Fall is my favorite season. The rains return (although they could have returned with less of a vengeance this year and I would have been ok with that), the leaves change and the weather cools down. The sweaters come back out and we add layers of blankets to the bed. We are very stubborn about …
Monthly Archives: September 2013
Evidence of Achievement
Yesterday I read an article that asserted that giving all the participants a trophy or ribbon for participation does not work the way people thinks it does. Kids are smart enough to know who excels and who doesn’t and just pretending that all kids are equal just diminishes incentives to work harder. I happen to …
Where Hast Thou Gone, Crafty Mojo?
Something this summer sucked up all my crafty mojo. I spent the entire summer anticipating playing on the lap loom at Lake Placid, but barely touched it (I know that I have a better, fancier loom, but the appeal of weaving on vacation is a powerful force). My table loom has been equally ignored. I …
It's Not All Bad
Thank you everyone who offered hugs and support after my latest update on my father. I really do appreciate it. But, my life is not all about struggles right now. There are some really good things going on. Below is just a sampling of the good stuff in my life right now (as usual, they …
All is Not Quiet on the Eastern Front
Yesterday I awoke to a series of text messages telling me that my father had fallen and he was in the ER getting checked out. Fortunately, he was ok. But then he fell again this morning. We have been extraordinarily lucky that he hasn’t broken any bones in his falls. But he has been collecting …
Warming Up From a Cold Start
Our current car is a diesel VW Jetta. We almost always fill it with biodiesel. B99 (99% biodiesel/1% petroleum) in the summer and B50 (50% biodiesel/50% petroleum) in the winter. The transition to autumn is always a little tricky. On warm days, the car works just fine. On cooler days, the biodisel can get a …
Learning from Other's Wisdom
One of the people I saw at Yom Kippur services was my very first bat-mitzvah student. She is now a grown-up, professional woman whom I have come to truly admire. Which is why I am not at all surprised that I am taking her words to heart. She was one of 3 people who led …
Please Accept my Apologies
Yom Kippur starts tonight at sundown. At that point, Jews all over the world start a 25-hour fast (not even water is allowed) and spend the day in both personal and community self-reflection. Part of the process includes going through a prescribed list of failures several times over the course of the day. The list …
Inspiration over Aspiration
This afternoon I was driving from point A to Point B when the title for this blog post popped into my mind. I usually write the post first and then try to find a suitable title, but every once in a while, I do the inverse. It took me a while to figure out what …
Running in Place just to Catch Up
One of the things I hate about the High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and the days in between) is the feeling of being in constant catch-up mode. Checking out for 3 days over a dead day period may be beneficial to my mental health, but it wreaks havoc with my inbox and workload. So, …