Brewed Awakenings Cafe

On most Saturday mornings Faith and I have a tradition; we meet at a local cafe, Brewed Awakenings. Faith's mom brings her to the cafe as Faith is no longer driving herself. MS has made driving impossible. Then Mom goes and runs errands while we enjoy coffee, people watching and conversation around this and that.

Today we were looking at postings on Facebook. We laughed at comments that people write. We rolled our eyes on some posts. We looked at closely and with a some degree of jealousy the photos that a friend of ours had posted from Italy. Some posts were a total mystery to us. A few posts seemed worthy get Faith's "like" as well.

There was also people watching that we needed to do:) There was my daughter's first grade teacher with her husband - as they are on most Saturdays. There were a few other people that we recognized. Two ladies caught our eyes; they were knitting and talking a mile a minute. Faith knows that I knit as well, so she was eager to point them out to me. Their knitting seemed a little too complicated for me. I am more of a simple knitter (and knitting keeps my hands from going to my mouth).

This is a cafe where everyone knows us! I walk up to the front to gt my coffee and they automatically ask if I want the flat bottom mug. I don't really care what  kind of mug, but for Faith, flat bottom is more secure. When our time is up, Faith's mom comes back in. We chat for a while. We talk about books (of course), our community and my daughter. Soon it is time to head to the van. We say goodbye until the next Saturday!

Do you have a Saturday tradition?

Would you like some additional channels?

"Could you please confirm you address?"

"I am sorry, I cannot find you."
Would the account number help you?

"Yes, of course."
"Ah, there you are. What can I help you with?"

I would like to know why my cable bill suddenly doubled?

"Let me check on that. Yes, your promotional offer ended. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Yes, I would like to lower my cable bill to what it was previously."

"Yes, I understand that. Would you like to combine services to get a better offer?"

No thank you. I would just like to continue the same service I had previously with the same price.

"Mam, that offer is no longer available. I could take five dollars off your bill as a courtesy of you being a loyal customer."

I'm sorry but I am not interested in that. I would like to reduce my bill to what it was before.

"I could offer you one premium channel for free for three months. Would you like that?"

No thank you. I still would like to have what I had before or I will need to cancel my service.

"I am sorry you feel that way. Would you be interested in adding a service?"

No thank you. I would now like to cancel my service.

There are times when I wish that my students had this sales person's tenacity to keep going when things are not going their way. Or, maybe I need to learn a lesson and not give up on students even when they have given up on themselves. Yes, I might not be a fan of my cable company, but perhaps with no cable service, I will have more time to write and focus on learning.

Tenacity. I need to discover more tenacity!

His Moment of Triumph

It has been months since I have seen a spark on this student't face. Yes, he comes to class joking with his friends, but he never seems to be present. He actually reminds me of Romeo in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet because he seems to wander in as if he were floating or living in a dream world--not the real world.

A couple of days ago he stayed to study with me during study hall time. I should use all capital letters now as this is a HUGE accomplishment! He stayed and he worked!!! Then a day later he took a quiz in my Sheltered English class in high school. After work as I was grading the quizzes I found out to my great surprise that he PASSED!! This is an accomplishment worth celebrating!

But wait, there is more: the next hour we were working on writing. I had a change to work with three students in a small group while my volunteer was working with another group. H. was on task. He had his writer's notebook ready. We were practicing the P.E.E. method (point, example/evidence & explain). Our topic "Juliet is too young to get married." I was guiding my students to think about where we could find evidence or an example that would support our point that Juliet is too young to get married. H. was thinking. Suddenly he says, "Because her father said so to Paris."

I screamed! Everyone's head turned to my directions. What happened was the question on everyone's face. What did H. do now?

And then the sweet explanation that H. had come up with a few great answers all on his own!! "Really, H. did that?"

He sure did! It was H's turn to triumph!

Photo from here.

What have I discovered this far about my OLW?

                                   

Today I am writing my Slice of Life Story Challenge and linking up with Holly's Spiritual Journey Thursday. At Holly's blog we are writing about the different One Little Words that each of us have chosen. Today we are writing about DISCOVERY which is my OLW.

This winter has been a great winter, but also a really difficult winter. Cold sunny days have have brought sunshine into my life that at times felt dark. I think that the older I get the more the darkness of the winter affects me. So on those short winter days when I have been feeling down, debating whether to go to church or just stay at home because it is warmer inside (and comfortable in my pajamas as well), I have discovered that it is okay if I stay at home. Not necessarily the best choice, but it is okay.

I have discovered that God's grace can reach me at home. He will meet me where ever I am. His grace knows no limits. He offers His grace freely because He loves me. He meets me where I am. He offers His grace whether I am dressed up or in my pajamas. Perhaps this is the reason I love Matt Redman's song Your Grace Finds Me.

I have discovered that I don't need to be perfect (not that I ever am). God offers His grace when I fall short on following Him. He also offers His grace at work. He sustains me both at work and at home. I can discover this grace new everyday. It is not conditional. It is offered from and with love.

It is because of this grace that I want to discover a new fire. I want my soul to be on fire again. I want to discover a new fire in my relationship with God. I also want to discover a new passion and fire for teaching. Don't take me wrong, I don't think that I have lost my passion for teaching, but I want to discover a new fire, maybe a sense of urgency and grace as I teach and deal with students who come from such difficult circumstances. If my fire is not burning brightly, what do I have to offer to my students? 

This THIRD DAY song is both the perfect prayer for my journey on discovery this year, and my prayer for you today. With grace and a new fire in my soul wonderful things can happen!

My Love Affair with Exclamation Point

I LOVE exclamation points!!!!!

If I have ever commented on your post, I most likely used at least one exclamation point! Often I have used more than one. It is just who I am.

Just think about how many different kinds of exclamation points there are with the plethora of fonts available.

!!!! !!!! !!!   !!!!!  !!!!!  !!!!!  !!!!! !!!! !!!!! !!!! !!!!  !!!!  !!!!  !!!!!  !!!!   !!!!  !!!  !!! !!!! !!!!!

I can just pick a font that matches my mood or the topic I am writing about, and insert an exclamation point when if speaking I would use the tone of my voice to make my point or to emphasize a particular word or a phrase. 

For example:

What a great post!! I loved the metaphors that you used in your poem!!

Loved the photos!! 

I could hear the sound of waves crashing on the rocks by just reading your words!!

When leaving comments, I cannot change the font, so my only choice (besides my words) is to use punctuation marks to emphasize my point. Especially when I feel a little strange using all capital letters as some might think I am shouting at them. 

I am sure that there have been grammar and punctuation masters (~police) who have cringed at my use of exclamation point. I might not follow the rules that I studied in my Grammar Bible, but writing means taking risks, being unique, and daring to break the rules.

I feel that I don't have any kind of relationship with semicolons. I don't think we even live in the same universe. Exclamation points, however, are a different story!!!!  They are fun and easy to use!!!! Everyone understands them!!!! I feel that exclamation points tell their own story along with the one that I am telling.

!!! I have to admit I can't remember which font gave me the eyes when pressing the exclamation point key on my keypad. Looks interesting. Maybe I will use them next time I am commenting on your post !!! 

Is Laughing Acceptable in the Gym?

Val and I are gym buddies. We go regularly. Well, that really depends how you define regularly. Three times a week? Not our definition lately except in our dreams. Twice a week? This definition would suit us more often, but not in the last two (okay, maybe three) weeks.

Last Saturday morning we were determined to create a new definition. We had set a time to meet at the gym. Morning texts: "I'll be 10-15 minutes late."  "Me too."  We were still in agreement with our definition. All good.

I got to the gym. No Val. I started biking. I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure that Val could find me. (What was I thinking? There were not that many people that she could not find me!) Headphones on. Listening to morning news. Some interesting, but mostly not. Time to raise the speed on my pedaling. Ah, there she is!

"I don't know what has happened to my body! I did ask the Parks Department for new body parts but they have not delivered yet!"

This is how Val started my day. I really needed a recorder for all the one liners that she kept throwing at me while pedaling.

"Well, at least my legs are moving. I'm not so sure about the breathing part."

"I like watching silent television here. Look at how sweet that man is. What is his name again? Oh, he is so cute." (This is where Val and my opinions differ quite a bit, but that is another conversation altogether.)

"At least my body came here today. Not so sure what or who came with it."

There were so many and I did not have a recorder with me. Even my phone was in the locker! But I laughed! I mean I laughed out loud! Perhaps some fellow exercise "enthusiasts" were thinking who we are to disturb their quiet morning exercise. Too bad! We were having too much fun! 45 minutes on the bike!

Lunch or Dinner Choices

"What's the difference between orange chicken and sweet and sour chicken?"

Not sure, but they are probably very similar.

"What are you going to order?"

Singapore Street Noodles.

"Are you sure they have enough sauce in them? Remember that one time when I had to send them back because they had no flavor?"

I know you don't like them. You like more sauce on your Chinese food.

"What's Dad going to have?"

Let me ask him.

Dad, what do you want to order?

"Cashew Chicken."

Dad wants Cashew Chicken.

"What?

Dad wants Cashew Chicken.

"Oh. Are you sure he does not want the sweet and sour chicken?"

Yes. He said he wants the Cashew Chicken.

"Oh. Okay."

"What kind of soup you want?"

"Wanton soup."
Wanton soup for Dad. Mom, what soup do you want?

"What was that soup that I had that one time?"
You had the hot and sour. But remember, it costs extra.

"Why is that soup extra?"
I don't really know. Which soup would you like today?

"I guess I'll have the Wanton soup."

Dinner or lunch out with my in-laws is always an interesting affair. But we always end up having many good laughs! They have really become the second mom and dad for me! Love you mom and dad!