A Tutor who Tooted a Hodgepodge

September has such a pretty ring to its name, doesn't it?  My son starts school the day after Labor Day, so he might disagree. 

At any rate, life moves on and so does the Hodgepodge!

Thanks, Joyce ,for pumping out the questions as often as I put gas in my car. 

And thanks for not charging me $2.24 a word for my answers! I'd have been poverty stricken after the second week.

1. What's on your September calendar? Anything fun? 

Funny you should ask. My September calendar has just filled up as of this past Saturday when I interviewed for a tutoring job; they hired me on the spot. 

It's a Chinese family with two children (fifth grade girl and first grade boy) who have been in the States for a year and would like me to help the kids learn to read fluently so that they can gain admission to a certain prestigious private school near Washington, DC.  

I'll be keeping my other tutoring job with a darling kindergartner, so I'll be working four evenings a week and Saturday morning. Is that fun or work, you ask? Both. I absolutely love helping children learn to read well.  And to get to know foreigners and learn more about their culture makes me happy. Love it! So to get paid for doing what I love is nothing short of wonderful. 

2. You might be described as a natural born ____teacher_________________?

3. September is National Courtesy Month...what one act of courtesy would you most like to see more of in your home, town, or the world at large? 

What I'd like to see everywhere, from home to the world at large, is what the Bible calls "preferring others above oneself."  Can you imagine life in a world where everyone's mindset was, "Please, you go first"? Or where no one cuts off another driver on purpose, everyone asks before eating the last piece of dessert, no one pushes and shoves in line, everyone holds the door for the other person coming through? On and on it goes.

4. Eager beaver, chicken out, clam up, or let the cat out of the bag...of the phrases listed, which one have you related to most recently? 

Eager beaver about prepping for my new job!

5. What's your movie theatre snack protocol? Do you chow down on snacks during the previews or wait until the movie begins? Do you buy snacks or refuse to pay those kind of prices? What's the last movie you saw in a theatre? How many thumbs up would you give it?

Protocol? Well, I don't know if seeing one movie a year is sufficient to establish a movie snack protocol, but since it's such a rarity, I splurge --but only on popcorn and drinks. Or I split the cost with the friend I go with and we munch from a shared bucket of buttery goodness. 

I prefer to get all the snacks before the lights go down so I can see where I'm going and won't miss either a step OR a good part in the movie. 

The last movie I saw was  a pre-release of  the Christian film called "Do You Believe?"  My daughter got free tickets as she has a knack for doing. Two thumbs up.

6. Henry Ford is quoted as saying, "Nobody can think straight who does not work. Idleness warps the mind." Agree or disagree? Why?

I don't like the qualifier of "nobody" because I was immediately thinking of people who have no choice, by reason of physical or mental disabilities that are severe enough to make working impossible. However, if we're talking about the norm, I would agree that idleness warps the mind and the mind is easily straightened out with work because work involves thinking and processing (usually)--or at least the ability to keep pace. 

7. What's the last job you completed or task you performed where you had to 'work like a dog' until it was finished?

Actually I am in the midst of working like a dog --a retriever--at fetching resources and information curriculum, manipulatives (magnetic letters and board, flashcards) and supplies  to help me give the reading placement test for my first ESL students.

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

Cancer strikes again.   I think I mentioned baby Sophia, who was diagnosed  with brain cancer in early August at the tender age of six months. She is the first child of my young friend Lauren, and had surgery that reduced 70% of the tumor and is heroically undergoing chemotherapy for the rest. 

And another friend of mine just received the news that she has breast cancer.  I was shocked; she's younger than me and I am crying out to God for her healing. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!