This year, more than ever it seems, I have noticed the rice fields and how beautiful they are when it is time to harvest. I have grown up here all of my life, but I found myself nearly moved to tears several times as I watched golden rice swaying under the hot summer breeze. I thought of the farmers. I worked with a girl once whose husband was a farmer. I teach many kids who will become another generation of…
If you know anything about me, you know that I am and always have been pretty darn girly. Starting with the phase as a child that kept me clothed in my favorite flowered skirt and rubber boots (okay, so the boots were a bit of a departure…), it’s always been quite evident. These characteristics led me to seriously consider as a child that there was a legitimate possibility that I had been adopted from birth; moreover, that I was actually…
Whenever anyone says rainbow, you can be sure that a whole list of cliché statements might come to mind. Generally speaking, rainbows are a symbol of hope and promise. If you have a biblical mind, the first thing that you might think of is the fact that God gave Noah a rainbow as a promise that He would never flood the earth again. Sometimes, rainbows are easily visible. They stretch through the whole sky with bright, vibrant colors that seem…
There’s one in every bunch, and in this bunch, there were several– the ones you are warned about, the students who are going to give you a run for your money. So when this group showed up, I was ready– stern voice, mean look, and no-nonsense demeanor in tact. Inwardly, I cringed knowing that surely, they’d be the death of me. He showed up to school on the first day of school with a disheveled curly mop that had one…
I am an awful gardener… and I do mean AWFUL. Like, I could kill a cactus in twelve seconds flat by simply looking it its direction. At my house, everything is an annual. And if it makes it that long, it’s a fighter… Many years ago, I heard someone say, “Never cut down trees in the winter.” Simple as it may be, that statement has stayed with me ever since. Even still, I am not good at keeping things. I…
There was a time when I had my whole life strategically planned out. Get married young, have four kids spaced exactly two years apart by the age of 28, live in suburbia, drive a black Tahoe, all while jet-setting around the world as a motivational speaker to high school kids, making a difference, and (of course) a small fortune. Clearly, I was delusional… The black Tahoe has come and gone, but everything else has sort of molded itself into a…
Within the last year, sweet husband has embraced his inner cowboy. (I’m not complaining…) His greatest desire has been for ostrich skin boots, but y’all, those suckers are pricey! I am not entirely sure what makes them so fantastic, but we definitely saw a pair recently that were over $1000… and that’s just crazy. Good news is, back in the late 80s, my dear daddy apparently had the same desire. And well, Tony Lama boots were a bit more affordable…
Fun fact. I don’t drink carbonated drinks. Yep. Just water and juice and lemonade. No carbonation. At school, we have one local water fountain. This one time I filled my water bottle up from that fountain and nearly died. No jokes. The water was disgusting. Plus, it is right next to the boys’ bathroom, and well, I just don’t really trust the nature of that location. Everything is cyclical. We make money to spend money. We buy food to eat…
I swore it would never be me. My son would never, ever, never wear jeans that had been busted at the knee. Nevertheless, I have come to the realization that ripped jeans are sort of a rite of passage for little boys. They have played with their little trucks and slid around on the ground and been so successful at being a little boy that they have worn through the knees of their pants. All things considered, I have attempted…
Take a little look at my DVR. Besides the 17 Disney/Pixar movies and 11 episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba stored for a rainy day when I’m about to lose my mind… there is one thing in common. Reality TV. I can’t think of many things we watch that don’t fit into that category. Our latest obsession- Duck Dynasty. The whole bearded family is just hilarious, and Uncle Si… Well, he steals my heart and nearly makes me pee my pants…