Story A Day

For those of you with average size hands I have a reality-check for you   Those of us with small hands experience bias in this society.  How, you ask?  Well, mostly in the realm of food consumption.  Today is the perfect example.  I got home from work feeling hungry, ready for a nice snack.  I thought – salsa!  I just bought some great new salsa from Target that I was excited to try.  I took it from the fridge and tried to open it.  I couldn’t get it.  So, I tried using the little rubber-gripper thingy to hold under my hand, to get a better grip – still couldn’t get it.  I tried running it under warm water, a trick I once learned – couldn’t get it.  I tried to bang around the edges with a butter knife, another trick I once learned – still couldn’t get it.  FINALLY, after going through all of those things the lid moved.  The problem?  The force I had to use to get it to move caused the jar to slip out of my hand and go crashing to the floor.  There sat a pile of salsa and broken glass.Hmmmm…  Not only could I not have my snack but I wondered why a manufacturer needs to tighten a jar so much that I practically need the jaws of life to get it open!  And, for those with small hands, this is a common problem.    I have the same issue with grape juice bottles.  They tighten the plastic “safety” caps so tight, and they try to provide a “grip” with the ridges on the lid.  But then I have to hold it so hard that those “gripper ridges” nearly tear the skin off my hands!  Such struggles, I know.  Life is rough.  Well, not really, but it is a minor annoyance.  And so, I sit here eating boring crackers instead of yummy salsa just because of the incompatible nature of small hands and tight lids.  Oh well. 

Today’s entry will be a bit interactive We did not have kids at work today so we spent time working on some new curriculum. Part of my job was to go outside and take photos of a variety of objects for a scavenger hunt. As I meandered the trails I ALMOST stepped right on top of a “frozen toad”. He wasn’t totally frozen, but the temperature was about 50 or so and it had just finished raining. A bit frigid for a little cold-blooded creature. He couldn’t move, even if he wanted to. So, here is picture number 1 – can you find the toad?

If you found it – good job! If not, check out the center of the photo, just above a cluster of acorn caps. Now can you find it? Well, here is a closer look at this toad’s impeccable camouflage…

The good news for the toad is that the sun came out a few minutes later and must have warmed him enough for at least a few more hops. He was no longer on the trail when I came back about 20 minutes later. Hopefully he gets to a warm, hibernation spot soon!

…a squirrel stretch before.  Not until today.  Today, I saw gray butt (remember him from a few blogs ago?) stretching in the tree.  When I got home today my brain felt full and wired after an energetic day with third graders.  So, I figured sitting in the adirondack chair and watching the leaves fall would help quiet my mind   As I sat I spotted my two camoflauged friends hunkered down in the tree as it waved about in the gusty wind.  One was curled in a ball with his tail over himself, and the other was incessantly scratching (hmmm, got a mite problem gray butt?).  The curled up one stayed in his spot for the entire time I sat, about 30 minutes.  The other, after about 15 minutes stopped scratching, hopped down a few branches and stretched toward brown butt (well, it may have been brown butt, he was hard to identify all curled up).  No reponse.  So gray butt scurried past him quickly then looked back.  No response.  Then, with his hind quarters wedged in the crook of the tree he stretched his to front legs straight out into the air, held it for a few seconds then grabbed the tree again.  Did that squirrel just stretch, I asked myself?  I mean it makes sense – dogs stretch, cats stretch, other animals stretch.  I guess I had just never seen a squirrel stretch - especially while essentially hanging upside down!  Intriguing.  As the squirrel stretched the tree blew and the leaves fell.  The leaves are increasing in number on the lawn but still not rake-worthy yet.  Just wait, another week or two…

I believe there is a choice to be made each day when we step out the door into the world.  What will we focus on – passion or politics?  And I don’t mean “politics” in the election/candidate sense.  I mean the daily “politics” that we all encounter in our workplaces, at community establishments like banks, insurance companies, etc.  The bull that we all, frankly, get pretty sick of now and then.  But therein lies the question – what will we spend our energy on – the passion or the politics?  In my grad school class tonight we were discussing the challenges of youth work, the burn out rate, etc.  And I asked myself – what makes me think that I will continue to thrive in this industry?  And that’s when it came to me – keeping a primary focus on the passion and demoting politics to the inferior position.  Sure, it’s something we can’t avoid, something we have to deal with in some effective manner.  But at the end of the day what will I remember – The annoying conversation about work politics?  Or the smile on a kid’s face when they discovered something new?  And it’s not just at work for me.  What will I remember at the bank – the long line I had to stand in and the cranky person in front of me, or the person who held the door for and exchanged a smile with the next person coming in.  My answer to these questions will determine my success and personal satisfaction.  I believe in passion, in the large and small occurrences of this daily phenomenon – passion in a smile, passion in work done well, passion in helping others, etc.  Not only do I believe in the experience of passion in daily life, but also in the value of reflecting on that passion and giving IT, rather than the politics, the larger share of mental space.  That’s my spiel for the day

The sun is shining and the sky is clear blue today.  And the temperature is pretty much perfect, probably in the 60’s.  This is an achievement for us after a week of pretty much no sun and lots of cold rain.  So, I got out to enjoy it  A walk around the lake and then some time spent lounging in the adirondack chair in the yard.  The cheap entertainment?  The yard squirrels.  It’s amazing to me how amused I can be by such simplicity, but I spent at least twenty minutes today with my eyes glued to the squirrel I named “gray butt” - Why?  Well he (maybe she?) has a gray butt, of course, one that distiniguished him from the one running around the yard with a brown butt.  Gray butt got chased a lot by brown butt.  I suppose it’s probably territorial issues rather than mating interest since it’s a bit late in the season for that.  Nonetheless, these critters spent quite some time covering every inch of my yard in the most peculiar way.  Gray butt liked to “swim” through the leaves that have fallen from the ash tree.  He would lead with his head diving under each leaf clump, pushing under it then flipping it out of the way with his head.  Odd and quite funny to watch.  He didn’t seem to be finding much of anything under the leaves.  Only once did I see him pick anything up, munch for a moment, and then put it back down as if it didn’t taste good enough.  I was amused.  And of course his “swimming” was interrupted every now and then by a pursuit from brown butt, a subsequent chase around my yard and a few other yards, then an eventual return to the task at had.  During the chases I was intrigued by the fact that brown butt could never catch gray butt and one of gray butt’s tactics was to run straight for a tree then catapult himself off the side of it in a prompt change of direction.  Kept brown butt guessing that’s for sure   So, like I said - cheap entertainment on a beautiful day   Until tomorrow…

The Three R’s of today.  Pretty much sums it up.  Spent much of the day cleaning/reorganizing.  And the highlight was getting a new refrigerator.  For those of you who might not know the story of the old one – the prior owners must have enjoyed taking out their aggression on the refrigerator because it lacked all of its accessories – door bars, drawers, etc.  Odd, very odd.  And lately, after many years of abuse, I suppose, it started to make some odd noises.  We decided to do a preemptive replacement rather than waiting for it to truly die resulting in many dollars worth of food spoiling.  Today was the big day…though Sears dampened the excitement a bit for me by being an hour and a half past their “delivery window”.  Such is life.  At least I didn’t have the problem of the earlier client that caused their tardiness – the refrigerator fit through our door just fine   So, we have a glowing new refrigerator and a slightly more organized house.  That’s a pretty okay day I’d say.  And the rain – just made it that much easier to get the indoor projects done.  Now, we’ll just hope that he bucket in the attic, collecting the water from our leaky roof, doesn’t tip over in the night.  I’ll keep you in suspense on that one for a few days - homeownership adventures continue!!

I have never been a dedicated TV watcher.  There are few shows that are engaging enough to encourage me to arrange my schedule around them.  I don’t have a TiVo (sp?) nor a working VCR, or a DVR.  Primitive, yes, especially for someone as techy as me   But mostly I don’t have those things because few shows ever really kept my attention all that much.  Well, today was a groundbreaking day – for the first time in my life I wrote it down on my calendar – “TV 7:00″.  Crazy.  I made a date with TV.  Well, actually I made a date with Tim to watch TV together starting at 7:00.  Why?  Well, we got a bit addicted to a few shows last season – My Name is Earl & The Office are two of Tim’s favorites and I have come to appreciate them too for the ridiculous humor that they add to my day.  Grey’s Anatomy is our other favorite.  I think we enjoy the drama mixed with meaningful, insightful narrative.  And it just so happens that all three of these shows are now a Thursday night line-up – hence, the “TV 7:00″ in the calendar.  Now, I am not quite so addicted that I will be able to watch every week.  Next week, for example, I will have to miss them for a meeting.  But Tim has promised to share the storylines in detail  I’m not addicted enough to bother with taping it.  But it is certainly a fun downtime thing to look forward to.  And we might have just added a fourth to our list for Thursday nights – 6 degrees, the new show on after Grey’s Anatomy.  It reminds me a little bit of the movie “Crash” not in the sense that it raises issues with race and stereotypes, but rather, the way in which it shows the intertwined nature of all of our lives.  Kind of cool.  Anyway, that’s my two cents for today.

Not a dangerous close call, just a potentially season-ending one.  Huh?  I know that’s what you’re thinking.  Well, today I looked out the kitchen window and THOUGHT I saw the first Junco of the season!  AAAAGGGHHH!!  Naturalist note for the day:  A Dark-Eyed Junco, picture here, is a bird that migrates TO Minnesota for the winter.  Now that is a crazy bird if you ask me.  Why not log a few more miles and make the winter easier in a warmer place!  But, no, the Juncos come to Minnesota for the winter.  Why?  Well, we have more food in the winter than Canada, of course!  So, as I was saying, I THOUGHT I saw the first Junco of the season today.  The arrival of the Juncos is one of the tell-tale signs that frigid days are near, so I wasn’t too excited about that.  BUT, the good news is, it was just an LBB (little-brown bird) positioned at just the right angle that it hid the brown speckles on its chest and the sun angle made it look darker.  PHEW!  I thanked that bird when it turned at an angle that assured me that it was NOT a Junco.  I like Juncos in fact, I just don’t want them to arrive QUITE yet.  Be on the lookout though, they are sure to arrive soon!  They are often found pecking on the ground for food.  I’ll let you all know when I see the first one for real!!

For the outdoor educator, fall has officially arrived.  The last couple of days have involved four layers of clothing – the shirt, the fleece, the jacket, and the rain jacket.  Oh, and I forgot the stocking cap!  Yes, I have had to wear a hat at work the last couple of days!  You know it’s Minnesota when you spend the weekend roasting in the yard in the hot sun and then spend the week wearing four layers and a stocking cap   And, I musn’t forget the rituals in the house - the kitchen floor is back to feeling like tiles of ice cubes – here come the slippers!  And the down comforter has been put back on the bed.  Tim and I laughed tonight when we contemplated turning on the furnace then discovered that in the winter we keep it set to 62 at night, and it is only 64 as of right now.  Hmmmm, guess it’s all relative right.  I notice this about myself.  This time of year 50 feels VERY cold but in the spring I am ready to wear t-shirts at 50 degrees.  So, time for the winter adjustment to begin!!  I love fall though, I think I’ve decided it is my favorite season.  Everything feels a bit more cozy.  And for those of you who might be reminiscing back to the leaf-pile jumping days of childhood – you are welcome to stop by, in probably about 2-3 weeks.  That’s when our two giant green ash trees will most likely drop their leaves and there will be PLENTY to go around.  Tim and I are sure to spend MANY hours raking and bagging leaves.  We usually try to have fun with it.  We’ll hope the leaves stay on for a FEW more weeks at least.  Stay warm everyone!

I thought I was going to tell a story today about my little scientists at work, I had a group of eight fifth grader girls that were just awesome today, I had SO much fun with them.  But tonight brought another story, one unlike another I’ve shared before, so I figured I could go with that one instead.  So, here it is..The last few days I have been barely warding off a migraine headache that originates in the back of my neck and creeps up the back of my head.  I am fully aware that these migraines result from neck tension and slightly out of place upper vertebrate, vertebrate that seem to be confused about how to behave ever since a car accident a couple years ago   So, anyway, in my final bid to ward off this migraine before giving up and going to the chiropractor I decided to do a “Back Care” yoga video.  About halfway through I was sitting in a resting pose and it felt like my neck just wanted to move, on its own chosen path.  So, I just let it move and turn and twist where it wanted to, sounds weird but it really did (no I am not possessed), and after about 30 seconds of this – POP.  One of my upper vertebrate moved.  My neck felt better than it had in days.  It actually felt like it was arranged the way it was supposed to be.  Yoga has always helped me with this stuff before, but I have never before achieved the “POP” when I was having an acute problem, before tonight.  This is cool.  Just goes to show the power of letting one’s body reach a state of inner awareness and deep relaxation.  At least that’s my personal opinion.  I’m a fan.  So, renewed commitment to the daily yoga routine.