something I read | about trees

the word susurrus 

the low, soft whispering of the trees in a summer breeze

Twitter

something I read | about help

 

I've been there too.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Heather Thompson Day is a professor and podcast host.

She is one of my favorites to follow on Twitter and Instagram.

something I read | about report cards

something I read | about conversations

 

The Mistake I Made with My Grieving Friend

by Celeste Headlee

Her friend was grieving and Celeste thought she was showing empathy by sharing her story. The friend's response helped her realize something.

"From that day forward, I started to notice how often I responded to stories of loss and struggle with stories of my own experiences. My son would tell me about clashing with a kid in Boy Scouts, and I would talk about a girl I fell out with in college. When a co-worker got laid off, I told her about how much I struggled to find a job after I had been laid off years earlier. But when I began to pay a little more attention to how people responded to my attempts to empathize, I realized the effect of sharing my experiences was never as I intended. What all of these people needed was for me to hear them and acknowledge what they were going through. Instead, I forced them to listen to me and acknowledge me."

She started to respond to others in a more supportive way.

"Shift Response
Mary: I'm so busy right now.
Tim: Me too. I'm totally overwhelmed.

Support Response
Mary: I'm so busy right now.
Tim: Why? What do you have to get done?"

We are reminded that people don't always need advice and our story. They need to be heard.

Listen more. Talk less.

something I read | about a messy room

 

If you think their messy room is hard to look at

just wait until it's empty.

- Author Unknown

something I read | about kindergarten

 

something I read | about travel

 

I was notified that @discovercharlottetown

added my photo of Pearl to a guide. How exciting!

something I read | about storytelling

 

I read this.

And realized I could have written this.

Because this is us.

something I read | about carpet

I was reading a a sweet post about family and priorities by Ruth Ayres.

A favorite sentence was -

"I'm learning to be grateful for the carpet that is so old that it doesn't matter if there is a spill."

We have that carpet in our house.

I realize I can be grateful for it.

something I read | STU Recruit

Saint Thomas University announced that Ethan

has been recruited for the soccer team.

Along with social media, there was a press

release in New Brunswick papers.

something I read | about the pandemic

Posted on Instagram by JJ Heller -

"As I’ve processed this whole global pandemic/social distancing thing, I think one of the hardest things is not having a finish line. There’s no official end-date; a place on the calendar to pin our hopes.⁣ So all we can do is take it a day at a time and trust that God will bring new mercies every morning; trust that he will feed our bodies and souls with daily bread. And even though we don’t know how long all of this will last, we know that one day soon the sun will shine again. ⁣I wrote this song many years ago as a lullaby for my children, but I feel in my soul that it reflects God’s nurturing heart for us…especially in this moment. Listen and let him sing a lullaby over you."

The Sun Will Rise

something I read | about now and then

So true!

something I read | about Jim

Reading this recent press release brings much joy to my heart!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Crandall University welcomes new Director of Athletics and Recreation

"After a careful review of a number of qualified applicants, Crandall University is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. James (Jim) Druart as the new Director of Athletics and Recreation.

Jim comes to Crandall as a former high-performance athlete as well as a coach and sports club director. He has experience both as a coach and as an administrator, having previously volunteered with the Moncton Roofers and Fuzion Volleyball clubs, working to bring them from 48 athletes and 4 teams, who operated independently, to over 175 athletes and 18 teams working together under one banner towards a common goal.

“My goal is to bring long-term stability to Chargers Athletics as we continue to strive for excellence in our program,” says Jim. “As a former high performance athlete, coach and administrator, I understand the challenges and expectations our athletes and coaches face. My job is to put the foundation in place so that they can reach, and exceed, their goals. I am excited about the possibilities that are in front of us and believe we have a great coaching staff in place to continue our growth and take us to the next level.”

Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Jim graduated from Eastern Nazarene College in 1993, is married to Crandall (ABC) alum Loralee Landers (class of ’88), and they have three children: Annie, Eliza, and Ethan. For the last 18 years he has worked in the IT field as a web developer and technical writer, and has coached volleyball for the last 10 years.

In the 2018-2019 academic year, Crandall launched the Seth Crowell Invitational Basketball tournament, hosted the ACAA Basketball Championships, sent our Boxing team to compete at West Point, and announced our intention to add Women’s Volleyball to our athletic programs. Even as the season has wound down, work begins in preparation for the fall.

“I believe in the power of sport to build community and enhance school pride,” says Jim. “I will work to create an atmosphere where athletes and coaches are fully engaged in the pursuit of spiritual, academic and athletic excellence.”

Welcome to Crandall, Jim!"

something I read | The Boys in the Boat

I picked the book up at Frenchys, because of the cover. It was a beautiful hardcover, and I noticed it was about a rowing team who went to the Olympics in 1936. As I read it, I was captivated by the lives of Joe, the other young rowers, and their mentors.

After his mother passed away, Joe's life was filled with hardships. As a boy and a teenager, he had to fend for himself over and over. He made a way to attend the University of Washington where he tried out for the freshman row team. It was far from easy. After he was named to the first-boat, the boys went out on Lake Union together. This moment caught me.

At the north end of the lake, the coxswain called out, "Way...nuff!" The boys stopped rowing. The shell glided to a stop, the long oars trailing in the water alongside them. The boys sat without talking, breathing heavily, exhaling plumes of white breath in the darkness. Even now that they had stopped rowing, their breathing was synchronized, and for a brief, fragile moment it seemed to Joe as if all of them were part of a single thing, something alive with breath and spirit of its own. Joe gulped huge drafts of the frigid air and sat staring at the city lights in the darkness --- the amber lights of downtown, the ruby-red lights of radio towers, the green lights on docks along the shore. He watched the scene turn into a soft blur of colors as tears filled his eyes. For the first time since his family had left him, Joe began to cry. - Daniel James Brown

I was moved by how this captures the deep need for belonging.

something I read | about Jim

When looking through the Fuzion website yesterday, I read the following about Jim:

Jim Druart started with the Roofers organization in 2011 and together with a group of dedicated parents, brought the club from 48 athletes and 4 teams, who operated independently, to over 175 athletes and 18 teams working together under one banner towards a common goal. Jim likes to 'dream big' and is always looking for ways to improve, and expand, the quality and impact of our club. As a former high performance athlete, he understands the impact sports and coaching can have on the next generation of athletes and is continually striving to put our club on the map, not just in New Brunswick or the Maritimes, but across Canada and down the east coast of the U.S. His aim is to provide the framework for athletes and coaches to reach their goals and dreams and to set a standard of excellence that runs throughout the organization. 

something I read | about opinions

On Instagram, someone shared a photo of this tweet by @avogues. It said,

My friend just used the phrase, "if they can't fix it in 10 seconds (acne, weight, hair color) don't point it out" and I LOVE that.

It's good advice to know the time and place to share an opinion, and to know whether you are even to give it. Social media, between friends or strangers, is a place where this skill seems especially lost.

something I read | about dogs

The other day I read this quote...

Everyone thinks they have the best dog...and none of them are wrong. - W. R. Purche

I told Eliza about the quote and she liked it too.

Then she said,

"But we really do have the best dog."

something I read | about helping others

I read this and I need to remember this.

"Having been on the receiving end of the care of others, I have found that the more specific the offer, the better it is for the receiver. When someone is in crisis or just overwhelmed with everyday mom life, they often don't have the mental or emotional capacity to remember who to call when they realize they do need help with something. When we say, "Just let me know what you need", we are putting the burden of responsibility on the person needing help. If life is hard or they're in crisis, they don't need one more decision to make! Do you know someone who is in crisis, lonely, grieving, recovering, or even just had a baby? Rather than saying, "Let me know what you need," try one of these: 

I have next Thursday available, can I take your kids for a few hours?  

I'd like to come clean your house for you; can I come do that on Tuesday? 

I'd like to bring you dinner; will tomorrow night work? 

I have two hours on Tuesday evening free. What needs to be done that is bugging you that I can do? 

I'm headed to the store, can I pick you up anything? 

Here's a gift card and delivery menu - dinner's on us tonight!"

something I read | about end-of-the-year assessments

Katie Keier, author of Catching Readers Before They Fall,

shared words written by her principal.

I am thankful for this reminder.

something I read | about social media

A Proverbs 31 tweet took me to a blog post by author, Debra Fileta. As she was walking through a challenging time in her life, social media was making it harder as she felt everyone else was happy and had it all together. In her post, she shared something her husband said,

"Everyone is going through something, but no one posts pictures of their tears."

Life is not "picture-perfect".