Month: May 2021

“A hundred years ago” in 1959, I graduated in the summer from Western State College (college, then; university, now).  My BA degree came with certification as an elementary school teacher and, fortunately, the teacher in the Sargents School was retiring that year.  I would have eight grades with about twenty-eight children.  Usually a class with that number of children would be considered “normal,” but twenty-eight students in eight grades were a complicating factor.  The three-member school board was really taking a risk by hiring a fresh-out-of-college teacher to teach that many students in that many grades.  Of course, because the school was very rural – isolated, even – and not connected with any other school where the teacher could get assistance, as needed, may have influenced their decision to hire anyone who would take the job.  And, that turned out to be me.

Okay.  You all know that I really love this little creature who came to live with me in March.  I promise not to make every article about her.  But, there are some things that I can’t resist telling you about.  You also know that she is four years old. A four-year-old … puppy!  Her previous living situation did not allow for socializing, but she was a mom twice.

And, now, she lives in a home with no babies.  No collection of other schnauzers.  She doesn’t know how to chase a ball, fetch a stick, eat meals on a set schedule, or always “take care of business” outside.  She is definitely a four-year-old puppy.

What do you know about the plant-based diet?  I have friends who are following a strict plant-based diet, and it seems to be effecting their health in a positive way.  She has diabetes as a health marker, and she told me that her A1C (the three-month indicator of sugars in the blood stream) is now 4.9.  The desired number for someone with diabetes is under seven – or, maybe, six.  My A1C hasn’t seen seven for a long time.

When and why was Mother’s Day thought up?  We’ve been celebrating Mother’s Day since before 1959 (for his mother and my mother),  Then, when my first daughter was born, Mother’s Day brought new meaning to Larry and me.

I’ve admitted to making mistakes in my life.  I’ve come to realize that one of the greatest mistakes was when I said – at about age 50 – that if I knew “then,” what I know “now,” I would never have children.  What a bone-headed statement that is!  I have learned, now that I’ve grown up, that having children is a joy that “makes the world go round.”  It makes