In 2019, Give Me 5

2019 - Holy cow, it feels like we're talking about some futuristic time period. Yet, the calendar flips to it tomorrow at midnight. I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but time sure flies.

I know it's cliche to talk about goals for the upcoming year, but I figure I should put my own in writing anyways...and now is as good a time as any, isn't it? Now, some of these things I am already committed to, but I'm pretty sure they still count, even if I made these goals/commitments within the past few months:

1. Use my talents for the betterment of others --> Run a marathon for charity - I started training a few weeks ago for the annual ACE marathon in the spring. And I've raised about $200 so far (thanks to my amazing friends who have donated!). I convinced my sister to run it with me, and I have friends in the CA area who are planning to come out to cheer and visit, so it's going to be quite a weekend. I just need to buy that plane ticket...

2. Grow in community and share of my time --> Volunteer on a regular basis for the same organization - Recently I've helped out at various organizations and for random activities as the opportunities presented themselves. And those were all quite worthwhile. (My recent favorite was volunteering at Misericordia's bakery during the holiday season with a group from church.) But I started to feel like I was missing something - that I wanted to have a relationship with an organization, the people running it as well as other volunteers. So I connected with Mission OLA - the group of nuns and religious there do an amazing job in the Humboldt Park neighborhood and they are always looking for helping hands. It should be the perfect fit, and I'll hopefully make it over there on a weekly basis starting in a couple of weeks. And, who knows, I might end up doing another marathon (Indianapolis, perhaps?) to fundraise for them in the fall (see goal #1). I'll keep you posted...

3. Share my passion for Catholic education --> Present at a national conference - I have one of my grad school professors to thank for pushing me on this one. I've always wanted to attend NCEA, and this year it's in Chicago...and I submitted a proposal to present, which was accepted. (And I found out that several friends are also presenting at the conference!) Now that we're just a few months out, it's a little nerve-wracking, but I'm also excited, as my topic is along the lines of my grad school work on getting students engaged in preparing for, participating in, and reflecting on the Catholic Mass. I definitely have some work to do before April.

4. Grow in knowledge and cultivate (new) friendships --> Join a book club - Since grad school finished, I've found myself filling quite a bit of my time with books. I ended up stumbling across many good reads since July, but it tends to be, at least for me, more fruitful when you read in a group and for a purpose. Therefore, in January I plan to join a local Catholic book club at a church nearby. Their first read is a book about Pier Giorgio Frassati - he is a saint I've wanted to learn more about, so this might work out quite nicely!

5. Be brave and open up to others --> Take a chance on the opposite sex - Admittedly, I feel a little funny putting this one in writing, especially since everyone always tells you that love happens when you least expect it and that I've never been particularly skilled in the flirting department, but what the heck. After all, I no longer have grad school and my sister's wedding as excuses, do I? What do I have to lose (except my comfort zone)?


Five goals seems doable, especially considering many of them are already in motion. And I hope that these particular goals will help me become a better person and a more devoted disciple of Christ one day at a time. Cheers to 2019!

iRead 2018

1. Bored Again Catholic: How the Mass Could Save Your Life (Timothy P O’Malley) - 1/4/18
2. Of Beetles and Angels (Mawi Asgedom) - 3/30/18
3. The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates (Wes Moore) - 6/12/18
4. Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World (Admiral William H. McRaven) - 6/13/18
5. The Baker’s Secret (Stephen P Kiernan) - 6/22/18
6. The Five People You Meet in Heaven (Mitch Albom) - 7/16/18
7. The Secret Of Magic (Deborah Johnson) - 7/25/18
8. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton) - 7/31/18
9. Beartown (Frederik Backman) - 8/2/18
10. One Day (Dan Nicholls) - 8/9/18
11. The Boys in the Boat (Daniel James Brown) - 10/3/18
12. A Spark of Light (Jodi Picoult) - 10/7/18
13. Every Note Played (audiobook) (Lisa Genova) - 10/12/18
14. The Next Five People You Meet in Heaven (Mitch Albom) - 10/12/18 *This one was my favorite, hands down! Can't compete with Mitch Albom in my book (no pun intended).*
15. Nowhere Boy (Katherine Marsh) - 10/27/18
16. Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions (Valeria Luiselli) - 10/28/18
17. The Dream Daughter (Diane Chamberlain) - 11/4/18
18. The Rain Watcher (Tatiana de Rosnay) - 11/18/18
19. The Energy Bus (Jon Gordon) - 11/18/18
20. The No Complaining Rule (Jon Gordon) - 11/24/18
21. Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed In our All-About-Me World (Michele Borba, Ed.D.) - 12/23/18
22. Before We Were Yours (Lisa Wingate) - 12/24/18
23. The Magician’s Nephew (CS Lewis) - 12/25/18
24. One Day in December (Josie Silver) - 12/27/18

25. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (CS Lewis) - 12/29/18

As you can see, the first half of 2018 was a little light in the book department (and that's understandably so as during that time I was finishing up grad school), but I made up for my lack of recreational reading during the latter half of the year, especially the last three months of it. While I wouldn't come right out and recommend every book on this list, most were well worth the time and effort. Some were recommendations from friends (or, increasingly, Instagram posts) while others were re-reads, favorite authors, or random finds. (Sometimes book covers just appeal to me; I can't explain it.)

I know you may be thinking I was premature in posting this list, as I still have a few days to go in 2018, but I'm quite content with this list as is. Though, a few more books (especially those in the Narnia series) might grace this list before the ball drops on NYE. We shall see...

Another year in the books, would you look at that... (I'm now accepting reading recs for 2019, in case you were wondering.)

Through the Wardrobe

I think it's time to get back to blogging, mostly for my own sake if for no one else's occasional enjoyment. It's good to look back from time to time and reflect on what crossed my mind, tickled my fancy, or made an impact over the past year...

Take this Christmas break, for example. It's been rather laid back - we've done some visiting, some church-going, some baking and cooking, some marathon training, and a LOT of reading. When I arrived at my parents' house in Michigan, I remembered that I had left a few boxes of books in the basement - these were books I couldn't bear to part with (even if they would be collecting dust in the basement) when I went from classroom teacher to school administrator last summer. In this box of books was the Chronicles of Narnia boxed set, so I brought that up, started reading, and plan to bring the complete set home with me when I head back to Chicago in a few days. (I've never actually read the whole series, which, as a religion teacher for many years, I am ashamed to admit, as the themes are so rich for teaching the faith.)

But anyways...once upon a time in my early teaching days in Arizona, I used The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a read aloud for my fourth grade class. Now, I know as a teacher you're not supposed to have favorites, but this particular class was pretty darn special. Some of that was due to the fact that I had the most amazing group of parents with whom some, to this day, I still keep in touch. As we read through the novel, I got to thinking it would be pretty incredible to create Narnia for my students, so I suggested it to the parents, and they brought my idea to life. (And this was back before the days of Pinterest!) With an adjoining empty classroom, it wasn't too hard. They must have done most of the set-up during the morning, and when my class went to specials, they put the wardrobe in my classroom. When the kids got back, they went nuts! Cries of "It's Narnia!" rang through our room, and they, of course, wanted to try it out. (Who wouldn't?)

We opened the "wardrobe" (which was probably a refrigerator box, but I don't quite remember), and went next door. The parents had done an incredible job - snowflakes were hanging from the ceiling, miniature houses and cotton balls created a sense of a village, and there were toy figurines representing some of the characters, including Aslan. We even had a lamppost! (That I remember clearly as being made from a pole and two clear Chinese take-out boxes engineered together.) After some looking around, my students settled in for a read aloud - we probably read a chapter or two. And then it was time to leave.

By the time we got back from lunch, the wardrobe was gone, Narnia had been whisked away, and it seemed like it had all been a dream. One student astutely pointed out, "Maybe it only happens when it's a cold rainy day," which it surprisingly was that morning. (In Arizona, imagine that!) But my, what a morning we had. And every time I reread Narnia, I'll think of that class and those parents and the magic of opening our imaginations with the creative help from those parents.

In my ten years of teaching, I know I made a lot of mistakes as a teacher, probably more mistakes than things I did right, and I probably didn't raise as many test scores as I should have, but I'm pretty sure they learned at least a little. Above all, I hope my students remember that they had teachers who believed in them, challenged their creative and critical thinking, and loved them.

It's funny how little things hold such big places in our hearts even years and years later. It's memories like these that make me realize I found the vocation God planned for me...and that make me realize I should probably write these things down. ;)

What's the story behind the painting?

To anyone else besides my dad, mom, or sister, the painting that now hangs above my office door would probably carry little meaning. In fact, it's hard to tell at first glance (or, perhaps, even a second or third glance) what the painting is really about. While I do like the painting itself, I am much more content that it found its home in my office because it belonged to my great aunt who passed away this summer.

What's the reason it came into my possession and not someone else's? Well, it's not a long story...but it's not a short story either, so bear with me.

My great aunt, Marg (or, as she fondly dubbed herself, "Aunt Marg, the Great") lived for quite some time most recently in an assisted living facility in a small town in Michigan, and we would go to visit her whenever we were in town. It wasn't necessarily a quick car ride, but we usually made a day out of it, bringing her coffee and soup from Panera and then visiting other family friends out that way later in the evening.

Now, you had to be careful around Aunt Marg - if you mentioned offhand that you liked something she had, you might end up taking it home. So, when she made a big deal out of liking a painting that hung by the elevators on the fifth floor of her complex, I couldn't help but take note of it. And she certainly talked about the painting many times - I wish I could remember what it was that exactly stood out to her in it. 

But that it mattered that much to her was enough for me. I decided I would figure out what this painting was called and how I could get a copy for her (because I surely couldn't steal it from the wall - not that anyone but Marg would have likely noticed). I must say that it's somewhat difficult to figure out a painting's title without the artist's name or some other concrete facts like when it was painted. I found myself typing into the Google search engine things like "woman in red dress dancing on the beach" and "umbrella" and "maid" until I found its title: "The Singing Butler." (See what Wikipedia has to say about it here.) The title really didn't make sense to me, but from that I was able to google it and find a decently priced poster version of it.

I'll never forget how the poster arrived - it came in a triangular tube, so it had some creases, which my dad couldn't help but point out to me. But I wasn't going to let that stop me or get me down - we flattened it out with some heavy books, and then we brought it to Aunt Marg on our next visit. She loved it, and her son and daughter-in-law ended up getting a nice frame for it, and it hung in her apartment until she passed away in June. I'm not sure if it was my dad or my great aunt who made note that I would get the artwork when she died, but this summer I was informed it was mine now.


So, when my dad came to Chicago to visit about a month or so ago, he brought it with him...and it sat on the floor of my office until today, when some of our wonderful maintenance staff hung it on the wall for me. I'm sure there will be plenty of people (students and adults, alike) who will be in and out of my office in the coming years and months who'll wonder why that painting means enough to me for it to hang above my door. And, if they ask, I can tell them about a wonderful woman who always looked at events and setbacks as "life's little adventures" and who definitely lived up to her name, "Aunt Marg, the Great."

Al Amanecer...At Sunrise

Al amanecer.

(At dawn.)

Sounds so beautiful in Spanish, doesn't it?

In any language, though, sunrise is a beautiful sight to behold. I have had my fair share of incredible sunrises on my way to work since the start of this school year - they are especially breathtaking when the clouds do their magic, causing purples and golds and scarlets to dance across the sky.

While I love my daily commute sunrises, what I love even more is getting to the lakefront just as the sun breaks over the horizon during my weekly long runs. Last week's in particular caught me by surprise, and it made me believe I was like Bert (the chimneysweep) and Mary Poppins jumping into one of their sidewalk art pieces...

Kind of takes your breath away, doesn't it?

Getting up a few minutes earlier than is reasonable for a weekend to see something like that is well worth it. But I guess I have always been an early riser - who can sleep in when such beauty and potential awaits for those ready to begin the day?

Speaking of beauty, I ended up going to the Chicago Botanical Gardens with my sister and brother-in-law last weekend, and many flowers were still in bloom. Here are some photos from the day...and from the trip directly after to Graeter's --> 

The weather was beautiful this weekend for yet another run, but the winds are blowing in now, and it looks like it will be a chilly adventure to meet up with my sister and some friends downtown in just a little bit. Our days can't always be picture-perfect, but our hearts can always be full of gratitude for the gifts we receive every day and the people we share our days and time with along this journey of life.

We are all connected

A forwarded email from my mom: "Mitch Albom is coming to Chicago."

Exciting news, yes, but I left it alone for awhile. There were already too many things on my plate this week...

And then Facebook invited me to an event with Mitch Albom in Chicago.

I decided I couldn't ignore it anymore. My heart told me I should sign up.

I didn't know who of my friends was a Mitch Albom fan, so I did something slightly uncharacteristic - I bought a single ticket to the event, and I took myself. (Maybe I'm getting a tad more adventurous in my old age.)

I'm glad I bought that ticket. What a night...

Not only is Mitch Album an incredibly gifted storyteller on paper; he is a very engaging speaker. The audience was laughing, crying, and everything in between. This event was part of his book tour for his latest release, The Next Person You Meet in Heaven (sequel to The Five People You Meet in Heaven), yet he only spent a fraction of his time (about an hour and a half) actually talking about the book. He spent most of his time just telling us his story, sharing the people and the interactions (however seemingly small) that brought him to how he was standing in front of us that evening.

And we are all where we are right now due to the people and interactions we experienced in our own lives. For myself, a few easily come to mind (as I am sure some easily come to mind for you)...

*My high school was run by the Salesian priests and brothers. During my time there, they helped me develop my spirituality and relationship with God. In college, I ended up working at a Salesian summer camp, and during ACE I worked at a Salesian school. Their charism helped shape the teacher and leader I have become.

*At my parish growing up, an ACE teacher joined our choir because we sang the same "Our Father" as the Notre Dame Folk Choir. Through her (and ACE teachers at my high school), my sister and I learned about the ACE program, and we ended up applying and completing the program after college. The friends I met through the program are some of the greatest people I know, and they have taught me many things over the past 10 years. I don't know where I would be right now if I didn't do the ACE teaching program.

*In college, my sister and I took a class with a girl who was part of a morning running group. When she learned that we ran occasionally with our family, she invited us to join. The runners in that group were the ones who encouraged us to keep at the distance running and to run our first marathon, Disney. Since then I have run 6 other marathons (and my sister has run 7 other ones). How fortunate to have crossed paths with that college classmate during freshman year.

There are plenty of other examples - it's truly incredible, and I don't believe there is one string of cause and effect in one's life. (It's way too complicated for that!) But Mitch Albom's lesson to us was that we are all connected. Sometimes we affect another person's life, and we may not even realize it (or it happens way down the road/we never meet the person). It's a beautiful, beautiful thing.

I love Mitch Albom for a number of reasons, but I think my number one reason is because he teaches such profound (yet, at the same time, simple) lessons through his books and articles about human relationships, loving others, and living a meaningful life.

Do yourself a favor and pick up one of his books if you haven't read one before. And, if you have read some/all of them, go back and re-read. I guarantee there's another layer of lessons to be uncovered. His books are those which you simultaneously want to devour and read slowly so as to absorb every word.

Happy reading!

Bonus: a few photos --> 

Little Reminders...and Little Lessons

It was getting to be that point of the school year that I was starting to question a few things - whether I am right for my new position, if I'm being most efficient and effective with my time at school, whether I'm making a difference...

The list goes on, as it often does.

And then came a few reminders that I'm right where I need to be (granted, there is always room for improvement):

- a note from ACE Advocates with a mustard seed reminder about having faith to move mountains:

- a card (and gift card) from my principal about working together:

- a beautiful bracelet with the word "inspire" and an accompanying thank you note from a friend in the Remick Leadership program thanking me for encouraging her (and for passing on some textbooks):

The people who sent/gave these things probably didn't realize just how much they meant to me, especially at this moment in my life. But I am so grateful for these little reminders...and the reminder to be that reminder (if you can follow that one - haha) for others too.

We are in the business of Catholic education - our students (and faculty) are gifts to us each and every day, as they give us a chance to interact with Jesus. They teach us lessons in forgiveness, love, compassion, hope, faith, and courage. It helps to press the pause button and reflect on these little lessons along the way.

I owe so much to the Salesians...

The Salesian sisters are some of the most amazing women I have ever met. Through their summer camps, work in schools, prayers, and more they have touched so many lives.

 A few weeks ago I was flipping through their monthly magazine publication and came across a page asking people to “adopt a sister,” and, though it wasn’t asking for a lot, I knew I wanted to help and give back in a small way. Today, I received news (a letter, certificate, bio, and Blessed Mother picture) that I had adopted Sr. Liz - what a blessing and honor to support and pray for her (and to have her pray for me too).

I found a use for this frame I've had forever!

If you feel so inclined to donate too ;)

God bless the Salesian sisters and their ministry - they truly are the hands and feet of God. Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us!

Slow and steady

"How do you like your new job?"

This is one of the first questions on my family and friends' minds that they inevitably asked me this week as the school year started up and we welcomed children through our school doors.

So far so good, I think. 

But, in all honesty, I don't really know yet. The truth is, it's only been a week with the students, two weeks with the teachers. The large parts of my job - student discipline and teacher observations - haven't really started yet. Most of my time thus far has been spent in meetings, working things out with the principal, fielding questions from parents and teachers, and doing many a lunch and recess duty. (So far I have loved lunch duty because I'm getting to learn the students' names.) In terms of getting in a groove or knowing my schedule, I simply don't.

But I am learning - learning names, learning routines, learning what's been done before (and figuring out what might need some tweaking/change), learning policies... 

And then I remind myself that I was at my previous school for seven years - I didn't get to know all of the families and students overnight there either. (It's just hard to remember that in the moment.) It's going to take time and effort... And that's something I'm willing to give because I recognize what an incredible community I am now a part of and how much I can learn from my principal and colleagues and, hopefully, how much I can contribute in return.

No one said change was going to be easy. But I have faith it's going to be more than just all right.

When life hands you $5...find a good happy hour!

If you're keeping track, a lot happened since my last post: my twin sister's wedding, a family vacation, the start of a new job... You know, big (and good) things...

Here are just a few photos:

(Okay, so there were ten photos instead of "just a few" - oops.)

But this post isn't about all of that; though, it very well could be. I'll save that for another time. Instead, I thought I'd share something fun a friend and I have started doing since I got back from all that summer stuff...

I thought figuring out a 8-10 day road trip each summer was pretty brilliant on our part, but that only happens once a year. What if we could do something fun (yet strategic) on a weekly basis?

Enter rotating happy hour. Half off burgers on Monday? Awesome. Taco Tuesday? Wonderful. You get the idea - my friend and I have started meeting up once a week (a different day each week) to find some of the best happy hour deals on food and drinks in our neck of the woods.

Truth be told, we haven't been disappointed yet. Here's what we've tried so far:

Monday special: Dos Tacos (half off burgers & fries with the purchase of a beverage) - In case you were wondering, the burgers were delicious, and, perhaps surprisingly, margaritas do pair nicely with this food option.
Tuesday special: Rocks (3 for $6 tacos, 1/2 priced cocktails) - Though the tacos are small and limited to three choices (that you can mix and match or go with the same choice for all three), they were quite tasty.
Wednesday special: We had to skip Wednesday this week (and next), so the jury is still out on this one (obviously).
Thursday special: Diag Bar and Grill ($5 classic burgers & side, $5 cans and bottles) - it's hard to go wrong when you can get a hearty and yummy meal (and adult beverage) for less than $15 (including tip) in Chicago. #winning

And that's the extent of our HH adventures to date. But don't you worry, there is more to come - in a few months' time we will have found the best HH places from Lakeview to Downtown.

Sometimes, life requires you to mix it up a little. So, cheers to the adventure and fun to come!

Love Lives On

"Life has to end. Love doesn't."

(The Five People You Meet in Heaven)

"Death ends a life, not a relationship." 

(Tuesdays with Morrie)

"When someone is in your heart, they're never truly gone." 

(Tuesdays with Morrie)

There tends to be a theme (and quite a bit of wisdom) in Mitch Albom's novels...perhaps that's why I find myself drawn to them so much.

It's been hard not to think of his books recently in light of a few things...

First, I literally just finished re-reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and I pre-ordered the sequel coming out this fall. Without giving too much away, the main character, Eddie, goes to heaven and meets five people who help him look back on his life and make sense of it. It is such a great reminder of how each life affects so many other lives. (In that sense, it's similar to "It's a Wonderful Life," but I digress...)

Second, with my sister's wedding coming up (and with my graduation from grad school having just passed), it's hard to celebrate such momentous occasions without any of our grandparents who played such meaningful roles in our lives growing up. I know they would be beaming with pride and joy.

Third, after I got back from my roadtrip out west, my dad called with the news that my great aunt (Marg, the Great) had passed away. I took the news harder than I expected, and when her birthday card was returned in the mail unopened and with the words "no longer lives at this address" scrawled on the envelope, I realized that in all of the times I had gone to see her, I had taken it for granted that there would always be one more time...but there wasn't.

No one seems to like to talk about death. It's scary to think about one's own mortality or the mortality of people you love. But without recognizing that, I think we leave a lot of things unsaid, a lot of phone calls unmade, a lot of visits made grudgingly. And it seems that every time we may learn this lesson, we put it to the side, and we have to learn it all over again the next time. (At least, that's been the case for me.)

The good thing in all of this, though, is that my family is pretty good at telling stories - "Remember that time when grandma..." or "Your grandfather always said..." And so, they live on.

Love lives on.


---
Sorry to seem like such a downer today - it's just something that's been on my mind. To end on a happier note, though...

My sister came to see my new school (and to help me lug some boxes of books and such up the stairs to my office)...and to make her first trip to The Original Rainbow Cone.

Later in the evening, we joined up with her fiance and some other friends to see "Waitress," which is playing downtown till Sunday. Funny and full of energy, I highly enjoyed it. (It was definitely a good call to watch the movie (non-musical) and jam out to the music (Sara Bareillis!) beforehand.)

Finally, since grad school is officially over, I have had time to stop and smell the flowers. It's good to get some breathing time before the final preparations for my sister's wedding...

I get by with a little help from my friends...

Back home (in my apartment with no air conditioning), I can finally breathe and let the past 25 months (or 3 years, same difference, right?) sink in. I won't shy away from the fact that it was challenging, but I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.

And, in addition to God, my classmates, professors, and family are the ones to thank for that...


PLC 1: Always remember to PLC like a champion today...and never follow Phil.

We just weren't complete the first week...

My prayer partner:

My roommate (3 summers running...):

My ACE housemate (now in the program one year behind me):

Our amazing Holy Cross priests:

annual t-shirt unveiling

My 29 classmates:

Room 210 for presentation day - love these guys!

ACE 15, now RLP 15 :) :)

all graduated!! :D

My family:

Now it is time to look forward to what the future holds...may God bless all of us as we continue our endeavors as Catholic school educators and leaders!