Gifts from Alaska

Gifts From Alaska

Many of my students and friends have been praying for my uncle Chris, who was hospitalized in Tucson in early February and passed away on Tuesday, March 17, 2015.  My uncle's many friends and family have been posting tributes to him on my aunt Tam's Facebook page in the form of stories, memories and pictures.  I shared this story with my aunt Tam yesterday:

My uncle Chris Fondell was a generous gift-giver. About three years ago, I confessed to him a childhood secret that my sister Melissa King and I had kept for many years.
Chris was Melissa's godfather, so every year about a week before Christmas, a special brown package would arrive for her. My godparents, my aunt Bonnie and uncle Mike, always sent a special package for me then too. Since both of our godparents lived in Sitka, Alaska, the gifts were always very special and unique. Melissa and I were allowed to unwrap the brown paper packaging from the boxes that arrived, but the gift-wrapped presents inside always had to be put under the tree until Christmas morning. The suspense was simply too much for two curious little girls to handle. After dark, Melissa and I would sneak those special gifts to our room, and together we would carefully slit the tape with a scissors and unwrap them. One year I received a beautiful Alaskan Eskimo doll with a tiny papoose wrapped and hidden in her brown suede cloak. Melissa often received jewelry since her godfather owned a jewelry store. After a few moments of quiet rejoicing, we would painstakingly re-tape the gifts and place them back under the tree. What fun it was to open them again on Christmas morning with our parents watching (and to share a wink and a secret with my sister) as we feigned surprise! Many years later as adults, we told our parents and godparents the story about our sneaky gift-opening. I remember my uncle Chris laughing his hysterical, gorgeous, infectious Fondell laugh. Yes, my uncle Chris was a generous gift-giver. Even more than the beautiful gold ear pins and hand-blown glass bowl he gave me, I will forever treasure the gift of his laughter.

Do you have a childhood memory that could be transformed into a tribute for someone you love?

Blog Titles

Hey all,
I'm excited to begin this adventure with you as we learn together about blogging.  One of the first tasks of setting up your blog is creating your profile and choosing a name for your blog.  You will use your first and last name as your web address to make it easy for me and your classmates to find your blog, but the title you choose for your blog should be personal and unique.  Please write your first post explaining the title of your blog. :-)

My blog title, "Just Say Cheese," is mostly a nod to my homeland, Wisconsin, my favorite team, the Green Bay Packers, and my favorite food, which is, of course, cheese.  Any Wisconsin cheese will do, really, but I am especially fond of sharp cheddar, pepperjack, colby, fresh cheese curds, and cream cheese.  And really anything with fresh cream cheese.  Sushi, bagels, dips, frosting... everything is better with cream cheese.  Add some melty cream cheese jalapeno sauce to a chicken chimi at Popo's or El Rio Mirage and tell me you don't agree.  This title also is a reference to my family's love-hate relationship with the fact that I take photos all the time.  It might seem silly to some people, but is important for me to document the moments... big or small... so that I can look back and remember them and share them with others.  Most of my family and friends live in the Midwest, so now that I live in Arizona, sharing photos with them is a way to stay in touch and feel close to those who are far away. And though my husband and kids usually groan when I get out the camera, and I often have to force (ahem, bribe) them into smiling for or even allowing me to take these photos, they all love looking at the pictures after a family vacation or graduation or concert or whatever and are happy that I captured that moment.  Well, I'm not exactly sure if my two-year-old enjoyed the photo of her proud little face as she sat on the potty for the first time, but Grandma sure did.  And at least it will be great blackmail material someday.  I guess my title could also be a reference to the fact that although I'm usually the one behind the camera, I am often told that I look happy and smile a lot more than the average person.  Whatever that means.  And I suppose it's a stretch, but the title could also reference the fact that my students LOVE all of my cheesy jokes. Right? ;-)

Just like my picture-taking habit, I hope this blog you create will be a fun way for you to document some of those moments in your lives and to share them with others.  Please feel free to leave comments on one another's blog posts about what you enjoyed, add your own thoughts, pose questions for discussion, give constructive criticism, or just be uplifting to one another.  Have fun!