Surprise Blessing

It was one of those times that makes you want to cry and smile at the same time you're scratching your head.

Let me back up and say why .

All this year I've been a volunteer art teacher in my son's school. (But not in his class; that could spell disaster.)  The little Christian upstart school has had no money in the budget to pay me, so it's my volunteer parent job. (Every parent has one.)  If you're a teacher of any subject, you know how easy it is to spend--or to want to spend--extra money for things that will enrich your students' learning experience. Or bring "oohs" and "aahs" and smiles that are worth every penny.

However, my husband asked me to please not volunteer both my time AND money this year for the nine kids in my middle school art class.  Our four children are costing enough to educate. I said okay. I would behave. I would honor his wishes and also the wishes of my principal to teach "the grammar of art."  Concepts and skills, linked with their history and/or science whenever possible to make it a classical education.  No problem.  I was up to the challenge. 

The only thing I might have to spend money for is the Mother's Day project if I wanted something 3D. And I did NOT want to make flower pots again. Cute as they were a couple years ago at my other school, I am not the kind of person to do the same project twice. There's just too much art out there to be explored to repeat the same thing, right???

But I managed to not spend one penny on supplies except for...

In October I found 16x20 canvas on sale.  Perfect for late in the year when the students could handle doing a "big" project.   That was $30.  Not bad when divided by 9.

Then just recently I had to invest in some medium flat brushes and more acrylics. The supply of the primary colors was nearly gone  So brushes and paint, $24.  Again, not bad when divided by 9.

Of course every beautiful present deserves beautiful presentation, so that'd be another $6 for wrapping paper. I could donate that.

So I was up to $60 and figured that was okay to ask. for.  Well, ask I did, and the answer was no. There was no money in the budget for it.  I'm telling you, "tight" doesn't begin to describe the art department budget.

When I got upset about it, I told my husband. And for a change, he was not upset about spent money. It wasn't worth it to get upset, he said. Write it off. Live and learn. Be clear next time about who will pay for it.  But sixty bucks is no big deal in the whole scheme of things. Wow, was my husband really saying those words? 

But then, two days ago, he got some rattling news at work. News that rattled me, too. News that no wife wants to think about. News that makes you think "Sixty bucks when you have a good job is not a big deal. Sixty bucks when you don't is rice and beans and beans and rice."

So imagine my shock, my delight, my dancing feet (even the one that's possibly fractured), when...
this morning
at school
 I found,
 in my mailbox,
an envelope marked
 "Art Supplies."
 No note or anything
 with it.
No name.
No identifiable handwriting.

 Just sixty bucks.

Yup.

Three crisp,  twenty-dollar bills.

 I blinked.

Who knew this is what I spent on Mother's Day gifts for the moms? Only three people: the secretary, the other art teacher, and the principal.

I asked the secretary
Don't know, she said.

I asked the other art teacher.
Nope, no idea, she said.

I asked the principal.
She had no clue what I was talking about.

"It must be from the Lord," was all she said.

Hodgepodge: Shakespeare, Sleep, and Sadness

I haven't fallen victim of a tragedy--Shakespeare's or otherwise,  but if you've wondered wherefore art I've been, read the post below this one.  It's had something do with "art," actually.

This delightful meme called the Hodgepodge comes with a complete set of eight prompts every week, and all you have to do is supply the answers.  It's not hard if you're familiar with yourself.
Thanks, Joyce (From This Side of the Pond) ,for being the brains behind this brawny exercise.  I could be wrong., but I do believe we've collectively written more volumes than the Bard himself.


1. William Shakespeare's birthday is celebrated on April 23rd...when did you last read Shakespeare? What's your favorite Shakespeare play? Last time I read Shakespeare was probably was several years ago when I was asked to consider teaching high school literature at our homeschool co-op. After all, I was an English major, right? Right. And because I was, I was forced in college (by the desire to get to A's) to read a whole expanse of literature I didn't especially like. Don't get me wrong; Shakespeare was a genius and I love his poetry. His sonnets are hard to beat. I also appreciate the comedies and can quote things like, "whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or ( ...yada yada about taking up arms...) and by opposing, end them?" I enjoy Shakespeare on stage when it's well done. I've seen A Midsummer Night's Dream, Taming of the Shrew -- (my fave), Hamlet, and MacBeth. Actually my hubby and I saw Christopher Plummer on stage at the Lyric in Baltimore for our first wedding anniversary. Suprise tickets from  him. I still remember Lady MacBeth's hem getting caught on and ripped by a nail in the stage riser. She stayed right in character when she heard the rip. "Oh, FYE on it!" she yelled, the funniest line of the whole play, ad libbed. But to sit down and read Shakespeare? No thanks. To discuss him with a class? Bigger no thanks.

2. What food(s) would you recommend a foreign visitor try when they visit your home country? Well, the United States certainly could offer at least 50 different yummables to a foreigner, couldn't she? Since I'm partial to Maryland and her cuisine, I would say you gotta try the crabs. I enjoy showing "foreigners" (from as nearby as Kansas and as far away as Birobidzhan) how to use a crab mallet to crack the claws open, how to remove the apron and the yucky yellow guts and lungs, and pick all the jumbo lump crab meat out that's just absolutely fantabulous with Old Bay. Folks who think Red Lobster has tasty crabs need a real education. Only Maryland's blue crabs with Old Bay seasoning are worth trying in America. If you just really couldn't stomach eating a crab after peeling its legs and shell off, then do try a crabcake. In my own little town is Baltimore's best. If you're ever in the area, I'll join you for lunch.

3. What's a lie you often tell yourself? I'll be thin again without contracting a disease.

4. What's something you're good at that might surprise us? Remember this is a family friendly blog! Oh, Joyce, you had to add that last part. Too funny. You might not know I can do ventriloquism. And I can do magic; my husband says he has never seen anyone who can make money disappear as fast as I can.

5. Who is your favorite animal character from a book? So many to choose from. But just the other day something made me think of Wilbur, the talking pig, from Charlotte's Web. Oh, I remember what made me think of it. A discussion on the sale of Mark Zuckerberg's "baby"--Facebook. I thought "Zuckerberg's Famous Pig: F-A-C-E-B-O-O-K." Talk about bringing home the blue ribbon AND the bacon!!

6. April showers bring May flowers...do you have a green thumb? I used to be better about keeping things growing. Now I can't even get my thumbNAILS to grow. But as for flowers--I keep buying them and keep getting reminded they need at least water to live.

7. Speaking of rainy days...which one of the following activities would you most want to spend time doing on a rainy day- sort photos and create albums bake cookies read a good book hold an all-day movie marathon organize closets, cupboards, or bookshelves try a new recipe fix something that needs fixing Hmmm, I scanned the list for the one missing--napping. Nothing I like better. Rain zaps my energy, so the organize thing would not even make the cut. Sometimes I'm inspired by cold rain to heat up the kitchen with a new recipe. Or tweaking an old one. But the other things would induce sleep on a rainy day, so I still stay my favorite activity would involve a whole of inactivity.

8. Insert your own random thought here. Sadly, my sister lost the baby over the weekend, so I won't be an aunt this Thanksgiving after all.

Dropped Out

One huge mistake I made was checking out a complete stranger's blog in the challenge on the letter I. It was about ice being bad for dogs. Incredulous or informative?? ? I don't know what I clicked, but POOF! A major virus WIPED out so much data on my son's desktop. You know, like I thought whole school projects in his COMPUTER SCIENCE major classes were GONE FOREVER? Well, he is too smart to not back stuff up, so we were okay. But oh, wow. my stomach and heart were SICK!! Many times this month I've considered dropping out of the A to Z Challenge when it was taking so much time and mental energy--with few visits from others to make me sense I had an audience. But I don't like to quit. I kept going with my tributes. Then, my laptop quit for me. It just wouldn't charge well. Actually, the adaptor cord got too frayed to be safe anymore, so we pulled the plug on it--literally. In the middle of my S post. I was okay with that decision. A corny thought, of course, crossed my mind. "You're s'post to be getting other stuff done anyway." I know, I can't help myself when it comes to corn. Rather than being upset about my handicap, I'm relieved. I've gotten quite a bit accomplished in my unplugged state and got busy with an A to Z list of the real life variety: A--appliances--cleaned the microwave and stove and made ART B--brushed the dog's teeth )I kid you not. I did that for the first time with him, and he was really good about it.) C--curtains--washed my family room curtains )oh, the dust on them!) D--dishes--planned which ones to use for upcoming Mother-Daughter Tea E--Entryway--a work in progress I have a ton of work to do around the house and much to do at school in preparation for our upcoming art show and Mother's Day projects. I am so excited, but stressed, too. It's always a LOT of work to put up a display for only minimal viewing time. Still, children's art thrills me to pieces, so I am up to that kind of challenge. Why isn't blogger publishing my paragraph breaks? They show up in the draft but disappear in the final version. It is driving me crazy. I hate huge paragraphs. Who wants to read big chunks of text without white space???

R is for R

For the sake of my friend's privacy, I won't use her real name. I will substitute the letter R and not give any details that would tell a story that isn't mine to tell. R is leaving a legacy of forgiveness. Vile offenses have been done against her, yet she has forgiven the offender, and she lives a life a of peace and joy and freedom. When I asked her how--how could she forgive him??--she told me she was only able to forgive through the power of Christ, and because she knows she has been forgiven by our holy God. It wasn't easy. It took time. But the result has been life-changing. Having thought about legacies all month, I think people who are quick to forgive have had the greatest impact on me. It's not their talent, their looks, their personalities, their intellect, their giftings, or anything they were born with. Rather, forgiveness is something that is a learned act of the will. No one is born with a will to forgive. Granted, some people are not easily offended, and others are. But regardless, whatever one's tolerance for offense might be, everyone has to forgive many people many times in a day, a week, a year, a lifetime. Some of us have a real hard time forgiving. We need people like R in our lives to keep showing us how it's done. Sure, Jesus showed us ultimately at the cross how it's done, but I admit that I have said, "But He's God. Of course He could forgive. You can do anything when you're God. How about the ordinary human being like me?" How do I forgive? How do we free ourselves from bondage? By letting people off OUR hook. Not "THE" hook; I used to think that they would be off the hook if I forgave them, but she has reminded me that God will deal them. No one gets off His hook unless He releases them. He deals with everyone; vengeance is His. There was a time I wished people like R's offender (and a couple of mine) would rot in hell. Then I learned what the Bible says about hell, and I could no longer think that. Would I want to go to hell for MY sins? Have I committed murder in my heart through anger? Many, many, many times! Should I be sent to hell for a murderous heart? Absolutely! But have I been forgiven by Jesus and set free from that sin? Yes, indeed. But too often I still hold onto the hurts. One look at R and I think, "If she can forgive someone for _________, I can forgive them for this." What kind of love and strength is takes to let go of bitterness. I have told her once, but I must tell her again before it's too late. Her legacy of forgiveness speaks volumes to me. Mega volumes.