The Great Kaysby

13 Things About Me

You know those articles about famous people like “25 Things You Never Knew About Nicholas Brendon”? As a celeb gossip site junky, I like to read those to see if the things listed are truly ones I didn’t know. Typically, if it is someone associated with a favorite show or musical act, then I already knew about 75% of the things. Today, I got to thinking about my own audience and what fun things people may not know about me. Thus, I present “13 Things You Never Knew About The Great Kaysby”!

1. I love reading Top 10 Style Lists! Top 10 lists, especially those on http://www.screenrant.com, are one of my guilty pleasures when it comes to reading. I want to know things like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 5 Times We Felt Bad for Riley (And 5 Times We Hated Him)”. Lists about my favorite TV shows and movies always amuse me! I also enjoy just general funny top lists like Dave Letterman was known to share on his late show. I prefer my lists to have bold titles so that I can just read the list without all of the fluff if I’m not in the mood for it. (Feel free to just read my bold titles.)

2. I prefer odd numbers. I don’t know why, but I’ve always preferred odd numbers over even numbers. Maybe it is because I’m an only child which meant three people in my house growing up. Maybe it is because people always insisted that numbers like 13 were unlucky. Could just be because I’m an odd duck; therefore, I like odd numbers.

3. I don’t like being hot. If it is over 80 degrees, then I’m not happy! In fact, if it is over like 72 with the AC, then I’m grumpy. There is nothing worse to me than being sweaty and stinky. When it is over 80 degrees, the only way I want to be outside is either in a pool or on the ocean (cruise ship pre-pandemic or beach). I would much rather have fall temperatures all year than sweat.

4. I love food, but I do not like to eat it outside. Outside there are bugs (something else I’m not a fan of). The easiest way to get me to throw away food is to have a bug land on it or near it. Flies buzzing around food really grosses me out especially if they land because somebody told me when I was little that a fly vomits every time it lands.

5. I love food, but I’m very picky! I don’t like cheese unless it is on pizza or like how it is on pizza. The cheese CANNOT be the dominant flavor or texture. I don’t like steak because of the texture. I’m not a fan of chocolate unless the chocolate is a small part of a chocolate chip cookie or Reese’s cup. Ice cream is too cold, and I’ll only eat it when it is melty in a Blizzard. I’m not a fan of beer or drinks with sugar in them. Cheetos are yucky as are Cheez-its. I don’t like olives, mushrooms, or lima beans. Blue cheese dressing is gross as well.

6. I love to bake, but I don’t eat a lot of it. I love to bake! I love trying new recipes! I’ve been working on my decorating technique after getting hooked on Nailed It! on Netflix. Fun fact, once I’ve baked it, a lot of times I don’t want to eat it. The exception is usually cupcakes and cookies. During the holidays this means I bake a lot of things for other people just because!

7. I love to paint! I will never claim to be good at it, but because of the “Paint and Sip” style classes that have become so popular, I love to paint! I like playing around with a blank canvas and trying my hand at creating art. Currently, I’m watching YouTube videos of Bob Ross to improve my skill!

8. I love socks! I have so many socks that I could probably go two months and never wear the same pair of socks twice! I love ankle socks, knee socks, no show socks, socks with designs, plain socks, fuzzy sucks…any type of socks! If you ever want to buy me a present, then send socks! I have size 10 feet, so they can be a challenge!

9. I love labels, and I’m not ashamed to admit it! There are not a lot of things where I pay attention to labels. I don’t shop for name brand clothes, and I always try to save money by purchasing brands like Great Value when it comes to groceries. However, when it comes to shoes and bags, I’m not ashamed to admit that I have favorites! For shoes, I love my Skechers and Converse! You want me to be amused for a while? Drop me off at the Converse outlet! I’ll also accept knock-off Converse. I just love that style! With handbags, I’m a fan of Coach and Kate Spade. The addiction started when I earned pieces from both designers as prizes in my direct selling job. My helpful hint when it comes to labels? Shop the outlets, and sign up for their emails so that you get extra deals! That way you can save and shop!

10. I love performing! Performing on stage in front of an audience has been one of my passions for as long as I can remember. I love acting, and I love to sing. My fear of what people thought of my singing has truly held me back from singing in public more. That’s why I’m always in the ensemble in musicals! Acting wise, I love to be in comedies! If I can make people laugh, then I feel like I’ve accomplished something great! Favorite roles have included Emily Webb in Our Town (even though it’s not a comedy), Mrs. Poppenghul in Moonlight and Magnolias, and Phyllis Montague in Play On.

11. I love playing games! I love to play games! I love computer games like World of Warcraft! I love console games especially any Zelda game! I love board games, card games, and table top RPGs! Any game where I have a goal and the chance for victory pretty much makes me happy!

12. I love “quiet” activities! I love putting together puzzles. I enjoy word games on my phone. I enjoy completing crossword puzzles and word searches. I LOVE to read! This is one is so big that I can say breaking down and buying a Kindle last year was one of my best purchases. I love taking pictures of flowers and landscapes!

13. I love decaf coffee that doesn’t taste like coffee. If I’m drinking a cup of coffee, then I want it to be so diluted with creamer that it is like a pale brown color. For me the best coffee tastes like french vanilla, caramel macchiato, or a mocha. Drown it in whip cream and I have my own frothy Starbucks like drink at home. In actuality, the best coffee to me isn’t even coffee. It is a nice, freshly brewed cup of hot tea.

There you have “13 Things You Never Knew About The Great Kaysby”! I challenge you to share things about yourself that people may not know!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Teacher Talk

During a typical summer by the time July 22 rolls around, most teachers are starting to get back in the school groove. With school usually starting in about a week and a half, most teachers have already started Professional Development sessions, working on their classrooms, thinking about plans for the first week, and considering squeezing in one more day trip to the zoo or weekend getaway. In a normal year, teachers are talking with their colleagues about expectations for the year and planning for Open House.

This isn’t a normal school year; this is a pandemic year.

Instead of getting ready for a start of school the first week of August, many districts have pushed their start dates to the end of August to implement pandemic procedures. Professional Developments have been moved to online, and though the topic for the session said one thing all conversations turn to Covid-19. Working on classrooms is difficult without knowing for sure what setup will be required to look like. Even Open Houses are going virtual for the year! What’s normally an exciting time has become riddled with anxiety and what seems like a million questions about reopening that no one can know the answers to with 100% certainty because no one can predict next week’s Coronavirus numbers.

If you talk to a teacher about the upcoming school year, then you will get a variety of answers. Some are afraid to go back in-person while some can’t wait to be physically back in the classroom. Some are anxious about the possibility of bringing the virus to their own homes or spreading to their own parents with co-morbidities (a term that has become way to “normal” since the pandemic). They may miss in-person instruction, but they also want to stay home to protect their families. There are those who don’t really have an option because their family relies on their income or health insurance who will do as told because when it comes down to it they really have no choice.

Regardless of their position on the return to school, teachers are all thinking some of the same things. What will our group discussions be like without being able to see faces through masks? How will we implement cooperative learning strategies and group work with minimal risk of spreading the virus? What can we expect our schedule to look like so that we can begin to plan for those who have trouble with schedule changes? How can we teach everything we are supposed to while implementing all the pandemic procedures? Of course there is also the biggest question of all: will any of us die from the virus?

With so many unknowns you can see why teachers are having a rough time right now. Luckily, we aren’t alone and have support systems with other teachers. For me, the support has come from two places. One is the Blessing Teacher 2 Teacher group on Facebook. It was started by Kristen Hall and Heidi Hamlyn as a way for teachers to send blessings to one another as we all know that teachers tend to buy for others before themselves. Now, with over 10,000 members, it has become a group where you can openly discuss how you’re feeling about the pandemic, things you need prayers/positive thoughts about, how many jobs you have besides teaching, and much more. It feels like a group of friends supporting one another! My second support system has been my own colleagues. Even though some of us haven’t seen each other since March, all the texts, private messages, video chats, and social media posts show that we have each others backs! These support systems that allow us teachers to talk with one another are current keys to sanity.

For all the non teachers reading this, please be patient with the teachers and other school personnel in your life. They don’t mean to be short with you or antisocial. They don’t mean to be overly emotional or overly preoccupied. They don’t mean to be quickly confrontational. They are trying their best to rest and relax, but with so many unknowns it is very difficult to be positive even for the most upbeat people. Be patient with us. Most of us are okay, but we need you to be patient and not critical.

To everyone, stay safe, stay healthy, and do your best to stay positive!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

The Eye of the Hurricane

“In the eye of a hurricane/there is quiet/for just a moment” is the lyric that kept running through my head over and over while I worked on the pictured painting with LilKsby. The lyric is from “Hurricane”, a musical number from Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. During the last few weeks life has kind of felt like a hurricane with so much going on with the pandemic. Businesses and places have reopened, but then they’ve had to close back down. Case numbers had seemingly plateaued, but now there are more cases than ever in certain areas. Masks have gone from being recommended to having to be mandated. On any given day one person can experience so many thoughts and feelings that they feel as though they are constantly living in an emotional hurricane.

Then, there are days where you finally feel like you can breathe; days where you feel like you can finally relax. These are the days when you feel safe from all the distress of the world; these are the days when you just enjoy the life you’ve been blessed with having. These days are the eye of the hurricane for you. Currently, these are the best days! They are days of no anxiety, no doubt, and just experiencing relaxation, contentment, and joy. I think we could all agree that we need more of these days!

So what’s in my eye of the hurricane? Snuggles with LilKsby, cooking for him and Mr Kisby, baking, painting, reading, avoiding social media (that really gets the old anxiety going), exercising, writing, and watching fun videos (lately a lot of Nicholas Brendon’s lives), communicating with family/friends, and focusing on today. My eye of the hurricane is a comfort to me, and with all the uncertainties these days, it’s a good place to spend some time. In my eye of the hurricane, there is love and joy! Even though I know this storm must be weathered, it is good to just be in the moment of quiet sometimes.

What’s in your eye of the hurricane?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

3 AM Thoughts

Remember the Matchbox 20 song “3 am”? A couple of the most memorable lines were: “She only sleeps when it’s raining, and she screams and her voice is straining and she says baby, it’s 3 am I must be lonely.”

Well, I do love to sleep when it’s raining, but just because I’m awake at 3 am doesn’t mean that I’m lonely. Tonight, it means that (a) I fell asleep really early for me, and (b) the bottle of water that I drank right before bed kicked in effect! After waking up, I realized that I wasn’t tired, so I laid back down and finished a book on my Kindle. Now that the book is done, I find myself just laying here enjoying the moment.

It’s funny because if I were lying in bed awake during “normal hours”, I would feel obliged to be doing something. I would feel like there was something that had to be done around the house, activities that had to be completed with Mr Kisby and LilKsby, or business that had to be attended to immediately. However, since it is the middle of the night, it’s like I give myself permission to relax and enjoy it.

I’ve always been more of a night owl than a morning person as frankly that early bird catching the worm has just always seemed like an overachiever in my book. I really got used to getting up in the middle of the night when LilKsby was so small that we had to wake him up and feed him every couple of hours (you know a year ago…lol). Now it’s almost hard not to wake up for just a little bit.

Often times when I do wake up, I do one of two things. One, I look at my loves and smile. It’s a smile of pure happiness and thankful awe; it’s a smile of how did I get this lucky in life? Two, I stare at the ceiling and think about how perfect these quiet moments are. They’re moments where I can just reflect, count my blessings, and be thankful for the life I’ve been given. The calm that these two things brings is indescribable which is why 3 am turns to 4 am and 5 am and so forth. It’s kind of my personal version of staring at an aquarium to lower your blood pressure. 😊

What are your thoughts at 3 am?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Optimism + Information = Hope

Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com
https://images.app.goo.gl/2gUxuLcmeZqiDKpd7

“Optimism + information = hope” is a saying from the late Christopher Reeve used by Michael J. Fox in his book Always Looking Up The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist. I was too young/not interested in the genre to know Christopher Reeve as Superman. To me he was always the celebrity injured in a horrific accident who used his accident to advocate for himself and others. However, I loved Michael J. Fox from a young age. I absolutely loved him as Alex P Keaton and Teen Wolf in the 80s. I remember going to see Back to the Future III in the theater even though I was only 7 when it came out. When he returned to the small screen on Spin City, I was beyond thrilled. That thrill turned to shock upon learning that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. In 1998, when he announced his diagnosis, it was something that I in my sheltered existence had not heard a lot about, but luckily I like to learn.

Today (ironically on Mike’s 59th birthday), I finished reading his second book. I’d previously read Lucky Man and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future, but I decided to check out Always Looking Up as part of the adult summer reading challenge (read a non-fiction book). This book was amazingly informative! Did you know that bradykinesia and dyskinesia are both things that PD patients experience? Did you know that PD patients can’t just lay down and go to sleep at night? Did you know that simple things like sitting at a table in a restaurant or in a seat in an auditorium can be difficult for PD patients? I didn’t! Why? Simply stated, I didn’t know these things because I had never thought of them. Always Looking Up made me think about these things which is empowering as I’ve long felt that the reason people don’t understand cultural, political, social, etc issues is because they don’t have the needed information.

This book was informative on several levels. The first section called “Work” talks about how the Michael J. Fox Foundation came to exist. In the second section “Politics” he discusses some of the advocating that he did for Stem Cell Research. Following are sections devoted to “Faith” and “Family” and the ways they’ve impacted his life both before and with PD. It was fascinating to learn more about all of these things and learn more about Michael J. Fox himself. To say his story is an inspiration would be an understatement!

I’m glad that I took the time to read this book. I really believe that we can learn a lot from reading as in some cases it will be as close as we can get to walking in someone else shoes. Perhaps if we all read up on things, then we would all be better for it, and the world would become a better place. But perhaps that is just “optimism + information = hope” to once again quote Christopher Reeve.

For more on these men checkout: https://www.christopherreeve.org/ and https://www.michaeljfox.org/. Also, happy birthday, Michael J. Fox!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Zoom, Zoom Zumba!

9:20 am and I already have in 4,171 steps. Trust me, that very rarely happens. In fact, it only happens when I wake up and work out. Which if I recall correctly, the last time I truly woke up and worked out was my trip to MK Seminar in July 2018. Back then, I was doing it for an energy increase. Today, I did it as part of the Adult Summer Reading Challenge!

Guess what? The source of motivation doesn’t matter. What matters is how great I feel post workout! I feel ready to take on the day! I feel capable of doing it again! I also feel like I need a shower! 😂 Most importantly, getting up and doing Zumba gives me a feeling of accomplishment!

I hope that you get some of those same feelings today! For now, I’m zoom, zoom, zooming to the shower!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Garden Glory

Admit it. You like instant gratification. I’ll admit that I do, and I think this is why I like gardening. I find it very satisfying to get out in the flower bed and tend to it. There’s something especially satisfying about pulling weeds! For me, the satisfaction comes from instantly being able to see a difference between where I’ve started and paused or finished. I love anything where I can visually see progress!

My raised flower bed has been part of our house for seven years. My dad helped us build it, and maintaining it has been a family endeavor. Last year, it went untended because LilKsby was only two weeks old at this time. Needless to say, Mr Kisby and I were a little preoccupied. This year, it’s back to being a family endeavor.

Yesterday, LilKsby watched as I tended the flower bed. I took it as a time to tell him about invasive species which I know technically Morning Glory isn’t, but man it sure takes over! I also told him about sunflowers and my grandma from Kansas. I told him about my grandma from here and how she always had the most beautiful flower beds. He mostly spilled his water all over himself, but I like to think he enjoyed my stories.

Today, I went out by myself while Mr Kisby played with LilKsby. It was therapeutic to be there and taking care of the flower bed in silence. I did my best to clean up around my phlox which has gone wild without uprooting too much of it. I also envisioned a beautiful way to fill more of it since most of the plants are gone. There was something peaceful about being in the flower bed. 🥰

I hope that everyone has something that brings them similar peace!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

“I Meant To”

I meant to wake up for Zumba this morning. “I meant to” is one of the worst phrases in the English language because it always has something behind it that didn’t happen. It can be trivial: “I meant to put the toilet seat down.” It can be inconvenient: “I meant to pack your toothbrush, but I forgot.” (I still haven’t lived that one down, and it has been 11 years.) It can also be serious: “I meant to pay the electric bill.” Luckily, just missing Zumba simply means I overslept and missed out on exercise.

Do you ever find yourself thinking about things you meant to do? Do you ever find yourself kicking yourself because you didn’t do them? I think this pandemic is a perfect time for thinking about things you meant to do and planning to do some of them. For example, you could plan a vacation you’ve been meaning to take! You could read that book that you’ve been meaning to read! You could clean out the closet you’ve been meaning to organize! There are all kinds of things you could do that fall in the “I meant to” category.

Need an example?

I’m finally learning guitar, blogging more, reading more, taking time for movies (usually in the background while doing something else), spending time outside more, and improving my baking skills. All of these had fallen in the “I meant to” category for a long time! None of these are serious, but they are all things I’ve enjoyed which is important!

What are you finally doing that you used to always say “I meant to”?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Ready, Set, Nap!

Today, I got a little over zealous with getting things done! We woke up after not getting enough sleep and went at 110% until we crashed for a 3 hour nap. Me and LilKsby both slept through dinner! I’d say the nap was earned. After all, we got up and got ready, attended our first Virtual Baby and Me class (to which I now know you’re supposed to bring maracas), did Virtual Get Ready Camp, played, read books together (got to get those badges), baked, ran an errand, and ate. I also worked my Mary Kay business virtually in there, cleaned litter, did dishes, froze breastmilk, and read my own book. Wow…now that I look at it, no wonder we both needed a nap.

That’s part of my personality. I have a tendency to do stuff, do stuff, do stuff, and then I crash and need a nap (sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally). This tendency is why I think one of my biggest self improvement needs is time management. I need to remind myself that Rome wasn’t built in a day!

Tomorrow we will strive to do less. We will see how it goes! Until then, I’m ready for nap round two. Although at this time of a night that just means going to bed!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

“Challenge Accepted!”

A notable television character used to frequently say, “Challenge accepted!” That character was the notorious womanizer Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother. I may not understand a lot of the characters motivations, but I do get this competitive mentality. National Sales Director Emeritus Linda Toupin always referred to this as the 4-H Mentality. She always talked about how being in 4-H taught her to learn skills, set goals, and strive to win a blue ribbon. I was never in 4-H, but I was in enough youth sports, art fairs, performance art competitions, etc to understand how motivating being competitive can be!

Fast forward to now…

I still love a competition! Which is why I’m super excited about Adult Summer Reading! I literally discovers it less than 24 hours ago, and I’m super excited! The idea is to get a bingo on the card your print and submit it for a chance at prizes! How fun is that? I can’t wait to have a chance to win for doing something I already enjoy! Plus, it has introduced me to other fun events through the public library!

Something else I love because of my competitive nature? Virtual badges! I pushed myself to earn several tech ones during NTI for a competition and earned the prize! I don’t just get excited about virtual badges for me. I get excited when I see a coworkers achievements from their badges! I got super excited today when LilKsby earned 7 badges in one day for Pre-Reader Summer Reading!

I feel like in a lot of ways my competitive nature is one of my strongest traits. Being competitive can show determination and grit. It can also help you to learn the art of losing which I also think is important! Plus, when I’m competing, I feel that I have some of my best mental health! Can’t beat that!

Now for a little personal competition that is part of the summer reading! Five days in a row of journaling (I’m choosing to use my blog). Let’s see if I can do it! Get ready for five days of me and my randomness!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Scheduled Summer

As a teacher, I’m very used to having a set schedule that I have to follow. The bell rings at time X. First block begins at time Y, second block begins at time Z, and this pattern continues until the final bell to go home at the end of the day. After school, I have a set routine to follow based on the day, I go to bed around the same time, and I get up the next morning and do it all over again. In a lot of ways, life during the school year becomes like the directions on the back of the shampoo bottle: “Rinse, lather, repeat; rinse, lather, repeat.”

Given the grind of each day, you may think, “Man, I bet she loves Summer Break and having nothing she has to do.” Having nothing to do sounds good on paper. So does being able to stay up until all hours and sleep as late as I want (maybe I’m an overgrown teenager at heart). However, do you know what I’ve learned about myself as I’ve grown as a person (grown as a person sounds more positive than gotten older)? I’m like a fish out of water when I don’t have something that I have to do.

If I don’t have a to do list or an event to look forward to, I find myself sitting around either waiting for someone to entertain me, wasting a lot of time in my recliner, or driving Mr Kisby crazy with “Whatcha doing?” or “What’s your plan for the day?” I bet I ask the second one at least twice a day on average. When you’re so used to your days having to be structured, it can be really hard to have a lot of free time. That’s why I find myself having to have “To Do” lists even during summer to feel like I’ve been productive. Some days my “To Do” list might be simple like “Scoop Litter” and “Pay Bill X”, but there is something about that list that makes my day a million times better. For me, it is the intrinsic satisfaction that comes from checking something off the list. Plus, I love the visual of a completed list. Nothing to me is more freeing than looking at that completed list. It’s almost like the completed list is a ticket to fun and goofing off by doing things like wasting time in the recliner!

I also thrive on having events/activities to look forward to. For example, I’m super excited about starting Virtual Get Ready Camp and Summer Reading with LilKsby this week. I’m thrilled that for like an hour 4 or 5 days a week that we’re going to have a planned activity. Having these helps me to feel like we’re accomplishing something. Then when we’re done, we can spend the rest of the day sitting in his baby pool! Well, he can sit in it, and I can sit in my camp chair and make faces at him. 🙂 I also thrive on having vacations to look forward too. In some ways, I enjoy planning the vacation (aka looking at pretty pictures of things to do and going “ooo, ahh”) as much as going on the vacation. I’m truly a happier, more productive (and easier to be around) when I have a “to do” list and things to look forward to doing.

Now, all of this said. I do enjoy staying up late and sleeping until 9 or 10 every morning. Frankly, I’m proud that I’ve seemed to be able to get LilKsby to accept this routine as well. I also enjoy the occasional day when to quote Bruno Mars, “Today I don’t feel like doing anything/I just wanna lay in my bed”. However, for the most part I need an outline for the day to keep from driving those around me bananas. You know what? I’m finally at a place in life where I’m okay with that, and it doesn’t bother me to not be more spontaneous. I hope you too can find that peace.

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

A Taste of the Future?

Today, I had to go to work. I don’t say that as a complaint given that I have been fortunate enough to be able to teach from home since March 17. I say it as a fact. Going in the school today was very surreal. Due to Covid-19 there are new protocols that must be followed: temperature checks when entering, masking wearing, staying six feet from co-workers, limiting the number of people in the school, etc.

The day began with parking in the front of the building in an area that on a normal day would be filled with buses dropping students off for school. Today on a “normal” day, the students would have been jumping over puddles (okay, even in high school some would have been jumping in them). There would’ve been the buzz of chatter about what everyone did over the weekend and groans about having to get up early and come to school. Instead, there were teachers running through the pouring rain to get to the line at the front door. Then, there was a line of teachers spaced six feet from the next, wearing masks, and waiting to get their temperature checked to determine if they could enter the building or had to go home. As an adult, I understand the necessity of the new protocol. From the perspective of a student, I could see how it would be terrifying.

From a young age, we are taught that school should be somewhere we feel safe; school should be somewhere that we feel like someone cares about us. For me, it is hard to fathom how kids could feel either of those when they can’t come close to a teacher to tell them something in confidence, or a mask has to be worn hiding facial expressions. I also cannot imagine how kids can foster an environment of developing social skills and friendships when they have to remain six feet from one another. Imagine, having lunch and having to sit six feet from your friends. There won’t be any swapping your chocolate milk with someone for their chocolate chip cookie!

Beyond lunch, I think about how many kids like to share with one another. They share phones, games, iPads, clothes, etc. Most of them naturally have something that they want to share with someone else. Now we have to tell them, “No, Johnny, don’t share with Susie. Yes, it’s polite, but there is a pandemic.” On the plus side, this could help with PDA problems.

I feel like today was just a taste of the future for teachers. I believe that it was a tiny insight into what the coming school year could – emphasis on could – be like for us and our students. Do you want the truth? On a lot of levels, it is heartbreaking. Most of us who went into teaching entered the profession because we care about people namely kids. We want to be there for them as a mentor and educator. We’ve done our best this spring through NTI, and we’ve put on brave faces as we’ve done Google Meets and videos for our kids. However, on the inside our hearts were breaking wondering about our students. Are they okay at home? Are they eating? Are they healthy? Do they have all the necessities? Seeing them in our classrooms each day was sometimes the only way these questions could be answered. Returning to school will alleviate some of that heartache, but I feel like it is going to open us up to a whole new set of emotions if things aren’t “normal”.

I applaud all of those who are having to make difficult decisions right now that impact our students. My hat is off to principals, superintendents, school boards, state department of education workers, and anyone else in decision making capacities. You are making decisions that no one could’ve ever told you that you would be making. When we were all getting our various degrees there was no class called “Dealing with a Pandemic 101”. And though the future may taste bittersweet, I know that you all are doing what is best for our students as a whole. Thank you for that.

To all of our students, don’t be scared about the future. Even if we are behind masks, we’re still here for you.

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Reflecting on 36

In one hour it will be my 37th birthday! To say that I’m excited would be an understatement. My birthday is definitely my second favorite holiday. I love cake! I love a reason to be with family and friends! I love presents! Most of all, I love celebrating another year here on earth living a life of abundance!

I have to say looking back, that 36 has been one of the best years ever! Some may think, “But Kaysby, we’re in the middle of a global pandemic! In fact, the last two month of your 36th year have been spent social distancing and in pretty much complete isolation with Mr Kisby and LilKsby!” That’s two months of time that I’ve gotten to spend with my AMAZING baby almost 24/7 (seriously I’ve been away from him for maybe two hours) and my hubby (who I don’t just love but also like to be around)!

Plus, some of the greatest things ever have happened while 36! Here are the highlights:

We had a baby! LilKsby has the distinction of being born when I was 36 just as I was born when my dad was 36. Also, the three of us are all Tauruses who were born in the Year of the Pig. How fun is that?
The three of us got to spend A LOT of time together! You know what? We love our little family, and we wouldn’t trade the togetherness for the world!
We got to see some of the best of Broadway by going to Hamilton and Jesus Christ Superstar. Bonus? We also got to watch Jesus Christ Superstar again on Andrew Lloyd Weber’s YouTube channel!
We traveled with LilKsby! He won’t remember it, but I’ll always remember playing with him in hotel pools! I’m so glad that he loves water just like his mama!
We got to celebrate several holidays before and after quarantine began: Halloween, Not-So-Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Easter, a wedding, and birthdays.
We got to get some of the best family pictures ever made with Elcara Photography!
We’ve tried new things like baking a cake from scratch and learning guitar.
We’ve virtually visited museums and amusement parks!
We’ve finally taken time to do little things around the house that there never seemed to be time to complete.
We’ve supported causes near and dear to our hearts!
We’ve taken more time for things we enjoy like creating art, blogging, playing games, and having family movie nights! The last of these is why I’ve finally seen the first three Indiana Jones movies and all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies that have been released thus far!
I’ve taken time to read! Books are great!
We’ve taken more time to attend church in person and virtually – especially virtually!

There’s more greatness that I know I just can’t think of right now! 36 has been that great of a year! I hope that 37 will be just as great, and that next year when it is 31 minutes until my birthday, I’ll be finishing another blog about another great year!

To everyone else having a birthday today, tomorrow, or soon, I hope that you can reflect and realize that your year has been great even if there were struggles along the way (after all no road is ever perfectly paved)! Find joy in the little things, and live by your priorities! Love life! Here’s to 37!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Gnome Story

I love to paint, but I’m not a skilled artist. I’ve been to just enough paint and sip parties to call myself a dabbler. I’ve bought canvases, paints, and tools so that I can paint (and sip) at home. Back in February, I decided to host a paint night, and I was determined that I was going to paint a gnome. I knew I couldn’t do it without looking some ideas up online, but I was determined!

Determination led to looking at a lot of pictures of gnome paintings on Google Images. I eventually found a picture of the one above while searching “Gnome Sweet Gnome”, and I decided that this was the gnome I was going to paint. Step one was figuring out how I was going to get the gnome from the picture on my phone to the canvas. In the past, I had printed out the object I planned to paint and traced it onto the canvas. This time that didn’t seem like the best course of action. This led to deciding that I was going to have to attempt drawing it by hand (also not a big skill of mine). Long story short, I drew the gnome by hand, and painted it all myself! The end result was the gnome in the picture above.

So what is the point of my little gnome story?

The first point to my gnome story is that you never know what you can achieve if you don’t try. It would’ve been really easy to have talked myself out of attempting to draw and paint my gnome based on my previous perceptions about my artistic ability. This time I didn’t talk myself out of trying, and I am still amazed two months later at the gnome that I created myself!

The second point to my gnome story is that great joy can be found in the simplest things. When I look at my gnome painting, I can’t help but smile. I think it is important for all of us to having something that we can look at and smile every time we look at it. This thing could be a picture of a vacation, a ticket stub from a movie, a favorite book cover, etc. What the object is doesn’t matter; what matters is the feeling of joy that it provides.

Those are the points of my gnome story. What’s your gnome story?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

To the Class(es) of 2020…I’m Sorry

To the Class(es) of 2020,

First and foremost, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that your academic school year was cut short; however, I’m more sorry that you missed out on all of the extra events that school provides which you cannot find anywhere else. I’m sorry that you missed out on baseball and softball games, tennis matches, spring formals, senior proms, awards ceremonies, graduations, breakfasts and lunches with friends, and last day good-byes. How could you have known on your last day in March that you should’ve said, “See you next year” instead of “Have a good weekend”? Personally, as a teacher, I wish I would’ve said a lot more on March 12 than what I said: “Have a good weekend.” (We were on a scheduled day off on March 13 when the NTI news came.) I feel for every student who has missed out during the last 6 weeks, but for those who were somehow a piece of the Class of 2020 puzzle, here are some special notes for you.

Pre-School and Kindergarten Class of 2020: In a lot of ways you are the luckiest of the Classes of 2020. If you’re like me, then by the time you’re 30, you won’t remember a lot of Pre-School and Kindergarten. To this day, the only parts I remember of Kindergarten graduation were the blow up stegosaurus and song about PBJ. My biggest hope for you is that when you get to return to school you still have a passion for whatever was your favorite part of school. If you loved reading time, I hope you still love reading time. If you loved art or PE, I hope you are still as creative or physically active when you go back to school.

5th Grade and 8th Grade Class of 2020: Having gone to elementary and middle school many moons ago, I didn’t have a graduation ceremony when making these transitions. However, I understand why you’re upset about missing yours. First of all, you are missing out on saying good-bye to the place where you’ve grown up. For 5th graders, you’re not getting to say good-bye to the place that took you from being a little child to a pre-teen. Everything that has been so familiar to you for 6 years will be replaced with something new and unfamiliar. That’s scary. For 8th graders, you’re not getting to say good-bye to the place that took you from pre-teen to teen. Middle school is only a brief time period, but so much happens in middle school that starts to shape the person you are going to be as an adult. Middle school is a time of physical changes, emotional changes, and a lot of friendship changes yet there is still the safety net of childhood. You’re about to find yourself in a world where credits matter, career pathways are emphasized, and college is talked about from day one. I’m sorry that you missed out on two months of being the big fish in your small pond. I promise that even though you’re going to go back to being a little fish in a bigger pond, you will eventually be the big fish again. I hope that when you go to either middle or high school that you’re not scared of the change. I hope that you go into your new school with a positive attitude ready to take on the world!

Senior Class of 2020: I’m so sorry. You’ve been robbed. You’ve been robbed of experiences that you will never get to replace: prom, getting your yearbook signed, graduation photos, traditional graduation, Project Grad, graduation parties, and even a final summer of fun freedom. I know there are no words that are currently going to make you feel better about these losses, and I cannot begin to imagine how you feel about missing out on everything. I may have hated my own high school graduation (it was outside with 40 degree weather and raining, and girls had to wear see through white gowns), but there was so much about the end of my senior year that I loved. There was fun with friends that I still think of and find myself laughing about! I’m so sorry that you’re missing out on that. If I had a magic wand that I could wave and make all of this change for you, then I would wave it in a heartbeat. My hope for you is that you are one day able to look back on all this and see a silver lining. I hope that you’re finding ways to connect with your friends and teachers. I hope that you are still finding ways to celebrate victories such as earning scholarships, getting accepted to college, and maintaining desired GPAs. I hope that you know you are loved by your parents, friends, family members, teachers, and countless others who don’t even know you but are wishing you well. I hope you know that there are generous people who want to bless you if you’ll open your heart to them. I hope that you don’t let this experience negatively impact the course of your life.

College Graduates of 2020: You all are in an interesting situation. For one, a lot of your classes already do the majority of their work online even if they also have in person meetings. For two, attending your graduation ceremony is optional. (Of the three degrees that I earned, I only went to the graduation ceremony for one of them.) That said, you are still missing out on some valuable experiences during your last semester of college. For a lot of degrees, the last semester is when you student teach or do internships or field work which you’ve had to miss out on completing. This means you’ve missed out on valuable work experience that helps with your resume and post graduation job search. Additionally, you’ve missed out on a lot of the last semester help that you’re adviser can give you. For those seeking an advanced degree, you’re missing out on planning time with an adviser; for those seeking immediate employment, you’re missing out on job searching with an adviser. My hope for you is that you will find yourself successful in your next endeavor!

I want to leave you with the video that I always play for my kids at the end of the school year. I hope that you will find some advice in it that will help you in laugh or at least get a laugh.

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby