Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!

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I had a wonderful celebration of feeling better last evening by going out on a “hot date” with one of the most beautiful young women in Western Canada. (I say “one of” only to allow the other male readers of this blog to imagine that they, too, go out with attractive women, however, I only do so with the confidence that I was escorting the loveliest young woman in Western Canada!)(This is not mere testosterone speaking. I have thirty years experience as a Western Canadian. I know!) http://www.mugglenet.com/gallery/data/media/48/poster_hermionevictor.jpg

Anyway, the date had been arranged earlier in the week and I was most fearful that I would have to cancel because of my flirting affair with “Flu.” However, the trollop finally left me mercifully during the day on Friday and I celebrated with a walk in the fresh air with Mocha & Latté. The Rev is most correct in his description of “Flu” as I barely had the energy left to follow through with my commitment. However, given that this was such a special young woman, I truly girded my loins and prepared for an exciting evening on the town! http://www.mugglenet.com/gallery/data/media/48/poster_harrymadeye.jpg

I have never been to an opening night prior to last evening. Amazing! I am a true Harry Potter fan, but remember, dear readers, that I am past that half century mark where such occasions as opening nights seem less imperative than they did when I was in my twenties. Baited by the beauty, brilliance and loquacious nature of my companion, I energized myself to fully participate in the festivities. I could have worn my robes….never entered my consciousness. I even wondered about the frequent sightings of the same coloured scarves – I even found them strangely familiar – they were the Gryffindor colours! There were people of all ages (though none quite as advanced as my own) in varying states of costume in line from 5:15 (when I arrived to pick up the pre-purchased tickets) for the 7:00 PM show. http://www.mugglenet.com/gallery/data/media/48/poster_cedriccho.jpg

The mood was truly festive. The personnel at the movie theatre were extremely accommodating and made frequent announcements to ensure that we realized that they would seat us in the order of our arrival and that we need not worry. We were also encouraged to make sure that there were no empty seats so that no one had to be separated from those with whom they came to view the movie. It was a new experience for me. http://www.mugglenet.com/gallery/data/media/48/viktorposter.jpg

Now of all the Harry Potter movies, this really was the best. I disagree entirely with the movie critic in the local paper that the movies get increasingly lamer. Well, I can’t say that I ENTIRELY disagree with him. Harry is increasingly looking like a KD Lang impostor. As well, I would have to agree that one would not enjoy the movie much if one had not read the book. However, that is part of what made the experience so good!

The story came to life on the screen. Additional aspects like that of the Noel Ball, and the boat upon which Viktor Krum arrived, were fun, though unnecessary. The effects were amazing and Ralph Fiennes was dastardly perfect!

Anyway, a great movie, a wonderful evening! The only thing that would have made it better was if my daughter hadn’t had to work so early the next day, we would have gone out for dinner afterwards. Even so, a fun night! What a way to celebrate getting better!

ComingUpToRetirement?

So I now have the flu.

Perhaps I should reword that:

So I have had the flu for the last 8 days and I am really sick and tired of being sick, tired, achey, grumpy, sleepy, lethargic, etc. I truly thought that going to the doctor would be all that it took to get rid of the darned stuff. After all, I went right home, to bed, drank lots of fluids, and got rest. So why am I not better?

"Sometimes we just have to ride these things out."

where does the "we" come in? Surely not at the Dr's office. Kevin has to ride it out with me.

All the people at school have to ride it out with me because they have to pick up the slack (like "slack" is any kind of appropriate word!) while I am away.

"Call me Monday, if you're still not feeling well."

MONDAY! I'll need a medical certificate by then. I'll call, alright.

So how much fruit juice is possible without giving oneself the runs? (Another possibility of the flu, though I luckily do not yet have those!)
How many hours of sleep can one get before it becomes a habit?

And, sorry Martha, but one more of your shows and I will start with the gastro-intestinal upset (another symptom I have, so far, avoided).

There are too many things that need doing around the house and I have no energy to do them. I watch the laundry pile up, the dust gather, the dogs laze, and I just watch them. I even cancelled the haircut tonight because I have no energy to go. Bev would have cut m hair in spite of the flu! They are too nice there!

Well, I get to rant and rave in public - even though I am fairly certain that my readership is limited to two others and myself. I still love you both!

Well, enough. All this typing has exhausted me!

100 things about me

100 things about me that you probably don’t know…….

1. I once sang professionally at the Hotel Negresco, on the “strip” in Nice, France.


2. This isn’t nearly as easy as I thought it would be.


3. As a strategy for keeping my brother and me in bed when we were little, my dad told us that the “Man in the Moon” would get us if we got out of bed.


4. I didn’t realize that the man in the moon was fiction until I was about 10 years old.


5. I once got a sliver through my knee that was about 10 inches long.


6. I thought I was pretty stupid up to the age of about 35 – when I got my master’s degree.  Even then, I was pretty sure that I had somehow pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes.


7. I didn’t realize that I was ADHD until well into my 40’s – even after being diagnosed and taking medication for a couple of years.


8. Being ADHD helps me tremendously in doing my work with children.


9. Being ADHD is the greatest gift! – Right after Kristen, Heather, Kevin, & Sara.


10. I love to sing as much as I love to ski.


11. I am not a confident person.


12. After living for 52.5 years, earning a B. A., an Med, and a PhD, I am finally beginning to believe that I am not stupid.


13. After living for 52.5 years, earning a B. A., an Med, and a PhD, I am finally beginning to build self-confidence.


14. I am worried that I really don’t know how to change things in my life to restore more vigorous health.


15. I can not do my job without trying my very best – even though “trying to do my very best” might kill me.


16. I love my daughters more than they realize.


17. When Heather was born, her mother and I did not let them put silver nitrate in her eyes – something else (I can’t remember what) and because of that, she could see.  She and I stared at each other for about an hour, until she fell asleep.  That was when she established power over me.


18. Heather has no idea, I think, of the power she has over me.


19. Kristen has done and said things that have hurt me more than anyone besides Kevin.


20. The people I love the most intensely have the power to hurt me and they do so mostly without realizing it.


21. I try not to let the ones who I love know when they have done or said something that has hurt.


22. For some reason, I can tell Heather that she has done or said something that has hurt.  It has only been a short time since I have been able to do this.


23. My mother is beginning to realize that she has Alzheimer’s.


24. I love the work I do, but feel that I need to quit my job.


25. I still feel guilty about the evening when Kristen – at age 1.5 – fell and caught her tooth on the edge of the rocking chair and it came out.


26. I was sitting in the chair at the time and I figure I should have seen it coming and should have prevented it.


27. Coming out was probably the most difficult and scary thing I have accomplished in my life.


28. I still feel guilty about the pain I caused Sara when I came out.


29. When I met Kevin for the first time, I thought he was sort of cute, but that he wouldn’t like me.


30. At the end of that first evening, when I met Kevin, I was already intrigued and wanted to see him again.


31. I passionately believe that children are our most valuable resource.


32. I love to watch men who dance well.


33. I still have ideas that I haven’t tried and am feeling an urgent need to do so before I retire.


34. I really need to go away somewhere and refresh and recreate.


35. “Taking a Strip off” another person is a concept I do not understand.


36. I also can not understand how anyone could EVER really need that?


37. I do not understand why people make decisions before gathering ANY information about the issues surrounding the decision.


38. I do not understand how a parent can be too busy to answer a crisis need of their child.


39. I sometimes try too hard to meet the needs of children – often trying harder that the parents of the child.


40. I have little-to-no compassion for people who abuse children.


41. I HATE it when my nose runs.


42. I sometimes take too many medications to get my nose to stop running.


43. I try to stay away from school when I’m sick so that I won’t ruin what I have worked so hard to create by making some stupid mistake because I am not feeling well.


44. I over identify with the children who find school difficult.


45. When they hurt, so do I – sometimes more than they do.


46. I always want to be sure we have tried everything in our power to help before I will refer a child on to the next step in the system.


47. Not only don’t I have all the answers, oftentimes, I feel like I don’t have many or any.


48. I miss seeing friends who have retired and moved away.


49. I miss seeing my daughter every day, or being ABLE to see her.


50. I think I am more Canadian than American these days.


51. I still love my country of birth, but I truly believe that they are so self-destructive that it is no wonder so many countries detest the politics of the nation.


52. Canadian political scandals seem so tame next to the ones in the states.


53. I think I am becoming immune to political outrage.


54. Local things bother me more.


55. Racial prejudice is something I can not understand.


56. I can not understand how anyone can adequately dehumanize a child to the point that they could be tortured or killed.


57. I would like to solve the problem of homelessness in North America.   It seems so pointless and avoidable.


58. I believe that we have the capacity to eradicate AIDS from the world.


59. I wonder why we do not have the will to do so.


60. I am getting tired of cooking for the homeless – I’ve been doing it monthly for five years – and wish that our provincial government would step up to the challenge of solving the issue!


61. I hate lying awake in bed at night trying to go to sleep.


62. I love going out to the mountains.


63. If I could, I would live where I could get to the mountains as easily as getting to the sea and then would have two of my favourite places near enough to be there whenever I wanted.


64. I would love to write children’s books.


65. I love reading children’s books.


66. This is much more difficult than I thought it would be.


67. I work with some of the best teachers I have ever known.


68. I still get frustrated with them and want them to be better.


69. There is a place inside me where I want to be cruel to someone.


70. I sometimes think very unpleasant thoughts.


71. If it weren’t so destructive, I would love to gossip.


72. I don’t understand why people want others to support them in being less than they are.


73. Sometimes, I want to be taken care of as well as I take care of others.


74. I need a massage.


75. I am NOT a reckless spender.


76. I am not a good record keeper.


77. I hate the accountability measures being imposed on public educators, not because I don’t think I should be accountable, but because they take so much time away from the work that really needs doing.


78. Sometimes, I wish I would be fired.


79. I tried to kill myself once.


80. I am really glad that I didn’t succeed.


81. I play too much spider solitaire when I can’t sleep.


82. I hate power struggles.


83. I wish I could be closer to my parents.


84. I sometimes think that I am missing some of the most interesting parts of life because I am too busy at work.


85. I sometimes realize that some of the most interesting parts of life happen at work with the children with whom I work.


86. I enjoy reading.


87. I believe that we are truly spiritual beings.


88. I believe that our spiritual lives came before our human ones.


89. I believe that my human life is finite, but my spiritual one goes on forever.


90. I believe that when my human life is over, I will join a much more pleasant version of a spiritual collective than represented by the Borg.


91. I believe that when Jesus lived on earth, he understood this but knew that most people wouldn’t be able to grasp the sense of an infinite ambiguity.


92. I wonder about other religions and would like to know more.


93. I am coming to believe that the whole spiritual collective is God, not separate from God.


94. I wonder why we agree to forget our spiritual lives in order to have a human experience.


95. When I totally trust in God, I sleep better.


96. I wonder why I don’t always turn that trust and worry over to God – especially when I believe that God is infinite.


97. I wonder why some see the glass as half empty.


98. I find life a whole lot more enjoyable and worry free when I see the glass as at least half full.


99. I wonder if the rainbow connection is working with children.


100. I really wanted this list to be profoundly self actualizing, but found it really wasn’t easy to do and that it took several days to complete.

Parental Pride...

I do not often get a chance to see the results of what is never more than one's best shot at parenting with no particular training for that important role. As a father, I can say that I always did my best given the circumstances, the knowledge I had and the overall mental health and well-being at the time. All the same, I know that I made huge mistakes, incredibly stupid blunders, and likely caused pain along the way.

Given that I still adhere to the idea that I did the best I could within each context, I am hugely proud whenever I get a chance to see what happened now that my children are adults. I had no idea that blogging would have that result.

This is not to say that I think my "girls" are infallible or that they, too, haven't made similarly outlandish blunders. I am content not knowing the details. What is special is to read about an incident, worry about how it might have turned out, and see that the parental messages, albeit maternal in the reference, made a difference and stuck.

Last evening, my spouse, my former spouse and I were looking through photos in an effort to select some great memories to share through a "toast to the bride" at my elder daughter's wedding coming up soon (see Inspired by Dooce ). "Inspired..." has recently moved to the East and is no longer close enough to have spontaneous meals with. However, my younger daughter (see Heather's Randomness ) was able to come as she is still in town. We had to rush through some of the evening's festivities in order to ensure that she could get to a certain establishment by 9:30, so some of the relaxed conversation was not quite as relaxed. However, I now try my best to enjoy every moment together as I now appreciate more deeply what a gift it is to share time with my daughters. Who cares if it is rushed?

Unfortunately, I have the cold that is being passed all over school by children, teachers, parents, and any visitor that seems to have a germ to share. Therefore I have less patience and my ADHD makes it difficult to be part of many different conversations at once when I am also trying to put the meal together. This is totally unnecessary information, but I thought I'd set the scene, context, whatever.

So Heather helped pick out some pictures, was involved in many phone conversations with friends as they prepared for this Halloween outing to one of the single's bars in town, and shared the latest adventures and frustrations. It was during dinner that she told me about her blogging and that of her sister. Off she went to enjoy herself and her mother, my hubby and I continued to look through pictures and scanned our little hearts away.

This morning I get to read about her outing and am filled with a sense of pride. What a strong, confident and well-balance woman she has become. It all reminds me of how wonderful they are and how quickly their childhood traveled along.

As a child, I always found the years go by with a dreadful slowness that made me wonder if I would ever live to be an adult. Did my children experience the same sense of slowness? How is it that I find that their childhood years have sped along? I still remember the hours of labour and their individual births as if it were yesterday, rather than the 25 and 21 years that have gone by since.

All the same, I wouldn't trade them away and do them all over. What kind of different mistakes would I make? Though I would love to eradicate any pain I caused them, I do not want to eliminate any of the lessons they might have learned as a result of that pain. It seems that whatever they learned has served them well to this point. How can I be sure that I could do it better a second time around? They are so wonderfully imperfect just the way they are. I enjoy spending time with them. What a wonderful result!

I'm confident that I am not the first person to share with the world that "everything I learned about digital technology, I learned from kids," however, I am starting my first blog after discovering that my two daughters have been blogging for over a year.

I discovered their blogs, read LOTS of their ramblings and have decided that ADHD truly does run in families. I never thought of my older daugher as ADHD, however, she has the most interesting and random blogs I have ever read. - Not saying much. I don't read many.

However, I am impressed with their writing. They are fairly amazing individuals anyway, so that should not surprise me.

So back to learning from kids...

I am a principal in an elementary school inWestern Canada. We are a fairly large municipality and my school is considered as "inner city" though as a former American, I have a tough time seeing it in the same light as I am accustomed to seeing American inner city schools. However, we do share many of the demands that inner city schools face in their day-to-day lives.

One of the things that amaze me when I look back on a career in teaching that began in 1974 is how hesitant my colleagues are to allow the children to teach them. I truly belive that I learned very early on that the kids I teach are contstantly trying to teach me the things I need to learn. Although I am not convinced that they are always conscious of their efforts, I am completely sure that the lessons are there every day and that all I have to do is be open to them. When I am open to the children and what they present to me, I have an almost infinite potential for becoming human, for learning about life that is real, about learning about a world I could never see if I remain closed to the children with whom I work.

I don't want to seem that I totally neglect the children with whom I lived and from whom I learned at home, however, I think I will approach that subject another day and stick to something a little safer for my first blog.

I recently finished a doctoral degree in Curriculum, Teaching, & Learning. So I can lay claim to the "Dr." in my title. What amuses me is the image others have of what that "Dr." means. As far as I see it, it means that I truly come much closer to understanding how children learn and how teachers teach than I did before beginning doctoral studies. However, because I studied how learning technologies (in particular - computers) assist children ihn the development of their literacy skills, my colleagues assume that I know everything about computers, digital technologies, and using the WWW as a resource.

What I know about all those things, I first began learning from my two daughters. I broadened those landscapes when I began working with students and using computers to assist them in their learning. When I began my research for my doctoral thesis/dissertation, I truly focussed on the children and what they did when given free reign to explore the digital resources available to them. They taught me how to use graphic organizers, how to present information via powerpoint or other presentation software, how to use digital photography to create easily accessible communications, and a host of other uses I would never have thought of if left to myself.

So why would anyone - especially someone my age (I'm into the fifties!) not open up to a generation of people who have no fear about digital technologies? Digital technologies are second nature to these kids. They come to me to ask me how to do something, and I invariably lean three or four things from them while I show them what they came for. Amazing.

So....Now I want to learn to blog! I think this is a medium that is going to be fun for me. Whether anyone actually reads this or any other ramblings will be fascinating. I think that the potential that someone would is so enticing! There is an almost erotic nature to that idea. As I expose my thinking to the world, who will read it? Who will find it attractive? Who will find it worth their response?

We shall see.

In the meantime, I think I might use this opportunity to share what I have learned throughout the years without having to be constrained by the technical demands of academic writing and the publishing world. You will not likely find any footnotes or references here unless you ask for them.

Just my "pearls" of whatever wisdom might have been gained over the last fifty-two years of living, learning, loving and laughing.

Soon!