#SOL17: Thanks!!!
Every day is a day to cherish and give thanks!
Thanks for the guidance
And for NOT saying, “I told you so!”
Thanks for being there . . .
When I had questions
Thanks for modeling grace
In times of trouble
Thanks for listening
To what I didn’t say as well as the words.
Thanks for loving books
And allowing me to bury my nose in books.
When this arises . . .
I wonder . . .
What would Mom say or do?
Sometimes I don’t listen so well to that inner voice
And I think there might be a different, better way
But often I find that
Mom was right.
Each sunrise brings me joy, thanks to you.
Each time we talk is joyful, thanks to you.
Degrees I have four, thanks to you,
I can be brave, thanks to your example.
Every breath I take, I give thanks to you.
This week, I wish you joy, love and peace!
This day was meant for YOU!
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Lanny, Lisa, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here. 
Just found this AGAIN. Here’s my “placeholder” . . . real moms!
#SOL16: ROME!
Where does writing inspiration come from? Today it came from this quote in my inbox from my sister via the priest leading our trip to Rome at the end of August for the canonization of Mother Teresa. To learn more about Mother Teresa, you can check out this link.
What does this quote mean to you?
If you are reading closely you do notice the difference between the bold words and the italics. I have a couple weeks YET to learn more about Mother Teresa before joining about two million friends at the Vatican for the celebration!
What should we plan to see besides our tours?
My research is starting with these top 10 FREE things to do and see in Rome. I’m not buying a book – a real paper book at this stage. I’m sure that I will download something about Vatican City and the churches in Rome. Our guides will be amazing but I also like to have some background information to fully appreciate the historical significance!
And in the meantime,
it’s back to packing
for a trip to Rome
with:
Mom,
Two younger brothers,
One younger sister,
An aunt and uncle (Mom’s brother!)
A trip of a lifetime!
Thanks, Mom!
As she returns for her second visit, five years later!
What family travel story do you have? (or will you have)?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Lisa, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
Celebrate: Mother’s Day
Happy Mother’s Day!
In this post for Mom’s birthday two years ago, I promised to write my own poem for the next special ocasion. What on earth was I thinking? Not thinking . . . promising! Silly me!
Research!!!
I found 30 poems here. And some stories here. And numerous ways/languages to say “Mother”are below.
How will you honor your mother?
I love the idea of Mom-isms. And these online here are precious.
What is Momism?
As a kid and even during our growing up years, we receive some sound scolding from our mothers time and again. These sharp comments and directives raise our indignation and irritation and we love to dismiss them as “unnecessary criticism” or “momism”. But the fact is, we would not have mended many of our wrongdoings and grown up to be socially amiable without many of these timely utterances from our mothers. Amusingly, most of us grow up to mouth the same sayings of our mothers when we find ourselves in her shoes. This mother’s Day, let us take a look at some well known “momisms”. With little variations, these phrases have been repeated again and again by mothers around the world, irrespective of race, caste, social standing and religion. You may even find some of your own mom’s sayings here. Enjoy this article and have a great reading time.
- What if everyone jumped off a cliff? Would you do it, too?
- If I talked to my mother like you talk to me….
- If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.
- “If you see a penny pick it up, put it in your drawer and it will grow”.
- “Peel one potato per person, and one for the pot”.
- “What goes around comes around.”
- What’s meant to be, is meant to be.
- I’ve got eyes in the back of my head, that’s how!
- You tell that bully to cut it out or you’ll tell the teacher…
- You have enough dirt behind those ears to grow potatoes!
- Honestly… You’d lose your head if it wasn’t screwed on!
- Who’ll end up walking, bathing and feeding it…?
- Get that thing out of your mouth!
- You’ll understand when you have kids of your own.
- I hope that when you grow up, you have kids “Just Like you”!
- I’ve told you a thousand times not to do so.
- If you hurt yourself, don’t come running to me.
- Work hard! You were not born with a silver spoon in your mouth.
- Close that door! Were you born in a barn?
- It doesn’t matter what you accomplish, I’ll always be proud of you.
Read more at http://www.theholidayspot.com/mothersday/momism.htm#xG0BccMWZq8swTtt.99
And my wandering took me to one of my favorite all time videos that I often use to humorously talk about rate, enunciating clearly and prosody. A total of 2 minutes and 55 seconds of Anita Renfroe’s “The Mom Song”.
I recognize several statements in that video that I used more than once as a “mom”, “aunt” and “teacher”. I don’t recognize as many that my mom used. Maybe it was because there were MANY of us. Or maybe my memory just didn’t retain those ideas!
Dear Mom,
On this Mother’s Day Eve,
Thank you for sharing your love of books.
Because of you I’m an eclectic and voracious reader.
Thank you for sharing your love of cooking.
Because of you I’m an intrepid experimenter in the kitchen.
Thank you for sharing your love of people – you know no strangers.
Because of you I can often find other Iowans and family members as I travel.
Thank you for never saying, “I told you so” and always being supportive.
Because of you I’ve learned that life is not always a bed of roses but pretty blooms do have some thorns.
Thank you for teaching me that doing the right thing is more important than being right.
Because of you I’ve learned that the hard times are great learning times because words and actions do matter.
Thank you for your love and attention
Because of you I’m the person that I was clearly meant to be!
Happy Mother’s Day!
Love,
Fran
Thank you, Ruth, for this call to celebrate. 
#SOL14 – Gratitude
How do you define success and happiness?
Two great posts recently include this from Kate and Maggie and this from Anna Gratz Cockerille.
As a “Slicer”. . .
I want to express my gratitude to the Two Writing Teacher blog and bloggers. After meeting and hearing from five of them at #NCTE14, I am even more impressed with their prolific blogging, slicing, and “regular working lives”. As with everyone, there is the need to be cautious and not burn oneself out in an attempt to do EVERYTHING! I am very grateful for this supportive space to read, write and reflect!
As a “Blogger” . . .
I want to express my gratitude to all those who follow my blog, read my posts, and especially for those who comment. I really appreciate knowing which ideas or words captured your thinking as you read my blog posts. We are all busy so I am very grateful for the extra time that you take to not only read but also to stop and comment!
As a “Tweeter” . . .
I want to express my gratitude to my followers who RT and / or “favorite” my Tweets. Special thanks to those who don’t moan on nights when the Twitter feed fills up during a # #T4Tchat or #TWTchat or a #TCRWP chat. I love learning online and I am so grateful for the brilliant ideas shared!
As a “Reader of Professional Texts” . . .
I want to express my gratitude to the authors (their families), editors and publishers of these great books that were a part of my professional development during 2013-2014. Even more importantly, I thank those who participated in the book chats and freely shared their thoughts and ideas. I am amazed at the new things I learn every day as I read and reread these books, and I am grateful for having met these fabulous authors! (And I am so fortunate that I can “wear” evidence of my PD in the form of an autographed t-shirt!)
As a “Fra-mily” . . .
I want to express my gratitude to those of you who may also be in all the categories above but who have become a part of my friends + family as a result of our personal face-to-face connections (often over a beverage or dinner), Twitter chats, blogs and Slices. You range from Arizona, California, Washington, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland to Virginia, Georgia, and Louisiana. It is an honor and a pleasure to “KNOW” you and I am grateful for the time spent with you sharing online, face-to-face, personally and professionally.
As a member of our “Literacy Team” . . .
I want to express my gratitude for those of you who are part of my regular work team. Together we are better! Sharing resources, information and learning helps us all grow. A growth mindset allows us to be continually improving our own skills. I am grateful for our collaborative nature.
As a “Sister” . . .
I want to express my gratitude to my siblings. It’s been years since we have been under one roof for extended periods of time, but each family event provides many opportunities to share our hopes and dreams. Sometimes we even reminisce about the past and we are at that stage where our memories may have faded but our enthusiasm remains. I am grateful for our time together.
As a “Daughter” . . .
I want to express my gratitude to my parents. Miss you, Dad, but think of you daily with so much love as I continue to appreciate all that I learned from you. Mom, I’ll never master crocheting and quilting, but I love your work and still share hearts as I travel. I especially appreciate your love and support across the years and the miles.
As a “Mom” and soon-t0-be Grandma . . .
I want to express my gratitude to you my readers who have graciously allowed me to share my stories. I am proud of my growing family and can’t wait to share their brilliance with you!
I wish you all a happy, healthy, joyous, and fun-filled holiday season!
What’s your plan for sharing your gratitude?
Tuesday is the day to share a “Slice of Life” with Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here. Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to work collaboratively.
#SOL14: Family Weekend FUN!
Tuesday is the day to share a “Slice of Life” with Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here. Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to work collaboratively.
It was a huge family weekend. My youngest brother, the baby in the family, graduated summa cum laude with his BS in Business Friday night with Mom plus three siblings in attendance. We had a fabulous pre-party with food galore: veggie and fruit pizzas, veggies and dip, sandwiches, cupcakes, pies, sweet potato cake, and a wee bit of Uncle Leo’s homemade wine. Here’s a collection of photos from the festivities!
Everyone had read last week’s slice (Mom’s birthday post) except Mom so she read that later in the evening. She wondered why I had left out the “riding the bull” picture. That led me to wondering about the “Kiss the Blarney Stone” picture. Darn, again. . . . all on an external hard drive at home – not where I am currently located. I discovered this picture of orchids that Mom drew in a class on her Mediterranean cruise and decided to share it. She has so much artistic talent!
Saturday was a fabulously great family day with our departure from Ankeny at 6:15 am for the Iowa Homecoming festivities. Drumline, Alumni Band, Hawkeye Marching Band – what a treat to see and hear so much great entertainment! And the “FUN that was had by all! You truly can see just about anything and everything at a collegiate football game. It was my sister’s first game sitting as a spectator in historic Kinnick Stadium, as well as niece Courtney’s first Hawkeye football game so the high-scoring first quarter and ultimate win were greatly appreciated!
Simple things like late lunch after the game, picking up Grandma and heading on to the next adventure occupied Saturday evening. We watched nephew Josh’s high school band perform at marching contest at Muscatine. What a pleasure to see and hear the pageantry that accompanies high school marching bands. However, it was a bit nippy and the blankets to sit on and wrap up in were both greatly appreciated.
The big excitement from the weekend was skyping with my kids Friday afternoon. It was so totally an “A-Marek-N” conversation with many people talking simultaneously and lots of laughter. The seriousness was in this message!
And this one . . .
So my final words for this weekend (courtesy of a vendor on Melrose Avenue), and I’m sticking to it . . .
SOL14: Happy Birthday, Mom!
Tuesday is the day to share a “Slice of Life” with Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here. Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to work collaboratively.
Today is my mom’s birthday. I searched for the perfect photo. I found several and then I couldn’t make up my mind.
Mom and Dad’s Wedding Day
25th Anniversary
45th Anniversary and the Grandchildren (My son Evan is the baby in Mom’s hands!)
I searched my memory for the perfect story. I couldn’t make up my mind about which story to tell. My mom has many talents. She has been/is:
- mom, grandmother, great grandmother
- aunt, godmother, friend, confidante, citizen of the world
- caterer, kolache baker, champion of the underdog, crocheted heart maker
- cook, salad maker, bus driver, cake maker and decorator, Volunteer Soybean Spokesperson, sewer, quilter
- support driver for RAGBRAI, concert attendee, Hawkeye Bowl Game attendee
- mother of a nurse, farmer, teacher, doctor, hotel data management, soldier
- a reader
- a writer
So I continued my search for the perfect tribute; I found this poem that I really like! I’ll work on my own for the next special event.
Her Hands
by Maggie Pittman
Her hands held me gently from the day I took my first breath.
Her hands helped to guide me as I took my first step.
Her hands held me close when the tears would start to fall.
Her hands were quick to show me that she would take care of it all.
Her hands were there to brush my hair, or straighten a wayward bow.
Her hands were often there to comfort the hurts that didn’t always show.
Her hands helped hold the stars in place, and encouraged me to reach.
Her hands would clap and cheer and praise when I captured them at length.
Her hands would also push me, though not down or in harm’s way.
Her hands would punctuate the words, just do what I say.
Her hands sometimes had to discipline, to help bend this young tree.
Her hands would shape and mold me into all she knew I could be.
Her hands are now twisting with age and years of work,
Her hand now needs my gentle touch to rub away the hurt.
Her hands are more beautiful than anything can be.
Her hands are the reason I am me.
Source: http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/her-hands#ixzz3FUvCHmH1
Family Friend Poems
Memorable? Memories?
With a President – to – be?
In Rome?
Memories of my mom . . . Happy Birthday, with LOVE! ❤
Resource - Full 