saying goodbye

as one who has wandered all his life, you would think i had grown accustomed to good byes. i have said literally thousands of goodbyes to hundreds of people from Texas to Asia to Africa to Europe; always being the one who was leaving, with the exception of saying goodbye to my first born daughter on the occasion of her mission trips. and now, just a few days after Christmas, saying goodbye to my younger daughter leaving on her African adventure with World Teach. i know she will come back better for the adventure and those she touches will certainly be enriched, but as a parent it is always hard to say goodbye to a child no matter the age or how brief the gone away time. the good thing, in the end, is saying hello! so until that day in the not so distant future, i will be on my knees.

christmas @ clans

it is that time of year when clans gather from far and near and we are no different. we came from far, over 2000 miles, as the PaPa and MiMi on the daughter's side, and Oma and Opa will come from 100 miles away on the son's side.

we gather for a variety of reasons, but as it has been said, least we forget, Jesus is the reason for the season, at least as far as this gathering is concerned. we also gather to see our children and our grandchildren and because one daughter will leave for namibia on dec. 30 and the other daughter, husband, and granddaughters will before long leave for burma (myanmar).

others families gather for different reasons and that is fine, as long as we can still gather for mine and that is what makes this country great.

straighten up, or so i am told

truth is i like to play with words. so occasionally if you are reading this and you see "wondering" when you expected "wandering" and you are wandering what in the world he meant when he said "clothes" instead of closets, well just keep wandering, if you no (see their is a good example) what i mean. i mean why do we have so many words that sound the same but are spelled differently, or word so close together in spelling that don't sound alike, like scarred and scared. so, f you get lazy with your "r" -- you are suddenly scared straight or scarred forever, so to speak.

it is enough to down right confuse a phonics dropout. but isn't it funny how phonics cannot always (now why "all ways" and "always", just more to confuse the muddled headed, or to make us more muddled headed and feel beholden to the english majors among us) help; it is enough to make you want to yelp for help.

truth is i rely upon my disguise as a forgetful professor. it helps.

grade, grade, until your daddy comes home

seems all i do this time of the semester, which happens twice a year, is grade, grade, and more grading.  it can be grating this grading.  but then, it is all for the students.  they worked hard all semester now it is my turn to work hard and be as fair as possibly to the little darlings.

just sometimes wish there was an easier way to evaluate what someone has learned.  i do not test anymore; test always seemed to be an insufficient tool.  i use problem based learning projects.  it seems to work.  you just need to be sure to identify the social loafers. 

speaking of loafers, i have a perfectly good brand new pair i cannot wear; i always seem to be doing that -- buying shoes i cannot wear.  i wonder why?  was i scarred by being scared (don't you love the english language) by a pair of wild looking shoes lurking in the darkest recesses of some long lost clothes of my youth?  who knows, but i really should donate them to a worthy cause. 

rain aint sunshine

i know one isn't suppose to say aint but when it comes to days that are rainy, dreary, and overcast, with what passes for daylight at 7 am and dark at 4 pm, what else can one say other than it aint suppose to be that way.  or so some say.

i read that vitamin d is what everyone needs (in case you haven't heard it is the new rage med). well here in the pacific northwest you will not get vitamin d unless from a bottle or blue ray ultra light lamp, at least during the winter months.  okay, well most of the year, excepting maybe july and august.

some folks say this lousy weather trends to really get them down, but not me.  i actually like it. it is good for my allergies, as rain keeps things out of the air; and, good for my skin cancer issues -- obviously.  also, i am a "brit-o-phile", liking all things british, including tea and scones, etc.; and the weather is truly tea drinking conducive.  so, in the words of that "mad" man of immortal wisdom, "what me worry," or should i say complain? heck no, i actually like the rain, but then again, each to her own thing. 

now in namibia maybe there can be too much of a good thing, if sun is your thing.

wondering as i wander

i read a blog on Namibian lark that made me think about life on the net. we can all be virtual incognito some bodies on the net, and yet, what does it mean? i set here blogging with you in mind, but then who are you, and will you ever find me -- or at least my blog? and, if you do, will it matter at all? who knows, i do not.

should it matter that i do not, probably not, so i continue my life on net always with the quizzical and yet.

new blog posting draft

i am on a new learning curve with blogging, blogger.com, and flock
browser, designed for social networking and to be user friendly. the social
networking part i get, but user friendly, still trying it on.

and so it starts

i have taken a bold step, as many have before me.  i am hoping i will not falter, but boldly go were so many have gone before me.  my daughter, the younger of two of the loves of my life, the other being their mom, my wife, convinced me to take the plunge.  so in the spirit of the seminal military satire of my gen; the doc is out! 

making a difference -- early am observations

well here it is early am, which is my usual time to rise -- at least at this point in my earthly plane of existence -- and reading through my email i find encouragement, discouragement, laughter and hope. how you ask, so much in emails? well, first a forward from my wife about where my younger daughter will be volunteer teaching for a year. it is written by a volunteer who is now there. i am encouraged that like her sister, who has gone on several short term mission trips, she will be making a difference.

then discouragement from a disgruntled learner who thinks grades are all that matter; laughter from my daily dose of comics (where would we be without the capacity to laugh?), and finally, hope from my daily dose of devotionals -- leading me back to encouragement that we all can make a difference.

making a difference: my wife and i often wonder if the gypsies did not switch daughters on us, much like tooth fairies who leave you something of great value for something of little value, our daughters are both so much more than we are. we just have to know that they are a gift of great and immeasurable value.

i have done much, have many letters after my name, etc., but most that really matters is exemplified in my daughters, and this due to my wife. i will never be able to measure up to what God has done in them! i am externally (no, not eternally, as I am only mortal) grateful that i did not get what little i would have settled for, but oh so much more.

okay, so this was a bit more serious than i would normally blog, but, hey it is 6:15 am and all is quite and still and not a creature was stirring, except me, through out the house and while visions of christmas in wash dc with all of my family stirring in my mind, i just waxed seriously.