Happy Flying!

tooth fairy
This is the sweetest story of an eight year old with a lost tooth and an obliging tooth fairy, but most of all, it is the story of a principal who understood, and did what he could.

And that, as we know, is a lovely whole lot!

Here is the story from Vancouver:

Principal Writes Letter to Tooth Fairy

A letter from a B.C. principal to the Tooth Fairy on behalf of an eight-year-old girl has gone viral after it was posted on the school’s Facebook page.

Avery Patchett is in Grade 3 at James Hill Elementary School in Langley and last week she lost her third tooth during class. Her teacher gave her a necklace to help her keep the tooth safe, but when she went outside at recess to play she tripped and fell, knocking the tooth into the dirt.

“When I was running up the stairs, maybe my tooth necklace was loose,” said Avery. She was upset that she had lost her tooth as she wanted to give it to the Tooth Fairy that night.

“When I tripped and lost it, I lost it forever,” she said. “I looked a couple of times and I still haven’t found it because the tooth looks like rocks.”

That is when her principal, Chris Wejr, stepped in to help.

Avery came to him crying about what had happened. “She was upset because she had lost her lost tooth and she was worried the Tooth Fairy wasn’t going to come,” said Wejr.

“I said ‘well, I’ve sent a letter to the Tooth Fairy before and it worked’ and I said ‘what do you think about us sitting down and writing up a formal letter with our logo on it and everything and giving that to the tooth fairy?’”

So they wrote a letter together and Avery took it home to give to the Tooth Fairy.

“She gave me five dollars,” she said.

tooth-fairy-letter

Wejr had previously helped a student at his former school through a similar experience and said it is important to help kids in this way and to share these stories. When he posted the letter on the school’s Facebook page, it immediately generated a huge response.

“It shows that people want to hear the positives,” he said. “There’s so many incredible caring moments that happen in schools every day and they don’t get shared, so we try to share the positive moments that happen at school once in a while.”

Avery’s mom Debbie said she did not expect this at all from her child’s principal. “I just thought, ‘wow, it’s a really nice gesture’,” she said.

“He took something really small and made this a memory for her that will last forever, and it is a small gesture, but it means everything,” she added. “We hear so many horrible stories every day, it’s nice to hear this story, this small little story, this little gesture.”

Wejr said the lesson here is that sometimes adults need to stop and make sure they show kids they care and help them in moments of distress.

“Sometimes the small things can really have a large impact if we just take the time,” he said.

© Shaw Media, 2014

 To see a video clip of the story, click here.

Find the Unexpected

Today, find something unexpected. Learn a fact you did not know. Claim a new piece of knowledge or practice a new skill. Watch an animal you’ve never seen before. Read a bit of trivia that surprises, gives a chuckle, raises eyebrows, tickles curiosity for more.

Today, practice the experience of wonder.

Today, remember what it was–can be like, often is–to be a child.

Rosy Maple Moth

Rosy Maple Moth

 

Bargibanti Pygmy Seahorse

Bargibanti Pygmy Seahorse

 

T-Rex Trivia

T-Rex Trivia

Hippo Trivia

Hippo Trivia

 

 

 

 

Kids’ Logic

Kids have been known to say the most amazing things. They can come up with stuff that leaves jaws hanging. Make connections we did not see coming. Expose language ambiguities that we no longer hear, and make expressions a never ending study in explaining why we did not mean the words we said even though we very much did mean what we said …

Kids can also give the most hilariously brilliant unexpected answers.

Here is a compilation of answers from 25 kids whose responses on tests, quizzes, assignments and schoolwork prove that they are awfully literal, completely out to lunch on what’s inquired about, totally impish, wholesale Smart-Alec’ish, or a combination of the above …

whatended

Read more and enjoyhttp://www.viralnova.com/awesome-kid-answers/#VGpIS22CscTiyxSg.99

Thank you ViralNova.com for this delightful collection!

Time Travel …

Just for fun, now that the weather is working on being presentable and the outdoors will call with sun and blue sky: a little look on how people got going in such times gone by.
Here is the family circa 1910 and out for a ride… (she with ‘side-saddle’ seat, of course, lest propriety be harmed …)–and then there’s the ‘baby carrier’ all snug as bug in a rug in the back … (complete with pergola to keep out the sun but not much in the way of keeping the babe in if the bike goes down …)

baby 'car' seat

 

Prefer to go ‘natural’? There’s an option for that … Just not sure you will get very far or too fast before you’re in the dust …

ostrich cab

 

Think a bike is too risky and skirts may snag up to reveal an ankle or (gasp) a well stockinged calf? No worries–there’s technology to harness, 1916 a cutting edge craft.

scooter gal

 

Hail a cab? Not a problem. London upped its own game, and in 1907, taxies happily came.

taxi1907

 

Want to live on the road? Sure–that’s swell. Mobil home to the rescue, chimney and awning as well.

mobil home

 

Fast forward a bit. It’s the 1950 and the family’s grown … There are three now to take along … (okay, it is not the same family, but the concept is shown …). Big improvement from high-wheels, better balance on bikes and no more side-saddle for mom (Victorians would blanch at the thighs on display, but how they paddled one legged puzzles me to this day …).

cycling family

So … by bike (or an ostrich?), by scooter or bus, by taxi or stroller or RV or a hike–get your gear up and ready and plan some fun routes: there’s a world worth exploring, and many venues to use …

What box?!

Think outside the box!

Life’s too short to be too serious.

Be playful. Find a point of laughter. Create smiles.

Even the most functional place can tolerate some spunk, a bit of daring, a little imaginary pun.

Forget the ‘way it has to be done’–there are all manners of possibilities to explore, to reach the goal, to make it work–the journey’s just began!

Have fun!

outside box1

Ship-shape?

 

 

outside box3

Be a lady in a shoe!

 

outside box5

Potted house! (Korea)

 

outside box2

Chim-che-roo!

 

outside box4

Toasty fun!

 

 

 

Make Life Easier!

creativity

Practical fun! Two for one!

Life is complicated. Stuff gets in the way, falls off, gets tangled, goes missing, takes time and space and energy to organize. Thankfully, there are some very clever people who come up with supremely genius solutions to problems you maybe did not realize you even had, or that give you an ‘aha’ moment when the solution is presented.

Think you need to get a specialized gadget for every situation? Think again. Apparently you probably already have all you need, and some of it may be in your recycling bin even as you are reading, just waiting for salvation and a second chance…

Small ideas can make big sense once you see them.

Here are some simple, everyday things that can make you life simpler. Or at the very least, provide you with a smile (and smiles, as we all know, are super-efficient ways to make life instantly better!)

Simple solutions with everyday objects–click on the links below each photo to get even more ideas!

Let little Tennis serve you with a holding hand!

tennissolution

Want more ideas? Click here!

 

Hang on to your chosen reading material …

hangerholder

More where this came from? Click here!

 

Catch drill spills!

drill spill

Want more easy solutions to pesky problems? Click here!

 

Give shoes a step up (and your floor a dirt-break)

shoes off

More fun solutions? Click here!

May your day be easy and your solutions multiply!

A Giraffe’s Goodbye

Sharing a lovely story that touched my heart and underscores tenderness and care.

We often underestimate the ability of animals–especially wild animals–to make connections and to express compassion. When they display affection, it can surprise us. Every time.

Empathy, connection, and memory of sensitive care are often associated with apes and elephants, dolphins and whales, even lions, but not very often with giraffes … Giraffes are more commonly known for their vicious kick than for their tenderness for humans … Though here they are, ‘kissing’ and nuzzling a terminally ill zoo worker who cared for them most of his adult life. They recognized him, and in their own way these lumbering and potentially deadly animals, came to say a gentle goodbye.

Giraffegoodbye1

Read the story at the Independent here!

Hello Spring!

It is spring!

cherry blossom

lambs

eggs

The birds sing, and people walk around with the odd and gladdened smile of no-more-winter, raising eyes to the blue sky.

It is Spring!

The forsythia will bloom, the cherry trees will blossom, little buds will poke their heads up from the ground without a sound to boom a verdant glow.

It is Spring!

Nests will fill with fuzz and wooing birds and new twigs splendor, and perfect eggs will follow, curling hatchlings deep in dreams of endless worms.

It is Spring!

Open windows. Open jackets. Green grass reappearing under browning frost and bits of winter’s snow.

It is Spring!

Lambs will bleat, ducklings waddle, kids will scamper ‘cross new meadows, as their mothers languid, follow, sated by the younglings’ joy.

It is Spring!

Can you feel it? There’s a buzz, a distinct glitter. Light has changed–now amplified–and not only by the angle of the sun finally resuming duty, back to glory, hastening beauty.

It is Spring!

Don’t worry if some gray dreary days will come and try to turn the tide. Spring would not abide–it has come now, and it will forge paths in frozen soil to melt remaining cold.

Time’s come.

Winter has grown old. Its shift has ended. Spring sprung. Let’s welcome it aboard!

hello spring