Line in the Water

admin — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:04:23 -0600

I am an education professor at Central Christian College. Sometimes when I'm teaching a class full of glassy-eyed, bored students, or when I'm stuck in an interminable faculty meeting, I feel like calling it quits and heading for home. It's times like those I remember a fishing trip I took with my dad in 1956, when I was 12 years old.

Libraries Become Recessionary Refuges

jbloustein — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:00:31 -0500

American families facing money problems and recessionary woes may be looking for creative ways to stretch their dollar.

In many communities, public libraries have stepped in to provide a haven for people who want to enjoy a novel, plan their future, advance their personal growth, or spend time together as a family.

Since the recession hit, libraries across the country have reported a rise in new library cards, materials circulation and computer logins.

Homework Help

jbloustein — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:47:27 -0600

It is 7:30 pm and my son isn’t the only one who needs help with his homework.

He is only in the second grade, so I am not stumped on a tricky math question. I am stressing over how to get him to sit still and concentrate!

If this is life with an eight year old amount of homework, how are we supposed to survive another ten years?!?

So, I turned to Twitter.

Healthy Goodies

jbloustein — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:03:05 -0600

I maneuvered the grocery cart down the aisle with one hand, nestling my 22-month-old son, Alexander, on my hip with the other.

That’s when I saw it: a box of cake mix, with a picture of a luscious chocolate slice smothered in gooey frosting. For a moment my imagination took off. Alexander would turn two soon, and this would make an awesome birthday cake! I could just see him smashing the cake into his mouth on his big day, family and friends snapping photos.

Mom's Best

jbloustein — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:52:24 -0600

They fled Egypt, grabbing unbaked loaves from their ovens.

As they raced through the desert, the searing sun baked the bread into flat, unleavened cakes. Only when they were safe from the Pharaoh, on the other side of a sea that miraculously parted for them, did the Jews finally have time to celebrate their freedom from slavery, eating the hard crackers we call “matzo.”

On Passover, my family gathers around the dining room table at my parents’ house and reads about that first, modest Seder, just part of the amazing story of the Exodus.

Steering Your Kids Right

jbloustein — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:33:42 -0600

I grab my car keys off the dining room table, slip my two year old’s feet into her boots and call out to my eight year-old son to hurry up.

“Get in the van, Jackson! We don’t want to be late.”

Yes, it is “taxi” time—and just like most families out there, our family spends a lot of time driving! The car may not be our favorite place to spend time, but at least we are together.

Surviving Postpartum Depression

jbloustein — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:34:48 -0500

In the early weeks of my first pregnancy, I braced myself for the misery of morning sickness.

At seven weeks, when the nausea hit, it was worse than I'd imagined. I had pictured an upset stomach, maybe a bit of vomiting in the morning. I hadn't foreseen an all-day sickness that made my mouth taste like dirt and made me loathe even the thought of food.

But I found comfort knowing I wasn't alone. As I gagged on Saltine crackers, I reminded myself that it was a normal part of pregnancy. It would come to an end.

Mom, the Worry Queen

mheller — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:55:13 -0600

My mom was a world-class worrier.

All moms worry; that's their job. But no one worried more fervently than Estelle Rossister Grinnan. If I was late coming home, she didn't just worry about where I was or what might have delayed me; she was already fretting over funeral arrangements.

“I didn't know if we should bury you back in Philadelphia, where the family plot is, or out here in Detroit, where you grew up.”

“Mom!”

“The Lord only knows where you've been.”

“Mom, that's crazy.”

A Surprising Anniversary

jnalewicki — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:30:53 -0600

Saturday was my parents' 60th wedding anniversary.

My four siblings and I reserved the fellowship hall at their former church in Dallas for a come-and-go reception in their honor.

I prayed it would be more than a nice little reception. Since moving from Dallas to east Texas, Mother and Daddy had suffered several years of serious health problems in a new town with few friends. Mother deeply needed to reconnect with her old ones.

A Surprising Anniversary

jnalewicki — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:30:53 -0600

Saturday was my parents' 60th wedding anniversary.

My four siblings and I reserved the fellowship hall at their former church in Dallas for a come-and-go reception in their honor.