Family Visit, Softball Tournament, and Lots of Eating

3/13
Friday the 13th. We didn’t leave our Florida house until 9 am because there was a bad accident on I-95 earlier in the morning. As we headed north, we hit horrible rainstorms, and traffic was horrible. We decided to stop in Melbourne and get some gas at Sam’s Club, but the gas line was probably an hour long wait, so instead, we went inside to get a soft pretzel and a drink. Then we headed west on Hwy 192, and there was a lot of traffic on it also. We stopped at Sam’s Club in Kissimmee about 1:30 pm, and the gas line wasn’t too bad. Then we went inside to get some supplies. We arrived at Club Wyndham Reunion about 3 pm and checked in. Our condo was a 3-bedroom condo, which looked the same as the one we were in last year, but at a different address. We went out to get a Subway sandwich and brought it back to the condo to eat. Then we relaxed until Deanna arrived at about 10:30 pm. We stayed up and talked until 12:30 am.

3/14

I was up at my usual time of 5 am. We just relaxed until mid-morning when we went to First Watch for brunch. Then we spent the day watching basketball games and eating junk food while Don took a couple of walks around the complex. Deanna cooked us corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. At about 5:30, we had a delicious dinner! In the evening, we decided we wanted some ice cream and ended up getting our favorite ice cream at Publix. By 9:30, I was falling asleep.

3/15
Around 10 am, we drove to the place Kaeli and her team were staying. We dropped off a case of water and some other things. Then we went to the Nike Clearance Store and the Hurley store and bought some great things. Next, we went to Raising Cane’s for lunch, and the food was delicious. Last, we stopped at Krispie Kreme for 2 dozen doughnuts to take back to the condo. The rest of the day was spent watching Basketball and the selection process for the brackets.

3/16
We left for Fortune Rd. Athletic Complex at 10:30. When we got to the fields, parking was almost full. Our game started around 12:15, so we got a soft pretzel right before the game started. I’m glad I brought a small cooler with drinks. We were ahead by the 6th inning when it started to thunder and lightning so at 2:07, the announcer announced for everyone to get off the field. We sat in our car and waited for the all-clear announcement. Around 3:30, we were allowed back in, and the teams completed the last inning. I’m glad we won the game! We left the game and headed to Logan’s Roadhouse for the team dinner. The food was delicious!

3/17
It was cold when we got up this morning! Deanna had to work so we just hung out and relaxed while she worked. Around 4 pm, the workman came to repair the dishwasher and replace a light bulb in the kitchen. Then we went to the St. Patrick’s Day festival at Sunset Walk. It was fun to walk around and see the vendors and street performers. We thought about eating at Ford’s Garage, but it was a 90-minute wait. So, we had dinner at Cracker Barrel. On the way back to the condo, we stopped at Walmart, and it was chaos there. There were so many people who seemed to be in a desperate hurry to get what they wanted and get out. We couldn’t wait to get what we needed so we could leave.

3/18
It was another cold morning. Kaeli had 2 games today. We got to the field around 8:40 and got a great parking place. We sat in the car until around 9:30. The wind was blowing hard during the first game, but we won. Then I had time to get a soft pretzel right before the second game started. We won the second game too. Both games were fun, but the second one was a nail-biter. We stopped at Sam’s Club to fill up on gas when Kaeli asked us to bring her some food because the team wasn’t going to dinner until 5:30. We got Chick-fil-A for her, and then brought our dinner with us. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing.

3/19
We picked up Kael from her team house and went shopping at the Vineland Outlets. Kaeli bought a lot from the Nike Outlet, and then we went to the Under Armour store. On the way back, we picked up Dave’s Hot Chicken for lunch and met Jamison back at the condo. The chicken was really spicy hot! We went back to the condo and met up with Jameson. Then we sat around until Kaeli realized we needed to get dinner before returning her to the team house. We went to Ford’s Garage, but when we were ready to order, the server told us he didn’t think it would be ready in time, so Deanna and Kaeli got their food to go. Deanna drove Kaeli back to the team house, while we had dinner and visited with Jameson. Deanna came back to pick us up.

3/20
Today was Kaeli’s last game, and she won the game. We went back to the condo and met up with Jameson. We went back to the store to exchange Jameson’s shorts that Kaeli bought him for a different size. We stopped at Ford’s Garage again to have a more relaxing meal. In the evening, we watch March Madness basketball games.

3/21
When Deanna went to pick up Kaeli, we packed up our stuff and the car. When they returned, we spent a few hours at the pool, which was nice. Then we all went to Topgolf, where we met other softball players, a mom, and a granddad. It was fun to watch. Then it took forever to get Kaeli back to the team house. We hit a huge traffic jam entering the subdivision where her house was. We got back to our condo and finished packing up the car. Don went to bed early because we planned to get up early.

3/22
We were up at 3 am and left at 3:30 for South Carolina.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Return to Florida

We returned to Florida last week and this is the earliest we have come down for the winter. Last week was unbearably hot and this week, it has finally cooled down. We came down early because of the postcard show and the stamp show.

Since we have been here, we have checked over the house and Don has trimmed the bushes. I have been trying to reset the irrigation system but I may have to call the help line. I can water it manually, but the auto program is not working.

Three of the cats have remembered us and are constantly coming over to visit. Squeaky is getting very old and I am not sure she will last another year. Little Bear, the blind cat, is over here all the time and if I’m on the front porch, she wants inside. Roadrunner surprised us by coming over to visit on her own. Usually, she comes over to visit if our neighbor, Donna comes to visit.

Thank goodness for our Nest thermostat which kept the house pretty comfortable until we arrived.

It feels good to sit on the front porch and knit in the mornings.

One day I went shopping with Donna. We went to Ollies, The Girls, and Western Beef. We had fun and got to visit while shopping. 

This week, we met my cousins Wayne and Lorraine for lunch at Flanigan's. It is our favorite restaurant but it is only in Florida. After lunch, we went to their house to see their new kitchen and floors. The house is amazing!   

Original photos by Pat Hensley

My Father

Three years ago, my father went to heaven on this day. I still miss him. I like to use the anniversary of his death to think about the good memories that I have with my dad. I grew up calling him Papa.

• My earliest memory is of him is taking the family to an animal park in Upstate New York.
• I remember when I was little, I liked to sit in his recliner and watch TV with him.
• During summers, on his day off, every Wednesday, he would go grocery shopping and take me with him.
• On Wednesday afternoons, he would take me to accordion lessons.
• If I was sick or hurt, he always had some Chinese remedy that made me better. I rarely ever went to the doctor.
• He loved to play ping pong.
• He loved to entertain and have parties at our house.
• He would invite the Chinese waiters to our house to visit and play ping pong.
• On the way to the prom, we stopped by to visit my dad at work so he could see me all dressed up.
• He and my mom drove me to college, 800 miles away, in their camper.
• He always wore a suit and tie to work when I was growing up and looked so handsome.
• He drove me to and from high school whenever I didn’t want to ride the bus.
• He cooked us dinner every day except Tuesday when he went to work early.
• He made bookshelves for me when I moved into my first apartment after college.
• He walked me down the aisle at my wedding.
• He made bookshelves for us when we bought our first house.
• He enjoyed gardening and had a green thumb. Everything he grew did well. 
• They would drive up to SC in the summer to visit us.
• He made worm boxes during a visit when I started to do worm composting.
• We took them on cruises with us and they seemed to really enjoy them.
• He would drive us to the port when we were going on cruises without them.
• He liked to play pool and played at our house and the senior center near his home. 
• He loved to play the card game Scat when we would visit.

In Memory Of

August is a hard month for me. It is the month that my oldest sister, Betsy, and my mother died. I want to take this time to remember them and let them know that they will never be forgotten. 

Original photos by Pat Hensley

  

My Sister Betsy

Today is my sister Betsy’s birthday. She was born on December 9, 1947, in Canton, China.

In 1949, my parents and two sisters left China and returned to New York.

When I was born, my sister Betsy was twelve years old.

By the time I entered kindergarten, Betsy was graduating high school and was like a second mother to me.

Soon after she graduated high school, Betsy was diagnosed with Lupus. At the time, doctors didn’t know a lot about lupus, and her life expectancy was not expected to be very long.

In spite of her illness, we had wonderful times together. A lot of the best times of my childhood were spent with her.

In 1967, Betsy and I got on a bus and went to the Expo in Montreal. This was my first trip without my parents, and it was fabulous.

I remember afternoons when it was time for her to get off work, I would walk a mile up to the main road to meet her and she would look for me as she drove home. She would pick me up and I would get to tell her all about my day.

Green was her favorite color and the Christmas song Greensleeves was one of her favorite songs.

In the summer of 1974, she passed away. My best friend was gone. I would always miss her.

Today she would have been 73 years old.

Happy birthday in heaven dear sister!

High-Leverage Practice 3: Collaborate

I am going to discuss High-Leverage Practices as mentioned on the CEC website organized around four aspects of practice. I hope you will join in the conversation!

“HLP3 -  Collaborate with families to support student learning and secure needed services.”

Working with families is an important step to ensuring student success.

I start out the year by contacting all of the families within the first 2 days of school. I introduce myself, share some basics, and give them my contact phone number. If teachers do not want to give their personal phone number, they can always use a Google Voice number or other free online options. This helps open the lines of communication between us.

I also want to impress on the family that their input is important. We need to work as a team in order to help the student and that it is our teamwork that will help the student succeed.

I ask the family what strategies they use at home that might work in the classroom. Having consistent strategies may help the student at school. If I find a strategy that works at school, I let the family know what I’m doing and how it helps the student.

I try to call the family on a regular basis. Usually, during the first quarter, I call every other week. I like to brag about their child, and this is a good time to do this. If I do have a problem, they are usually more receptive and less defensive because I’ve called so often with good news. After the first quarter, I might call once a month if all is going well but if I see the student needing more positive reinforcement, I may call more often.

Sometimes if I think the student needs a positive boost or does something especially successful, I will make a special call to the parent right in front of the student. The students love this, and it helps others work harder for their own special phone call.

How do you collaborate with families? Please share.

Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash

The Fisher House

While we were in Florida helping my dad transition to his placement at the VA Hospice Facility, we were offered a place at The Fisher House. We had never heard of it and cautiously agreed to it because we wanted to be close to my dad.

“A Fisher House is “a home away from home” for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers. The homes are normally located within walking distance of the treatment facility or have transportation available.”

We originally planned on staying at a hotel near my parent’s house which was 30-40 minutes away from where my dad was. This would be really exhausting to go back and forth but because we were within walking distance of my dad, we were able to see him whenever we wanted because the facility had 24-hour visitation. We were able to be with him during most of his meals and in between, we could get him in a wheelchair and take him around the facility.

The house was just like a bed and breakfast inn! Our room was spacious with two beds, a desk, a reclining chair, and a large smart TV. The common rooms were the kitchen, dining room, living room, and laundry room. The kitchen was well stocked with coffee, tea, and a huge variety of food for every meal!

Shelley, the manager of The Fisher House was the perfect hostess for this place. She was so warm and welcoming that we felt instantly like family rather than an outside guest. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer person to make us feel comfortable. Sam, her sidekick, made sure we were well stocked with food. On the Friday before Father’s Day, they threw a dinner for everyone at the house and their family member at the medical facility. The food was delicious! On Saturday, we met Dawn who also worked there cleaning and preparing rooms for incoming guests. She helped me figure out how to use the washer and dryer.

It seemed like at every turn, they were there checking that we had everything we needed.

I’m so grateful for The Fisher House and everyone involved in making our stay so awesome! We were already under a lot of stress dealing with my stepmom’s death and then having to admit my dad here on the same day. Everyone at the VA worked hard to make this transition easier for all of us and it was truly comforting during this traumatic period. It is such a comfort to be able to check on my father whenever we want to and not be exhausted with worrying about traveling to and from the facility. We are able to spend a lot of quality time with him! 

Thanks to the VA and The Fisher House!

If you’ve ever stayed at a Fisher House, please share your experience.

Original Photos by Pat Hensley

My Mother

Today my mother would have been 88 years old. She was born in Jacksonville FL, lived most of her life in NY and died in West Palm Beach, FL in 1989. Her family was from Warm Springs, GA. She was one of seven children.

(Showing are my 2 favorite pictures of our family. I'm the youngest in the family. I was spoiled by everyone especially my two sisters: Betsy and Dotty!)

I remember:

·      She made most of my clothes when I was growing up.

·      She made my wedding dress which I never saw until the day before I got married and it fit perfectly.

·      She loved to knit and after I was married, she made our family matching sweaters for Christmas every year.

·      She was a heavy smoker and smoked Chesterfield Regulars.

·      She hated to drive but kept her license so she could be in the car with us as we learned to drive.

·      She never went to the doctor.

·      She never had a job because our family was her job.

·      She was always home when I got home from school.

·      She loved to read.

·      We gave her a kiss every time we left the house.

·      Her life revolved around our family.

·      She was a good mother and I always knew she loved me.

Even after all these years, I still miss her.

Tribute to My Sister

My sister, Betsy, was born December 9, 1947. She was my parent’s oldest child and was born in Canton, China. When she was almost 2 years old, my parents brought her and my middle sister back to the United States where my mother was born and raised. She grew up in New York and when she was about 14 years old, my parents moved all three of us girls to Long Island.

When my sister graduated high school, she was diagnosed with Lupus Erythematosis. She was pretty sick and since this was an unknown disease, her prognosis was not very good. But she was so brave and refused to give up on life. I spent a lot of time with her even though she was 12 years older than I was and we were very close. When I was 14, she passed away in 1974 at the age of 26.

Even though it was so long ago, there are times that I still miss her. Today would have been her 68^th birthday!

Trip to New York 2014

Last week we spent time on Long Island, NY with my family. I was amazed how different the area looks like and then I realized that even though I spent my first 17 years here, I’ve been in South Carolina for 38!

It was a lot of fun going to my niece’s daughter’s soccer game over the weekend. I’m amazed how skilled the 10 to 12 year old girls were! It was also hotter than usual for New York so the humidity felt a lot like home!

Day 1 Pictures

Day 2 Pictures

Monday:

NYC 2014 Day 1 Pictures

1. Parked near the Babylon train station (.25 for each hour so we put 15 quarters in the meter) while we took the train into New York City. It is so much fun to just people watch while we wander around the city. My husband loves to ride the trains and the subway! There are so many people in one area that we aren’t used to it!

2. Staten Island Ferry was free. We had great views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

3. Chinatown – saw where my mother grew up. Ate dim sum at Hop Shing (9 Chatham Square). Lunch cost $11 plus $2 tip. Saw a Chinese funeral. Walked through the park where a lot of elderly Chinese people were playing cards and some kind of board game.

4. Union Square – went to Lion Brand Yarn Studio

5. Times Square – stopped at Hard Rock Café (clean bathrooms). McDonalds had large teas for $1.

6. Broadway – found the August Wilson theater (Wed. Jersey Boys tickets). Stopped outside the Late Show with David Letterman. Henrik Lundquvist (goalie for the NY Rangers showed up!). Met Fernando (doorman of the Broadway Theater) who invited us in and gave us a tour of the theater which was playing Cinderella. He showed us the set and the costumes.

7. Radio City Music Hall

8. Rockefeller Center

Tuesday:

NYC 2014 Day 2 Pictures

We started the day off by going to Brooklyn to the NY Transit Museum. Then we went to Grand Central Terminal which is still beautiful. After that we went to Chinatown again for lunch. After lunch we went to Wall St. and Federal Hall where George Washington took his oath as our first President.

Wednesday:

NYC 2014 Day 3 Pictures

We had an awesome day in the city yesterday. We walked along the High Line park which was free. It was a park on an old elevated train track. Then we walked around the city until lunch time. We had lunch at Carnegie Deli where I had a pastrami sandwich which was so huge and cost $18! After lunch we went to see the Jersey Boys and it was fabulous! Even my hubby liked it and he usually doesn’t like musicals.

Thursday:

We spent the morning looking for an air pump because I left ours at home by mistake. This took all morning because my husband refused to buy one from the company called Slime. We ended up at Lowes and buying a Kobalt one. Then we met my sister and brother in law for lunch at TGI Fridays. In the afternoon we repacked our suitcases and then packed the car.

Things I Learned:

1. Youth League soccer games are fun to watch.

2. Allow people to get off the subway before getting on.

3. Reading train schedules can be daunting but eventually figured out.

4. Mondays are black Mondays on Broadway where most theaters do not have any shows playing.

5. Henrik Lundquvist will end up in the Hockey hall of fame

6. After walking 10 miles, my feet hurt!

7. The NY Transit Museum was worth seeing.

8. I’m glad we went to The High Line which was better than we expected.

9. Theodore Roosevelt was born in Manhattan in NY.

10. If you want to buy something at the store of a Broadway show, it is better to go after the show than during the intermission.

Oscar Winners In My Life

In And the Oscar Goes To…(Part 2) from Learning is Growing, Kathy Perret asks,

“Who has changed your world this year? Who deserves your ‘Oscar’?”

I had to think for a long time about who would win these Oscars. These are people who have impacted my life this year and made a difference in my life.

Best Actress in a Leading Role: My next door neighbor Fran deserves this award. She has battled cancer like a warrior this year. No matter how bad this disease knocks her down, she comes up fighting with a smile and positive attitude. Her faith in God and his purpose for her in this world is amazing and truly inspiring.

Best Actress in a Supporting  Role: My sister deserves this award! I remember growing up thinking she could do everything she set her mind to do and she could do it perfectly. I was always intimidated because I knew I could never do anything near as perfect as her. Now that I’m an adult, I see our relationship so differently. When I took up knitting, she was there to help me see why I was having difficulty learning (I was trying to learn English style when my mother had taught me continental style when I was a child. Apparently muscle memory was still there!) and she is always encouraging me when I try something new. She celebrates with me when I finish a knitting project.

Best Actor in a Leading Role: My husband definitely deserves this award! He is always there for me and no matter what, I know I can depend on his support for anything I really want to do in my life. He makes me feel like I can accomplish anything. He always makes me feel beautiful no matter how old I am getting!

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:  My father gets this award. He will turn 95 years old this year and truly an inspiration for my life. He doesn’t seem to believe in the words “I can’t.” If he wants something done, he knows how to do or to find someone who can. He is constantly in motion whether it is gardening, maintaining his home, playing pool at the senior center, or playing the slot machines at the casino. Everyone who knows him can’t believe his actual chronological age because of how active he is. He truly models the saying, “You are only as old as you feel!”

Best Picture: The best picture goes to last Labor Day when we went to Myrtle Beach to meet up with my niece, her husband Mike, her youngest daughter, and her oldest daughter and husband. It had been years since we all were together and we had a magical time together. Who would have known that three months later we would lose Mike suddenly? I’m so thankful that we took the time to meet up with them. This showed me that life is too short not to make sure that your loved ones know how much they mean to you.

So now I ask you, who in your life deserve Oscars? Please share.

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Who Taught Me?

In Prompt #3: The Writing on Learning Exchange: Who Taught You by Siobhan Curious, she asks,

“This week’s prompt: Who have you learned from?  What did he/she teach you?”

I guess I’m in another weird situation because not one person taught me the main things but several people have taught me many important things about life. Some are no longer living, some are, and some I have no idea where they are. So, let’s begin!

My professional life:

I had a wonderful third grade teacher who made me love school more than I ever thought I could. She challenged me and praised me every day. Learning was fun and doing well was even better. I wasn’t expected to be perfect but I was expected to do my best. Reading was the best part of her class and it was encouraged every free moment we had. I never wanted to leave her class. I knew that I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up and wanted to be just like her!

My fourth grade teacher was a nightmare I will never forget. She was a perfectionist and physically abused students when they gave a wrong answer. She would pull them out of their desks and bang their heads against the cinder block walls. Then we were threatened that if we ever told on her, she would get us next. I had the beginning of an ulcer that year and it was the first time I ever went to the doctor. Needless to say, I was a straight A student and did not make mistakes so I was never abused but the threat was still there. I didn’t realize until a year or two later that she had been engaged, married, abused by her husband (which is why she wore sunglasses to class), and was divorced in that one year I was in her class. In fact, she had such an impact on me that I never told my family about her abuse until I was married and out of college. Even though she was awful, she taught me a lot. She taught me that I never wanted to be a teacher like her. I never wanted my students to be afraid of making mistakes. I never wanted my students to be afraid of telling their parents about school. This was a teacher that I never wanted to be and used her example to review my teaching practices at the end of every school year of my career.

My personal life:

My parents: My parents worked hard raising three daughters. My mother was a stay at home mom and my father worked in a restaurant. I don’t believe he had any sort of pension plan or health insurance. I learned to stay healthy and take care of myself and was given home remedies if I was sick. I loved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and had it for lunch every day of my school career and give it a lot of credit for my good health which also resulted in perfect attendance. My mother made all of clothes for school and my father spent a lot of time with me on his one day off from work. We had dinner together as a family every day even if it meant that we ate dinner as soon as I got home from school because my father left for work soon after that. I’m not sure I ever told my mother how much I appreciated her when she died at the age of 59 but as I get older, I feel like I can see more and more the many sacrifices she made for me. I realize now that she did without so many things so that I could have so many things. My father is still going strong at the age of 93 and I work hard to let him know how much I appreciate all that he taught me such as having a strong work ethic is very important and that family is important too.

My oldest sister: She taught me to enjoy life because you never know how long you will live. She was diagnosed with lupus when she was about 18 and since they didn’t know much about it, she wasn’t given long to live. She lived for 9 more years and didn’t die until she was 27 years old (I was 15 at that time). She appreciated every day she was still alive and even though I was so much younger than her, we were very close and I learned to appreciate life with her. I learned that I couldn’t worry about the “what ifs” and I need to live in the “here now” or I would miss out on many wonderful things.

My husband: He has taught me to start every day with the right attitude. No matter how I am feeling, I need to be thankful for each day and be happy that I’m alive. In fact, he actually says that out loud every day. He gives me a kiss good morning every day and lets me know how much he loves me. I learned how much this can mean to someone because I know how much it means to me. I learned to appreciate being alive and being thankful for the people in my life!

So, now I ask you, who taught you and what have you learned?

Photo by one of my family members but I’m not sure who.

Fun Family Time

I had to share some pictures of my Christmas. I’m so thankful that we are able to be together with my parents during this time. My father is 93 and my stepmom is 88 and both are spry as ever! My father gave me a few cooking lessons during our visit.

 

Original photos by Pat Hensley