Just Stay Little

 

 

Last Rose of Summer

Taken Oct. 4, 2011

Amazing how nature never fails to produce miracles. 

Especially since my garden was badly neglected this year!

Parenting Lessons

"Parenting lesson for the day: if you feel strongly about providing opportunities for your kids to make choices, you sometimes have to be okay when they come home with a Dora backpack." Chris Miller

 My grand nephew Henry struggles with autonomy!

He finally wins, but doesn't look too happy about it.

 Meanwhile, brother Finn enjoys making himself an afternoon snack.

Too funny not to share.

9-11-11

“The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.” Abraham Lincoln

God Bless America

Happy Birthday to Me! {Yesterday}

Dear me. Where did the years go?

9-9-49 ~^~ 9-9-011

Today you are one day older than yesterday and a day younger than tomorrow
and that only makes a difference if you're a banana!

Truisms by Women

~Inside every older lady is a younger lady -- wondering, "What the hell happened"?~
~Cora Harvey Armstrong~

~Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut her up with cookies.~

[Anonymous. However, I think I've said this a million times!]

~ The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy. ~
~Helen Hayes (at 73)~

~I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows. ~
~Janette Barber~

~Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse. ~
~Lily Tomlin~

~A male gynecologist is like an auto mechanic who never owned a car.~

~Carrie Snow~

 ~Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry with your girlfriends.~
~Laurie Kuslansky~

~My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being, hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint. ~
~Erma Bombeck~

~ Old age ain't no place for sissies. ~
~Bette Davis~

 ~A man's got to do what a man's got to do. A woman must do what he can't. ~
~Rhonda Hansome ~

~The phrase "working mother" is redundant. ~
~Jane Sellman~

~Every time I close the door on reality, it comes in through the windows.~
~Jennifer Unlimited~

~Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. ~
~Charlotte Whitton~

  ~Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart.~
~Caryn Leschen~

~I try to take one day at a time -- but sometimes several days attack me at once.~
~Jennifer Unlimited~

~If you can't be a good example -- then you'll just have to be a horrible warning. ~
~Catherine~

~When I was young, I was put in a school for retarded kids for two years before they realized I actually had a hearing loss. And they called ME slow! ~
~Kathy Buckley~

~I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb -- and I'm also not blonde. ~
~Dolly Parton~

~ If high heels were so wonderful, men would be wearing them. ~
~Sue Grafton ~

~I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on. ~
~Roseanne Barr~

~When women are depressed they either eat or go shopping. Men invade another country.~
~Elayne Boosler~

~Behind every successful man is a surprised woman. ~
~Maryon Pearson~

~In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.~

~Margaret Thatcher~

~I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career. ~
~Gloria Steinem~

~I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house. ~
~Zsa Zsa Gabor~

~Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.~

~Eleanor Roosevelt~

~Ask a man to do a task - he'll hire six men, call a conference, call for pizza, go to Home Depot for tools and equipment, then take a week to complete the "project".

Ask a woman to do the same task and she'll have the drain unclogged in half an hour.~

~Sheri Slaughter~

I'm Bacccckkkkk. . . . . .

 

I'm glad to announce I have a new hard drive AND I found a CD with a back-up of my files from February 2010, so not all is lost.  It restored 4237 photographs.  Hallelujah.  It restored my genealogy, WORD and Excel files (of course without the data I had added in the past year). I'm a happy camper again. 

Now if I could get the rest of my life in order, I'd be truly happy.

Miracles do happen.  We just have to appreciate the little miracles each day, like the dew on roses.

I once had a wonderful hard drive in a very cute little laptop. It stored all my genealogy files and thousands of photographs, all neatly organized and labeled. One day I was on my bed with my laptop on my lap. Isn't that what they are made for--lazy computing? Apparently not. Suddenly, years of work slipped from my lumpy lap to the floor and the rest is history.


Good-bye to blogging until I can afford to get a new hard drive. Hopefully, there is some one out there who can restore some of my files. PLEEEEAAASSSSSEEEE!!!

Today I was going to write a blog about procrastination, but I think I'll to do it tomorrow. . . .or maybe next week.

Great News in Twos

I'm excited to have two new grand nephews, both born on March 21, 2011, both born to mothers named Heather, both babies were named Zachary!

The Happy Family

One of the Heathers (my niece) on the left and

one of the Zacharys (in the car seat)

The Other Happy Family

Nephew Brad and his wife, the other Heather and

their primy, the other Zachary

Our second wee Zachary ~ Look at all the hair

In a week of health scares (see previous post), we also received GOOD NEWS in twos about these beloved babies joining our family.

The Dreaded Phone Call

It was the phone call every woman dreads. I got it on Wednesday. My cell rang and I didn't recognize the number. I answered anyway.

"Mrs. Slaughter? This is the Intermountain Breast Care Center. . ."

Gulp. I didn't breathe for a minute and don't think I heard her next statement clearly.

"The radiologist found a spot on your mammogram. We need you to come in again. Can you be here Friday at 4:15."

"A. .a. . .a. . .", I stuttered.  "Sure. I mean, okay, what time."  I really hadn't heard what she said.

I had never expected a call-back. I've had at least fifteen mammograms and all had been completely normal.  But then again, my maternal grandmother died of breast cancer when she was fifty-nine and I'm sixty-one. 

For two days, I created every terrible scenarios in my head. Do I go for the mastectomy like my grandmother? What about reconstruction surgery? Will I lose my hair from the radiation? Will I be vomiting my guts out every day? Should I make my will? I've got to clean my house. Should I be buried like most my family or cremated like my sister?

Stupid, right? But that's how my mind works. It always darts off in the direction of the worst possible situations.

To make a long story short, I went yesterday to the IHC Breast Care Center, had more mammograms in which the spot miraculously DID NOT  reappear!  Phew! Dodged the bullet.

Faith is believing the best will happen. That what God has in store for you is what needs to happen to help you learn and grow.  I know that in my heart.  But my mind is a different matter.  I have not trained it to believe in good outcomes.   

.....................

Unbelievably, my husband also had a "C" scare this week. He's been sick for weeks with what the Doctor called prostatitis.  It has many causes, one of them being cancer.  He had a CT scan yesterday and also got the ALL CLEAR.  His cause is probably from riding his bicycle in 100-200 miles races.

We were both very lucky (blessed) on the same day. It was my husband's birthday, by the way.

Other women in the Breast Care Center yesterday were not as lucky. They left in tears.

Other men in radiology at the hospital were not as lucky yesterday.

I salute all you women and men out there who have had the dreaded phone call, have learned the worst and WHO HAVE SURVIVED!

A Teacher's Influence

President Obama said this week that any budget that sacrifices a commitment to education is a budget that sacrifices our future.

Education in our country is in a real crisis right now. The cuts in the House Republican budget to education would be devastating for teachers, students, and families -- costing 55,000 jobs, slashing financial aid for 8 million college kids, and dropping hundreds of thousands from Head Start, an early-education program proven to help low-income children graduate high school.

While I was driving to the doctor yesterday, I listened to an NPR program which addressed some of problems with education in the United States.  The commentator posed the following question to his guest and to the listening audience:

Who made a difference in your life?

The discussion, of course, was referring to teachers, counselors, coaches and mentors.  It was suggested that most people can't think of three teachers who made a difference in their lives, that there a lot of really bad teachers out there.

I started thinking. There are many really great teachers, also. (Example, see my previous post.)

Unfortunately, I can barely think of the names of my teachers, let alone remember anything they taught me.  But I kept thinking, even as the ENT doctor squirted purple dye in my infected ear.

Who WAS the first teacher whose influence I remember? There's no contest, I recall his name without a hitch.

Crestview Elementary - Sixth Grade - 1961

Teacher - Gary Elliott (on the left) - I'm the shy one (NOT). Second from the left, front row

Halfway through the sixth grade I was transferred to a brand new school closer to my home. My teacher, Mr. Elliott, was my first male teacher and I was instantly smitten. Seriously. He had dreamy blue eyes and the cutest smile.

He liked me, too.  He sent me on errands, let me take the roll, and even correct spelling tests.  (I obviously needed to stay busy. Did I have ADHD? My son certainly did.)  Mr. Elliott gave me confidence in myself, because he trusted me and knew I was capable.  He saw that I loved math (arithmetic) and was good at it.  I'd finish the assignments quickly, so he decided to gave me algebra problems to keep me occupied. It was great fun.

Kids called me "Teacher's Pet" and I was sure I was. I don't think I've ever felt so good about myself.

Thinking back on it now, Mr. Elliott had a gift.  He was a wonderful teacher who made ALL kids feel important.  We knew he cared about us.  That was so much more important than the subjects he taught us.

Thank you for loving children, Mr. Elliott!

Junior High is a complete blur to me. I only remember two teachers' names and NOT for good reasons. 

Gym class.  Taking showers. Undressing and dressing in front of everyone. Very traumatic.  In the showers, our teacher would check us individually (made us take off the towel--yikes) to see if we were wet all over.  Even at thirteen I knew that was weird.  Creepy.

My history teacher used to talk about Jayne Mansfield, Roslyn Russell and Marilyn Monroe all the time. He said all the girls in our class only cared about boys and we all wanted to grow-up to be like Mansfield to get boyfriends.  We didn't know who or what he was talking about. (My older sister told me it was about Big Boobs and that our teacher was nasty.)  Totally creepy.

I had better luck in High School.  This is my tribute to four teachers who made BIG differences in my life.  The rest of the teachers. . .sorry, I don't recollect your names.



Mr. Minson was another teacher with killer looks.  He made biology fun. Along with his wit and charm, he was intelligent.  He challenged us.  At the end of the year, he wrote in my yearbook that I was his most challenging student! He said I was extremely intelligent and hoped I would use it to the benefit of mankind.  Wow, there's a challenge. He made it possible for me to get an A in my college biology class.

Did I become a scientist? No, but my teacher made me feel I could if I wanted to.

Thank you for showing me science is cool, Mr. Minson!

I only took drama for half a year from Holly Smith.  At first, I was timid (moi?) while doing improv or plays in front of the class, but Mrs. Smith saw something in me that I didn't know was there.  She helped me bloom.  Because of her, I received a First Place in the district Drama Contest for my humorous reading from Tom Sawyer.  Holly made winners of everyone she taught.

Thank you for helping me have confidence, Mrs. Smith!

Another Smith teacher, this time Clyde Smith, taught me to draw.  Or rather, he made me realize I had the ability to observe and render.  I enjoyed his class more than any other.  Sketching was "down" time to me.  Did I ever use my art? No, but I think I have applied creativity in other ways.

Thank you for helping me observe, Mr. Smith!

My senior year I was a student body officer.  Pat Farrell was new at Olympus and took the place of a very beloved SBO advisor, Sanky Dixon.  We cried when we heard Sanky was  retiring and wasn't going to advise us.  But Pat (or Mrs. Farrell when other teachers were around) instantly became one of us, one with us.  She made our tasks seem like play.  She wrote in my yearbook, "Sheri, I have never met anyone so alive, so aware as you.  People always know where they stand . . .You are the most capable person I've met. . .You will be a success at anything you do."  I know she said the same thing to the other officers, but it didn't matter. She believed in me. It brings a tear to my eye now, because we never had a relationship after June 1967.

Thank you, Pat, for treating us like

adults and for letting us be kids!

It all went downhill in college where professors didn't know my name, let alone my thoughts, feelings and ideas.  I was lost in the crowds.

However, because I had interests in many diverse areas, I decided to major in Child Development with my eye on teaching preschool children (my favorite age).  Preschool incorporates all fields of knowledge.  In those tender, early years when each experience is brand new, children are sponges and want to learn everything.  They have so much to teach adults about discovery and living life to the fullest. 

Why can't learning be this fun our whole life?

Teaching takes so much energy and creativity that good teachers burn out far too soon. They deserve far more credit and money than our society gives them. Teachers are the builders of the future, trite as it sounds. I have nothing but admiration for them.  Pat a teacher on the back today.

What teacher influenced you?



Who You Are Makes a Difference