Day 131 -- Changing of the Blocks

We have this goofy calendar thing in our kitchen that Colby got as a gift from one of his former 4th grade students several years ago.  It doesn't exactly suit my home decor style, but there is something strangely satisfying about turning the blocks to commemorate the passing of the days and months.

The bottom of the calendar contains three rectangular blocks.  Each block has the name of a month printed on each of its four sides.  When you start a new month, you have to turn the bottom block, and every four months, you have to bring a different block to the front.  Today is one of my favorite days of the year, because when you grab the block for May, you can see that June, July, and August, are printed on its other sides.  You are essentially bring the summer to the front while sending January, February, March, and April packing.

It's like running a race and realizing that you just have to turn one more corner and the finish line will be in sight.  One more turn of that bottom block, and summer will be here!  It's like a silly, ugly, ray of hope in my kitchen.

Thank God for the changing of the blocks!

Lord, thank you for the home stretch.   Thank you for a career that allows me to experience closure in this way. Help me to finish strong in these last days of school, knowing that summer is almost here. In your name I pray, Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 162 -- "Showing Us the Way"

Image
One of my favorite things about the spring is the baccalaureate celebration that takes place the week before graduation.  I love the chance to see my seniors in their caps and gowns and to praise God for their arrival to the finish line.  For every year since I can remember, I've listened to Western's Select Choir perform the song "Showing Us the Way" by Michael V. Ficocelli.  When I was a senior, I even got to sing it at my own baccalaureate.  That year, and every year since I have taught at Western, I get choked up listening to the perfectly fitting lyrics of this song.  Tonight, on a perfect evening at the Cascades Falls, tears ran down my face as I watched the seniors I taught sing the words of this song to their classmates, parents, teachers, and friends.  I smiled and cried a little more as I realized that someday there's a good chance I'll be watching my own kids sing it at their baccalaureate. I had to share it with you.  This isn't Western's...
Read more

Day 80 -- Calvin and Hobbes

Image
When I was in junior high and high school, I used to read the anthologies of several comic strips, including Garfield, Fox Trot, The Far Side, and Calvin and Hobbes.  I remember reading them by the light of my bedside lamp, trying to stifle my giggles so that my parents wouldn't come bust me for staying up too late reading (the horror!). Calvin and Hobbes, especially, resonated with my sense of humor.  I found the strip simultaneously witty, funny, thought-provoking and perceptive.  I collected all of the anthologies, but somewhere between then and now, I either lost them or gave them away.  I told my husband about my tendency to read them from cover to cover, and how I was sad that I no longer had them.  Not too surprisingly, for Christmas, I received The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book from Santa. I have been slowly working my way through the book, and tonight I was reminded of Calvin's finicky eating habits and of his gift fo...
Read more

We Dance...and We Sing...When We Play the Drum!

Let it be known that my son gets his money's worth out of his toys. Or, in this case, someone else's money's worth. Whatever. You know what I mean. The toys that he likes, he really, really likes. He uses them a lot for a long time. This particular toy is a drum that was given to him by our friends, The Tappans, at his FIRST birthday party. Needless to say, tonight he was REALLY enjoying his gift.
Read more