Uncommon Beauty in Writing

KEC’s English department collectively made a decision to celebrate the last week of Semester One indulging with treats Monday through Thursday. To start the week, we brought our favourite pieces of chocolate. One teacher arranged the chocolate into several bowls which included the tastiest chocolate to the re gifted. Clearly, the Ghirardelli milk chocolate caramel squares was rated tops over the Icy Squares, Aero bars, or the handful of M&M’s. This day created many laughs as to which chocolate each of us brought in.

Tuesday welcomed us with many flavoured bags of chips and dips. We shared jokes around the dips and this craziness kept us engaged for the next two days while we marked exams and created report card comments.

Thursday was a celebration of three birthdays in our department and saying farewell to one term staff member. Everyone stepped up the quantity and quality of the treats which included pizza slices, brownies drizzled with salted caramel, chocolate chip cookies, butter tarts, fresh fruit platter, and of course, chocolate dipped cherries.

As a result, all of us appreciated the silliness that each of us brought to the table.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to hear Devon and Pearlene Clunis read their children’s story The Little Boy From Jamaica. It is beautifully written. Emily Campbell, a student at Red River College was the illustrator. Devon left his birthplace at a young age and attended school here in Winnipeg. Their story’s purpose is to inspire people and to give everyone hope. We all know of children who have “fallen through the cracks” in education. Also, Devon spoke to the audience and solicited that we must give every child the potential to succeed. His former teacher Ms. Hannah believed in him and often would say, “Devon, you will be successful one day; just keep trying!” 

Devon met his wife at Grand Beach, Manitoba and twenty five years later they both still support one another through their faith. Devon became the first black police officer and Chief of Police in Winnipeg. His gentle manner is most admirable and his story is inspiring to people of all ages. Teachers are important coaches for young people. Furthermore, they must believe their students will succeed at something.

Students must possess three things: belief, motivation and creativity. As a result, we must teach students to belief in themselves that they are unique with their own talents.

Cecilia, our library technician at KEC emailed staff a fabulous inspiring article that appeared in Winnipeg’s Free Press featuring Isabella Dryden, a teacher of eight decades who takes the transit bus three times a week to work at Creative Retirement Manitoba where she teaches computer classes to seniors. Isabella is 99 years of age. She admits that she’s proud of all the students whom she’s taught throughout her lifetime and many of those students have done great things in life. Ms. Dryden is amazing and truly inspires us to live life to its fullest potential. Yes, I am thrilled to hear that she will be honoured on March 23, 2017 for all her dedication in educating youth and adults over the past eighty years.

Isabella believes the essence of teaching isn’t just lecturing rather, it’s an act of creativity. It’s imperative that today’s teachers pique the interest of their students. Isabella states that “we’ve become less conscious of the world around us and that we need to get out and see the world…don’t become sedentary with our eyes focussed on our iPhones” (Isabella Dryden, Free Press 20/01/2017).

With all the skills that we possess, it’s valuable to share them with others so that they,too can help many people experience a better day.

Returning to work in 2017 after a two week holiday brought many dramatic stories which were shared amongst friends and colleagues. Some of these stories occurred while families were holidaying in Mexico and Cuba. Indeed, laughter brought us together during the frigid January weather.

Manitobans experienced some of the coldest windchill days during the week of January 9-13th and having some hilarious travel stories dramatized to us took our minds away from the icy outdoor temperatures.

However, on January 11th at 4:40pm I left the school parking lot and I discovered a folded note on the windshield of my my new VW Golf. The note from the irate person was typed and stated,  “You have been taking up too much space on my side not once, not twice but for three years and as a rule of thumb park your car in the middle of your assigned number.” Really, on the coldest meanest day of the year and this individual took the time to type out his note. I laughed and said to myself, “let it go!”

On the flip side of this story while driving to work on Friday with a wind chill of -39 I heard Chrissy Troy announce that Ace Burpee and LTI travelled from Pembina Highway out to North Main at 7:00am to offer their generosity to a woman who needed her car boosted. Her daughter needed to arrive to school on time. This was a remarkable idea and I know they made many more motorists happy on Friday the 13th.

Our world needs more people to take courage to  speak up when something is not quite right and  discover ways to value and consider each other’s ideas and actions.

 

January 6, 2017 brought spectacular memories for me and each of us shared stories during a breakfast at Stella’s on Pembina. Four of my retired colleagues are currently living their lives that are filled with meaningful opportunities that gives them a purpose in life. It was  amazing to sit and engage in listening to their stories. These stories included teaching in Brazil, Korea, travelling to NYC to visit grandchildren, working out with husband at REFIT Centre here in Winnipeg, writing and presenting workshops to colleagues about managing aging parents, running marathons at age 65+, travelling to see family members in Europe, teaching courses at St. Boniface College, reading close to three dozen books a year, and getting to know Winnipeg’s community through social activist groups. A common thread we all had was sharing stories about our families.

I worked with these inspirational and motivating women in many capacities for over fifteen years and I feel blessed to know them. Many rich rewarding experiences were had at my former school, both professional and personal, and will always be remembered fondly.

Charge 2017 with what you want to accomplish: stay healthy and live life fully. One year ago I was interviewed by Shamona Harnett and photographed by Ruth Bonneville of the Winnipeg Free Press about the lack of sustainability with New Year’s Resolutions. I continued to focus on improvements throughout the year and this attitude worked best for me.

Recently, the owners at WPG Cycle simply said it best, “It’s how you go about making a resolution or rather a life changing goal for yourself, that will be the deciding factor if you keep a resolution.” It’s imperative that you make a commitment and create a reasonable plan as to how that might look.

“January 1st signifies a new beginning. However, each day allows for a new beginning, and hence, it is a reset.” -Dr. Roberta Anding, Baylor College of Medicine

Anding’s idea is brilliant because it’s essential to approach our health goals or whatever we want to focus on as a “reset.”

2016 has been a successful year in my teaching profession and personal life. Valuable lessons learned over the year would include the necessity of cultivating and maintaining a balanced lifestyle and also learning what ‘mindfulness’ meant for me.

January 1st, 2016, I challenged myself to blog weekly about passionate topics that were compelling, engaging and memorable. Some ideas came from daily interactions with family, friends, colleagues, world news, travel and books read throughout the year. Writing a blog has allowed me to become reflective, a better reader and writer.

Geoffrey Rush, an Oscar winning actor recently said, “In his career two things have been important…credibility and visibility.” One day it is my aspiration that I will become known through some of my writings.

It is vital to engage in daily physical exercise and it’s just as important to stimulate our mind through reading and writing. I have pursued my passion with expressing myself through topics that resonated with my interests and hopefully my blog will inspire others to enrich their lives in the upcoming year 2017.

Islanders enjoy having a great time and making unforgettable memories throughout the year. However, today let me reminisce about the Murray Christmas traditions. One that stands out to me is the walk in our woods through the deep snow and bringing home the Christmas tree in a box sleigh. We would decorate it with multi-colored lights, load it with our sparkling ornaments and finally drape silver tinsel on every branch. Christmas cards in many sizes were hung in our large kitchen where we read them many times during the holidays and finally were replaced with our favourite Christmas calendars on January 1st.

On the eve of the 24th we would read ‘Twas the night before Christmas. Our dad’s work socks were hung by the tree in hopes that Santa would fill them with Clementine sweet oranges, a bunch of plump grapes, homemade fudge and rock hard candy as he would drop by every house ringing his sleigh bells.  Waking up early and opening our one or two gifts from Santa always brought a lot of excitement. The gifts we loved the most provided us with hours of contentment. Some of these gifts included old fashioned board games, Spirograph, Etch A Sketch, toboggan and white skates. Gifts from our parents included a new pair of PJs and warm clothes to get us through the island’s wintry weather.

The Christmas turkey dinner with the family was always a delight especially our grandmother’s homemade plum pudding drizzled with butterscotch sauce. Christmas carols could often be heard playing in the background. To this day, I still treasure the old fashioned ways of celebrating Christmas with families and friends as well as experiencing the excitement of wonder with our nieces Amelia and Norah.

Our friend Gemma is a remarkable down to earth friend who invited us long time girlfriends to an exquisite potluck lunch at her home on one of the coldest Saturdays in December. It was a perfect sunny afternoon with all of us relaxed in our Saturday attire. We toasted to friendship in holiday style…a glass of bubbly with each glass marked with a beach boy named Chad, Brad, Cody, Mitch and Mike. These little characters created hearty laughs of our lives when we were in our 20s. A few of us shared milestones in our lives, what’s happening at work, family updates, future travel plans and reminiscing about the past.

The Christmas tree nestled in the living room had a slight lean to it but the decorations said it all for me…memorable ornaments hung on every branch. The table was set with Gemma’s favourite colour…shades of blue. Hearty butternut squash soup paired with thick slices of a baguette and different flavours of freshly baked scones made a delightful accompaniment to the soup. Nothing says fall or winter like the aroma of fresh apple crisp baking in the oven with steel oats topping served piping hot with dollops of vanilla yogurt. This dessert sent some of us requesting for an extra serving.

It was a beautiful afternoon filled with friendship, warmth, and good cheer.

A few traditions in life will always remain the same and with that it’s the writing of Christmas cards to loved ones and their families. My mother asked me a week ago to continue on with the writing of her cards. The fascination of opening cards and letters the week before the holidays puts a smile on my mom’s face and to this day she still finds joy in exhibiting the unique cards filled with personal messages of hope, peace and love for a new year.

#christmastraditions