“Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else." Fred Rogers

                                                            AZ QUOTES

The biggest influence on our lives for over a year has been the pandemic.  Like all of you, I hope that we are at the end of this thing that has changed our lives so much.  But as we go back to whatever normal was or will become, I hope we can carry some lessons with us from the pandemic’s end to the new beginning.

Here are my top 5 lessons from the pandemic to carry with me to my new beginning:

1.   1. Rest more.  My health actually improved during the pandemic because I was not burning the candle at both ends.  I am going to pay closer attention to my body and rest when I need to rest.

2.    2. Show more appreciation for the small things.  How I missed driving and shopping and being outside!  Every time I am on the golf course, I thank the good Lord for friends and nature.

3.    3. Enjoy being in the moment.  We have all been wishing to get out of our houses, so let’s enjoy the time with friends and family and stay in the moment.

4.    4. Tell family and friends what you like about them, and why you appreciate them.  Everyone loves validation and praise, and after being alone for almost a year, as many of you were, too, I am looking forward to reunions with friends, and I will share my affirming thoughts with them!

5.    5. Stay positive, and know that you are stronger than you think.  We made it through a WORLD-WIDE PANDEMIC !  One day at a time, we were able to cope with so many new things in our formerly safe little worlds.   We must remember that we are strong.

Here’s to a new beginning of Life after the pandemic!

“Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else. I've felt that many times. My hope for all of us is that "the miles we go before we sleep" will be filled with all the feelings that come from deep caring - delight, sadness, joy, wisdom - and that in all the endings of our life, we will be able to see the new beginnings.

― Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

Please invite Grady Gets Glasses (and me) into your school.  if you are not in the Pittsburgh area, we do virtual field trips with a group called Field Trip Zoom or we will come into YOUR classroom via ZOOM.www.Fieldtripzoom.com  and a company called www.StreamableLearning.com GRADY GETS GLASSES was the winner of Best New Children's Book 2016 and 2018 (new edition) from The Authors' Zone.Grady also won a 2018 prestigious Moonbeam Award for Best Children's Book with Merchandise.

Visit Dede's web page for complete details on her award-winning book, STUDENT TEACHING: THE INSIDE SCOOP FROM A MASTER TEACHER. Many colleges have made the book required reading. Signed copies are available  www.dederittman.com Dede is also a national speaker on The Three C's for Classroom success: Confidence, communication, and Creativity; Avoiding Teacher burnout; and many other inspirational topics. 

I LOVE writing. And I love writing children's books- my newest passion. Although it will be a ton of work, I am looking forward to selling my books.  Since I was a secondary teacher, I know that I have much to learn about elementary students, and I will have to follow my own advice and be my genuine self.  However, I also know that I am passionate about helping kids who have to wear glasses, and that GRADY GETS GLASSES sends a positive message. I am willing to work hard and do all the things that also made me a successful teacher for 37

years. I remain inspired! 

Elementary teachers in Western Pennsylvania and beyond - I am willing to come into your classroom in person or as a virtual field trip through a group called Field Trip Zoom.  Check them out!  http://www.fieldtripzoom.com/ 

Teacher friends- let me know if you want me to read GRADY GETS GLASSES at your school. I am willing to come in to discuss the creative writing process, why writing is important, and personal fulfillment through writing, along with reading my book.  I would appreciate the exposure, and I would make signed copies available for purchase in your classrooms following the reading.  Please email me at dederittman@gmail.com  The website www.gradygetsglasses.com now has plush Grady bunnies for sale!

 Please like Dede's new page Grady Gets Glasses for updates about her children's book. https://www.facebook.com/gradygetsglasses?ref=hl 

Connect with Dede!

Twitter       @dederittman

Facebook   Dede Faltot Rittman or Rittman Rules

LinkedIn   Dede Rittman

Google +   Dede Rittman

Tumblr      The Bunny Teacher

Instagram   GradyGetsGlasses

Pinterest   Rittman Publishing, LLC ® 

"Men love to wonder, and that is the seed of science." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Brainy Quote

On April 19, and the world was informed that  the Mars Ingenuity helicopter, despite freezing conditions, had made its first flight on Mars. (For the story from NASA, follow this link https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-succeeds-in-historic-first-flight )  The helicopter is solar powered, and it even had to heat itself up first before it could work. The crew that invented this technology is over the moon - and maybe even mars - with exultation. This is a red letter day for NASA!

I was born in 1952, and when I was a little girl, I would often wonder if there could be life on Mars or the moon or any other planet. I remember asking my father about going to the moon when I was 6 or 7 years old, and he answered, "I don't think it will happen in my lifetime."  But, it did! In 1969, when Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon, I could not believe that such a thing had happened after all my years of daydreaming about such a feat. However, since the invention of iPhones and The Internet, it seems that the idea of "wonder" has slowed down, or perhaps even ceased.  I still think about the fact that there is more technology in my hand holding my iPhone that the technology used to put John Glenn in space.  In today's society,  we are all becoming accustomed to such great technology; therefore, it loses the "wonder" factor.

That is not true today, or this week, or in the future.  A tiny helicopter that can take pictures and hover 10 feet above the Mars surface is creating wonder again!  As a former teacher, I hope this sense of wonder will lead to more student interest in science and aeronautics.  I hope that scientists and inventors become as famous as professional football players and rock stars.  

It is great to celebrate wonder in our lives again!

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

Please invite Grady Gets Glasses (and me) into your school.  if you are not in the Pittsburgh area, we do virtual field trips with a group called Field Trip Zoom or we will come into YOUR classroom via ZOOM.www.Fieldtripzoom.com  and a company called www.StreamableLearning.com GRADY GETS GLASSES was the winner of Best New Children's Book 2016 and 2018 (new edition) from The Authors' Zone.Grady also won a 2018 prestigious Moonbeam Award for Best Children's Book with Merchandise.

Visit Dede's web page for complete details on her award-winning book, STUDENT TEACHING: THE INSIDE SCOOP FROM A MASTER TEACHER. Many colleges have made the book required reading. Signed copies are available  www.dederittman.com Dede is also a national speaker on The Three C's for Classroom success: Confidence, communication, and Creativity; Avoiding Teacher burnout; and many other inspirational topics. 

I LOVE writing. And I love writing children's books- my newest passion. Although it will be a ton of work, I am looking forward to selling my books.  Since I was a secondary teacher, I know that I have much to learn about elementary students, and I will have to follow my own advice and be my genuine self.  However, I also know that I am passionate about helping kids who have to wear glasses, and that GRADY GETS GLASSES sends a positive message. I am willing to work hard and do all the things that also made me a successful teacher for 37

years. I remain inspired! 

Elementary teachers in Western Pennsylvania and beyond - I am willing to come into your classroom in person or as a virtual field trip through a group called Field Trip Zoom.  Check them out!  http://www.fieldtripzoom.com/ 

Teacher friends- let me know if you want me to read GRADY GETS GLASSES at your school. I am willing to come in to discuss the creative writing process, why writing is important, and personal fulfillment through writing, along with reading my book.  I would appreciate the exposure, and I would make signed copies available for purchase in your classrooms following the reading.  Please email me at dederittman@gmail.com  The website www.gradygetsglasses.com now has plush Grady bunnies for sale!

 Please like Dede's new page Grady Gets Glasses for updates about her children's book. https://www.facebook.com/gradygetsglasses?ref=hl 

Connect with Dede!

Twitter       @dederittman

Facebook   Dede Faltot Rittman or Rittman Rules

LinkedIn   Dede Rittman

Google +   Dede Rittman

Tumblr      The Bunny Teacher

Instagram   GradyGetsGlasses

Pinterest   Rittman Publishing, LLC ® 

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein

                                                                    Bright Drops 
 

March and April here in Pittsburgh have been much warmer months than usual.  In fact, I have already played 10 rounds of golf, which is 10 more than I have ever played this early in the season!  During those 10 rounds so far, I have watched the trees change from bare to buds to flowers, and the greening of the earth has gone from a light celery to a rich green hue.  I have observed something else changing as well - my attitude. 

Living alone during the pandemic has been very trying, and for some days, downright depressing and lonely.  I have always looked to the golf course to recharge my spirit; in fact, this is my 50th year of playing golf.  I learned the summer that I was just 18, and I have been playing, as well as coaching, these past 50 years.  After a long, cold, snowy and lonely winter, I welcomed golf with all my heart!  And my attitude has changed in the most positive manner.  Instead of the "day blends into day after day." I enjoy looking forward to the days I am playing, and I feel more purposeful.  I think about the game, and I think about the nature I see on the course.  We have some little ducks and some geese, and I watched 5 deer run across number 1 fairway.  The North American redwing blackbirds seem to be calling out to me, and the hawks soaring high in the sky above the course seem to be watching over the golfers.  Some curious turkeys have given my group a few gobbles, and the chipmunks and the squirrels are running around.  Wildflowers and random bouquets of daffodils abound, and the flagsticks wave in the wind.  The golf course is a delightful place to be, and I like to shout to the good Lord, "Thank you that I am on a beautiful golf course and thanks for friends." 

I have noticed a definite change in my demeanor and attitude since I am back on the golf course, my "normal" thing to do for the past 50 years.  But, enjoying nature isn't just about the golf course.  If you are feeling down, or if you need to clear your head, it's a good idea to take a walk and look around.  You will notice changes in the earth every day.  That's why Spring is so wonderful - it starts with pastels and then bursts forth as full and brilliant colors.  Flowers are pretty even when they are in bud, and to see them day by day, and then watch them open in full bloom, is wonderful!  I urge you to go for a walk in the park, or even your neighborhood.  Nature has a way of helping us to be quiet and patient and to listen to our inner voice.  Being in nature restores my soul, and it just might restore yours.  Things are easier to think about when I am in Nature, and they might be for you. too.  I used to be an avid trout fisherman when my late husband was alive.  We fished in the farthest northern reaches of the big mountains in central Pennsylvania, and I got the same feeling there that I get on the golf course.  

Give yourself a gift and go outside.  You will be glad you did!  "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein 

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

Please invite Grady Gets Glasses (and me) into your school.  if you are not in the Pittsburgh area, we do virtual field trips with a group called Field Trip Zoom or we will come into YOUR classroom via ZOOM.www.Fieldtripzoom.com  and a company called www.StreamableLearning.com GRADY GETS GLASSES was the winner of Best New Children's Book 2016 and 2018 (new edition) from The Authors' Zone.Grady also won a 2018 prestigious Moonbeam Award for Best Children's Book with Merchandise.

Visit Dede's web page for complete details on her award-winning book, STUDENT TEACHING: THE INSIDE SCOOP FROM A MASTER TEACHER. Many colleges have made the book required reading. Signed copies are available  www.dederittman.com Dede is also a national speaker on The Three C's for Classroom success: Confidence, communication, and Creativity; Avoiding Teacher burnout; and many other inspirational topics. 

I LOVE writing. And I love writing children's books- my newest passion. Although it will be a ton of work, I am looking forward to selling my books.  Since I was a secondary teacher, I know that I have much to learn about elementary students, and I will have to follow my own advice and be my genuine self.  However, I also know that I am passionate about helping kids who have to wear glasses, and that GRADY GETS GLASSES sends a positive message. I am willing to work hard and do all the things that also made me a successful teacher for 37

years. I remain inspired! 

Elementary teachers in Western Pennsylvania and beyond - I am willing to come into your classroom in person or as a virtual field trip through a group called Field Trip Zoom.  Check them out!  http://www.fieldtripzoom.com/ 

Teacher friends- let me know if you want me to read GRADY GETS GLASSES at your school. I am willing to come in to discuss the creative writing process, why writing is important, and personal fulfillment through writing, along with reading my book.  I would appreciate the exposure, and I would make signed copies available for purchase in your classrooms following the reading.  Please email me at dederittman@gmail.com  The website www.gradygetsglasses.com now has plush Grady bunnies for sale!

 Please like Dede's new page Grady Gets Glasses for updates about her children's book. https://www.facebook.com/gradygetsglasses?ref=hl 

Connect with Dede!

Twitter       @dederittman

Facebook   Dede Faltot Rittman or Rittman Rules

LinkedIn   Dede Rittman

Google +   Dede Rittman

Tumblr      The Bunny Teacher

Instagram   GradyGetsGlasses

Pinterest   Rittman Publishing, LLC ® 

"Tidying is the act of confronting yourself." Marie Kondo

 

I ordered a new bedroom set in late September, handmade by the Amish, and it arrived on March 1.  The platform bed has 5 large drawers - 3 on each side - underneath the mattress.  I also ordered a chifforobe, a chest of drawers, a dressers, 2 nightstands, and a large jewelry chest.  

The set is beautiful - maple with tiger maple drawer fronts and embellishments on the headboard.  This is the first new bedroom set I have ever owned - all the rest were hand-me-downs. Beyond its beauty, however, the new bedroom set has forced me to examine all the clothes and assorted "stuff" I was keeping in my old furniture. I have been cleaning out and going thorough items that I have not looked at in years.  This purging has benefitted the loal Dress for Success program - 8 large garbage can sized bags of clothing I no longer wear - and it has also benefitted several local shelters for homeless women.  I honestly did not know I had so many pairs of socks!  And the 40+ pairs of slacks and capris I no longer wear are great for someone else.  All those samples of toiletries will be used and appreciated by the women's shelter, and the sheer number of coats given to a local food bank and other charities will warm someone who needs them.  

Somehow, after all this cleaning out, my space and my life seem "lighter."  I still have more to do, but expunging so much stuff for the benefit of others just feels good.  So does knowing that I have have found a place for everything, and that just about everything is in its place.  I am a work in progress. 

Cleaning clutter from one's life allows a person to see things so much more clearly.  I am relishing my new space, with less "stuff." I am more attuned to asking myself if something I have not used lately is useful or necessary in my life.  It feels good to give items to someone who needs them.

"Tidying is the act of confronting yourself." Marie Kondo  Such a wonderful observation, and one that feels so good.  Give it a try.  You might also enjoy the outcome!

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

Please invite Grady Gets Glasses (and me) into your school.  if you are not in the Pittsburgh area, we do virtual field trips with a group called Field Trip Zoom or we will come into YOUR classroom via ZOOM.www.Fieldtripzoom.com  and a company called www.StreamableLearning.com GRADY GETS GLASSES was the winner of Best New Children's Book 2016 and 2018 (new edition) from The Authors' Zone.Grady also won a 2018 prestigious Moonbeam Award for Best Children's Book with Merchandise.

Visit Dede's web page for complete details on her award-winning book, STUDENT TEACHING: THE INSIDE SCOOP FROM A MASTER TEACHER. Many colleges have made the book required reading. Signed copies are available  www.dederittman.com Dede is also a national speaker on The Three C's for Classroom success: Confidence, communication, and Creativity; Avoiding Teacher burnout; and many other inspirational topics. 

I LOVE writing. And I love writing children's books- my newest passion. Although it will be a ton of work, I am looking forward to selling my books.  Since I was a secondary teacher, I know that I have much to learn about elementary students, and I will have to follow my own advice and be my genuine self.  However, I also know that I am passionate about helping kids who have to wear glasses, and that GRADY GETS GLASSES sends a positive message. I am willing to work hard and do all the things that also made me a successful teacher for 37

years. I remain inspired! 

Elementary teachers in Western Pennsylvania and beyond - I am willing to come into your classroom in person or as a virtual field trip through a group called Field Trip Zoom.  Check them out!  http://www.fieldtripzoom.com/ 

Teacher friends- let me know if you want me to read GRADY GETS GLASSES at your school. I am willing to come in to discuss the creative writing process, why writing is important, and personal fulfillment through writing, along with reading my book.  I would appreciate the exposure, and I would make signed copies available for purchase in your classrooms following the reading.  Please email me at dederittman@gmail.com  The website www.gradygetsglasses.com now has plush Grady bunnies for sale!

 Please like Dede's new page Grady Gets Glasses for updates about her children's book. https://www.facebook.com/gradygetsglasses?ref=hl 

Connect with Dede!

Twitter       @dederittman

Facebook   Dede Faltot Rittman or Rittman Rules

LinkedIn   Dede Rittman

Google +   Dede Rittman

Tumblr      The Bunny Teacher

Instagram   GradyGetsGlasses

Pinterest   Rittman Publishing, LLC ®