Fun Friday Question!

When I was a kid, school didn't start in August. It was something like early or mid-September. It felt like school time, like the changing of the seasons, and for the most part I looked forward to all of that. There was one thing that never seemed to change, and that was that strange first-day-of-school feeling I had every single year. You know what I'm talking about, right? It was a whole new adjustment to so many new things, and I am usually not about adjusting but rather routine.

I both loved and dreaded that new feel to things that the beginning of school brought with it. There were new clothes, new shoes, new school supplies (nerd alert!) and the chance to see my friends more often. But there were also new teachers, new judgments or looks from the kids who fit in when I did not, the worry of not being able to pick up and learn new things...and of course I didn't voice all of these concerns and find out that, most likely, tons of other kids felt the same way. I wish it didn't take us so long in life to figure out that we are all so much more alike than we realize, that we all have so many of the same fears and anxieties as our peers.

So here's the question for today: What did (or does) starting a new school year bring up for you mentally and emotionally? Did you look longingly forward to that first day of school, or were there things you dreaded about that one day every year?

Fun Friday Question!

No big stories to share, just a question for everyone to answer...

How will you honor your mother this Mother's Day?

Fun Friday Question!

Christmas day will be here in just one week! This year I'm understanding why parents get so excited about Christmas. I used to wonder why my parents were so happy and joyful when their pile of presents didn't seem to be near as fun or as surprising as my own. But now I get it, and I could not tell you who is more excited -- me or Miles -- for our little family's gift-opening tomorrow morning. I've been counting down the days with him and yesterday I told him 'just two more sleeps until we open presents!' (I got that expression from Joy.)

And yes, I realize the contradiction in my first paragraph...I said that Christmas was one week away, then shared that our family would be opening gifts tomorrow. That's just because Casey and I decided a couple of years ago that, because we always spend Christmas Day with one family or the other, we would still like to make those memories in our home with our children. It's so much fun putting up the tree, wrapping presents and setting them out, hanging our stockings...I want those memories to be in our home just as much in our families' homes.

When I was younger and would hear about my friends' family traditions at this time of year, I tended to think, 'my family doesn't have any Christmas traditions.' But as I grew older I could see that we did some little things here and there that became a part of our time together. I think part of not having the "big" traditions might be because my parents were born and raised on the other side of the world. I know there were certain things they did for Christmas, but it's not really the same as it is in America. I could be totally wrong, though.

But I love hearing about other family traditions: parents giving their kids a special ornament every year, or a new pair of pajamas, that kind of thing. I'm still searching for something like that for Casey and I to incorporate into our traditions. We're still a young family, but I love the idea of Miles looking back and remembering what each year brought. And not that I want something tangible he can look at, it's the memories I want him to cherish.

So today's Fun Friday Question is this: What are your favorite and best Christmas memories? Is there a particular tradition that your parents instilled in you that you would like to pass on?

Fun Friday Question!

Confession time: I watch a lot of TV. I've always watched a lot of TV. I remember my parents watching M*A*S*H and The Andy Griffith Show and Barney Miller and The Bob Newhart Show and I would sit and watch with them, but I didn't get every joke since I was still pretty young. Still, I loved it. And on Thursday nights in the mid-80's, our whole family would eat dinner and then watch The Cosby Show and Family Ties together.

My very favorite show when I was about ten years old was Growing Pains. I was so completely in love with Kirk Cameron. I had posters of him in my locker at school (yes, I had a locker when I was ten years old). We share a birthday, with him being five years older. There was a boy in my class who smiled just like him, so of course that was my big crush. I was sure that I was meant to be with Kirk Cameron, but I could not figure out how I was going to get to Hollywood and meet him.

I know that there are aspects of television that are negative, and that I could definitely do without it. But I have so many great memories, like I mentioned, of watching shows with my parents and family. There are still episodes that we laugh about, and now Casey and I have our favorite episodes of Frasier, Seinfeld and The Office.

A few years ago after one of our students got us watching The Office, we started inviting whoever was interested to come over on Thursday nights to watch that and Lost. Yes, we are also big Lost fans. I remember taping the pilot and Casey saying, "I don't want to start watching another show!" and I said, "Let's just watch the first one and see if we like it." And of course we did.

But for more than two years now, our school-year Thursday nights entail me making semi-sweet Hershey's chocolate chip cookies for the students who come over, and everyone has milk to go with them. It was just something I did once and kept on with it, and now it's tradition. The group changes here and there, but we have fun every single time. Last week they were playing tennis against Miles on the Wii, and I think he was frustrating a couple of the guys by beating them!

There is so much laughter. But most of it comes after the TV is turned off.

Here's the Fun Friday Question: Do you have any fun 'TV memories'?

Fun Friday Question!

When I exercise, I try to choose that which I will enjoy most. Okay, sometimes exercise is just tough and you're going to seriously hurt later...but some things can be work and fun.

Back in the day, I was a rollerblading fool. I got my first pair of rollerblades in high school, but I didn't use them too much. The day after high school graduation, I went with three marching band friends (no band geek jokes, please!) to a park where all but one of us promptly slid down a hill and skinned up our knees and elbows. The one guy who didn't fall watched the whole thing and said, "That was so awesome!" Meanwhile, we're lying on the ground bleeding. Ah, memories.

Anyway, when I was in college I decided to invest in some more expensive 'blades. (I don't know if anyone calls them that, but maybe I'll start something.) This was the real beginning of my love for in-line skating. At one time, I think I was about 21 years old, I was skating roughly nine miles a day. And this was before iPods, so I would attach the extremely cool Walkman or Discman and go. And I would go fast. I fell only a couple of times over many years, and I was afraid at times that I was really going to hurt myself with how fast I was going. But the music powered me and gave me a sense of daring that I usually didn't possess. So off I went, zooming down the sidewalk or -- when it was completely empty -- the middle of the road. Sorry Mom!

There are other forms of exercise I enjoy: power walking, yoga, ultimate frisbee, weightlifting. Running? No. Jogging? Nope. Stair-climbing? Uh-uh. I mean, I can do those things, but if there's another option that is more enjoyable, I'm choosing that instead. And I almost always need music in my ears. With the music, I can get completely lost in the fact that I'm even working up a sweat!

So finally, to the 'Fun Friday Question': If you exercise, is it something you find enjoyable? Is there a specific form of exercise that is easier for you to do because it's more enjoyable? Do you also require music when you exercise?

Okay, that was more than one question...you can answer one or none or all of them!

Fun Friday Question!

I've wondered for a while if I have something like that Seasonal Affective Disorder. It took me a long time to realize it, though, but after a while I could see that, yes, the weather was affecting my mood! Not to say that I don't have control over my moods, but I do believe there is a correlation in there somewhere. I don't know that I would say it's anything severe, but if I lived in Alaska? Yeah, I'd probably need some kind of treatment then. Also, I won't be living in Alaska anytime soon.

So the question for today is this: Does the weather affect your moods? If so, is there something you do to compensate?

Thanks for sharing!

Fun Friday Question!

I loved going to the library as a kid -- still do! I remember learning the way there (and it really wasn't far since we lived in a small town) so that I could put on my backpack and ride my bike there without having to wait for someone else to take me. I wish I had a picture of the place, because you wouldn't believe me if I tried to explain how tiny this library was (Joy can back me up on it), but it was tiny. And it seemed that when I was there, hardly anyone else was -- in some ways that seems sad now, but to me it was awesome because it meant having the library all to myself!

The librarian was a little woman (is there a theme here?) who was so kind each time I visited, even though I was painfully shy and hardly spoke to her. I don't even remember her name. But nearly every time I was there, she would show me a new book or series that came in if she thought I would like it. That's how I came to own the Love Comes Softly series by Christian author Janette Oak. Those are some of my most treasured books to this day.

Now it's your turn. What are some of your best memories of visiting the library as a child?