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. ;)