And More!

Look at what Pony Pal Julie is wearing. 

And the unicorns just keep coming.

Unicorns and Horses for Christmas

Unicorns are incredibly popular right now and I had several of them in my home Christmas Day.

Pony Pal Cambria got not only a unicorn headband but a rideable, talking unicorn as well!

 While Pony Pal, Mila, received a plush unicorn.

 She also got a VERY pink My Little Pony. (Not a unicorn, thank goodness.) 

There were other horsey gifts, too.

 Cambria really liked her Horse Care kit from Craig and me.

It was soon opened and that plush pony inside got a good grooming!

And I got some metallic wall decor from Sarah and her family - a horse head for my wall!

The horsey items balanced the unicorns nicely for me. And that is a good thing because I honestly do not care for unicorns at all!

The 2018 Isenbarger Family Christmas

(With acknowledgment to Clement C. Moore, author of A Visit from St. Nicholas.)

Twas the day before Christmas

 and all through our home

 wrapping paper and gifts

were stacked 'round the rooms.

 Twenty-two stockings hung on the mantle with care

 in hopes that Boompa and Grammy would fill them (if they dared!)

Baby Jesus was nestled all snug in his bed

While visions of feeding the masses danced in Grammy's head.

The home was all decorated and ready for guests 

 with breakables stowed away at Grammy's request.

Two trees were trimmed and ready to go

 with one up so high, that Boompa said, "Whoa!"

"Let's put one up for the littlest kids,"

 "And they can play with it without the adults blowing their lids!"

 The tables were prepped with festive cloths and candles

 the booster seats in the kitchen 'cause the chairs there had handles.

 There were plenty of healthy things to counter the sugar

which was in such abundance that it was really quite vulgar!

The holiday items were strewn through the house

 even in the bathroom was a painting of Santa Claus!

 From garlands

 and candy canes

 and baubles galore

Grammy and Boompa were ready for some rest and a good snore.

But a giggle outside and a ring of the doorbell

meant their family was now here - there was no time to chill!

A wink at each other and a clasping of hands,

They threw open the door to greet the merry band.

"It's Julie, and Kate, and sweet little Susie!

"And Ian and Mila, ohhhh, and cute little Lukie!

"Hi, Titan! Hey, Cambria! Come into the hall!

"Wow, JC and Trinity, when did you get so tall?"

From the top of the house and to the main floor, too,

Those kiddos dashed away, dashed away, away they all flew!

But we heard them exclaim as they scurried out of sight,

"Merry Christmas, Grammy and Boompa, we're staying up all night!"

Christmas Eve in a Barn

In 1915, Thomas Hardy published his beloved poem, The Oxen. (See below.) In it, he tells of how, on Christmas Eve, the animals always kneel in their barns to honor the birth of the Savior.

As a young girl, there was a part of me that believed that this could be true and really happen. For several years I resolved to set my alarm, slip out of the house just before midnight, and head to the barn so that I could quietly watch and see such beautiful homage.

Well, year after year I never got up, either too warmly snuggled up in my bed, or simply asleep and not hearing my alarm clock. And then suddenly I was old enough to know that it was just a story, and so I never went.

I'm older now, but I find that once again I'd like to be in a barn at midnight on Christmas Eve. I want to reflect on what it must have been like for Mary to have ridden a donkey so near to giving birth and then to deliver her child in a stable, placing her baby in a hay filled manger.

I've birthed six babies, and it isn't easy even when you are in a hospital and surrounded by good care. I've always had great respect and sympathy for Mary and what she endured. But the horsey girl in me finds barns to be a place of familiarity and peace. I rather think that I should find that there on Christmas Eve.

Even if the animals don't really kneel.

The Oxen

Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock.

“Now they are all on their knees,”

An elder said as we sat in a flock

By the embers in hearthside ease.

We pictured the meek mild creatures where

They dwelt in their strawy pen,

Nor did it occur to one of us there

To doubt they were kneeling then.

So fair a fancy few would weave

In these years! Yet, I feel,

If someone said on Christmas Eve,

“Come; see the oxen kneel,

“In the lonely barton by yonder coomb

Our childhood used to know,”

I should go with him in the gloom,

Hoping it might be so.

       by Thomas Hardy, 1915

Great Expectations

Former Student Garrett Grossman's Bar Mitzvah was December 1. He stopped by my classroom in March this spring and asked me to save the date so that I could be there.

I did, and it was a beautiful ceremony (complete with a Torah that had been saved from the Nazis during World War II and loaned to the temple!)

I bought a leather bound Great Expectations for him as a gift, and included the letter below.

December 20, 2018

Dear Garrett,

Finally! Your gift is here! I hope you find it worth the wait. 

When you asked me to save the date for your Bar Mitzvah last March, I knew that I wanted to give you a meaningful gift, and of course my mind went to classic books. There are many reasons as to why I think a classic book would be the perfect Bar Mitzvah gift, some of which I am sure you already know and have learned as an experienced classic reader yourself, and others that will reveal themselves to you as you go through  life and acquire not only knowledge, but wisdom as well. 

I wanted to choose a very special classic for you, one that would underscore the meaningful step you are taking as a Bar Mitzvah, and another that would have some parallels to where you are in your life in general, and what awaits you as you grow and mature into adulthood. I could not think of a better book to meet those two caveats than Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. 

First, the title. It is applicable to you both as a young man and as someone becoming a Bar Mitzvah. There is so much in life ahead of you! Exciting and challenging things, decisions to be made, places to go (that makes me think of Dr. Seuss, another author of classics!), people to meet and affect, service to render, and more. Some of the expectations will be asked of you by others; some (and most important) you will ask of yourself. Great expectations lie ahead of you, Garrett.

Then there is the story itself. No doubt about it, Dickens’ books can be real wade-throughs! But they are worth the time it takes to understand them. (I included a second book to help guide you through it.) 

Great Expectations is the story of an orphan named Pip who, through some luck, has wonderful opportunities and then loses them, and how he comes to terms with the events that bring all this to come to pass in his life. He learns what brings true happiness during his journey, and to see people for who they really are and to not judge them from the outer appearance but rather by what is inside. 

You, like Pip, have many opportunities in front of you. You, too, will learn to come to terms with the joys and challenges that life brings you, and to figure out how to negotiate the path to becoming the person you want to be.

And this is where the Bar Mitzvah fit in when I chose this book for you. The very fact that you wanted to make such a commitment to God, to serve in your faith, and to be the kind of person a Bar Mitzvah should be, spoke well of your own “great expectations” of being a moral, caring, kind, and honorable man. With your Bar Mitzvah, you have started down the path of becoming such a person. 

Don’t worry if you don’t completely follow the story the first time you read it, and please don’t give up on it! Come back to it later, and the more life experience you have had through serving, learning, and gaining not only knowledge but wisdom, too, the more sense this book will make to you. Parts may jump out at you as you see parallels in your own life, or in the lives of others. Truly great books become even better the more we read them because we see and understand more in their pages due to our own life experiences as time passes.

Garrett, it was an honor to be invited to such an important event in your life. I, too, have “great expectations” for you, and mine are based on the terrific young man who was in my class for two years. I thought then that you would grow up and do something wonderful, and seeing you take the steps to become a Bar Mitzvah affirmed that for me.

One final note: the expectations in the book were Pip’s own, not so much others’ expectations for him. Consider your own, personal, “great expectations” and then work to make them happen. Life is ahead of you, and that is a wonderful thing.

I have no doubt that you will do many great things.

All my best,

Love,

Mrs. Isenbarger

Elias - A Life of Service

I love horses. Having said that, were I asked to choose only one animal to have in my life,  I would choose a dog. Why? Because you live with your dog and have a relationship in ways that you do not with a horse.

One of my dogs was Zeus, a service dog. Used to sniff out narcotics by the police, he had to be retired due to hip dysplasia at age five. We were the lucky ones chosen to be his retirement home.

But this blog entry isn't about Zeus; it's about Elias, a retired guide dog belonging to my friend, Kathy. I have written about her before. She is an amazing teacher with many accolades for her teaching. She has a been a blogger on The Huffington Post, authored two books, and travels the country as a motivational speaker with her faithful guide dog, Nacho, navigating obstacles for her.

Before Nacho, Kathy's guide dog was a yellow Lab named Elias.

 Kathy and Elias, the moment she was told she was Indiana's Teacher of the Year for 2015.

2015 was a heady year for the pair. As Indiana's Teacher of the Year, she traveled throughout the state for speaking engagements, dinners, and seminars. Elias went with her, guiding her through countless unfamiliar places and waiting patiently by her side as she spoke or taught.

Chip Reid interviewed her for the CBS Evening News, Elias right by her side. Go here to watch the interview. She was then selected as one of four candidates for National Teacher of the Year!

Kathy and Elias were invited to the White House where they met President Obama who was charmed by Elias and didn't mind when he needed a bathroom break and the White House lawn was the only place available!

Bo Obama even shared his personal water bowl with Elias!

You may have noticed the grey on his muzzle in these photos. Elias was nine at the time and needed to be retired just after Kathy went to the White House. Her parents, who live a few blocks from Kathy, took him in as they had done with her previous two guide dogs, and Kathy began working with Nacho.

Kathy speaking at Sheridan High School in August with Nacho using her as a pillow.

Elias was happy in his retirement, and Kathy saw him nearly every day. When Nacho would be done working for the day, she often would take him over there to play with Elias and enjoy just being a dog. (Work-Nacho is very dignified and quiet; Play-Nacho is hilariously goofy and playful.)

Elias passed away yesterday at almost age 13. Kathy texted me the night before saying that he was doing poorly and the time to let him go was close. Just as he had spent his life being there for her, she was there with him until the very end, shepherding him to the next life where he will be waiting to be reunited with her.

I learned from Zeus just how much good a service dog can do and how close you can become to one,  but I never needed Zeus for his service or to guide me. I can only imagine how close you would become to a dog whom you relied on daily for help in accomplishing the myriad things on your plate. What an incredible wrench to your heart to say good-bye.

Rest in peace, Elias. You deserve all the doggy treats, tennis balls, and grassy meadows there are in heaven. And thank you so much for your service to my dear friend, Kathy. You truly blessed her life, and the lives of those she touched, with your aid.

A Bait and Switch Obituary

Since information is tracked and shared online, ads that pop up are based on information obtained from the websites you have previously visited. I am used to it and I usually ignore them.

But this type of advertising is WRONG.

Yes, that really is an ad for Breyer's Emerson, mimicking the other obituaries it is placed among. Are you kidding me? What advertising agency thinks this is a good idea and will bring customers in?

Even more grating to me is that it is placed underneath the obituary of a dear friend's sister, Jan, who just died unexpectedly after some minor surgery due to a blood clot!

Just look at how closely it mimics the other obituaries. (It popped up several times in my feed - it, and other ads, are sprinkled throughout the obituary section)

Ads among the obituaries are part and parcel of reading the online news, but as you can see in this screenshot, they generally do not look like an obituary - they are centered, there is no name of the "deceased" in the upper left hand corner nor is there a button to click for more information like the "view obituary" buttons in the real obits. It is clearly an ad and not masquerading as a bait and switch obituary.

Regardless of whether or not the fake obituary is placed next to someone I know or a total stranger who has passed away, ads that imitate obituaries are a real low in advertising, and incredible bad taste in my book.

It takes my breath away to see what ad and news agencies will do to make money.

The Legend of the Donkey

From the time I was twelve until I graduated from high school, I cared for my neighbor's horses as well as my own. They had two Quarter Horse mares and a donkey name Jose.

Like all other donkeys, Jose had the dorsal stripe on his back and another line across his withers and shoulders which formed a "T" or a cross.

 (Photo from Google Images)

During the time I cared for Jose, someone told me a legend about why the donkey has that cross on his back.

Joseph and Mary riding into Bethlehem.

According to the story, because of the donkey's service to Joseph and Mary by carrying a very pregnant Mary on their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem,

 assisting them in the flight into Egypt two years later, 

and carrying Christ into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday,

the legend says that God blessed the faithful donkey for his service and placed a memorial upon his back, and the back of all other donkeys, in the form of a cross.

 It's a lovely story, and to this day

the first thing I think of when I see a donkey is not those cute fuzzy ears or shaggy coat, it is of the contribution such a lowly animal played.

It is lovely to think about the role a donkey played in something as important as the life of the Son of God.

Merry Christmas!