Last day of the year service and Kwanzaa lesson at UUSMC ... led by Anna Hull and festival teachers Gladys Smith and Michael Slater

 December 31, 2023

Well, here we go again. Another year closes shop, a new one beckons and like the deranged person repeating a failed path, many times over, I once again hope to make a positive change(s) in my life as I seek physical and spiritual wholeness.  

Gladys Smith and Michael Slater 
helped out UUSMC attendees with the 
history and meaning of Kwanzaa as she lit
all 7 candles representing the days of the festival. 

Seeds for the New Year was the title of today's service, the last day of 2023, and Anna Hull gave the homily and it connected directly to the padded insert like papyrus that I thought might be the writing pad for our resolutions for 2024, but no, they contained within their fibers, seeds of meadow wildflowers that when buried and then covered with soil will, with patience, sprout in the weeks ahead. It's something you can take to the bank when Professor Hull, who teaches biology and environmental science at Lincoln University, one of the first predominantly African-American schools in the United States. 

Micro elements of our existence ... from 1/137 to quantum dynamics to crith or the weight of a liter of hydrogen

Judy Burns blows out the candles after Associates' rehearsal at Rachael Vernooy's home on Monday, 3 October 2022. Judy turned 80 years of age. 

 Back to Brilliant.org to learn about the basics of physics and mathematics, the foundations of our world. I've lost mine lately and I'm entering a dangerous phase where I need to make a turnaround. In a few minutes I'll drive to the Delaware State Police station new Glasgow to get fingerprinted for Read Aloud Delaware (for free) and request a criminal background clearance for Kelly Services/Education ($65 charge). I'm anxious and yes, even scared for I've felt let down by my former "colleagues" in the school system after my abrupt firing  by ESS over an email where I was hoping to have some honest dialogue about student behavior. It turned out horribly wrong and I have yet to recover. Not doing myself any favors by my destructive behavior and escapist activities. Why is it that nurturing your spirit with knowledge and exploration is such anathema when it is all restorative?

Fifth Grade Virtual Field Trip: Ecosystem Exploration

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80eakJGlaPs

A virtual fifth-grade field trip with Walking Mountains Science Center in Colorado! Ecosystem Exploration- Take a virtual hike with our educators through different ecosystems at the Walking Mountains Science Center Tang Campus. What do you see? Use your observation skills to find and discover.

24 May 2022 ... my goodness, it's been a LONG time since I made a post, but here I go once more, it needs to be more regular

 

The scythe was a bit rusty but Peg sharpened it quickly and it made quick work of flora in the back corner of the yard where we planted a Columbine. 

My Facebook post comments: "Before you start, “Here’s Peg’s lesser half posting on FB while she does the work of scything a corner plot in the backyard”. Well, I’ll have you know I finished the hole (at her request as she'd started it) for the Columbine and filled it with soil (mostly) some of which invaded the inside of my knee pad. Now that's true sacrifice ."

This is a good start. I can't comment on it all, there are trillions of neutrinos and you can't count them all, so are the experiences in a day. In its ultimate, a writer can turn it into a work of art for the ages, Ulysses.

Citing the positive, no matter how miniscule, to build back my spirit. This should not be a temporary fix. My

 30 June 2022, a beautiful Thursday in the Pike Creek Valley of New Castle County, Delaware on 15 Cook Road in Deacons Walk ... 

A list of those positive accomplishments, no matter how slight, that have made this day a step forward rather than back toward a sense of despair. 

1. Took tool sample to UPS for next day delivery for colon check. 
   
2. Used clasping tool to pick up Dutch tile behind the bookcase at the front window in the living room.
3. Getting set to do the lawn and plan to weed trim also (with Peg's assistance to start it).
4. Help Peg to get the chainsaw to start after its inability last evening in the meadow where I learned  about some of the invasive plants and did some pulling up of some with Jamie Kegerise's expertise. 
5. 
   

1.15.19 ... Floater at Mote (Megan Jolly's 2nd graders ... WOTDs taped to Smartboard)

1l14l19: Family resolution, hearing and not speaking, listening, caring, empathy expressed, understanding engendered ... love shared

                                                    Fox Den Road snowfall ... 1/14/19

It always helps to share one's feelings. As tough as that can be, the alternative, silence and growing misunderstanding, is unhealthy and just sows distrust and dislike, even among family members, perhaps even more so.

Tonight, we shared in a phone conversation as I walked the snow streets around Deacons Walk with Dancer on leash. I've said something that I've not accounted for and words, certainly written words, on the eternal digital highway, remain and cause pain. I apologized and searched for those words, was unsuccessful but have learned a lesson. Life is precious and sensitive and you may think you're in the right but you can't be objective about your actions and you must be accountable. How to step away and view your response dispassionately, third-personly is a skill that is currently beyond me but I will work to achieve it in some measure.