Becoming a reading icon for children ... Pete the Cat; Read Aloud Delaware event in Wilmington this late afternoon

Tuesday, 18 July 2023 

Should check my calendar on my iPhone more carefully as I assumed that my volunteer time for the pre-K class at the daycare on S. Chapel Street was for 10:30. It was not and Ms. Lula, who celebrated a birthday yesterday, expected me at 9:30 for the 7 children she leads, two of whom were missing today. So, getting there at 10:40 due to construction delays around Newark gave me only a short time to read. One, a boy, was cut short and another I promised to start with next week. I will not be late next Tuesday, 7/25. Elizabeth, a rising 4th grader, acted as the class assistant. She knows all the times and served as a gatekeeper when I asked for the next student to be read to. 

Cut the lawn, did some trimming and blowing, my hands are grass-strewn and my white socks dirtied (wearing my hiking boots, bought down at the Delaware shore at an outlet with Peg when we went camping and kayaking while mom was in in-hospital hospice care for a few days ... 2015?). The Asbells were on their front porch and Dwayne was watching as a lawn service employee cut his yard with a riding lawnmower. It was an historic and yes, painful, moment to see him relying on a service that he has done all his adult life ... cutting and taken care of his yard. 

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Wednesday ... 7/26/23 ... So, WTH, why can I not write in this online blog at least for a few minutes of the day and then share it with those close to me. Yesterday was a transformative day for me and Elizabeth, 10, the rising 4th grader in the pre-K class at the Christian Daycare I read for on Tuesday mornings; and later a phone call to Nick who received the birthday card and check today. He was truly appreciative as it came at a needy time financially. Back to pre-K with the announcement from this engaging young lady that she could not read chapter books. Here I am reading "Trucks" and "Spot Goes To The Beach" to these 4 and 5 years olds and she can't read. We'll have to remediate that I told her and promised to read a chapter book next week (8/1) to her. Already have "Stuart Little" in the car and ordered a paperback from Amazon for her to have. 

It's a gorgeous Wednesday morning and within the hour I'll be back on the trails (rode last night until light feel on the unseen roots and depressions before Smith Mill Road ascent) with Maryann set to arrive from NJ at 9:45 at WCP. 

What a ride with the girl from NJ this Wednesday morning that extended into the afternoon as we road trails, the Pomeroy, the reservoir, Redd Park and the asphalt downhill to the intersection of Polly Drummond and Paper Mill Rds. Over 20 miles (my Strava gave out as always but I did register mileage of over 13 at one point at the turnaround where with Maryann's tough ascent of a hill beyond the house remains in Pennsylvania that I'd always walked in the past ... she inspired me to reach the top).