A Visit With Some Vets.

 Today, I was invited by one of my students to come do some art at a Veterans Home in Racine.  Somehow, it was discovered that I could do chalk art and that was the catalyst for the invitation.  ( Also,   I was not doing anything over the Holidays that would take me out of the area.)  And since I love chalk drawing and a number of other art forms... I accepted! 

By the way...  it was COLD today.  Single digits!   So the thought of hanging outside and doing chalk art suddenly seemed out of the question.   I brought my chalk anyway, just in case that WAS the plan.   I still wanted to be prepared, after all. 

But I kept an open mind and even brought some origami books and paper just in case we were forced to be inside.  (Teaching has now conditioned me to have a plan "B" and a plan "C"...  Just in case!)  

I was greeted by Kim Rouse,   the mother of the student who invited me.    She was there with a couple other students drawing pictures with some local Vets.  I sat down to join them and we had a fun time.   

The theme was Christmas.   So anything Christmas was the common thread that we could all follow.   Although,  I'm sure if anyone wanted to draw or sketch anything else, they could have and no one would have called them on it.  And along with the art,  we enjoyed some conversation.  

The center is pretty cool.  It reminded me of the rec center back in Fort Greely in Alaska.   Or the USO center in the Seattle Airport. There were movies, pool table, kitchen, showers, bathrooms, and even a Barber chair!   Outside,  there were a number of tiny homes for the vets who were down on their luck to use until they could find a job or a place of their own.   Everything was very neat and squared away.  

I stayed there about two hours and folded a couple origami models after I finished my Christmas Cat drawing.   It was a welcome distraction and nice way to expand my horizons of the area and the small bits of culture that I would normally overlook or miss.   I should thank Kaya for inviting me and showing me a new world.  

Other than that,  I also ran 6 miles in the cold this morning.   The sidewalks were clear of snow so the running was fairly easy.   (Other than the fact is is running!)  And I dressed for the occasion, so I really was not cold at all during the run.  Now that the show is here and the colder temps,  I imagine the running will become more challenging that it had been before.   I actually enjoyed running at 3 AM in the morning,  since there were no people and very few cars along the route.   I would even see wildlife occasionally that made things that much more interesting.      

But the cold is inescapable!  And motivating myself to get up that early is always a challenge without the weather being a factor.   Hopefully I will be able to dig deep into my Stoic Philosophy and  overcome the daily challenge that early-morning, cold runs bring. Here's to becoming tougher!

Tomorrow will be a busy day of shopping and wrapping.   And I even have a few more Christmas cards to write before the big holiday is upon us.  I have to make every second count!