Ringing Like a Bell

I hope you have someone or more than one someone in your life that inspires you. I'm blessed in that sense. I am constantly surrounded by the most amazing, inspiring women. I often feel that these ladies are the unsung heroes of everyday life. You know the ones -- the ones who keep on keepin' on even in the toughest circumstances. The ones who manage to fill lunch table conversation with laughter and joy, who will cry with you, who will bake you a birthday cake, or tell you there's something gross stuck in your teeth. One is always smiling and laughing. I've never spoken to her without a hug or an "I love you," maybe even both. She teaches a tough science course and is always thinking of new and better ways to engage her students. She helps them find pumpkin DNA in the fall and is legendary for her homey holiday sweaters. She wears them with joy because she really does love Halloween, Thanksgiving, and especially Christmas. She is so dedicated to her stud...

I know people who are bold, courageous, and inherently tough. I know people who are humble, focused, and intuitively seem to know just what needs to be done in every situation. I know people who don't have a habit of second guessing themselves. I know people who find living and breathing in their mortal bodies effortless. I am not one of those people . When I first started writing this blog last year, I felt like I was trying to expose what's really going on with me, deep inside, the way you might pop off the back of a watch to see all the little gears and springs inside. I've got a box full of old journals in a closet right beside the desk where I'm sitting. The chief difference between what you're reading now and those journals is audience. I'm letting you see what I have to say if you want to. I just read a book called An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith   by Barbara Brown Taylor. As I read the introduction, I found a kindred spirit, not someo...

Let me tell you about a student who sits right beside my desk. I'll give you three chances to guess why he sits in that particular seat, and the first two don't count. This guy drives me crazy! He spends his time in my class constantly looking at the other students and thinking of things to say that will make them laugh. (Mostly quotes from Rush Hour 2.)  He's a classic class clown. Needless to say these behaviors often interfere with his learning; he'll be lucky to get credit for my class at all. You might be thinking that I dislike this student of mine, but I don't. At heart, he's a good kid -- he just exhausts me. In fact, there's a tender spot right in the middle of my heart for him. I've been teaching for a while now (next year will be number ten), and I've learned quite a bit about human nature in that time. I can tell you that the atmosphere in the room shifts in just this certain way when a punch is about to be thrown, and nothing brings...

I am always fascinated by overheard conversations. I wouldn't exactly call myself an eavesdropper, but I like it when I catch snatches of someone else's conversation. Once in Starbucks I listened to a lively debate between two women behind me -- tea vs. coffee. I was tempted to whirl around throw my arm up between them and say, "Ding, ding, ding! That's the end of round one!" I didn't, of course, believe it or not, even I have boundaries. A while back I caught a fragment of  a conversation my students were having. One said, jokingly, "What's the meaning of life?" The other said, more seriously, "Nobody knows that." Several of their peers joined in and before long one student's half-saucy remark had sparked a wildfire in my first period. As so often happens in the classroom, all of them turned toward me at once. In their eyes I'm always the 'tie-breaker' because being in charge automatically makes you right, right? (H...

So, I've gone crazy over The World Needs More Love Letters . I know I already told you about it, but I just can't help myself. I have to give you an update. Today was the last day before my students' spring break. I wanted to send them off on a good note, so I introduced them to the concept and gave them the "homework" to hide love letters of their own over the vacation. I really do love my students; I want them to come away from my class with real skills that will help them out in real life, but also want them to come away from my class with the understanding that I genuinely do care about them, that they matter, and that I'm here for them, cheering them on. Let's face it, all of us need to know we have somebody in our corner, even if that somebody is a geeky language arts teacher or a total stranger. I guess that's why I love the idea of anonymous love letters so much. Recently, I've lost some of my former students to suicide. I don't r...

This weekend I was standing in line at Wal-Mart, which turned into about a twenty minute wait. Something about the lack of a tag on a bag the lady two people in front of me wanted to buy took forever. I know -- you're trying to figure out what level of Dante's Inferno that belongs in. I'm not sure either. Anyway, while I was standing there, I picked up one of the little, impulse-buy publications near the register and cracked it open. The page fell right to this article about the woman who started a movement (and website) called The World Needs More Love Letters . You need to check it out; it's not what you think. One day the woman was riding the subway when she noticed another woman who looked like she was having a really bad day. On impulse, she got some paper and a pen out of her purse and started to write the woman an anonymous letter. In the letter she encouraged the woman and told her how special she was to the world. After she'd written it, she felt so much...

String together the pearls of A thousand mornings Torn from a warm bed To clean shower Or comfort a friend A thousand more spent In leisure with warm blankets, Books, and tea. Line up the shells of many moments Spent in prayer. All that time Speaking to heaven And waiting in silence For a gentle response. Stack the essays Passed through Ink stained hands, Each one Worried over With a creased Brow and pen. Bag up the hugs of friends Wrapped round your waist -- And kisses from Those loved best And lost. Amass the heartbeats Felt on mountaintops And beside the sea. Bottle up your tears Of joy and grief From moments Forgotten and remembered. Tie up all the conversations Treasured and discarded. Spare a glimpse for those Remembered, yet Remember the past Only as it gives you pleasure. Bind all these parts with one Quick stir and Stand back to admire All the life ...

Have you ever been to the aviary at the zoo? It is one of my favorite places. You walk into this artificial tropical dome fulled with plants and stunningly beautiful birds, and there's no barrier between you and the loveliness. You're allowed to walk through there and drink in the peace. There's also a sort of noisy silence inside the aviary. I say that because it isn't quiet in there at all, but there's a still, almost holy feeling when you step inside.  You can spend as much time in there as you'd like, listening to the exotic calls of unseen birds and waiting to catch a glimpse of the ones who decide to show themselves.       I'm reminded of the aviary on Sunday mornings when my ladies' Bible class meets. On some mornings, every woman wears a different color, and every week I'm struck my by the different beauties each woman brings. One brings her practical love for serving others. One grows roses. Another brings her particular love ...

Two things happened. First, I was on my way to work, mentally whining. I don't like waking up early every day, and sometimes it makes me grumpy. About the time I was daydreaming about my warm blankets, I pulled up to a stop sign to turn right and head to school. I paused and looked up through the windshield at a very lovely sunrise. I must confess I appreciate that part of my drive to school every morning. Sitting at the stop sign, I can see for a long way into the distance, and I also happen to be facing directly east. I make it there every day just in time to see the sun coming up over the hills. There's a lake, and I live in a rural area, so the land is fairly undeveloped and pristine. Anyway, a few days ago It dawned on me (okay, I know -- bad pun) that I get to see that stunning view every   morning. I get up, drive my car through pastures and woods, and pull up to a perfect sunrise. Then I thought about how many years I've been teachi...