Considering the fact that  we were already breaking with tradition with our attendance day, this stick-in-the-mud went hog wild and suggested a few more changes for the day.

We went in a different entrance.  Gasp.  Then....we went to the top of the hill instead of starting at the bottom.....double gasp!


We toured the State Fair museum....and liked it.

We went to Pioneer Hall and saw all the antiques....and...found this new treasure...

   

Then we did a few more traditional stops on the hill since I am never one to pass up a free egg-on-a-stick and a quick glimpse at the Butter Cow.

From there we strolled down for our annual pilgrimage to the Varied Industries Building.

We did stick with tradition and freely sampled the popcorn and coffee.
After all...who would pass up free popcorn and coffee???

Keeping with the theme for the day, we tried something new in the Fabrics and Threads area....we all helped in the quilting for charity room.   These quilts are made with donated fabric and volunteer hours and are sent to different children's charities throughout Iowa. It had been on my "State Fair Bucket List" for the last four years and today was the day to get involved.

                                                                     ALL of us ;)

The group spends all ten days of the fair making comfort quilts for children. They also spend all ten days relentlessly recruiting anyone who walks in the door of their work room. Saying no to them is like saying no to your sainted grandmother. It just ought not to be done. Today we helped un-pin the quilts that had been layered and sewn to get them ready to be trimmed and bound. The total blanket goal was 425 this year. When we left  they were at 385 and still had a few hours to go. I hope they made it.  It was fun, our help was appreciated and there was no special skill or talent required.

And when your daughter asks, "Mom....how many days can we come back and help next year?"  the "never-change, stuck-in-a-rut, stick-in-the-mud" quickly adds this new activity to the Traditions category of State Fair activities, with a mental note to relentlessly recruit some of her friends.

Because while the State Fair has plenty of ice cream, walking tacos and fried candy bars, it also has plenty of room for people to try something new and help a child in need.

And I didn't miss the class on that.  :)

....enjoying the latest techno-trends....


Dear Niantic,

Let me introduce myself.  I am the curmudgeon who gripes and complains about the mindless mobs of manic gamers roaming the streets of my town.  I am the one who uses words and phrases like "durned whippersnappers" and "uppity upstarts" when referring to those who play your game.
I am also the one who could become your single best weapon in terms of planning the PR campaign for your next update/release of Poke-whatever....

No.  Seriously.   Stop laughing so hard.


I know I can barely figure out how to answer the incoming calls on my cell phone.
I know I am the one who still insists on writing paper checks and using envelopes and stamps to pay her bills.
And yes, I am the one human left on the planet  who still has a land line.



Which makes me the perfect consultant for your next product launch.
You see, us techno-grumps have a unique skill set that you need. 
It's called "vision killing" and it will save you countless hours of company time and untold millions in corporate profits as I help you avoid bad publicity and lawsuits associated with the release of your products.

Had you hired me before the launch of your latest, hottest techno-trend I could have helped you with the following situations as they triggered my inner "grump-o-meter".....

Had I been allowed to see that you had (inadvertently, I'm sure) placed Poke stops at places like Arlington National Cemetery or the Holocaust Museum, my in-born, over driven sense of appropriateness would have immediately sounded the alarm and begged you to re-consider that option.

If I had but known in advance that you had alarmingly confused "open to the public" and "public space" (again, honest mistake, I am assuming), I could have helped you locate and apply the legal definitions of public vs private property, trespassing, and personal responsibility.

I would like to make you an offer you can't refuse:
Hire me.

OK.....stop laughing......again....

Hire me to be the one who Poke-holes all your ideas before they hit the www.

Hire me to remind you of all the pitfalls and problems that come when you don't Poke-check in with all the private business, organizations, property owners and individuals that were not allowed the option of having Poke-thingys on  their lands or persons.

Hire me to help you remember that while you are Poke- possibly contributing a good thing to society, it should never be at the cost of respect and common decency.

Hire me because it will be less expensive than negative PR and the lawsuits you will surely face.

Hire me because I could use the money, and you could obviously use the help of a few curmudgeons.

Hire me, because, while I am all for more family time, exercise, fresh air and foot traffic directed towards some of my favorite non-profits, I do think we can try to achieve these goals without stomping on everyone's Poke-toes in the name of progress and entertainment.

'cause I didn't miss the Poke-class on that ;)

Gift Giving.



At least....being on time with the gifts.

In my mind, I have these wonderful plans of perfectly selected tokens of my love and appreciation.
In reality I have a pile of unfinished crafts and a shopping list a mile long.

Take Christmas, for example.
As in Christmas 2014.
As in the present from 2014, intended for my sister, that is still sitting in my "to be finished" quilting stash.

Or birthdays.
As in our daughter's 12th.
As in that being the age where we told her she could get her ears pierced.
As in 12+ months later .....and no extra holes in her head. 
(I DID buy earrings though....AND remembered to give them to her.)


My excuse is that I am paralyzed by wanting everything to be so perfect and fear failure so much, that I never just DO something.

I should probably get over that.
Yeah.


You see, my husband is great at getting things done on time.  Birthdays,  Christmas, Mother's Day, Anniversary.....

Like today. 
Today marks 18 years of him surviving moments like this morning:

Him: Good Morning
Me: Happy Anniversary. 
Him: Happy 18th Anniversary
Me: Wow.  That's a long time....... I mean....I Love You!*


He then proceeded to chuckle at his fuzzy-brained wife and hand her his pre-planned, pre-purchased anniversary gifts.  Which were prefect.

I, on the other hand, am still "shopping" for the table saw he wanted for Father's Day.




I think I can get that done before another 18 years pass.....

Because while I may not be the best shopper-co-ordinator-present-giver, I do love him very much, and would love to see him have a new "toy" to play with as he works so hard to make our house a comfortable home.  I did NOT miss the class on appreciating all his efforts.

Happy 18 Wonderful Years Calvin!
Love,
Susie



*not to be held responsible for anything said before being properly caffeinated

 Bunting, Banners and Baseball


I was recently asked if I missed celebrating Independence Day in Boston...because being the Cradle of the Revolution, it must be so much more exciting to celebrate in New England rather than the quiet and sedate mid-west.


Honestly, the question caught me off guard.  I hadn't thought that much about it before, but suddenly that question became a niggling whisper in the back of my mind this weekend.

Do I?    

If I had been in Boston this week I could have seen:

Boston skyline

The Old State House

Old Ironsides

Instead.... I was in Iowa where I was able to see:

Yankee Doodle Pops
Des Moines July 1

Ready for our town's parade!  July 3

F.D. History :)

What's a parade without farm equipment???

and where else could I have this.....?

1875 Suffragettes
"Votes for Women!"
July 4

1875 Baseball
July 4

 and best of all.....

I "caught" the pitcher!

So while I may miss the security of knowing that any fireworks in Boston are shot off over the the muddy water of the Charles River instead of the not-so-muddy soil of a sun-baked Iowa corn field, I am not missing out on anything else.
We have it all right here.  A community of people who gather to celebrate our Freedom and those who have sacrificed to protect us.  Which is what Independence Day is all about.....in 1776, 1875, or  2016.....regardless of your geographical location.

'Cause I didn't miss the class on that!

Screen Doors, Sacrifice, and Sacred Freedoms


I work for a 500 acre open air-living history- museum.  It is what I only half jokingly refer to as my #bestsummerjobever.   Since most of the buildings to which I am assigned are from the 1870's or 1900, they have historically accurate fixtures, lighting, appliances and....screen doors.

The same screen doors that your mom yelled at you to NOT slam on your way out of, or into the house.

The same screen doors that you slammed anyway, because life seemed to be in too much of a hurry to worry about how the door closed as you moved on to your next adventure.

The type of screen door whose closing sound identified who was entering the building according to the velocity and volume of the door hitting the jamb.  And the same type of solid, wooden "bam" that triggers memories of summer nights at Grandma's as you hurry in the house from playing outside after your dinner because the mosquitoes think your are their dinner.

We typically see our guests have one of two reactions as they come through our buildings and the screen doors announce their entrance....

"Bam"
Oh..sorry...I didn't realize it would do that!  or...  Little Johnny....don't slam that door!

As if slamming a door that is supposed to close that way while at a museum is some sort of breach of museum etiquette....

A second, but slightly less popular reaction (and most often shown by adults) is to purposely go out of and into a building  just to hear the door.  Most often this is because they remember that sound as part of their childhood.  Before air-tight, pressure-loaded storm doors and weather tight house doors made to keep the cold A/C in and the cold IA winter air out became the norm in our modern, quiet-doored homes.
It is an unintended historical interpretation point of our "Touch-See-Hear" focus. 

Quite honestly we, as staff, have tuned out the sound of the doors in our buildings.   It has faded into the background, along with the ticking and chiming of our clocks and the crackling and snapping of the fires in our wood burning stoves.  It is just a part of our every day "normal" museum life.

Until last month.

Last month we had a visitor to our 1900 Farm site.  Our site staff was eating our noon meal and as often happens, a few guests were inside the house having a look around as we were eating at the table under the tree outside.
This particular guest came back out of the house and over to us to remark (in a delightfully French accented speech pattern) how much this house reminded her of the farm home in which she had lived as a young girl.

Now, we hear this often in our jobs.  We get a sense of professional satisfaction from these types of remarks, as it helps us "whippersnappers" gauge how well we are doing our studying and research.

But what we don't  often hear is how she finished her comment.....

"It reminds me of the house we lived in as I was growing up in the 30's and 40's in .............Normandy,  France.
It took us a bit to absorb what she had just said....  It may be the only time that a group of people who are paid to talk about living history were dumbstruck by the living history in front of them.

She was gone before we collected ourselves enough to realize that we should have been hosting her and her memories.  And I, for one, regret not getting her picture or signature for our site journal. 
It was a heavy reminder of how the mundane, everyday, oft' ignored routines can sometimes be the most profound part of our guests' experiences and are part of our responsibility to preserve.


So today....on this anniversary of D-Day.....
...on this anniversary of the sacrifice of so many
...on this anniversary of the beginning of triumph over unspeakable evils....

In honor of those who had the screen door slam behind them on their way to Basic Training, but not behind them as they never  made the journey home....
In honor of those who  did get to hear the door slam upon their return, but who spent years trying not to startle at the sudden, sharp "Bang!"
And in honor of our sacred freedom to live in relative peace and security affording us the ability to excitedly move on to our next adventures as we hurry out of our doors...

I say.... 
Slam the Door and Remember

'cause we can't afford to miss the class on that.

....how to be on vacation.....

You would think this one wouldn't need a class.  After all... how much trouble can a history major get into when taking an innocent family vacation?   What could be the problem for a farm museum employee/part-time retail associate/homeschooling mom from the mid-west when she wants to "get away from it all" for a few days?


Leave it to me to find out ;)

Try a quick mental exercise for me.   Think of the top three things people usually do when they travel for vacation....

Go ahead....

I'll wait...


But I bet your list may include some of the following activities:

1.  Visiting historical sites

2.   Shopping



3.  Anything that is the complete opposite of what their daily life back home encompasses.


Well....I work at a farm/museum.  I also work for a national retail chain.   We also home school....which means my kids study strange and foreign subjects such as Latin and Logic.

In short....there is no escape...   And I kind of like it.


We plan our vacation routes and travel times to take advantage of the national historic sites (known in our family as "ugh..Mom is stopping at a Brown Sign Park..a.g.a.i.n.") and museums along the way.

This time we stopped at a Civil War site where they were hosting re-enactors in period clothing  (score!) and had monuments and museum  displays inscribed with Latin mottoes.
Can't you just hear my children squealing with delight at the chance to show off their dead language skills???

So I played tourist and snapped the photos of the period clothing and accessories....purely for the memories of family vacation,  and NOT AT ALL for further study in museum work.
Because remember,  I was on vacation.

From there, we continued on to our final destination in a small, rural town in South Florida, where they apparently have these new-fangled cell phone things that my in-laws used to call and tell us that the baby goats needed to be bottle fed twice a day, the baby chicks were hatching and the donkey was about ready to have her baby.
Sigh.   I was supposed to be on vacation from the farm.

So I bribed the kids (mine, not the goats').   No Latin this week if you do all the farm chores.
Now you can imagine their shouts of joy. :)  Also notice my children's impeccable use of their logic skills in agreeing to their mother's terms.

In the midst of visiting family and "relaxing" on the mini farm, we did some shopping.  Our best souvenir is the orange blossom honey sold in my husband's home town.  We buy as much as we can afford and then covetously hoard the liquid gold when we return to Iowa.  
While making our purchase at the Honey Store,  (see...touristy shopping) I  glanced outside at the building across the street.  The same street and historic buildings that we have been driving by for 18 years worth of visits to this town.   The same town where my husband grew up.  The same location across from our honey source mecca.

This time I saw the building across the street not through my 2016 retail worker's eyes, but my 1875 General Store operator's filter.   

"Hey Hon.", I squeaked, in all my museum-historian-geekness. "What does that look like to you?

Yes.  There it was.  A 1911 General Store still in it's original location and complete with the same needed repairs as my own beloved store back in IA.   We had somehow missed it's significance all these years.  But now we can appreciate the importance and dignity of an original retail building standing in the same spot for all this time despite hurricanes, floods and "development progress".

So to answer my original question,  NO a farm/museum employee/retail worker/ home schooling mom never gets to truly take a vacation.

But if you love what you do, you don't want to stay away from it anyway.

And since the past is all around us, affording us many educational and life lessons, we can't  "get away from it all", no matter how hard we try.


Some of us even visit the modern retail gift shop to buy the tacky tourist magnet to prove it....

'cause we didn't miss the class on that ;)

Retail Therapy......



I know I missed this class because I seem to be in the minority of the female population that sees shopping as a "git-er-done" chore rather than an all-day, shop-till-you-drop extravaganza.
I'm pretty sure I'd have to take a double dose of anti-histamine to survive a trip to the local mall and you might as well fully sedate me if you want to get me anywhere near Mall of America.

Which is why I am perpetually puzzled by the number of people that come into the modern day retail store where I work and aimlessly meander through the departments for hours at a time.

That's right.....hours....as in multiple increments of sixty minutes.  At. A. Time.

After two years working in the Children's Clothing department I started noticing a theme to my evening retail hours.  I wound up spending a majority of my shifts playing "Parent and Family Therapist"  Turns out that sometimes Grandma needs to be gently told to just get what the daughter-in-law said would fit.  Sometimes first time parents need a little help understanding that size 4T is not just for a 4 year old Toddler, and that size 4T and 4 are two different sizes and that you should probably buy that summer outfit on the clearance rack in February in a size larger because kids...grow...

Also turns out that pre-teen girls and moms need some sales-staff intervention at times, and dads need a bit of help buying their socks and ties during the 30 minutes before the Daddy-Daughter dance they have known about for two months.

Sigh.   No wonder I was coming home exhausted.
My manager, noticing my stress level, switched me to the jewelry department to give me a chance to recover.  I thought it would be a breeze playing with the sparkly inventory and un-packing new baubles to put on display......

Nope.  Turns out people need more than just sales help here too.  

Instead of Parent and Family Therapist, I have now switched to "Marriage and Relationship Adviser", in which I gently remind the young men that yes, rings do come in sizes, and yes, your girlfriend will be more likely to wear the ring if it fits.  You may also overhear conversations where I diplomatically remind the husband that fact that the ear rings she wants are more expensive than the vacuum cleaner that is on sale really. doesn't. matter.  It is also possible that you could witness the return of an expensive watch and watch  me talk the husband down from the wall over the frustration that she had bought him a watch for EVERY Father's Day for the last. five.years.

Sigh again.  Still coming home tired.   I need to  go back to school for a Phd in Psychology just to survive Christmas and Valentine's Day.

But, I think I have finally solved the riddle of Retail Therapy.  
They come, not to feel better by buying clothes in the wrong size and color, but to have us barely qualified, barely above minimum wage retail employees walk them through the complexities of life.
Which, in a bizarre way, is oddly rewarding.

But still doesn't convince me that anything longer than 20 minutes of shopping for anything more than groceries is worth my time and stress level.

I would rather spend my time with book-coffee-yarn-therapy.   It's cheaper.

'Cause I didn't miss the class on that :)

....the Iowa Caucus....and Date Night


They have more in common than you might think.....


I like to think of myself as a simple, no-muss, no-fuss female. (Ok dad...stop choking on your coffee.  I am NOT high maintenance!)
A cup of coffee, some chocolate and  a ball game on TV counts as a date night for me.   Throw in a trip to a museum, yarn or book store and I'm set for the year.

I am also a semi-junkie when it comes to politics and current events.   I can frequently be found yelling talking to the radio or television, trying to explain why the newscaster or caller is wrong since they have clearly missed the class on history, government, economics and/or common sense.
My family has learned to ignore me ;)


That's what makes living in Iowa so wonderful for low-maintenance wives like myself. (OK Jeff...you can stop trying to smother your laughter...)   February during an election year is the perfect combination of  news, candidates, political gatherings, call-in radio shows and newspaper Op-Ed pieces.  You can imagine that by now everyone in my house except the dog has tuned out the sound of my voice as this opinionated New Englander debates any and all points being made by any and all sides on any and all issues.  Isn't my husband lucky to have me around?  ;) 

Since he has adopted the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy of living with my low-maintenance hobbies, (OK kids...thank you for not even trying to pretend to smother your hysterics...) he planned the perfect 14 hour date for his no-fuss wife. 

The Iowa Caucus and Morning Edition.....

Yes folks, nothing says "I love You" more than an evening of gathering in the elementary school gym to listen to your neighbors stand up and explain why you should vote for their chosen candidate.

And then he made the ultimate sacrifice.
He got up at 4 A.M. to take me to a coffee shop where a favorite national morning radio talk show was broadcasting coverage of the Iowa Caucus. 
  4 A.M. folks.   
Then sat with me for FIVE hours while I knit and listened to the radio show production.
Five hours everyone.

                                     That's Buttercup and Wesley true love at its finest.

This can only happen once every 4 years.....this romantic combination of politics, coffee, analysis and True Love. So as a New Englander who got to have an Iowa Caucus Date Night, I would like to offer this piece of advice to those  participating in the New Hampshire Primary today.

Grab your spouse, your ballot and a cup of coffee.  This extravaganza only happens once every four years and you wouldn't want to miss the class on that..... :)

.....Light and Darkness.....and Advent and Christmas

It is no secret by now that I love my summer job.  All season long I am paid to keep shop in a 100+ year old general store, or have tea in a Victorian mansion, or cook on a wood-burning stove in a 1900's Farm House, or make brooms from broom corn, or teach Spencerian penmanship in a one-room school house, or scrape a buffalo hide and work on beading my pair of moccasins.

From May to mid-October we re-create Iowa's agricultural history in the glaring brightness of the summer sun. We wear long sleeves and long skirts to keep the sun off our bodies and use bonnets and parasols to keep our faces shaded and protected from the burning heat and UV light  radiating from planet's closest star.  We carefully pace ourselves in our daily tasks.....chores that must be completed, but workers that must not be depleted.  We avoid the light as much as possible.

Now that we have transitioned to our winter programming, those brightly blinding days are replaced with  work hours in the twilight of cool fall evenings.  We learn to function during a time of the day best described in Mary Poppins  as "the chimney sweep's world"....."Things 'alf in shadows and 'alfway in light..."  Just enough darkness for you to think about lighting the lamps, but still too much light for the lamp to be effective.  We begin to yearn for the light.

Did you know that there was such a time of day? When it is not dark enough yet  for true light to be effective?

In part, I believe this applies to Advent as well.  The season of the year where we wait for the darkest time of the year in anticipation of how brightly that Light will shine.

Anticipation much like kids on Christmas morning....

Earlier this month I was asked by a co-worker to name my favorite Christmas Song.  My first response....
"Anything but Christmas Shoes"

My second pick was harder....Carol of the Bells, Hallelujah Chorus, anything by Mannheim Steamroller...

My favorite Christmas verse? 
That's much easier.
It describes us while wandering in the shadows of the uncertainty of this life, yet anticipating the glory of the life yet to come.  That time of the day/year/life when it feels as if the light is too dim and yet not dark enough for a new light to make a difference.

The time of day/year/life when there is much to do and not enough of you to go around and even if there were two of you, the task would seem impossible.

That time of day/year/life when we  painfully linger in the darkness,

if only to appreciate the Advent of the Light.

Isaiah 8:20-9:7

Chapter 9, Verse 2

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;

of those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

 and Isaiah 9:6

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given."

Because I am taking the class on basking in the Light in spite of and because of the dark... 

Merry Christmas

farm houses, hospitality and Thanksgiving...


There are many things for which I am thankful.  Faith, Family and Friends seem like such broad and common categories, but they do cover the "biggies" so to speak.   If I could add one more, it would be farmhouses. Specifically the one at my #bestsummerjobever.   The one that holds my favorite cook stove and pantry.  The one with the white picket fence around the yard and the red barn across the way.  The one with the softly glowing lanterns in the windows in the evenings and the deer tracks in the frozen fields in the mornings.

It is in this house this fall that I have learned the fine art of napkin folding, dessert table lay out and the fact that I love hooded wool cloaks.  And it is in this house that I have decided that paper plates (no matter how pretty) just will not do for Thanksgiving Dinner.  

We usually have a few friends over for Thanksgiving and I usually cook a fairly large bird because we love leftovers.  For the last few years, one of our guests has been a spirited lady who could very likely walk into my favorite farmhouse and run it like a pro....not because she has spent any time researching rural Iowa farm life, but because she has lived it.  Complete with wood stove, out house, kerosene lanterns, white picket fence, scrub boards for washing and horses in the red barn across the way.  She can frequently be found gently laughing and shaking her head at me as I delight in all things 1900 farm style.....something about how I should probably live  in the present and be thankful for electricity and indoor plumbing. But she indulges me and my excitement, so this year I decided to "up my game" in the hospitality area and use the good china because that is what you would have done in the era of rural farm life...put your best foot forward for company

I still have a bit to learn, but this was my attempt this past Thanksgiving.   Good china, table center organized and "dessert table" ready to go.   I thought that I was all set and ready for our gracious company. 

And then she out-did me ....1900's style.

Her hostess gift made me cry.   A hand-embroided flour sack dish towel with farm scenes that look like they came straight off the 1900 Farm site.

So there you have it. 
My china, turkey and dessert table happily upstaged by a beautiful hand-made gift commemorating her childhood and my new-found career.

Together we shared our thanks for Faith, Family, Friends and Farm....

'cause WE didn't miss the class on that :)