Scrappy Hearts

30 Days of Gratitude: November 13th

Grateful for the generosity of our school community and for the determination of our 2nd graders to make a difference this Thanksgiving by sponsoring a food drive for the local foodbank. After listening to Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen, the students felt compelled to help. Mindfulness of others is our focus this year and I am so grateful for a community that stepped up to the challenge.

Bloktoberfest, 2016

October has mostly come and gone with very little posting. I have decided that at my age I cannot live an exciting action filled life and write about it also, I get too tired! Back on October 15th, after a busy morning at the shop, I rode the train into Philly to volunteer at Bloktoberfest. This event has been a pet project of Jason’s for several years. The weather was wonderful and I had the opportunity to work the Ballast Point beer tent which was also manned by a few people that I knew. I poured beer all day, and I had fun. Every once in a whilte Jason would stop by and every once in a while I would go for a walk. I am so glad that we have forged new traditions. I think I will be pouring beer at Bloktoberfest for as long as I am able and that’s a good thing!

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Pennies for Patients

This year our school participated in the Pennies for Patients campaign sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The campaign in our building lasted two weeks and ended on March 25th. Our students raised over $4,000 by bringing in pennies and spare change. What a great lesson in the value of community, everyone contributes and the impact is big.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has always been one of my chosen charities. When I was very small, a young boy in our neighborhood was diagnosed with leukemia. Unfortunately, in 1965 there were not very many treatment options. This young man passed away when he was only 6. To this day, I remember him, vividly. 

The students in my class raised over $250, which they proudly counted Thursday afternoon. Mostly coins, mostly their own money. Do you know how much $250 in coins weighs?

They had fun, learned a great deal and made a difference. A great opportunity.

December Twenty-One, Twenty Ten

Wednesday started bright and early. Well, it was early but it certainly wasn't bright. Waking up at 3am every morning came in handy, however. I was able to catch the lunar eclipse. Had not planned on getting up for it, but since I was up already, out into the cold I went. Then I realized that pajamas would not keep me warm enough so it was back inside to get a coat and slippers.

I tried to capture the beauty of the event, but my cameras just did not do it justice. One day I will learn how to work all of my cameras so that I do not miss any more spectacular shots, but for now this will have to do.

I stood out in the cold for about 40 minutes before coming to my senses! The eclipse was spectacular and I am so happy that I was able to experience at least a part of it.

Tuesday was a stay at home night. I canceled tutoring for Tuesday and Wednesday because my to-do list was stretching into the next millennium! Staying at home allowed for at least a few things to get accomplished, one of which was the addressing and mailing of some holiday cards. Actually, I think I had addressed the cards last year but never got them in the mail. Perhaps I should do that every year.

A quick trip to the post office got everything out in the mail. A quick trip to Starbucks got me good and caffeinated. Just what I needed to help me accomplish a few other things. 

The evening ended with a date to watch "The Polar Express". I had always loved the book and now the movie is one of my favorites. Staying up to watch the movie kept me up a little later than I had anticipated. Sleep deprivation early in the week is not good. But, going to bed later means I have a better chance of actually sleeping through the night. That's a good thing!

I drifted off to sleep with the soundtrack from the "The Polar Express" replaying in my mind.

 

 

We Walked

Saturday was the annual walk for Autism Speaks. It has been our tradition, that is my sister, nieces and I, to participate in this walk for the past several years. Each year it has been heartwarming to see the numbers of participants increase and yesterday was no exception.

My niece, Amanda, is autistic. She decided this year to form her own walk team and boy did she! Her little team grew by leaps and bounds as the walk date came closer. Amanda sold puzzle pieces at her parent's store and collected money at other local businesses that were very supportive. She approached her middle school principal and he was also very willing to lend his support. A bake sale was held at the school and all of the proceeds were donated to Amanda's Pandas, her walk team. Olivia, her younger sister, even took part and rallied the troops at her elementary school aided by the school nurse. 

Yesterday, Amanda was surrounded by friends and family. Several of her former elementary school teachers walked by her side, accompanied by their friends and children. While Amanda's Panda's raised a significant amount of money for Autism Speaks, at the end of the day, the most rewarding part, was watching Amanda enjoy the company of those that chose to join her.

Autism affects 1 in 110 children and 1 in 70 boys, a 57% increase between 2002 and 2006. Autism Speaks is the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization and they are tireless in their efforts. I know that they have provided support to many and they are an organization with which I am proud to be associated. 

All in all, Saturday was a really good day. It was heartwarming to see the support offered to Amanda by her friends, former teachers and their families. It was a good thing. I leave you with this video, it has been around for a while but the message is still relevant.

Closing this Location

This morning I woke up and I was hungry. For most people that is probably a daily occurrence but for me, hunger doesn't usually hit until 10am when I am teaching and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. These past few days, feeling a little under the weather, hunger has escaped me. So this morning I was excited. Okay not really the hip hip hooray type of excited but more of the, YES, maybe today I will finally get something in this stomach of mine.

I thought about a salt bagel, yum. Reality then set in. My bagel store, Bagels, Etc., in the Holly Ravine shopping center closed about 6 months ago. No worries I thought, Genuardi's offers a pretty good bagel. At least they did, until they closed. I was forced into the drive-thru line at Dunkin' Donuts. While sitting there I realized that so many of "my" stores have closed.

I guess this message had really hit home on Monday evening when I went into "my" Verizon Wireless store for my 2 year upgrade. I had decided to take care of it at the store, even though it wasn't as cost effective, because I want the store to stick around. I was politely recounting this to the nice young man, Jason, behind the counter when he began to grin. "Funny you should say that," he mused, "we were told yesterday that this location will be closing on the 25th of April."

So, there you have it. My attempts to patronize those businesses in my neighborhood have failed. I guess buying ribbon once every two weeks at the Scrapbook Station, strawberries and watermelon once a week at Genuardi's and a bagel once a month at Bagels, Etc. just isn't enough to keep those operations open, least of all flourishing.

The problem is, plain and simple, I don't need that much and I don't buy that much. My retail purchases would not be enough to keep any store in business and as often as I walk to those establishments in my neighborhood, it will never be enough. But I wonder, others in my community have surely moved here because of proximity to many of the establishments that I have mentioned, where are my neighbor's doing their shopping?