Author Archive: terrysthoughtsandthreads
December Again
When I taught elementary school, December was always the happiest month in the school year. Many students were making plans with their families for ski vacations, or Disney trips, or even for European travel … I taught public school in an affluent community, and parents were generous with Christmas gifts to teachers as well. Through …
Happy Thanksgiving
It was a busy few weeks … another unexpected but happily completed Centenarian quilt, one US Navy quilt and one US Army quilt, all finished in three weeks’ time. I did most of the work on my domestic Bernina sewing machine, which Rick bought for my birthday fifteen years ago, and daringly did a bit …
On a Beautiful Sunday Morning
Sunday mornings used to be such a comfort … Rick and I both home, free to choose how to spend our day together. I would most often wake to the aroma of coffee, as he would have been up before me and would have started the coffee maker … he never drank coffee, nor tea, …
Five months later … where does time go?
Sorry I haven’t updated this blog in quite a while, but truth be told, I have not had any health issues to report on. Rather, with the summer off from medical appointments, I’ve concentrated on my small business. I started by hiring the contractor/friend Rick always called for large projects, and he came and replaced …
As the weather begins to improve…
There is still occasional ice on the walkway in the mornings, but it is often gone by mid-afternoon. The temperatures continue to bounce between below and above the freezing mark, so the winter jackets and spring sweaters compete for room in the small closet by the door. I wake up each morning slowly, hearing the …
Common or Uncommon Courtesy
I’ve been listening to NPR late at night as I try to fall asleep … the soft murmur of indistinct voices is oddly soothing, as though discussion of the world’s issues is important but no longer requires my input or feedback. But the teacher in me still has an immediate need to comment on the …
The Darkest Month Approaches
Christmas had always been my favorite holiday. When I was young enough to still believe in Santa as a child, I tried hard to stay awake and listen for the sleighbells on the roof, though we were on the first floor of a two and a half story home with Aunt Helen and Uncle Adam …
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
Yesterday, I went down to CVS to buy a few more bags of candy for the Trick or Treaters, just in case kids from other towns who’d already had their night of Halloween might come into the square, as sometimes happens. And though I don’t know whether others joined our town’s kids or not, I …
What a Worrisome Week
I did sit through the Congressional Hearings this week … the three hours of Dr. Ford’s presentations of her high school experience with Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh, and his five hours of response. The day before the hearings, I flipped back and forth between the two polarized networks, CNN and FOX news coverages. Television is …
Retirement Re-appreciated
I didn’t really want to retire when MS cognitive impairments forced me out of the classroom … but in retrospect, it did give me five years at home with Rick before his untimely death, and I appreciated that time allowed. But there is now another reason to appreciate not standing in front of a classroom …