No pictures. 18 WordPress updates. It has been awhile since I wrote anything other than emails and Facebook posts, so on this Wednesday I am attempting to get my thoughts in order. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, but it is not a holiday here in Latvia. I am, however, attempting to make some sort of celebration this …
Vitauts Grinvalds has been going to church for a long time. As a young man, he went to church in Latvia, then, when he came to the United States, he continued going as a congregant until he became a pastor. Then it was church every Sunday for a long, long time. Duty called! Saturday nights …
Vitauts was a pastor for a long time. It was the life he knew and his identity for over fifty years. During that time, he was a respected figure of five communities and congregations. They referred to him as “pastor” because they couldn’t say his first or last name. And then, on November 2, 2014 …
I have told the story so many times that it has become almost a litany. Dad was born in or around Smiltene, Latvia on November 1, 1927. Almost 88 years ago. I told him that today, and he couldn’t believe he has lived this long. He tried to remember how old his sister was when …
My dad moved in with me two years after Liesma died. We had to clean out the parsonage, but that’s another story. He has been driving the same 1993 Maroon Mercury Grand Marquis for about twenty years, and at 231,000 miles, it’s doing pretty well for its age. I could say the same about Vitauts. …
All of my life, I had seen my mother, Liesma and my father fighting and arguing. I recall one very poignant and powerful moment when dad had missed getting me to a doctor’s appointment and my mom just opened up a can of Latvian woman whoop ass on him in the car. What started out …
It didn’t take long to convince dad that we had to let her go. So we all went to her room where she was still plugged into the machines. I had brought along a mix tape that my sister had made for her, and we played it. I will never be able to listen to …
We all knew Vitauts had been having problems with his memory, but we had no idea just how serious it was. While mom was alive, she would tell us that we had, “No idea…” what it was like to live with dad. I’m sure he drove her crazy with his stubborn ways and constant forgetfulness. God …
Today I had another obvious breakthrough as a teacher. I just finished teaching The Great Gatsby again, and I love it each and every time I do. However, the assessments that we have come up with are usually duds and make me dread the grading part of the whole equation. One thing that I struggle …
Day 25 The ideal collaboration between students–what would it look like? I want to start answering this question by thinking about what the ideal collaboration between anyone might look like. I have collaborated with lots of colleagues in the past, and this is an interesting reflection to think about what was right and good with …