Too Old Too Soon

Of the last 30 books I have read from the young reader classification, all the protagonists are 5th or 6th graders and 11 years old.  WHY??  And in most of these fictional accounts the youngsters behave in a manner much older than most 11 year olds that I know.  I taught 8th graders for 40 years and the books are attempting to move these kids into high school before they are ready.  I also just spent an overnight with 12-16 year olds, and I still believe the books are making their characters way too sophisticated, the 12 year olds at the event just confirmed my beliefs.

The behaviors that belong to older junior high or early high school, appear in these books with baby aged main characters, I can tell you no 13-14 year old wants to read a book about an 11 year old.  All publishers need to do is put all these kids in 8th grade and they would appeal to a much larger kid audience.  Everybody wants to read about kids their own age and those who are older.

So we are left with the later junior high kids moving to teen/young adult titles whose content is at times not appropriate for their age, but more importantly they miss out of all the great reading still available in the kid section.  So would someone please start writing for all the 13 year olds out there??

Lenten Psalm of Awakening

Too lovely not to share, we opened relent with this one and it offers food for thought.  It has been three years and I continue to ignore this spot, maybe it's finally time to wake up.

Lenten Psalm of Awakening

Come, O Life-giving Creator,
and rattle the door latch
of our slumbering hearts.

Awaken us as you breathe upon
a winter-wrapped earth,
gentling calling to life,
spring.

Awaken in these fortified days
of Lenten prayer and discipline
our youthful dreams of holiness.

Call us forth from our prisons
of past defeats and disappointments
and our narrow patterns of being
to make our ordinary lives extraordinarily alive
through the passion of our love.

Show to us during these Lenten days
how to take the daily things of life
and by submerging them in the sacred
To infuse them with a great love
for you, O God, and for others.

Guide us to perform simple acts of love and prayer,
the real works of reform and renewal
of this overture to the spring of the Spirit.

Loving God, help us not to waste these precious Lenten days
of our soul’s spiritual springtime.

Adapted from Edward Hays, Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim

Questions...

Why is standing up for what you believe a bad thing? If you believe certain drugs and devices cause fertilized embryos to be destroyed, and you believe that destroying embryos is the taking of innocent life. This makes those drugs and devices tantamount to murder in your opinion.  Forcing someone to take innocent life or to pay for the taking of it seems unreasonable to me.

Why is birth control a right?  I do see it as a responsibility but I don't see it as a right, we are not morally entitled to birth control.  It is something we have available, and in many cases causes more harm than good,  If someone chooses to use birth control why is society compelled to be responsible for that person's behavior.  Sex is a choice, although there are many that would have you believe that we are incapable of control over this physical urge.  Sex isn't necessary to live, millions live without it and survive just fine. Yes, yes, it is necessary for new life, I mean not necessary after you are conceived.  I just don't think this is an area where we need government telling us what to do.  As is the case with most health decisions.  But we have already sacrificed our freedom over our personal health care, so we are stuck with interference.  So when government says I must kill someone, I think it's important to say, no.

What would have happened if enough people said, "I don't think killing Jews is a morally responsible thing to do," and refused to cow to Hitler.

Don't Miss Honora Lee

I interrupt the dress business to return to a favorite topic, books, or a book to be specific.  I have no question where my daughter got gets her distractability. 

I have found a great inter-generational book group title.  ACB With Honora Lee by Kate DeGoldi a charming book that can name feelings and frustrations for many kids but I am afraid they won't pick this one up by themselves.  So it might be one to foist on your children during a car ride, but you need to have a copy of the real book on hand as well so you don't miss the pictures.  For your artsy ones the pictures give much to explore and to think about, a little insight into how Perry's brain might work.
Perry is the young lady with well intentioned busy parents, and a mother whose mission is to make sure her only child doesn't miss a learning opportunity.  Perry is saved when a scheduled class is cancelled and convinces her parents that she can use the time to weekly visit her grandmother Honora Lee, who has pretty severe dementia, at the Santa Lucia nursing home.  Grandma cannot remember her son, calls Perry a boy, bullys other patients, and because of a history teaching special education and reading, has a love for all things alphabet.  Perry decides to write and illustrate an alphabet book for her grandmother, through which we meet all the wonderful residents, and workers at Santa Lucia.
No real conversations seem to occur between Perry and Honora, yet real connection takes place.  Perry is a struggling student she offers grandma another chance to teach, though neither seem to be aware of this delightful happenstance.   Perry is a bright and quirky kid, looking to build her family bonds, as life at home is a bit too much about structure and not enough about relationships her well intentioned parents often miss the mark. The book is touching, funny, informational, with lessons in kindness, patience and the dignity of all folks. You will love Perry's gentle indomitable spirit, ever forgiving nature, and most of all her compassionate heart.

Once upon a time...a Dress.

This is currently consuming my time so it will therefore become blogging fodder.  A dress made it's appearance on stage in 2007 along with my children it was their first Thin Ice production, Oliver.  We had found in our collection an antique item, late 1800's, that fit our Mrs Sowerberry.  It was a black silk and really lovely but we discovered as rehearsals progressed that it was a bit fragile, required daily repair, and there were some sort of mites living in it, as our young actress daily came away with new bites after wearing the dress.  Yes, we made her wear it, yes we cleaned it, yes it continued to be a problem.  Needless to say it has not made another appearance on stage, but ended up sealed in a bag hoping to suffocate any other critters or eggs that might still reside in it's folds.

Just recently we moved the costume collection and unearthed the dress from it's bag, and whatever died left the dress musty and moldy.  I said I would take it home to launder it.  I started with a cold water vinegar bath, just soaking, hoping that would kill off the mold before I washed it.  Well lo and  behold the water turned jet black instantly and rinsing didn't help it continued to turn even plain water black.  The fabric was actually disintegrating.  I removed as much water as I could, as gently as I could and hung the dress, or what remained of it to dry in the sun.

With no hope of ever using the item again as a costume and because it was a beautiful dress I decided to deconstruct the thing and make a pattern from the pieces.  The bodice was fully lined and the lining fabric was a cotton that proved a little sturdier that the silk dress fabric.  So between outer and inner pieces I hope to come up with something that will make constructing a like item in the future possible.

Deconstruction has proved interesting and it appears that our dress had a history before it made it to the big time.  I have also learned a little about the historical dress construction and need to study up a bit to find out about materials.  But it has also explained how Polly, in The Five Little Peppers and How they Grew, could actually save and reuse thread.  I began using only the "Good" thread years ago but now know it is a poor substitute for thread used 100 years ago.  The cotton stuff used in this dress was made to last, they also use a cording to make mini piping that was a cotton twist heavier than button and carpet thread but not as heavy as a string.  Of all materials that were used in this dress the thread was what was in the best shape.

I found the bodice had been interfaced, only around the neck, not the back where I would expect reinforcement of the placket for the hook and eye closure.  There also appeared to be a correct way to sew on hook and eyes, all were identically stitched in place.  The sewing in this garment was amazing hand work so fine and uniform on a couple of seams I thought I was looking at machine stitching. That interfacing though, I believe was a light cotton batting, seemed to be a perfect location for critters to hang out unnoticed.  It was powdery in spots and I had to scrape parts of it off the dress lining.  So I will only imagine what interfacing pieces should look like for my future pattern.  I did take photos.  Will post later.

So if you aren't bored to tears at this point I will continue to write about the dress, join me if you wish, or go away, your choice.

Appalled

I either have to do something with this or take it down.  For the time I am going to try writing again, for my own benefit, so I may even remove my filters.  Beware.

I know each generation bemoans the behavior of it's offspring but after attending a party recently I found myself saying "What is the world coming to?"

Common courtesy and respect for others and property appears to have disappeared.  The party I attended or assisted with was for a 13 yo and was attended by 14 or so other junior high types, and equal mix of boys and girls so no gender bias here.  The party began in the basement with music and some games, adults making appearances, we did not know at the time that total supervision was required.  When the crew moved to the back yard and I hit the basement to remove food trays, I found food thrown everywhere, stepped on, mashed into plates, reminded me of the area surrounding a one year old's high chair.  This was somebody else's house, what was behavior like at home?  I did mention to the host that the basement had seen better days, and I believe he did speak, gently to the guests.

More food, dinner type in the back yard, and when we went to clean up there was more of the same, plates thrown, food squished and mashed into plates, bottles and cans tossed about, at least it was outside.  Is this normal junior high behavior?  What do lunch rooms look like at school, are social niceties a thing of the past?  Finally it was time for cake, thank heavens there were only cupcakes, but the crew managed to smear chocolate frosting all over each others faces, backs, stomachs, arms and legs.  We didn't even break out the ice cream.  I did monitor the bathroom as some clean up ensued, to avoid another disaster area.

The herd decide they wanted to walk to a local park, or so they said.  Off they went, to another house where they threw coke cans and trashed another indoor space.  Is this even close to normal?

I am a bit removed from the mainstream in my social network, homeschooling does that, but I was truly appalled.  These kids were more than old enough to know better, one kid actually left the party, and I am holding out on hope that he realized he couldn't stay, nor could he stand up to the crowd so he quietly removed himself.  'Tis a glimmer, so I don't have to give up on a generation.

It has been ages since anything was posted it is time to revive the old keys and see if there is life left in this mission.  For today though, as it is late I am posting something I wrote a time ago after being asked about how I see God in my life.  Enjoy.

Footprints on My Soul

 God tiptoes in when I can be still and know, those moments of calm so rare amid the daily hubbub.  In pools of silence glassy reflections show feather light touches that gentle the spirit.

God slides in when I am not looking and is standing on second before I realize the ball’s in play.  The sudden stop leaves toe marks that wake and remind, this is important, pay attention, bring me home.

God skips in playfully when happiness abounds, laughing eyes and gleeful girl giggles.  Bounding rabbit tracks that glow with warmth and satisfaction spreading in circles like excited hugs.

God runs in the frantic activity that chases us daily.  Assisted by Anthony and Jude ever ready to repair and restore.  A dash that results in a path strewn with reminders that even though I forget, I am never forgotten.

God stomps in when I am oblivious, or just plain stubborn, causing crater like impressions that leave no doubt as to correct direction or path.

God dances in those moments of awe, sometimes the waltz of the Mass, ordered, constrained, yet soaring.  Sometimes a foxtrot that sets the heart thumping or swing that sends you flying, all leaving patterns that shape.

God stands in my life when I need to rest, when stability and solace require.  Those times I know I can’t go on and hope is a dim and distant feeling.  Not just marks this time, something solid to hang on to till I am on my feet once again.