Let the Wild Rumpus Start

#62 Volunteer at a Montessori School

I have been lucky enough to be working for a Montessori elementary school here in Madison!  I work there two or three times a month either in the classroom or watching the kids if the parents and teachers have a meeting. 

I am so lucky to be in this school.  I have made some excellent connections within the community.

I also find that with each and every one of my experiences at the school, whether I am in the classroom or watching the children in more of a daycare situation, my passion is renewed.  I leave breathlessly excited about what I am doing.  The parents are so respectful of their children and the children are so excited and ready to learn.  In this past year that I have worked there, I have seen children as young as three walk over to the shelf where all the arts and crafts are, take out all of their materials, use the scissors to cut out their desired shapes, color them, then put all of the things away on their own.  Without anyone saying a thing.  I have seen four year olds tell me about every continent in the world.  I have seen six year olds mulitply.  All doing these things because of the environment that is provided to them and the guidance they receive from their teacher.  They do these things because they want to.  They do these things because they have wings and are given a chance.  It is absolutely amazing what children are capable of when they are given these chances to explore. 

It is something I want to devote my life to.  And I am so lucky to be a part of something that thrills me everytime I am a part of it. 

#95 :: Great Taste

This post is way late, but you're just gonna have to take it. 

This is for the 101 Things to do in 1001 days.  It started as a list of general things that I wanted to do and ended up becoming a bucket list, only one that I will finish in a little less than two years.  You can see the full list here. 

My friend Jen and I went to Great Taste in Madison in August.  It was spectacular.  Over two hundred breweries and over five hundred brews... there were tents and tents of beer, music, food, water fountains, and about five hundred people on the beautiful summer day on the lake at Olin Park.  Really an amazing day and an event that I will attend every year that I live in Madison. 

It is, of course, drinking.  Five hours of drinking in the middle of the afternoon.  We walked home. 

The 3 Day Walk for the Cure Experience

I want to thank everyone who supported my walk for the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure.  It was a wonderful experience and I am so glad that I was able to be a part of it.

Unfortunately, Thursday night I got terrible food poisoning.  I haven't been that sick since I was a child and was unable to walk at all move, much less walk on Friday.  But Saturday morning I woke up feeling great so I was able to join the walk.

The first day was about 19 miles.  We walked all around Arlington Heights and other Chicago suburbs.  It was amazing to see all of the support from the community.  Big and small groups would gather on lawns or in driveways and offer cold waters, bags of ice, food, and cheers.  It was unbelievable to see women whose heads were bald from chemo, or wearing a scarf, to thank us for walking.   It was so moving to watch my fellow walkers and the signs or pictures they had posted on their shirts or bags to honor the people they knew with cancer.

I finished the second day and was able to relax at camp for a while.  They had so many tents to explore - free back massages, free foot massages, a cell phone charging station, a tent with games like bingo or the show 'Glee' playing so you could veg out for a minute, medical tents, showers, and lots of food.

There was also a place to stretch out or do yoga by the water.  It was a great place to reflect on what had happened and thoughts throughout the day.  I spent a lot of time reading (actually reading a book uninterrupted!) and writing here.

The memorial tents at camp were very moving as well.  There is one tent for each 3 Day Walk they have this year.  Inside the big tent there were pictures of walkers and crew members that had been in the 3 Day in the past.  You could write to remember or honor people directly on the tent or you could write letters to the person in the book.

The first letter I read was from a daughter to her mother, thanking her for her fight.  It described how her Mother didn't want to tell the daughter about the tests and test results that she was having because her daughter was pregnant and didn't want to worry her.  She eventually had to tell her the news that it was breast cancer.  The day her Mother was having a mastectomy, her daughter was in labor.

I revisited the tent later that night before going to bed.  A man waited outside the tent for a long time, so I asked him if he was in line.  He stared into the tent and said no.  Then he looked at me and said that his wife, Jean, and he had done the walk years before.  Her picture was inside the tent.  (She was beautiful)  He wanted to say goodnight to her and take it all in again before going to bed himself.

He said that he does the walk every year for her.

Everyone ate together and listened to announcements for the next day.  There was music and games.

We also heard from a woman whose daughter, Sarah Jane, had breast cancer.  It was a moving story and there wasn't a dry eye in the house.   It hit close to home because her daughter was 29 when she found out she had breast cancer.  It hit close to home because she was 24 weeks pregnant when she found out.  She fought cancer, had chemotherapy, and continued to keep her weight up so she could support her baby.  It hit close to home because she was able to have her baby, a healthy baby boy.  Her mother recalled a story when her daughter was talking to her new son and thought that no one could hear her.  As she held her son she whispered that she was the happiest woman in the world.

Sarah Jane's cancer spread after the birth and passed away shortly thereafter.

Her mother took care of her daughter and her grandson.  When her daughter passed this past March, she committed herself to this walk.  She will walk every year from now on.

There were so many veteran walkers.  Breast cancer survivors and supporters came year after year, some seven years in a row, to support this cause.  Each one with their own reason to keep their legs and feet moving despite the limps and blisters.

The next morning, everyone in camp woke up around 5am to clean up, eat breakfast, and start walking early.

 

After breakfast, we took buses to Chicago.  There we walked the bike path into Soldier Field.

Sunday was hard in the morning.  I had overextended my knee and it started to rain.  I was wearing a poncho, hot, tears streaming down my cheeks from my leg pain, and walking alone along Lake Michigan.  I was mad.  Mad about the weather, mad about my leg, mad about my Mom.  Mad that she couldn't be there.  Mad about so many things.  I kept walking.  And I walked through it.

There are so many emotions with cancer and the death of a parent.  I didn't spend a lot of time talking to people that day.  I thought a lot and I allowed myself the time to work through some of the feelings that have been there for years, some of the feelings that will always be there, and some feelings that have risen.  It was wonderful.  I walked 17 miles that day and when I arrived at Soldier Field the sun was shining.

At the end of the walk, inside Soldier Field stadium, there were people cheering all of the walkers on, thanking us and handing us all a rose for the journey.

When all of the walkers had come in, we had the closing ceremony.  The walkers came the stage first, gathering around the front.  The crew came in second.  When the breast cancer survivors who had walked the 60 miles came in and walked to the stage, all of the walkers took off one shoe to honor their fight and their walk.  That's when the tears really came.  I held my Liam in one arm and one shoe in the other and just cried.  I am doing this for him, for those strong amazing survivors, and for me.

There is just something about this walk and the cancer experience that inspires people to come back year after year.  Many women and men that I had met have done this walk for years, some have done it seven years in a row.  Each person has a reason - their mother, daughter, sister, and even brother in-law had gotten cancer and they were moved to sign up.  Men and women ranging from 16-70 participated in this weekend.  Some had cancer and still participated, talking the shuttle bus when they had to and getting off to walk when they felt stronger.  Some had blisters the size of my fist on their feet, some pulled muscles, sprained ankles, burst capillaries, and got heat rash.  But I learned at the closing ceremony that our Chicago walk had raised 4.2 MILLION dollars!!! 4.2 million dollars closer to the end of breast cancer.  4.2 million dollars closer to a cure.

I had raised $2,727 myself and was able to walk because of all of you.  Thank you so much for your love and support over these last eight months.  All of the blisters, training in the rain, and tears were worth it.

I love you all and thank you again.

xoxo Mal

 

 

#8 Flowers Once a Week for This Summer

Starting off on the Right Foot. 

Visit the Wisconsin Dells

Yesterday was a beautiful day, one of the last beautiful ones of the summer.  So, instead of mulling about trying to figure out what to do (Olbrich Gardens, Terrace, Walk, Park, blah, blah, blah...), we decided to do something spontaneous.  Well, as spontaneous as you can be with a ten month old.  We packed up (enough sunscreen, food, bibs, diapers, wipes, and toys to last a couple days) and took off to the Wisconsin Dells. 

Now, we had never been to the Dells, but it is FAMOUS in Wisconsin.   It is home to America's largest waterpark, mini golf, zoos, and other kinds of great fun.  Families all over the Midwest plan trips for a week to see everything that they have to offer here.  We were expecting, well, the DisneyWorld of Wisconsin. 

What we got was so much better.

It was like a vintage tourist cheesefest.   Everything was exaggerated, with outrageous colors and signs.  Best of all, it was all perfectly out of date. 

The beautiful river with the boat rides, tacky gift shops complete with rows and rows of knick knacks and collections of every vacationer's need (I do NEED to express my love for America in a flip flop), 

and yes, roller coasters

was the strangest juxtaposition that I've seen on a single main street.   Awesome.

We did what any average family with a ten month old would do.  We played miniature golf at Pirate's Cove.

 

Liam was a big help. 

 

Where I beat John by one stroke.  Awesome.

Then we went to the torture museum.  Why, you may ask?  Because it's the Dells, and why the hell not?   This is a museum where they have some actual weapons and tools, but mostly it's dollar store frames with a microsoft word printed off of wikipedia and recently (poorly) made guillotines.  Again, awesome. 

Then we went to Crabby's, a seafood buffet, where I kid you not, they had animatronic pirates, CONSTANT pirate adventure music where you felt like you were going to be swept away by Johnny Depp himself, and (this is the best) all of the employees had to dress in pirate attire.  Really, go to the website.  You can enjoy it all minus the prime rib and fried food glory. 

Overall, it wasn't what we expected, but it was so much fun.  The perfect summer day as a family.   We will go back in years to come, happy to reexperience the excitement, the colors, and touristy pleasures that is downtown Wisconsin Dells. 

101 Things in a 1001 Days

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable, or clearly defined.  Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of effort on your part)

From the Day Zero Project

Completed tasks have a blue link leading to the post about it.  The incomplete tasks are bolded. 

Started July 1, 2009.  Needs to be Done by March 28, 2012

1.      Print out all important digital pictures

2.      Start and finish a yoga class

3.      Learn either the banjo or the violin – matc

4.      Do 3 Day Walk for the Cure

5.      Learn to sew and make something for someone

6.      Read an entire Jane Austen novel

7.      Over the 2011 summer, get flowers once a week

8.      Volunteer (at least!) once a month for a year

9.      Finish Bachelors degree

10.  Earn my Montessori teaching degree

11.  Then get a job in a Montessori school

12.  Write a letter to extended family members that I don't see very often

13.  Finish and print out the Family Cookbook

14.  Donate blood five times –   

First time -  July 17, 2010, passed out because I don't weight enough.  Will continue to work on it.

15.  Ride my bike everywhere I need to go for a week

16.  Plant a tree

17.  Stay out all night dancing

18.  Camp in Tennessee with Liam

19.  Run a marathon

20.  Visit the Wisconsin Dells 

21.  Take a pottery wheel throwing class

22.  Take the trapeze class

23.  Make a will and power of attorney

24.  Learn to cook a new cuisine (like Thai or Scandinavian)

25.  Read all of the books that I own that I haven't read yet

26.  Go on the big big hike at Devil's Lake State Park

27.  Potty train my son

28.  Build a spectacular garden

29.  Go camping with Liam and John

30.  Sponsor a child

31.  Stop buying Hallmark cards and make them for people

32.  Go wine tasting

33.  Bake three loaves of whole wheat bread from scratch

34.  Eat dinner at Harvest restaurant

35.  Read a Charles Dickens novel

36.  Learn how to change a tire

37.  Teach Liam how to build a really great snowman

38.  Get a mammogram once I am done breastfeeding

39.  Go to a flea market

40.  Get a massage

41.  Learn how to ride a motorcycle

42.  Go to climbing gym

43.  Make an emergency kit for the car

44.  Run and/or walk three times a week for a month

45.  Go ice skating at Tenney Park

46.  Take one photo a day for a year

47.  Donate to NPR

48.  Read a book by James Joyce

49.  Learn about buying a house

50.  Adopt a family for Christmas

51.  Volunteer at the hospice

52.  Teach Liam how to ice skate

53.  Save up and buy two really nice new lenses

54.  Submit a short story to a writing contest

55.  Visit Door County, Wisconsin

56.  Spend a night in a haunted house

57.  Participate in a civil war reenactment or renaissance fair

58.  Have a girl's day in Chicago

59.  Restart and maintain vintage dress collection

60.  Spend time with Cosette everytime we're in GR

61.  Finally read and finish The World According to Garp or other John Irving book

62.  Volunteer at the Montessori school

63.  Guide Liam and let him learn from his actions

64.  When I need to buy something for the house, look to Etsy first

65.  If I can't find it there, check Craigslist or Goodwill before going to a store

66.  Take a Photoshop class

67.  Take a baking class at MATC

68.  Go to a drive in movie theater

69.  Read the newest Sherman Alexie novel (and any other new one he might come out with)

70.  Have my fortune told

71.  Go to the ballet

72.  Take adult gymnastics class

73.  Get a dog

74.  Learn how to can food

75.  Take a bike ride in the rain

76.  Spend an entire day at the beach

77.  Buy all my friends a drink at the bar

78.  Take pole dancing lessons

79.  Bet at a horse race

80.  Volunteer at a soup kitchen

81.  Get a facial or pedicure/manicure

82.  Donate wedding dress to charity

83.  Paint on a canvas

84.  Let go of my painful memories of my Mom and just remember the good ones

85.  Kayak on Lake Mendota

86.  Get composting worms and learn how to do it

87.  Reduce our electricity/energy bill by 20%

88.   Volunteer for the Obama campaign in 2012

89.  Reread the Fountainhead

90.  Fix vintage bike myself

91.  Prepare a local only meal

92.  Play Frisbee

93.  Bake cookies for friends at Christmas

94.  Join a book club

95.  Go to Great Taste

96.  Go parasailing

97.  Throw a theme party

98.   Do a photography seminar

99.   Invent a baking recipe

100.          Make a Martha Stewart craft

101.          See Arcade Fire

 

I'm done!  Wow!

Now, time to work on it.