What gets you up and going in the morning? Routine? A special project? Work? A commitment? Something else? This morning my youngest was up and out before 6 a.m.! He was going to see visit his girlfriend at college. His motivation to go was obvious. He wanted to see her. When I looked at my…
When I started Evergreen Garden Club in the fall of 2004, its main purpose was to provide student enrichment through hands-on activities using an outdoor environment such as the school grounds. The first group, now adults in their mid-twenties, researched local butterfly species and host plants to enable a well thought out conversion of an…
Today, the school year kicks off in our local communities here in the Coulee Region of Wisconsin. Most, not all, are entering this year on a virtual platform as opposed to in-person, classroom learning. While the majority of students were exposed to an online learning environment last spring, it was brief if you consider how…
My poem this week is inspired by all the children returning to school. It is a time of year that I am fond of because of the sense of newness and anticipation for the year ahead. While this year will be a year like no other, I think the sense of anticipation can still be…
This afternoon, I can hear the air conditioner running, the shower sprinkling water, and the washer spinning as it finishes cleaning a load of clothes. Today, my husband and I are getting a taste of the “empty nest.” Actually, it won’t start fully until tomorrow and will be short-lived, but still, there is a different…
We find ourselves living in odd times. But, some rights of passage continue as though these cycles have a life of their own. First-time college students are gearing up to move into their university communities and start a new life. Yes, much of it will be different but some of it will be very much…
Oh, boy! This year is set to be very different than any previous year for school. I have two students headed back to college classes and one who I thought was going to be entering as a college freshman but decided in early June that he was going to pursue a different path despite getting…
Popcorn! Pop……Pop…Pop, Pop…. Pop, Pop, Pop! Popcorn! Come & get it! Who doesn’t like a bowl of fresh-popped corn? It’s become a tradition, while at our cabin, to make popcorn. This started several years ago when I bought a countertop popcorn machine. My boys think we’ve had the machine for six or seven…
We have a sock problem at our house. As many as 30 unmatched socks are stacked up waiting for mates. The sock hit the fan this weekend when I combined the socks in our bedroom closet with the socks in the laundry room, all waiting for mates. Some have been waiting a long time! I…