North Shore Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving on the North Shore

I'll let the pics speak for themselves...

I am so thankful for my wonderful friends!

Gracias, Mahalo,

It's that time of year again....thankful time!  

Gobble Gobble

I will start with a sweet little story:

At the beginning of the year, I started a "Thankful Board" in my classroom.  It was intended to be a positive way to start the day, you know, we all say one thing that we are thankful for?  Well, somewhere between "the 1st quarter is over" and "we have a lot to do before Christmas", there were a few days where I intentionally skipped talking about our "thankful things" (as my students call it).  I figured that we needed to get to work in order to accomplish all that I had planned for that day.  

However, plan to abort thankful things was quickly shot down.  One of my wonderful students (all of whom I adore) knew right away that we hadn't said our thankful things and said, "But Mrs. Scacco, what about our thankful things?  I want to tell you my thankful thing!"

Oh, Lord in Heaven above.

Like I'm really going to let that one pass.

And so we sat around the blue table.

And talked for 10 minutes about...

Our Thankful Things.

Bless this boy!  Whether his intention was to talk about this thankful thing, or to get out of classwork, he reminded me that there is no "work" more important than the work of gratitude.

Yet another reminder to SLOW DOWN Mrs. Scacco!

I am thankful for all of my students. They keep my mind in check. 

With that in mind, here are my other thankful things:

My family:

I don't have a picture of Tony and Melissa readily available, or it would go here!  Along with Baby Girl Sophia!

My apartment:

In one word, SAFETY!  Although there was a fire on the 23rd floor tonight, yikes!  We were not damaged, though.

My health, although I have a nasty cold right now, I am in good overall health!  Yeah!

Hawaii:

This little slice of heaven is 10 minutes from my apartment, and I'm usually the only person there!

My husband:

Goofy picture, but come on, aren't we cute?

The Married Life

I woke up this morning wishing to reflect on...

The Married Life

I am not one to share too much personal information, and so I will just skim that surface.  I do, however want to share the joy in my life that keeps me chugging along, lightens my day, loves me.

This is my husband:

That is NOT our dog.  Hehe...It really randomly came out of the bushes and made friends with my husband's lap.  At first, I was jealous...
"Hey dog...I don't even like dogs, but I was willing to give you a chance, until you stole my husband's lap!"
...and then I realized that I shouldn't be so stingy.

My husband has PLENTY of love to share with the dog and me...and all of the kids in his class...and our families...I mean, this man is full of love!

He is:
Peaceful
Thoughtful
A Really Great Cook
Handsome
Encouraging
My Best Friend

I really could go on and on, but I need to get back to my school work.  I'm sure that I'll share more later.

Great thing about Hawai'i?
I met my husband here!

aloha.

Blue Day

I wore blue today.

Not just because it is my favorite color to wear,

but because this man passed away:

Someone somewhere organized for people to wear blue today in his memory.

It was the least I could do. 

I've honestly never mourned someone that I've actually never met as I am mourning him.

I've had the absolute pleasure of watching him surf many times...just one of the glories of living in Hawai'i nei.

Those memories will live with me forever.

I've wondered in the last few days whether my sadness is sincerely in mourning, or if I am channeling my exhaustion from being so overly busy into a more "acceptable" cause.  But no, I am truly sad over his death.

And so I'm left thinking about life, and death, and the phrase "carpe diem".  I wish, more than anything that I lived my every minute with that thought in mind, but I don't.  I can't.  I have to plan for the next event, day, lesson, project.  My schedule reflects my priority to make sure I am "prepared" for what comes next.  Monday night, I have to prep for Tuesday.  Tuesday day, I have to prep material for Tuesday night....and the pattern continues.  I am not the only person dependent on this...students, coworkers, bosses, etc are dependent on my planning, as well.

Yet, I can't help but end back where I began.  How can I live for the day?  Death always reminds us that we are living.  Is that the lesson?


Andy, we miss you, and always will.

Aloha.