Work ethic

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Stained Glass Chapel Windows Prompt My Blog Return After A Stroke.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I have missed writing my blog these last few months. Yes…beautiful stained glass windows gave me the impetus that I needed to begin writing again. After my very surprising, yet fairly mild stroke last August, I struggled with maintaining concentration. To write for a few hours seemed to be a formidable task. I felt different. I found it to be quite impossible to be my lighthearted self again. I was frightened about such a serious occurrence entering my life. I am really not back to totally finding my old self, but I have had small glimpses of her.

I was reminded recently of the beautiful stained glass windows in a chapel at the college where I attended graduate school. I would often sit by myself in the small chapel…quietly thinking about the quotes etched on the stained glass windows. Oh my…the subtle solitude of meditation in a chapel gave me the confidence to face the challenges of teaching elementary school and taking graduate classes at the same time. The 45 minute drive to and from the campus was certainly not a fun endeavor. I needed that quiet chapel time.

I started thinking that perhaps I needed the chapel again. In fact, I yearned for the chapel. I yearned for the calming answers to my fearful existence. I planned a return…a triumphant return to a very much loved chapel and an attempt to return to the person I was before last August.

 

chapel in the woods

Pictured above…The Little Chapel in the Woods…

Texas Woman’s University, Denton TX.

As I entered the chapel, I felt the calm peacefulness emanating from every direction. I always feel this way when I enter this personally sacred place. Is it the beautiful trees surrounding the building? Is it the history of the chapel? Is it the beauty of the much honored architecture?

 

chapel wedding

 

Perhaps the honest reason is that I have poured my heart into my every thought and my every prayer in this chapel. I can feel the absolute presence of someone much larger than myself within these walls. I’ve found answers in this chapel on every visit.

 

chapel fivechapel four

chapel seven

The messages on the beautiful stained glass windows speak deeply to me. When I need to find myself again…I read the words over and over again.

 

My most treasured window includes these important words from Marie Curie:

 marie-curie-quote-two

There is the answer that I need…once again. I need perseverance and I need confidence. We must believe. The quote says so much to each of us.

 

rose-window

What I learned from my chapel visit…

  • I’ve missed the challenge of choosing interesting (sometimes!), yet heartfelt (always!) posts.

  • I’ve missed looking for the prompt each morning…and thinking “what in the world do I know about this?”

  •  I’ve missed the joy of coming up with something to write about that I have experienced or something that I hope to experience.

  • Most of all…I have missed all of you. I need to know what is happening in your part of the world. I need to know what new something you have learned. I need to know about your joys and triumphs as well as your struggles and challenges. I simply need to know how you are doing! Just because I truly admire you…my writer friends from around the world!

  • ***a link to my earlier post about the Little Chapel in the Woods… https://kindergartenknowledge.com/2017/02/21/little-chapel-in-the-woods-serenity/

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Can We Just Think About Being Winsome In The Springtime?

winsome seven

Last year was constantly serious to me. Politics. World Diplomacy. Economics. Education. Terrorism. Hunger. Climate. Animal Rights. Immigration. Isolation. Fear. Threats. Bi-Partisan Absence. Harassment. Distrust. Argue. More Arguments. The Most Arguments.

Important issues bombard us each day. It is sometimes difficult to leave for our daily responsibilities without a heavy heart. Without a new worry. Without a sudden need to talk back to someone about anything. I believe that this negative response to disagreement is leading us down the wrong turn in the road.

When did our innate happiness disappear? Or did it? I have always thought that a cheerful continence is the route to cohesion. Am I the only one who feels this way? Surely not.

When I read the WordPress Daily topic yesterday, I was intrigued. WINSOME? Maybe we need a dose of that kind of medicine. The word “winsome” brings thoughts of pleasing behavior, charm, kindness, honesty and a general feeling of cheer. The idea sounds so childlike. Right? I am not trying to be a “Pollyanna”, but I have seen some mighty childlike behavior from politicians from both sides of the aisle.

Therefore…I suggest some lighthearted moments. Just here and there. We realize how serious the world agenda appears to be. Constant bickering is not the total way to solve the problems. Personally, I am tired of the instant anger.

Let’s start with the basic way to change your immediate atmosphere and attitude. Quit going around with a frown on your face. Quit wearing dark and uninspiring colors. Brighten your immediate world. Lighten your immediate world. I know…just a tiny start. Find your inner “winsome” self…

winsome nine

 

 

winsome six

 

 

winsome two

 

 

winsome three

 

 

winsome four

 

 

Emmy Rossum Out And About In Beverly Hills

 

 

winsome one

 

Find your winsome self. Smile. Agree. Agree to disagree. Compromise. Just try to get along with someone with a cheerful demeanor. We can’t always be serious. At least…we can dress with winsome!

 

 

winsome eleven

 

http://www.://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/winsome/

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How I Found Peace Through A Note From a Third Grader.

Firefly verse

As I have written before, we lost our son in a very sad car accident in October, 2004. To say that it was totally heartbreaking is an underestimate. I knew that we needed to get back to our regular routine as soon as possible. So…we found our strength and found our way back to our familiar life. We focused on our careers, our friends and our daughter who was then a college student.

 

crowfoot

Crowfoot, a chief of the Siksika First Nation.

 

I loved teaching school and found incredible joy in getting to know the children and their families. I knew that I would feel much better when I saw those smiling children. And I did! My elementary school at the time was like a “windows on the world”…so many cultures and so many languages. There were many Vietnamese families in the area surrounding the school…wonderful families with a clear focus on giving their children the chance for a bright future through education.  The year that we lost our son was my first year to teach third grade… after teaching Kindergarten for several years.

 

Fireflies near mountains

Fireflies streaking through a gorge near the foothills.

 

Little did I realize how a child in my Third Grade class would give me the hope that comes from understanding the meaning of loss. One of my students had moved from Vietnam just three short weeks before school started. She only knew a few words of English… “hello, goodbye, friend, thank you”. Eager to learn and always kind, she smiled continuously and listened to every word that was uttered in class. She was paired with two older students for thirty minutes or so a day for English tutoring. I learned that peer assistance in any language development is the real key.

 

Walking with fireflies

Walking among the fireflies.

By Christmas, the young child was virtually fluent in English…a miracle to me and a testament to her work ethic. On the state test in the Spring, her score on the reading part was one of the highest of all the students. During that time, she started reading many types of poetry and enjoyed looking up special topics in the library.

 

 

Fireflies in Japan

A garden of fireflies.

 

One sunny Spring day, she quietly placed a paper on my desk during morning announcements. It was a poem that she evidently found in the library. She had added an illustration with her handwriting. As she walked away from my desk, she said…

 

“Mrs. Davis, I know that you must be still sad about your son. I think that these words will help you!”

To the very smart and very perceptive little girl from Vietnam…now a grown up young woman…”The words you found are still giving me happiness and peace today. Thank you!”

 

The paper that my young student from Vietnam gave me that sunny Spring day…

 

 

Poem from student

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/gorge/