Sign of the Times

I've been remiss at keeping track of my memories of this time.  I'll try to do better.  

Today is Memorial Day and, boy, is it a time to be thankful for those who gave all so that I may live free. Free to make the choice to wear my mask when I go to the grocery store to pick up my groceries that somebody else gathered for me, or to a restaurant to pick up take-out for dinner, or to the garden center to get flowers for my porch, or any other place I might need to go so that other people are protected from whatever I might encounter.  

Wearing a mask is annoying.  Wearing a mask is probably a bit overprotective in some ways when we are outside and six to ten feet apart.  However, I'd rather be overprotective than spread germs.  

It is a sacrifice I'm willing to make and it is quite a small one - especially in comparison to the ones that were made to provide me with the opportunity to make that choice.  

What is Memorial Day?

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

WHY IS THE POPPY A SYMBOL OF MEMORIAL DAY?

In the war-torn battlefields of Europe, the common red field poppy (Papaver rhoeas) was one of the first plants to reappear. Its seeds scattered in the wind and sat dormant in the ground, only germinating when the ground was disturbed—as it was by the very brutal fighting of World War 1.

John McCrae, a Canadian soldier and physician, witnessed the war first hand and was inspired to write the now-famous poem in 1915. He saw the poppies scattered throughout the battlefield surrounding his artillery position in Belgium.

WE HONOR THE FALLEN

We say thank you to those who paid the ultimate price. We will always remember the sacrifices of our nation’s heroes. We are deeply grateful. 

In remembering the fallen, we also honor their loved ones: spouses, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, friends. There really aren’t words to express our gratitude for their dedication, but we do live in gratitude each and every day for the precious gift that they have given to us - freedom.

What day is it, anyway?

I have been so busy and the days seem to run one into another.  I often lose track of what day of the week it is and I almost never know what date of the year it is.  Is anybody else so muddled?  

I thought today might be a rather light one since it is Friday and Mother's Day is this weekend.  I thought folks might be easing up and laying back a little bit.  Nope.  That's not the case.  I started off shortly after seven this morning and wound things up when the sky was beginning to darken.

I wonder what those folks who think testing holds teachers accountable are thinking now?  Do they realize what kind of dedication this group of people have to learning and children?

I have never been more pleased to be a part of the education world than I am right now.  The days might be hard but they are certainly more interesting than they have ever been!