Embracing our Blessings

within each moment we have...

Aug 06, 2023

“Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.” ~ Charles Swindoll

This summer I am really trying to make the most of each day. This is our son’s 18th summer and in just a few weeks he will be moving into his dorm and starting his next chapter.

Being able to “seize the moment” as each one arises…not allowing any opportunity to slip away, is really important to me.

Making meals together, watching movies, sharing “music time” (which involves taking turns watching YouTube videos of our favorite songs)...or just simply sitting and talking about current events, the books we are reading…whatever topic comes up…I’m just trying to enjoy each moment as much as I can.

Along the way, our son is also enjoying hanging out with friends and practicing various aspects of his independence. Meanwhile, my husband and I are slowly adjusting to not having Michael with us all of the time. Being an only child, it is an adjustment all the way around.

As the days seem to fly by, I think back to my own memories of spending time with my parents and what we loved to do together. Many memories come to my mind. We loved golfing together in the summers and eating picnics in the park afterwards, working together in their garden, sitting on the beach at Lake Superior and breathing in the cool, fresh air…

Driving “up north”, spending hours in my parent’s van, just talking to each other and just being together. There is a special beauty in the simplest of moments. Unfortunately many times you don’t realize that…at least not until those moments become memories.

I thought about my parents last night as I watched television. It is that time of year when preseason football has returned and my parents and I would spend every Sunday during football season watching Green Bay Packer games. Last night I enjoyed watching the Packer family night, open to anyone, not just season ticket holders.

The Green Bay Packers are a unique organization whose fans are share owners and whose loyalty is like no other. As the cameras scanned the stadium, you could see all of the families, enjoying the Lambeau Field experience,

Where else do you sell out a stadium to watch a team practice? Only in Green Bay, WI.

But the most impressive moment for me was at the very beginning when many of the players and coaches ran out onto the field with their families, waving to all of the fans and their families in the stands.

Smiles were everywhere and it was a great reminder of what we all have in common. We all come from a variety of families, and if we are lucky, from parents who love us and who want what’s best for us…That is a universal common thread that holds us all together.

Last night many memories were made for everyone in the stands and on the field.

Meanwhile, in the Dembowski household, our evening was spent together, watching the Family night, and engaging in good conversations…reminding me of my blessings, old and new.

It is said that the greatest legacy we leave our children is happy memories. Here’s to the moments, big and small, and focusing on enjoying each and every one of them…

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Tranquil Moments…

I asked my niece, Jennifer Malphy, if she could share some of her nature photos with my newsletter audience. Each week I will feature a new photo. Here’s this week’s:

This week’s Smile Video

Elizabeth and Jake Landuyt's wedding day went viral after a heroic effort rescued their reception from a fire. Two years later, the couple returned to the venue to celebrate their anniversary without the dramatics. Steve Hartman has the story in "On the Road."

#believe #stevehartman #smilevideos

What I am reading…

This week I read a book suggested by my niece Jennifer Malphy and I absolutely loved it and read it all in one sitting. It is a young adult novel entitled The Probability of Everything by Sarah Everett.

The Amazon summary is as follows: “Eleven-year-old Kemi Carter loves scientific facts, specifically probability. It's how she understands the world and her place in it. Kemi knows her odds of being born were 1 in 5.5 trillion, and that the odds of her having the best family ever were even lower. Yet somehow, Kemi lucked out.

But everything Kemi thought she knew changes when she sees an asteroid hover in the sky, casting a purple haze over her world. Amplus-68 has an 84.7% chance of colliding with earth in four days, and with that collision, Kemi’s life as she knows it will end.

But over the course of the four days, even facts don’t feel true to Kemi anymore. The new town she moved to that was supposed to be “better for her family” isn’t very welcoming. And Amplus-68 is taking over her life, but others are still going to school and eating at their favorite diner like nothing has changed. Is Kemi the only one who feels like the world is ending?

With the days numbered, Kemi decides to put together a time capsule that will capture her family’s truth: how creative her mother is, how inquisitive her little sister can be, and how much Kemi's whole world revolves around her father. But no time capsule can change the truth behind all of it, that Kemi must face the most inevitable and hardest part of life: saying goodbye.”

All I can say is…I could not literally put this book down and the last few chapters will take your breath away…

Sharing Family Favorites…

Last month I shared a tribute to my mother entitled Love Made Visible. This week I am sharing one of her recipes from her cookbook, along with a picture of Michael and Mom baking together in her kitchen in 2010.

This Week’s TED Talk - Why Every Student Deserves a Champion

This week’s TED Talk is for my educator friends who are getting ready for a new school year.

Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don't like.'" A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.

Children’s Corner

Back in 1999, when I was an elementary school librarian, I started a project where I wrote letters (old fashioned, printed letters) to a variety of famous people. This was prior to the daily use of email and text messages. My questions were simple…

1) From your own life experiences, how has reading affected your life in a positive manner?

2) Was there any particular person or experience in your life that made you aware of the value of literature and the importance of reading?

I am going to share these letters and let you experience the joy many of my students (and myself) have gotten from their touching words - Here is this week’s: