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A Daily Sign

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A Daily Sign

Daily Sign.jpg

A few years ago my very good friend Erica gave me a sign that would provide what I needed to get going each day. I LOVE this sign!

Most of the time the sign simply stands on my dresser as decoration but there are days when I stop and rearrange the tags based on the challenges that my day holds. Sometimes I select the tags based on what I believe will help my husband through his day. Other times my children enjoy adding the tags they think we need.

There is something novel about the idea of giving yourself what you need for the day. As the sign reads, “Take what you need today,” I think it would be helpful if we each started our daily journey with the emotional tags we might need.

I know not everyone can have a cool tag sign like mine, but everyone can start each morning or job by taking a moment and in your heart and mind prepare yourself with courage, care, creativity, strength, patience, peace, or whatever virtue you need.  Continue reading “A Daily Sign” →

Mayella Ewell’s Red Flowers

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Mayella Ewell’s Red Flowers

Sunday Porch sittin.jpg

Caring for my flower beds and potted plants today, I couldn’t help but reminisce sadly as I pruned the plants on my porch. They are a vivid red and reminded me of the red flowers cared for by Mayella Ewell in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

The red flowers in the novel were the only beautiful things in Mayella Ewell’s life.

Mayella Ewell was the poor, ignorant girl who falsely accused Tom Robinson of taking advantage of her. Her accusation came after she tried to reach out to Tom for affection, but was politely rejected. Her rejection was especially painful because her abusive father discovered the two at just the wrong moment, and after Tom fled the scene, Bob Ewell gave Mayella a vicious beating.

Those flowers were essential to Harper Lee’s characterization of the tragic girl. When asked if Tom had any previous interactions with the girl, Tom told of times that he helped her chop fire wood or do small tasks around their home. He recollected seeing her water and care for the red flowers. They were the one bright spot in the Ewell’s dirt-swept front yard, just as Tom’s visits were probably the one bright spot in Mayella’s day. Continue reading “Mayella Ewell’s Red Flowers” →

“I understand” – Powerful!

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“I understand” – Powerful!

I understand

Hearing the words “I understand” from my child’s principal was so comforting to me. She has no clue how much power she shared in those two words.

After being nominated to serve on next year’s school board, I had to call her and graciously say, “Thank you, but not at this time.” I simply could not in good conscience accept the position.

I am suffering from a major case of too-much-to-do on top of a sever lack of I-don’t-know-what-is-coming-next, and taking on this new duty would not be fair to the school or me.

Volunteering is something I am good at and enjoy very much, but I just had to say no to someone who I really admire and don’t want to let down.

Her empathy was the cure to the ailing guilt that had been plaguing me. As a teacher, mother, and wife, she related to where I was coming from and assured me that she understood. Continue reading ““I understand” – Powerful!” →

Red Pen Trophy Wall

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Red Pen Trophy Wall

Red Pen cemetary.jpg

In 2015 I began my red pen trophy wall. This display was inspired by the trophies my husband accumulated over the years from hunting trips. My students always seemed to have more interest in what he was killing than what I was teaching so as each new pen bit the dust, I began my trophy wall.

The wall developed greater meaning when I applied the infamous words of Kathy Rolwes (fellow teacher and lover of the written word), “Ink is love.”

Kathy always tells her students, “Ink is love,” when returning graded work. Her critiques and feedback are loaded with insight, beneficial advice, and love (of course). Her affections are well demonstrated by the inky sacrifices made by her pens.

This school year I added an additional tradition to the retirement of tragic grading pens. I invited each student, who wrote a deadly paper, to give a eulogy for the pen who gave its life to evaluate them. Once this tradition began, Continue reading “Red Pen Trophy Wall” →

White Puffy Cloud Days

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White Puffy Cloud Days

White Puffy Clouds.jpg

There are so many beautiful days in the year. Days when the sky is the perfect shade of blue and scattered with white puffy clouds. I remember my high school English teacher talking about white puffy clouds days and about how we should be outside to celebrate them. I always wondered why we didn’t.

As a teacher and a mom, I find myself trapped inside too often on those glorious days. I have been known to say, “Ok kids, we are going on a field trip” or “It’s a white puffy cloud day and we need to write about it” and out we go. This is not popular with all the other teachers or students in my school, but it will be ok.

With my own kiddos at home, I try so hard to take walks or play ball or swing on the swings on these white puffy cloud days. Clearly the day was made for play and taking time to move lazily (like those big ol’ clouds).

If you find yourself looking out at a white puffy cloud day, find a way to be a part of that day. Take a walk on your lunch break. Assign a writing assignment or short outdoor lab for your class. Go on a nature hunt with your kids. Hold hands on the back porch with your sweetie.

Be a part of the white puffy cloud movement!

The white puffy clouds were made to be a part of your world so be with them.

By: Melanie A. Peters

 

Blogger Recognition Award

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Blogger Recognition Award

Blogger Regcognition Award.png

Thank you to Chloe, the Quirky Victorian at (Over) Analysing Literature for nominating me. Your writing is amazing and I am honored that you considered me worthy of this recognition!

Rules:

  • Write a post to show your award
  • Give a brief story of how your blog started
  • Give two advice to new bloggers
  • Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog
  • Select 15 other blogs you want to give the award to
  1. Why I started Intentergy
    I had toyed with the idea of blogging for quite some time.
    I am always writing down ideas and am frequently asked by my colleagues and students to write down the things that come out of my mouth. I had gone so far as to play with blog templates and kept a journal of ideas for “someday,” when my cousin said to me one day, “You know what you should do? Write a blog. A blog about inspiration. I could just get up and get on my smartphone every morning and there would be a positive quote or story from you. That should be your job.” So I played with the idea a little bit more and in my musings I accidentally hit “Publish” instead of “Preview” and the rest as they say is history. I am not one to back down from a challenge, so I took to sharing on the blogosphere daily.
  2. First Advice for New Bloggers
    Do your homework. I read a number of books including, Born to Blog by Mark W. Schaefer and Stanford A. Smith and The Weblog Handbook by Rebecca Blood. These books provided tremendous insight into the world of blogging and introduced me to things I never would have thought of because I had never blogged before. Books were a great tool but reading and commenting on other blogs has been the best help. The more blogs you see and the more advice you get from experienced bloggers the better off you will be.
  3. Second Advice for New Bloggers
    Don’t be afraid to talk about your blog. Tell everyone you can about your writing and your site. This kind of publicity shows enthusiasm for your work and will spark interest from those who care about you or share the same interests as you. Interact with other bloggers. Invite them to see your blog and give feedback in their discussions. This will generate more traffic for your blog and help you find followers and others who are vocal about what you are sharing.
  4. Thank you so much QuirkyVictorian! I always enjoy your blog and am excited that you like mine as well! Check out her blog, people!!!
  5. 15 Bloggers that should also be recognized
    1. https://beingmommie.com/
    2. https://thepossibilityblogdotcom.wordpress.com/
    3. https://aneneslife.wordpress.com/
    4. https://purelysimplewords.com/
    5. https://weirdweekendsblog.wordpress.com/
    6. https://energytrails.wordpress.com/
    7. https://fictionisfood.wordpress.com/
    8. https://samngigeblog.wordpress.com/
    9. https://theworldisnotagainstme.wordpress.com/
    10. https://creativityamongdigitalchaos.wordpress.com/
    11. http://www.marilynwrites.org/
    12. https://philosophicalepiphany.wordpress.com/
    13. https://thelearnify.wordpress.com/
    14. http://www.asoneoncesaid.com/
    15. http://theroadwereon.com/

By: Melanie A. Peters

Coloring Connections

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Coloring Connections

coloring with my kids.jpg

Tonight I sat and colored with my three year-old son for an hour. That’s right an hour. My other kiddos were playing secret spies and watching Nick Jr. in the other room.

As we colored my little guy talked and talked and talked.

His conversation was very revealing. He does not like purple dogs. He does like orange, blue, red, and yellow dogs. He does not like the blue that I colored the sky, but likes his Paw Patrol blue color for coloring the sky. All of the dogs he colored are named Charlie the Ranch Dog (based on the character in Ree Drummond’s books).

It was fun to just listen to him. If I stopped coloring, he would ask, “Mommy, are you taking a break? Are you done taking a break?” He wanted so badly for me to like and do the same things he was doing that it really bothered him to see me stop.

So I kept coloring.

I colored seven (7) whole pages and watched and listened while he colored on eight or nine different sheets. It was relaxing, but most of all it gave me time to create and connect with my little boy. Rarely have I taken the time to just color with him since Christmas and most of our conversations lately have been about what episode of Paw Patrol he wants to watch.

As I colored with him, I thought back to coloring with my sisters when we were young. I remember coloring in coloring books on the floor of the first house we lived in and comparing my work with my sister’s. We believed that when you stopped coloring people’s hair blue and purple and were able to color inside the lines, you were a big kid. We colored pages and pages of images. I can’t even begin to try to remember all the art we created.

As a parent, coloring dates with your children offer time to connect and talk. The conversation while coloring flows out of the crayons and into the words being shared. It is almost like the opening of the coloring book is the portal to a dimension where your kids and you can be honest and candid about what is being seen, felt, or thought. It is a quiet activity that allows for freedom of expression and for bonds to form.

Last October I had the opportunity to visit Walsworth Publishing in Marceline, Missouri. They were printing millions of copies of adult coloring books. Since my visit I can’t help but notice all of the adult coloring publications lining store shelves and endcaps. It makes me smile to think of grown men and women coloring on their lunch break or while watching the evening news. After coloring with my son tonight, I think there just might be something to this Crayola-driven craze.

As an adult, it is so important to create connections through experiences like those found in coloring. Taking time to fill in the lines with the hues of your choosing and shading in the undefined areas with colors that come straight from you gives you a greater sense of control and creativity. Making something that you are proud of is so healthy for our emotional psyche and embracing a childlike pastime brings peace to our hectic world.

Maybe you won’t run out and buy a box of colored pencils and the latest edition of stained glass coloring creations tonight, but maybe take a few moments to doodle or sketch or even just make cool shapes with the paper clips on your desk. If you have children or younger siblings create some original art of your own together.

Take some time for innocent imagination and your energy will find an intent that is pure and positive and guaranteed to add a brighter spectrum to your day.

By: Melanie A. Peters

 

 

 

 

Welcome, Change.

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Welcome, Change.

Welcome Mat (2).JPG

Hello, Change. Once again I find you knocking on my door. You bring opportunity, excitement, uncertainty and confusion with you. Each time we meet the world appears to spin in a new way.

Thank you for offering new avenues to follow and the discovery of strengths and talents I didn’t know I had. While I know the unexpected is kind of your specialty, a little notice would be appreciated. Please consider bringing clear directions next time or a least a hint at what I should expect.

Oh, Change, what am I going to do with you?…You know what? Keep your arrival a surprise. A little variety in my life is probably a good thing.

Thank you, Change, for brining me new people and experiences. Thank you for challenging me to think in new ways and become a problem solver and a higher level thinker. Thank you for teaching me to be compassionate through your experiences and bringing me to a greater understanding of what success, suffering, or sorrow have to offer. I appreciate the memories you have helped me make and the impressions you have allowed me to imprint on those I encountered. Thank you, Change!

By: Melanie A. Peters

 

 

 

The defintion of “fine folks”

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The definition of “fine folks”

fine folk definition

Recently our school carried out the annual battery of standardized tests. My colleague and friend Nicole sent me emails, as the tests were being conducted, to check on my emotional and mental state. Testing is stressful for teachers!

Long ago I decided to not let standardized tests get me too worked up. Yes, I worry about them and fret about the results, but I do not let anxiety overwhelm me. It only adds to the duress of my students. I simply express faith in their abilities and confidence in my coverage of all necessary topics to prepare for those evaluations.

I messaged back to Nicole that I had done my best and I was going to let God and my students do the rest. Her reply brought tears to my eyes and a swelling of my heart.

Nicole told me that I fit the definition of “fine folk” because I did the best I could with what I had. I know this sounds like a derogatory statement towards my students, but it was really a literary allusion of the greatest magnitude. fine folk book definition

Nicole and I have both taught and LOVE the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, and in Chapter 13 Scout states her belief that fine folks are people who do the best they can with what they have, no matter their race, gender, or religion. Scout’s immeasurable sense of justice has always appealed to me, and the fact that Nicole believed I was living up to that level of civility was amazing to me.

Today I want to challenge others to fulfill the definition of “fine folks” in their lives. Use what you have to the fullest of your abilities and treat all those you encounter as if they too are “fine folk.”

Appreciate all that is “fine” in your world and only the best will show itself to you in each experience and encounter.

Thank you, Nicole, for believing in me. You, too, are the finest of folk!

By: Melanie A. Peters

 

This is my Job

Intentergy 2 Comments

This is not my writing in this post but it shares so many of my thoughts and beliefs about the value of being a farmers. Please enjoy this post!

Cecilia Mary Gunther's avatarThe Kitchen's Garden

Farming these acres is my job.  A job I chose. A job I chose and grew to love. Being a woman farmer is what I am all about. A woman who farms not a farmers wife. I am the farmer.  The grower of food. cows

And I am still a relatively young woman.  In the peak of her working life. This is not my retirement or anything, I am not old enough for that – not by a long shot – this is my job. This is not a hobby or just something to pass the time. This is my job of work. It is a small enterprise on purpose. I like to fly under the radar. My food revolution is spreading by word of mouth. My job has impact.  I feed people.  I invite people to come and experience farming. This is my job. sow

It is not 9 – 5. It is…

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