Thankful Me

The word "Alligator" and an illustration of an alligator is on a blue piece of cardboard As I mentioned in my last post, I have been enjoying having my youngest granddaughter over several times each week for "Grandma Preschool." One of the things I have been teaching her is how to recognize the letter "A." I wasn't sure this particular skill was one that would hold much interest to a young 3-year-old, but I have been pleasantly surprised. I think the allure has come from the fact that I have been letting her use a flashlight to shine on all the A's she finds.  In any case, she is pointing out A's left and right now. Although I have talked about the sound that the letter A makes, I think that is going to take some more time to sink in. As she was playing with some alphabet puzzle cards, I heard her say resolutely to herself, "A is for crocodile."  1. I'm thankful for the example of confidence she gives me. Given the information she...

stock photo of a wind-up alarm clock  Time is a funny thing. One minute you're just starting out as an adult. Then life spins around quickly and the next thing you know, forty years have passed and you're attending social events with people you haven't seen in forever. Often these get-togethers, though enjoyable, require a certain amount of emotional effort--"Today I will be an extrovert!"--but I've come away from these recent events energized and looking forward to future reunions.  The first weekend of August, we attended a wedding reception, and spent the evening visiting with friends. One of those friends told me how much she enjoyed reading my blog posts. While I do not write for praise, I realized just how impactful encouragement is, and even though I haven't been as regular about blogging as I used to be, her comment sparked a desire to be more focused in my writing.  The next weekend, John and I flew up to Oregon. We went up for a dual purpose: to ...

  A small frog rests inside a child's cupped hands It's only the end of July. When I was a child, July was the middle month of summer, but my grandchildren start school on August 12th, so (even though the temperatures are by no means autumn-like) the end of July signals waning summer fun. While the grandchildren have been out of school, I've tried to pack in activities and experiences to broaden their horizons and introduce them to fun that doesn't involve little (or big!) screens. Some activities involved all of the grandchildren at once. Other times, I would take an individual grandchild on an outing catered to his or her interests. Each grandchild had a chance to stay overnight at our house then we went on an adventure together the next day. Friday night we completed the final sleepover, or rather, all of the grandchildren have now had a turn. They are already asking about "next time."  I'm thankful: 1. for summer library programs. My grandchildren have...

  Black and white photo taken in the 1930s shows an extended family standing and smiling at the camera From as early as I can remember, "going to the family reunion" meant driving to the mountains in Oregon and having a picnic with my parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. I didn't necessarily know exactly how everyone was related, but we each could find our name on Uncle George's chart, so that meant we were all family.  George and Dorothy stand in front of the family tree chart As (I hope) you can tell from the photo at the top of this post, the Telfer family reunion started well before I was born. That cute little boy second from the left at the bottom of that photo? None other than Uncle George. George kept the reunion going for decades, but sometime (I believe in the years just prior to his death in 2009) the annual gathering fizzled away.  Last year, one of my third cousins decided we needed to start the reunions again, and so we did. Attend...

Yellow lab Drexel, wearing his booties, walks on a leash down a sidewalk After months of almost always working 6-day weeks, John has taken time off the past two weekends and we've made some great road trips. Last weekend we witnessed the culmination of years of hard work by our oldest son, as we watched him graduate from his medical residency program. I'm so proud of him, not only because he achieved his goal, but also because he has a compassionate soul. Although he will be joining a private practice, he will also be regularly showing up at soup kitchens to provide medical care to those who are living on the streets. That street medicine program is one that he enjoyed participating in during his residency and he is so excited to continue.  1. I'm thankful we could celebrate with our son and that some of our other children could also attend the festivities. I love spending time with my family. Although we have been very fortunate to have competent, reliable dog sitters for ...

A sweeping view of pine covered mountains under a blue sky I spent most of this past week at a church camp in Running Springs, California with 84 young women, ages 11-18, and a bunch of adult leaders. My bunkhouse cabin home for the week, decorated with festive pendant banners. The day before I left for camp, I got an emergency alert text, informing me that my house in Utah was under evacuation due to a nearby fire. (Sorry, Mom, I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry.) Within 20 minutes of receiving that text, I received another text saying the evacuation order was lifted and the fire was under control.  1. I'm thankful for the firefighters who put the fire out quickly. 2. I'm thankful that no people were hurt nor homes were damaged. 3. I'm thankful that the whole incident was over before I left for camp, so I didn't spend the week worrying. The camp theme was UP, as in Speak Up, Look Up, Cheer Up, and Rise Up. The girls were encouraged to make new...

  Baby me, sitting on the floor, looks up at my dad sitting on the sofa, as he smiles down at me I've been extremely fortunate in my life: my parents provided me and my siblings with a very stable childhood. We had a roof over our heads, food on the table, physical and emotional safety, books, music, and lots of love and laughter.  Probably 3 or 4 year old me looks at a photo or small piece of paper with my dad My parents are humble people, quickly giving credit to the contributions of others, and although they won't toot their own horn, they are amazing people. One of my dad's favorite lines is, "The best thing I ever did was marry your mother." While I agree with that, as today is Father's Day, I'm going to focus on some of the things I've learned from my dad.  My dad taught me through example to dream big, work hard, and be responsible. Just because something is unusual doesn't mean it's impossible.  As a junior high school science teacher, ...