What's On Your Plate?

What a week! Today I'm excited to share just a quick summary

of what's been going on in my corner of the world.

Isn't this the prettiest picture?

It was taken at our new-to-district employee luncheon,

while the crowd was arm-in-arm

singing the Cheers theme song as our launch.

Be still my heart ... talk about your caring connections.

I'm so grateful to my hero Michele Borba for the inspiration

and the permission to piggyback her idea and share it as I speak.

Here's how it went with the Friendswood Junior High leaders.

What a fun and engaging day that was, connecting with the faculty and staff at a school where all three of our children went in grades 6-8. We talked about being HOPE dealers and how to grow as a family during their Mustang Impact Time.

As a silly out-of-the-box activity during the Mindset piece, we drew a back-to-school picture on the plate atop our heads. Afterward, we wrote the one word that we want people to feel when they leave our presence on the plate for a "What's On Your Plate?" character wall display. 

Here's how that very activity looked the following day

with these delightfully passionate educators in Deer Park.

Both groups especially seemed to enjoy exchanging their 

one word in a riveting game of Give Me Your Hand(le); 

such a cool icebreaking activity that truly has the power 

to change the climate in the room.

Wanna practice handshakes and eye contact;

here are the instructions so you can give it a try.

 Afterward, one of them wrote me this sweet sticky note.

Such a thoughtful gesture.

I did manage to carve out some shopping time for the boys, who launched into another year in Aggieland today. Look at what our character camera spied on the wall at the local Kohl's Department Store.

Wouldn't that make a fantastic bulletin board in a school?

We also saw this brilliance at a school visit ... 

at Webb Elementary in Navasota, TX, this morning.

I went to visit Principal and author Todd Nesloney, to treat him to a Sonic drink, to thank him for his inspiration, and to ask for a tour of his school. I'm finding a lot of really creative ways to spend my time now that I'm not back at school.

My plate is overflowing with good things;

what's on your plate these days?

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Loving Connections

I wasn't sure that he would even let me come home to help take care of him, but when I called Dad last week after he lost consciousness and fell down, he seemed relieved that I would consider taking some time away to help. So I booked a flight with the miles I'd been saving in the case of an emergency, put in for some family illness days off, and grabbed a few drink coupons for the three-hour flight home. The guy next to me, a former prison officer, on his way home from Jamaica, seemed a little envious when I pulled those coupons from my purse. 

"What are you going to have?" he asked. I told him I thought that a Bailey's Irish Cream sounded pretty good. He nodded in agreement just as I handed him my second coupon. "And what are you going to have?" So began a beautiful week of loving connections for which I remain incredibly grateful. By about 11 pm, my plane had landed and I was in my brother's car reconnecting with him as we headed to his place for my overnight stay. My sister would join us for coffee in the morning and by lunchtime, we'd be home helping care for our Dad.

Though he'd been spending a great deal of time in this chair, we actually found him enjoying lunch with three of the farmhands whom he typically runs errands for and works alongside of in the shop at the family farm. Dad was so surprised and incredibly grateful when they called him to say they'd like to treat him to a meal. When he told them he'd have his daughters there, they said no worries, that they'd be glad to bring enough for all of us. They stayed and dined with him, a seemingly small gesture that made a huge imprint on his heart, for sure. In the next five days, I'd hear him tell the story of his fall over and over again and each and every time, he'd mention that noon-time kindness of those three mechanics.

As night began to fall, we gathered to play cards and caught this breathtaking scene of our family farm in the distance out of his dining room window.

By Friday, Dad felt well enough for an outing; he was itching to show me the remodeling project that he'd been working on at the parochial grade school that my siblings and I attended all those years ago. He was beaming with pride as he showed me all of their upgrades. I especially loved seeing their handiwork in the preschool room because that's where we happened upon nine young boys playing soup kitchen, each wearing a chef hat and apron carrying soup pots in their arms and ladles in their hands. I couldn't resist engaging in this yummy scene, so I told the tiny chef nearest the door that I was so hungry and would he be so kind as to share some soup. His smile said that he'd be happy to share as he scooped his pretend creation into my hands. Before I knew it, each little boy was lined up to serve me some soup. Just as I was about to get full, the tyke who stole my heart did this: He blew on my soup before serving it to me.

Empathy.

Compassion. 

Kindness.

In one fell swoop scoop. 

So innocent.

So thoughtful.

So lovingly beautiful.

I wanted to stay and play with those little friends all afternoon, but Dad needed to rest soon so we visited two more classrooms before heading home. 

During my week-long stay, we had a lot of read-aloud time ...  

from these two kindness books.

  

It was such a great time of connecting and reflecting

about life and love, 

about compassion and kindness,

about people and projects,

about family and faith.

I managed some time with Mom, too.

On Monday, we took another outing to visit two schools and have lunch out. We let Dad's wife, Flo, pick the place since she was our faithful Uber driver so off to Cranky Pat's Pizza Parlor we went. On the way in, we asked a lady coming out if the food was any good. She smiled and said, "If it isn't, let me know because I'm the owner." She was precious and we really connected with her during our brief encounter with her. Inside, we found a man seated alone at the table next to us. I'm not exactly sure how the conversation began, but he started to tell us how he'd just returned from visiting his daughter in Napa Valley and how she has lived there for fifteen years and how he recently retired from his job. 

We figured he'd eventually run out of things to tell us or that the person he was waiting for might show up, but instead he came over to our table to continue sharing his story. He said he had two hours to burn because it was during a visit to get a nail out of his tire that his mechanic had noticed a leak in his radiator. That was when he decided to walk to the pizza parlor and buy lunch for his mechanic. Isn't that the sweetest thing?

Tonight I'm feeling blessed to be back in Texas
as Dad continues to rest and restore.
The doctors told him not to work or drive for now,
so he's trying to figure out what this season
of his life is going to look like.
He's thinking once he can drive again
about maybe making visits to people
in a similar situation as his.
Maybe the elderly, maybe the ailing.
Maybe just someone who's craving a caring connection.
Empathy is an strong elixir like that;
stepping into another's shoes can do beautiful things
for both the giver and the receiver.

I'm so thankful that Dad let me come home to help even though
he's not used to be on the receiving end of kindness.

Thank you all for your positive wishes and prayers.

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Just Fifty Cents

Today I'm excited because my brother Mark and his friend Shawn are in town for the Super Bowl tomorrow, so they're staying with us. It was great fun to sit around the breakfast table this morning, listen to the story of how they ended up getting into the ESPN party alongside Green Bay Packer Eddie Lacy . . .

and enjoy pancakes and bacon with them

 while laughing and reconnecting.

I'm also super satisfied and bursting with joy

 that our SOS (Sweets for Our Soldiers) care packages

filled with home-baked goodness and homemade Valentines 

are on their way to the hearts, hands, and tummies 

of the sixteen deployed service men and women we adopted.

This long-standing tradition started years ago as an Operation SOS campaign to send much-needed supplies to our soldiers with notes of thanks as a way to show our patriotism and citizenship while expressing our gratitude for their heroism, service and sacrifice.

A few years back, we switched gears and decided to encourage our families to work together for a cause so we could send kindness from our kitchens, something our military heroes have coined hugs from home. 

This week, a picture of exactly what we were going for.

Every year, the Friendswood Rotary sets aside funds to help us pay the postage on these flat-rate boxes, which cost $17.35 each to ship. At this year's Rotary luncheon, a month before our project would even begin, one Rotarian felt called to give us a $20 from her purse, so their donation would be $520 in all. It really helps to not have to worry about how we'll possibly pay for this project on a school budget and we are so very grateful to the Rotary for their generous partnership.

I started out just taping up seventeen large boxes because we never know how many families will be able to carve out time to make something tasty for our troops. As we filled one table, then two and three with these delectable delights, I knew that this would be yet another successful service project.

Student Council reps met Thursday afternoon to fill each box to the brim with the yummy donations that had rolled in as I taped up thirteen more boxes. By 4:30 that afternoon, our thirty boxes were packed full and taped shut, ready to go.

Because the Rotary provided the funds for shipping, it wasn't until I got home that afternoon that I wondered how close we'd come to using their donation. I couldn't believe what I saw when I punched the numbers into my calculator. 

Wait, what? Just 50 cents?

Was it a coincidence that my brother needed my car on Friday so I caught a ride to school with my friend Caryn? Was it a coincidence that she just happens to have a brother on deployment getting two of our boxes? And was it a coincidence that Caryn's children were the first to hear the story about how beautifully our box count aligned with the Rotary's donation?

After helping me carry the boxes to the front and stack them into a patriotic pyramid display, these superheroes each brought me a quarter, the fifty cents that we would need to complete this year's SOS kindness campaign. 

It doesn't get any sweeter than that.

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Caring Is Always In Season

Today I'm excited because we're celebrating caring at school. 

And not just this time of month, but all year long, 

because caring is always in season.

On Friday, we hosted our inaugural Character Pep Rally.

Prior to the event, we interviewed some of our superheroes 

to see what they had to say about caring, 

how they feel about it, 

and how they put it into action.

At the pep rally, we shared those reflections with our school family on the big screen before recognizing a few Caring Ambassador nominees, those students who live life thinking with their hearts, with a Backpack Tag. Teachers personalized the tags by writing why they chose that student for this distinction on the back.

Our character cam caught this precious moment when my friend Grant got his tag. This week was really special for him, because his story was featured in the Galveston County News after he wrote this complimentary note of friendship and care to author and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds.

I tweeted Grant's compliment and question to Mr. Reynolds and here's his kind and very personal reply which, as you can imagine, made Grant's day.

Kindness is like that, it ripples out.

Photo courtesy of FISD

And, like a boomerang, it {almost} always comes back.

After Grant shared the story with his class ... 

you guessed it ... another letter came my way ... from one of his classmates ... with a request to please send it to her favorite violinist Lindsey Stirling. 

So I did. Then I tweeted out that beautiful drawing along with a link to Lindsey's subway performance of Hallelujah.

Grant told me that he has decided that December 18th ought to be designated as Write To Your Hero Day. Isn't that a fun idea? 

Peter H. Reynolds thinks so!

Great things are happening at Bales Intermediate. 

On our way out the door on Friday, 

one of my fourth graders had this to say:

I think that today's Pep Rally will make more kids

want to do kind things, don't you Mrs. Gruener? 

We can only hope, my friend; we can only hope. 

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Our True Colors Counselor

Today I'm joyful because of a note I received from a third-grade superhero that sent my spirit soaring; it read, "Thank you for being our true colors counselor."

Her gratitude touched my heart so deeply.

What a cool job it is, to plant character seeds

and watch them take root and grow.

I've been writing about sprinkling kindness like glitter a lot lately.

 Superhero Dr. Jean invited me to guest post at her blog on Tuesday and I'm over the moon with gratitude. Click {here} to read A Kinder World.

My guest post on caring for Free Spirit Press posted earlier today {here}.

And in case you missed it, author Sue Scheff allowed me to share my thoughts about inspiring Kindness Footprints at her blog.

I'm so blessed to get to do what I do,

to be a true colors counselor

and share my ideas about 

warming the world with compassion and kindness.

For more ideas, visit my friend Lisa at Ripple Kindness.
And {here} for a Christmas Kindness Countdown Calendar.

To our Veterans and their families:

Happy Veterans Day tomorrow.

We honor you, we celebrate you, we thank you,

and we will never forget your service and sacrifice.

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A Darling Daddy-Daughter Duo

Today I'm excited because I've gotten a sneak peek at Flashlight Press' upcoming book, scheduled to release on April 1, 2016 (no foolin'!), and it's a keeper.

Written by Josh Bledsoe and aptly titled Hammer and Nails, this adorable adventure begins as a disappointed Darcy discovers that her playdate plans have gone kaput. In walks her doting Dad, who seems willing to do just about anything (including don a tutu?) to turn his daughter's day around. And though his offer for a Darcy-Daddy Day is initially met with some skepticism (exactly what's on his to-do list anyway?), Darcy decides to give it a go. And is she ever glad she did! 

Their playdate starts when the two connect over coffee (and chocolate milk!) and ends with a new appreciation for the everyday things that make each other tick. 

Jessica Warrick's brilliant illustrations sweeten the story to endear its readers to this darling daddy-daughter duo. As for its eSPAcially clever ending? Nailed it.

Need some enrichment ideas?

*Watch this cute dad dance his chores away {here}.

*Host your own parent-child dance party. 

*Check out these Dad's Book of Awesome project ideas.

*Make this Footprints Worth Following craft.

*Encourage students to plan a playdate with their caregiver(s).

Pre-order your copy today. 

   

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Gifts From The Heart

Today I'm bubbling with joy because I'm linking up with Carla over at Comprehension Connection to celebrate gifts from the heart.

It's likely you've heard this before . . .

. . . and it's not just a sweet sentiment.

It's true!

Let's start with the gift of mentoring.

Yesterday our Character Cam caught this PAL pair playing

ring toss with our giraffe friend, Junior.

Oh, what fun, right?

I could just feel the joy.

Whom are you mentoring right now?

What could he or she learn from you?

How could he or she benefit from your wisdom?

And what might you learn in return?

Listening is also a gift from the heart; maybe someone has a problem that you can coach them through. Check out today's guest post about resisting peer pressure at Free Spirit Publishing by clicking our decision-making model graphic below.

I experienced an act of kindness yesterday when I snuck over to the elementary side of our school and found first graders in Mrs. Collins' class writing thank-you notes for their mail carriers. As they attached a candy cane to sweeten their sentiments, they enthusiastically shared that they'd left notes for their garbage carriers the day before. The sweetness spreads ...

Gifts from the heart don't have to be grand to be great.

I've seen students holding the door for a friend without being asked.

I've seen them carrying a bouquet of flowers from the garden.

I've seen them bringing in fresh fruit from their citrus trees.

A kind compliment here ...

My friend {and IT expert} Libby designed these gift tags that we're making available to our staff so they can affirm one another in writing. What a gift!

Click {here} to download the "school family" version 

that you can use on your campus.

Check out these cool Compliment Cards 

if you want a fun template for kids.

. . . a generous gesture there.

How about setting up a hot chocolate bar with candy canes to stir? Or bringing in a batch of your homemade, hand-dipped chocolates to share? Maybe decorating smile cards to put on the windshields of the cars in a parking lot? 

Sometimes the gift from the heart is spelled T-I-M-E and it looks and feels like cozying up with a loved one and a good book or a Hallmark Channel holiday movie. Or maybe it's the gift of a song, either played on an instrument, sung with some carolers, or sent to an inbox via email or text.

I wonder what other gifts from the heart will enrich with special significance 

your celebration this holiday season? 

1

Can You Stay?

With another Red Ribbon Week celebration in the books, 
I'm tucked in comfortably on my couch, reflecting.

One of my all-time favorite days of the school year is the day we set aside for our Hometown Heroes Pep Rally. This year marked our 15-year-anniversary of this celebration. We invited members of our High School football team to open up car doors and greet our students as they arrived for school. The smiles on our star-struck students said more than my words possibly could.

Inside the gym, our superhero role models signed autographs before school.

The gym was packed with FHS role models from the band, most sport teams, the color guard, the cheerleaders, the drill team, the student council, and the Peer Assistance and Leadership students, all there to remind their littlest fans about the importance of making healthy choices, not just this week, but for life.

I seriously did not think the week could get much better. 
Until this morning. 
I was invited to be a mystery reader in Jennifer Collins' first-grade class. I chose the book The Legend of Spookley, the Square Pumpkin. 

I took my ukulele so I could play and sing the last two pages. It was the cutest thing when they sang with me: Maybe one day we'll all discover, that you can't judge a book ~ or a pumpkin ~ by its cover.

Then a little girl whom I can't say I recognized raised her hand. I thought that she might have a connection. Or a story to tell. Instead, she had a question: 
Can you stay?

Well, dear reader, let me just say that words can't adequately describe how it felt, to hear those beautiful words of affirmation. And it got me to thinking about some other three-word phrases that people might need to hear more often. 

Three words that send a heart soaring. 

Three words that someone might be waiting for.

Three transformational words.

Here are a few of those phrases that I think could positively impact a moment, a day, a week, a month, a year, a decade, a lifetime.

*I see you. 

*Are you okay?

*Let me help.

*Come with me.

*I forgive you.

*I am sorry.

*Please forgive me.
*You're a light.

*I admire you.

*Let's be friends.
*Help me understand.
*Tell me more.

*You're so caring.

*I trust you.

*You inspire me.

*I miss you.

*Let's get together.

*Please be careful.

*I appreciate you.

*I am grateful.

*Thank you kindly.

*You come first.

*I love you.

*Please stay longer.
*Be the reason.

Don't those three little words feel AmAzInG?

What would you add to this list?

And who do you know that needs to hear these from you?

Before I sleep, a few resources to wrap up Red Ribbon Week, starting with this visual display that the first-grade team put up ...

and some energy-saving tips from our district Energy Guy.

Listen to an Edspiration podcast interview about empathy I gave {here}.

EnJOY a podcast about tackling bullying in the upper grades {here}.

Watch Fresno Unified District's Human Kind masterpiece {here}.

And check out the newbie bullying-prevention emoji.

What a week!

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