I politely disagreed



my mom's glasses she wore in college



My public speaking course is over and I have to say

 I am glad I signed up and took the classes.

It was a low commitment in time and money and yet,
at the same time, it was a high commitment in stress,
 personal expectations and comfort.

  I could have backed out or not showed up
for the final class where we were to deliver
 a prepared, five minute speech.

A lot of people surprisingly did not show up
for the final class.  To be honest, that thought did
 cross my mind for a brief second

 but I simply pushed past it.

 Was I nervous? Yes.

Was it uncomfortable? Yes.

Did it kill me? No.

Did I learn a lot? Yes.

Would I do it again? YES!!!

As you may know, a teacher can make or break a class.

 This teacher was excellent and I immediately
knew it would be a great class  when he said,
 “I want to show you a video on TED.com.”

 His teaching was clear and purposeful,

 and he was engaging and positive.  

I learned a lot, met some great people
 and have already incorporated some of this new
 found knowledge into my everyday activities.

 I have used some of the concepts

 when I am teaching my boys here at home,

 relaying information to my husband

and recently in some social settings. 



My boys, all three of them, were excited to hear
what I learned in class.
  It was great to see their excitement and support.

Over the weekend, the family went to a birthday party

 and someone overheard that I took a public speaking class.

 They rolled their eyes and told me they took one years ago

 and hated their class but had to
 take it because it was mandatory.

 I mentioned that I elected to take this class on a whim

 to challenge myself and for personal growth.

 

The older woman chuckled at me and said,

 “Oh, you’ll change as you get older!”

I politely disagreed.



I see myself as a student of life.

 As long as I am alive,

 I want to push myself to

 learn new things,

 stretch and grow

and, most of all,

 pass on to others what I have learned.

Now...who is up for some skydiving?

***

{{I would love to hear how you have pushed

 yourself to learn new things!}}



insects in the mail

I ordered something from Insect Lore.

Tiny caterpillars!

They arrived in the mail a week ago.

The boys will literally watch the caterpillars' transition

as they mature, change into chrysalides,

and finally emerge as butterflies!  

The caterpillars are eating a lot and are growing very fast.

The boys are excited as they watch them each day.

I’ll keep you updated.    

loved ones

My grandmother is here for a three week visit!

It all seems right when we share the same zip code.

Living far away from loved ones is hard.

I am soaking up our time together.

Rumors abound that she plays a slick hand of Bananagrams.

Excuse me while I brush up on my Bananagrams skills.

My Grandma Helen.

encouragement

Stephanie Nielson never fails to deliver an encouraging perspective.

If you need encouragement today,

 read her post,

 “Post Surgery and My Dream!”

***

Ps. I've been busy, all good stuff, I’ll recap on my class and other fun things soon!

I'll never get tired of little boys racing over to me

 with smiles on their faces, dirt and all,

 delivering “flowers” for their mama.

a little note

((( I.Love.Raising.Boys )))