the Wednesday hodgepodge

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm here with Joyce again today for the weekly hodgepodge...this is a post that I dearly love; thank you, Joyce, for your inspiring and thought provoking questions each and every week! I'll jump right in! 

1. What's one piece of advice you would give a recent or soon-to-be graduate? I would sincerely congratulate them and then I would encourage them to embrace their youth; I would say to them that they're still young enough to not have to worry about having life figured out. I would encourage them to take the time to discover who they were as a whole person before rushing into a relationship, and to lean into whatever it is they find out about themselves.

The picture of the toddler is me with my sister Lisa when she graduated. This picture of Graham will always be my favorite representation of graduation...it's a blur, which is about how fast the time between birth and that day goes by. 

2. May 15th marks the birth date of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. At this point in time, are you more in need of brains, courage, heart, or a trip back home? Explain. Currently, I feel like I am more in need of brains. Part of my job is helping co-teach students in K-5 who need extra help with reading and math. I'm here for the reading part of the job, but the math? I don't have the brains to help teach math at the end of a long school day. I did this yesterday with two second graders, and their way of explaining different ways to regroup in subtraction is the most bizarre thing ever. My brain always feel fried by the time this occurs! I do this three days a week with two second graders. 

3. "There's no place like home" is an oft repeated line from Baum's book. When was the last time you felt the truth of that statement? I last felt the truth of that statement when Dad died and we were going through his house. His house was home to me; with the sale of the property in February of last year, it was the final piece of closure that made that more of a reality than ever. 

I miss this place! 

4. May is National BBQ month...do you own a grill? Who does the grilling at your house? What's your favorite thing to throw on the grill? What's the last thing you grilled? There is a grill at my house; it belongs to Jonah. He's the one who does most of the grilling for us here. I love anything on a grill, but my favorite would be either one of his steaks, some of Graham's salmon, or maybe even some chicken. The last thing that he grilled was chicken last Friday night. 

    Oooohhhh, I forgot to mention Bill's wings. Those are definitely another favorite!

5. What's a memory you replay in your head when you need a little joy? Something I often think back on a lot are travel memories. I replay times at the beach with Marilyn last summer, or when my sisters and I went to Maine together last fall. I also love to think back on all the concerts I got to attend last summer; that summer will go down as my favorite to date! 

6. Insert your own random thought here. Give me all your summer reading recs! I need to hear them, please. Here are a few I'll be reading this summer; one of these is a Prime series I can't wait to watch, based on the first Carley Fortune book I ever read (and her debut novel). 

Thanks for reading my blog today, friends! I'll see you back here tomorrow (I think). Love to all!

Jenn