Walking for a cause

"The sum of the whole is this: walk and be happy; walk and be healthy. The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily and with a purpose."
Charles Dickens

Sunday was the annual Start! Walk for the American Heart Association. This year we raised a little over $1,600.00. The day was cold and gray again, similar to last year....brrr. This was our second year walking. There were not as many people in attendance this year. Along with my friend and co-captain of our team, I walked with my sister and her pup Marli. Marli is a chocolate Labradoodle...thus her mohawk looking hair doo! Marley enjoyed walking and greeting the people along the route.

I think I've mentioned that we walk in memory of my husband who died due to a stroke he suffered during an operation for a new heart valve. My friend Carol walks in memory of her late husband, Brian, who died of a massive heart attack and also for her 12 year old son who inherited his father's high cholesterol. Our husbands died 2 weeks apart back in 2002. Last year in light of the impending 5th year anniversary, I mentioned to Carol that I wanted to do something in a positive light and mentioned raising money and walking in the Heart Walk. She loved the idea and thought they needed a positive event too. Thus our team "Walkers With Heart" was born. It was a step in a positive direction not only for myself and for Carol but also for our children.

Carol's sons and my kids took off and ran most of the route. I had a wonderful brisk walk, and conversation with my sister. It is always nice to be able to catch up with one another in our busy lives. We walked the route in less than an hour and then we made our way to the ladies room and I spied something you don't normally see while in the ladies room....!!! So I just had to take a photo!

A picnic lunch and then a visit to my sister's house for the afternoon made the day complete.

A walk through town

I thought it would be fun to take a walk and photograph along the way during the spring. I did similar in the Fall.

My neighbor's sheep out grazing on a beautiful sunny day.

Over the river...


Our town is in bloom...
Living in New England, we have many old cemetaries. This grave stone is dated 1720 and the roots of this old tree are growing around it...

Beautiful tulips abound where ever you look..

The old academy building's beautiful fountain....

My favorite house in this town....

Seems that no matter where you went, people were out enjoying the day....Home to my own tulips...

And then....

And then there were 4!

From left to right..... Duck, Brit, Noisey Nora and Pip

Somethings Hatching...

For a school science project, I set 11 eggs that came from a friend's chicken coop. The class and I are doing a unit on "everything grows" and we began with a discussion on eggs and chickens and then set up an incubator. The excitement in the room grew as we moved the little chicken on the calendar closer and closer toward the 21st day (hatching day)....and being so brilliant, I set the eggs so they would hatch during school vacation week! Well at least if nothing hatched I could have run out and picked up 6 chicks from the local farm supply store and said they had come from the eggs!!

Being the good teacher, I gave out my home # for parents to call on the afternoon of the 21st day...today. Yesterday morning I woke to a surprise. One chick decided to come a day early. We have named her Noisey Nora (yes, after the book by Rosemary Wells) since all she does is cheep all day long!

The day began quiet with the exception of Nora! and then my phone was ringing off the hook. I told one family that I'd be home after 1:30 as I needed to take the kids to Kohl's for shorts. I arrived home to find 3 students with moms and siblings in my driveway. They happily came into the room and we were surprised with another newly hatched chick! This one Meri has called Brit.

Two more students arrived to view the hatch lings and marvel that "Ms. Lisa" actually doesn't live at school!

After dinner, one student arrived just in time to witness the birth of the third chick.

You can see the cracked egg (middle front) as the chick was doing its best to hatch.

Libby seemed just as interested in what was going on as my student. She watched the entire time! The chick then pushed and pushed to get the unzipped portion of the egg shell off. After 20 minutes of watching, out came the new baby chick!

My student's little sister thought we should name it "Duck" and Meri liked the name so Duck it is! Although, I thought it looked more like a penguin! Duck spent some time drying off in the incubator before being introduced to the others in the brooder. Then a little attention with the camera and a measurement, and Duck was good to go!

I can't think of a better way to spend the day!

Vacation!

OK....vacation! I noticed my younger sister had posted the week's weather on her blog so I had to do the same! LOL ...copying isn't a mean thing, it is a form of flattery!

So...this week, I have one child off with his scout troop in PA until tomorrow night and one child taking his driver's education classes from 9-3 (oooo lucky him!). Miss M is at an over night at her best friend's house (best friend raises goats and Lily the goat has a tiny tiny baby yesterday..all of 4 lbs!). So Miss M is extremely happy to be over there instead of cleaning up with me over here!
I'm planning on walking each day as we get ready for the American Heart Association Heart Walk. We have raised $1,190.00 to date. If you know anyone who'd like to donate they can go to http://www.heartwalk.kintera.org/ click on Cape Cod MA and then if you look to the left under Team Rank...we are Walkers With Heart :) The big walk takes place on Sunday....and it looks like rain!

Lisa

This past weekend, I got to spend half of a Saturday hanging around with my 16.5 yr old. We attended 'Junior Day' at Emerson College in Boston.

My son wants to pursue a BFA in Technical theater and Stage design. I am enjoying the man my once little boy is growing into. While he has those moments were I want to strangle him.... he mostly is a young man of integrity, honesty, and compassion who posseses a quick wit and a great sense of humor.

We started our morning dashing to the car in the pouring rain as thunder pealed and lightening lit up the dark morning skies. We drove as far as the T station in Quincy and jumped onto the red line. I had a nice conversation with my son on the ride in. We stopped at JFK station and a homeless man boarded our car. He immediately went into his begging mode asking for spare change so he could eat today.

As I listened to this man and tried not to make eye contact (as I learned years ago was an invitation to be badgered for money), I couldn't help but think of the movie "Conversations With God" and how Neale Walsch felt so very invisible when he was homeless. My heart began aching for the blight of this man and then I could hear in my head the verse to a song from church...

"What so ever you do for the least of my people, that you do unto me."

I began to rummage through my backpack looking for the apple I'd thrown in the bottom. Patrick turned and saw me digging and said "Mom no don't, I know this man, he comes on the train every day and panhandles and if you give him food he gets mad and begins yelling at train riders." I put my apple aside. The man came up to us and asked for a dollar and sat across from us. I noticed someone had given him a balance bar and although he had opened it, he only nibbled it here and there, not to hungrily might I add. When did my little boy grow up to posess such street smarts?

The rest of our morning was unevetnful. We enjoyed hearing all that Emerson had to offer at $40,000.00 a year....ka ching!! And the day turned out to be a beautifully warm and sunny day.

Patrick left me to get over to his school for play practice (after stopping at the school's book store where I bought Patrick an Emerson Tshirt) and I rode the rest of the ride home alone thinking of that roly poly tow head whose little voice I can still conjur up in my mind. Time is racing forward and I am treasuring days like these that make me stop and see who they are becoming.