Literary Love Letters

Last week, when my classes met the day before Valentine's Day, I assigned the students to write a "love letter" that had a literary connection.  Some of them were fun and fascinating.  I thought others would enjoy these.  Read and have fun ....







Dear Long Words,
Thank you for helping me confuse people into thinking that my intelligence has sprung from a kindergartener's level to a mensa genius.  You make a boring story sound entertainting.  All my love to you.


To my favorite punctuation --
My Dearest Period,
     My heart is full with immense love for you.  My life has change because of you.  It is as though the former sentence of my life has ended and a new one has begun.  You have also abbreviated all the pain in my life and filled me with new purpose.  Because of this I felt an urgent need to write and tell you of my affection.
With all my love,
An Anonymous Word


Dear Rhyming,
Thank you for making things so awesome,
Whenever I am using you, my poetry seems to blossom,
You make rap music bounce with every single word
Because without you that music would be absurd.
I love your way of appearing in almost every book
And without your presence in it people wouldn't care to look.
Thank you so much for being in my life
And thanks to you I will never have grammar strife.


Dear Hunger Games,
You are fantastic.  I live in the Capitol, so I never get chosen.  The excitement and glamor surrounding the tributes is unbearable.  This year marks the 74th Hunger Games.  The male tribute from District 12 proclaimed his love for his fellow tribute from 12.   This should be interesting.  Last year was pretty lack-luster, so I'm expecting this year's games to be riveting with pulse-pounding expense.


Dear Period,
I have wanted to get together for a long time now, but you have been away at the university teaching all the "i" dots how to climb up the pole to reach their designated spot.  I hope I may see you again, my love.  Perhaps we can make a semicolon together.
Yours forever,
Comma


My dear, dear pencil,
Oh how I love you.  I could not function without you.  My life without you would be bland.  To think of typing my assignments, oh man!  My homework is too hard to type out.  School might be too easy to flunk out.  My dear pencil with 9 mm lead, I never would choose a pen instead.  I used you to write out this paper.  And my love for you will never waver.


Dear Little Lovely 'Literation,
Words while wonderful will fatally fail for your funniest fan.  As all A's allow alphabets a start, so start a sheet in my life.  Throughout the time these tributes take to write, I have tought about how wonderful your letters are.
Yours truly, trustingly, traditionally, traversingly, truly, once more,
Papers plus poems


My Beloved Pencil,
You have been my helpmeet for quite some time.  When I found you, you had been left alone in the bottom of the pencil box.  At first sight I knew I loved you and your way of keeping me organized.  We have written a lot together, subjects about Patrick Henry, the French Revolution and gas prices.  I hope we'll never be apart.


Oh my dear "There is,"
Your radiance glows.  How wonderful you are.  Truly, truly you are so correct, so fine.  Lovely "There is," please be mine.  I can't wait to use you constantly in papers. Oh "There is," how I hope our love never vapors.  What's that?  You are being taken away?  By whom?  Where?  Are you leaving to stay? By golly, by folly, darn diddley flum -- it's that grammarian Mrs. Prichard on the run.  She took you?  She destroyed you?  Well that's just too bad.  I'll just look back and smile on the time which we had.


My Dearest Semicolon,
I love using you in sentences and papers very much; you join two sentences together that I want as one without using a period or comma and coordinating conjunction.  Mrs. Prichard says you are like a Reese's Peanut Butter cup; you are like having the best of both worlds -- chocolate and peanut butter together.  In the end, you are my favorite part of grammar, but I cannot over use you and abuse you.  Less is more.
Love,
TB


To my dearest darling, the comma,
All my life, I have been mystified by your power to make a wrong sentence right.  The world could not function as it should without you.
Always yours,
A Student

Dr. Ben Carson at the National Prayer Breakfast

Dr. Ben Carson spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast on February 7, 2013.  He spoke eloquently about values, education,  and compassion while throwing in some thoughts about political correctness and our financial troubles.  I had taken my children to hear him speak at Carleton College a number of years ago and was struck with his integrity, strength, and drive to see others succeed.  In his speech he shared the same qualities as he spoke about our nation.






This is a MUST SEE!

I Love a Mystery

I LOVE MYSTERIES!!!!!  I've never really liked doing jigsaw puzzles, but I love a good literary puzzle.  I've read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories, everything by Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and Erle Stanley Gardner, and a variety of miscellaneous unknown authors.






I'm sure it began with my favorite childhood series of books about the protagonist, Trixie Belden.  I remember staying up late into the night with a flashlight under the blankets and reading until I couldn't keep my eyes open.  I did not read Nancy Drew books or the Hardy Boys series.  They seemed too corny.  But tomboy Trixie and her rich friend Honey held my attention for book after book.  I even developed a little bit of a crush for Trixie's brother Brian and the orphan, Jim.  Growing up in small town Iowa, their adventures at Crabapple Farm in New England seemed somewhat exotic.


As a high schooler, I took brief breaks from my mysteries and forayed into American literary classics.  F. Scott Fitzgerald, Upton Sinclair, John Updike, and Mark Twain were better at holding my attention in those days.  In college, I developed a new literary love, Victorian novels, which displaced mysteries for a long season.  However, once children came into my life, I rekindled my love for detectives and crimes. I could pick up these shorter works of fiction (remember, Victorian novels are loooong!) and read them between diapers, laundry, and meals.  Rocking a baby to sleep took long enough to read 1 or 2 chapters.  While the plots might be complicated, I could usually turn off my "literary analysis" switch that I had carefully developed as an English major.  Who cares about themes, symbols, motifs, or characterization?  What you really want to know is "whodunit."



With the introduction of Neflix to our family, I now have a number of mysteries to watch with just a few clicks of my mouse.  I'm especially fond of solving British crimes. I've probably seen every mystery that Miss Marple, that "goddess in sensible shoes," has solved onscreen.  I have definite opinions about the various women who have played her; as far as I'm concerned, only Joan Hickson "nailed it."  I also have a soft spot for David Suchet as Poirot.  How can you not love that egg-shaped man?

I've found a way to further indulge myself -- I teach mysteries as a part of my high school language arts classes.  This semester we're reading The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which is not a bona fide crime-solving detective novel, but has puzzle to be solved and a secret that needs exposing.  In another class we're reading six Sherlock Holmes stories, a lesser-know Russian short story, and Poe's "Cask of Amontillado."  Finally, in my third class we're reading 39 Steps, a novel of mysterious intrigue rather than a classic detective story, at the end of the semester.  My hopes are that I can pass along this obsession to the next generation.

Even Moms Need a Break

Following the Christmas season, I'm usually one toasted lady. Between the Christmas-related food and gifts, I've put in a lot of hours.  I've finished planning and buying all of the gifts for my children, husband, and extended family.  It takes a lot of careful planning to stretch our dollars to cover 7 kids, especially since 2 of them this year are out of the country.  Black Friday, coupon codes, and internet offers help me find the best deals on that perfect gift.  Our early ancestors who were hunters and gatherers have nothing on me.

When planning meals, I mix convenience meals with special "from scratch" foods.  We had frozen pizza one night and hand-made spring rolls another.  I peeled 10 pounds of potatoes for Christmas dinner, but I fixed cheap refrigerator cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

When all of the planning, cooking, baking, buying, coupon-clipping, list-making, and gift-wrapping and -unwapping are done, I'm a tired mamma. Usually I spend the 26th and 27th in a kind of stupor watching movies and reading books.  I refuse to fix any meals or do laundry.  My brain and body take a brief hiatus from any responsibilities related to the "lady of the house."  You aught'ta try it?

Happy New Year!

I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions. Too often these resolutions take the form of promises you know you can't keep.

However, at the beginning of every year during the first week of January, I ask the Lord about priorities and changes.  My birthday is January 7, and in my mind that's when the new year begins.  I have a few days before that date to be reflective and think about the months behind me and the months to come.  Any time can be a time for change, but the beginning of the calendar year seems an excellent opportunity to make changes to our schedules and our habits.

Rather than making "resolutions," I prefer to call these fresh focuses "goals" or "priorities."  A resolution has a bit of a business and legal ring to it.  If I officially bind myself to some plan of action, then it's either completed or not completed with not much of a middle ground.  On the other hand, a goal speaks to a process.  For example, if my goal is to finish the race, as long as I stay engaged, I'm headed towards that goal -- regardless of the pace or distance.

I usually have some ideas about goals, etc., but I've learned over the years that it's much better to pray and to take time to hear what God might have in mind.  Maybe it's my age, but I really don't want to spend energy chasing after something that God never intended.

So for me, these next days are for listening .......

Mom's Christmas List

Below is a copy of the letter that I sent out to my children.

Dear Children,

Every year you ask me what I want for Christmas, and every year I tell you the same thing -- well-behaved children who love God.  That's what God got on the first Christmas ... if it was good enough for him, it's good enough for me. 

However, I know that you are all quite generous and want to give me more than that.  So here's what I'd like (in addition to the above-mentioned):  TIME!  My lists of what I have to do, what I'd like to do, and what I daydream about doing make me long for more time, not more stuff.

So, be creative.  If you've already bought me a spatula or a book or a $300 sweater, explain how it will give me more time.  Or fix a dinner or fold some towels.  You're not too old to come up with an old-fashioned coupon book.  I'd gladly have some of your time.  I love gifts because they're an expression of the time and effort the giver took in selecting them.  That's why I'm not very good at giving lists.

I can most honestly and profoundly say that having you as children is one of the greatest gifts in my life!

Mom

My Etsy Shop

At my house, I often say, "I'm the clever one."  Not that everyone agrees, but I say it nonetheless.  Sometimes, I'm also the crafty one.

When I was a kid, I would watch my mother sew, paint, crochet, and attempt a lot of other handmade crafts.  My siblings and I wore a lot of outfits that our mother had made.  And we wore them proudly because they were so well-made.  I learned from my mom that busy hands were happy hands.

I know how to knit basic stitches and have made wash clothes, scarves, sweater vests, and afghans the size of a double bed.  In need of something new to make, I had a fortuitous meeting with a friend who mentioned a knitted, beaded bracelet.  I bought a kit with directions and quickly became addicted.  Even though I don't wear a lot of jewelry, I can appreciate pretty things.

After I'd made 7 or 8 bracelets, I figured I should do something with them.  A few are set aside for gifts; but I needed to find an avenue to make some money off the rest.  And, making a little money would also help justify the expense of the huge selection of beads that I've purchased.

Enter Etsy!  I've opened my own shop, Jasper Gate,  selling these beautiful hand-made creations.  My original name choice was "007 Mom," but that was taken.  So, I chose one of the gems listed in the book of Revelation.  Jasper is one of the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem, and is found on Aaron's breastplate.  (See the Precious Stones website.)

My initial offerings on Etsy.  Check them out!