“Oh, Froggy. Will you ever learn?” said his mother.
“That’s why I’m going to school, Mom!”
And together they leapfrogged all the way home--flop flop flop.
                                                 from Froggy Goes to School
                                                           by Jonathan London       A whiff of a new box of Crayolas and I’m back in first grade with Mrs. Zimmerman. My desk had a hinge at the top. We were supposed to keep our books and pencils and crayons and round tipped scissors neatly inside. I was not one of the neat kids. Stray papers ended up in a wrinkly jumble. Sometimes the crayons scattered around at the bottom. I’d root around looking for the one I wanted.
       I was a slow learner about neatness. My mother impressed on me early that the worst thing I could was waste time; we’re only allotted a certain amount and nobody knows for sure how much. When I realized I was spending way too much time looking for things, I felt like I woke up suddenly from a nightmare.
       My grandmother told me she could find anything in her bedroom drawers with her eyes closed. That thought rattled about at the back of my brain for probably 40 years. Now I can find everything too! My spice shelves are alphabetical. My bookshelves are arranged by subject and author. And you already know about my sock drawer!
       So, as the kids head back to school, bookbags packed with supplies, I will try to understand that we all learn at our own speed. Math is hard for some kids. For some, spelling. Still others have a hard time with neatness. I truly believe that we need to give our kids (and ourselves!) good examples, good tools and lots of patience! 
                                                                   --stay curious!                                                                                                                                                          

    “It's just about impossible to be perfect all the time. In fact, some days it's hard to do anything right. But sometimes things go really well.”
                       from Amber Brown Sees Red by Paula Danziger   
       Today is Paula Danziger’s birthday. She would have been 71. Ms. Danziger wanted to be a writer since she was in second grade, but worked in other jobs before two car accidents in one week got her thinking about living her dream.
       She wrote over 30 books including 14 about Amber Brown, a fourth grader, The first book, Amber Brown is Not a Crayon, is a book about friendship and lots more. It was published in 1994, and kids still identify with Amber.
       I planned to write about friendship, but, like Ms. Danziger, I too was living a dream deferred and decided to wake up and start living it.
       Like Amber Brown, I am certainly not perfect, but I’m getting some things right. And sometimes things DO go really well.
(I’ll send out my thoughts about friendship another time.)

What will you do (big or small) to live YOUR dreams. Let me know how it's going!
                                                           
                                                                  --stay curious! 

       I like to plan. I do it to pretend I have some control over my life. Planning is my way to say, “This will happen and I will do it.” So even when surprises throw monkey wrenches into them, plans are still important to me.
       But plans can go awry. Like when I got ready to post my blog, but remembered about the service appointment for my car’s 30,000 mile check-up. Then between the laundry and a phone call (long) from a friend, well, you know.
       So while there are as many ways to plan as there are people (and animals) to make plans, sometimes keeping appointments, staying in touch with friends and doing the laundry ... that reminds me... My local blueberry farm still has berries to pick. But first, what a surprise! The sun is out. I’m going for a walk.

       What makes you spontaneous? Send a comment...I’d love to know.  
                                                                   --stay curious!

       Moon gazing encourages me to dream. I am a believer in dreams. But I like to think of myself as a realist, too. That means I must work to make my dreams come true.
       Like Harold, I dream of the things I love. But I dream of ALL the things I love, not just pies!

• I dream of being a famous author.
  
• I dream of the endless opportunities for my grandchildren.
  
• I dream of the beauty of this world we share, especially when we have to search for that beauty.
  

       Last Friday, some of us got to see a blue moon, the second full moon in a month. Because they are so rare, I think a blue moon gives us an extra opportunity to dream big. Harold’s dreamy, purple shortcut led him from one adventure to another, but he was lost. He drew his idea of the moon and lit his way with his imagination. 
       The next blue moon won’t occur until January 31, 2018. I'm getting out my blue crayon. 

       What dream will you make come true?
                                                                 __stay curious!