Toby versus Peppé le Pew

When Toby goes outside, he has a happy saunter that he hadn't had when I first brought him home in December.  I commented on this to a friend, and they confirmed my observation.  It's amazing what love can do for an animal.  Together, Toby and I make a happy team,  I love watching him when he's outside, as he patrols his yard.  

A few weeks ago, I heard Toby going crazy inside, at the back window.  Something was outside, and he wanted whatever it was. I looked and saw a skunk underneath my bird feeders, eating fallen seed. Needless to say, Toby was not allowed outside.  I snuck out of the house through another door, and shooed our new friend away.  THEN, I let Toby out.  Knowing now that I had a skunk, I was on high alert and cautious whenever I let Toby out.  A few times, I did have to clap my hands and talk loudly to make Peppé leave the yard.  

Last night, I thought Toby wasn't feeling well.  It was 11:30 pm, I had just taken him out front and we were headed to bed, when he ran downstairs and was whining at the door.  I followed him down, looked before I opened the door, let him out and then...OH, CRUMBS!!!!!  The skunk WAS out back.  

I was yelling like a crazy woman, "TOBY!  NO!!!!"  Over and over!  I was hoping my hunter's instinct to listen to me was stronger than his instinct to get the skunk.  I knew better, but I hoped.  

Toby is very fast and he kept charging the skunk. He was barring his teeth and barking like a mad hunter at the skunk's face. The skunk was maybe a little confused by the crazy lady shouting and the fast, very large and loud dog protecting his yard, that he struggled to turn his backside towards Toby.  

As he tried to run to under my deck, which has wire almost completely to the ground to keep my dog from escaping, Toby was right by his side.  Peppé did wiggle under the deck, and then he sprayed. He didn't get Toby.  What a lucky dog.  

I have all the supplies I need to wash a skunk tagged dog: baking soda, peroxide and Dawn dish soap.  Unused, they are spending another day sitting in my cleaning supply closet.  

I am sure Toby may not be so lucky the next time.  Hopefully, THIS skunk has learned his lesson. 

Last night, my happy dog did not need a bath, 

and he slept snuggled on top of my bed.  

Just like every night.  

~Lisa Kroll
     Guardian of Toby, the luckiest dog of The Burrow

Wrapping up the School Year...

“Charlotte,” said Wilbur. “We’re all going home today. The Fair is almost over. Won’t it be wonderful to be back home in the barn cellar again with the sheep and the geese? Aren’t you anxious to get home?”
For a moment Charlotte said nothing. Then she spoke in a voice so low Wilbur could hardly hear the words.
“I will not be going back to the barn,” she said. Wilbur leapt to his feet. “Not going back?” he cried. “Charlotte, what are you talking about?”

                                                     ~from Charlotte's Web, by E.B.White

*****

Until I became a teacher, I didn't understand what the end of a school year and summer break truly meant.


As a parent, the end of a school year means, time to find help with watching your kids, or finding ways to keep the kiddos occupied for eight to ten weeks.  Family vacations or other travel plans are typically carried out.  Summer reading program schedules are accessed, and put on the calendar.  Swim, or soccer lessons fill time, as well as league games, and hitting a swimming pool.  Playdates, and overnight stays become a daily thing.  The first few weeks of summer break are welcomed by all.

I recall falling into the summer routine with my own children.  Sleeping in and playing with Legos or crafting.  My kids LOVED being on break, and I loved having them home, until the boredom set in, which happened quicker than I always liked. Yikes, being a parent over summer has it's challenges!  As a parent of two, at times it seemed I could not get them to agree on ANYTHING.  Nor could I get them to do what I wanted them to do without yelling or getting angry. Where were the teachers now?!  How did they do it, day after day with my two - both who were good kids I might add???

The end of the school year is filled with emotions.  Yes, this group of students came to me in August, but my year started before they arrived.  Weeks before school starts, I have to get my room ready for the year.  Items that were packed away need to resurface and find their home again. There are curriculum manuals to read, papers to copy, homework folders to set up, thirty-six weeks of lessons to generally spread out, to just name a few things that fill a teacher's time. In fact, as soon as school ends in May, I will attend professional development seminars, so assuming teachers have the summer off is truly wishful thinking.  Most teachers go to classes to help further their knowledge over the summer.  We attend technology, reading, writing, social studies, math, science, and classroom management seminars.  THIS is how we fill our summers.  We become students during our two month break.  Some of us also teach summer camps, so we spend time preparing and teaching, as well.

By the time "Meet the Teacher" happens the day before school, most teachers have all ready been working for two weeks in their classroom.  It's true, teachers do love school.  We are so excited for the new year to start!  In first grade, there are brand new, sharp crayons that still have their paper wraps neatly around them.  There are long, pointy, number two pencils whose erasers have yet to be pulled out and whose ends haven't been chewed on.  There are chunky erasers waiting to be shredded by scissors.  There are perfect folders and composition notebooks that teachers neatly have written student's names upon.  Name plates with student numbers on them have been carefully taped onto the student desks.  All their edges are smoothly stuck down to the desk tops and ready to be picked at by all the little picker's fingers.

In August, students and teacher come together, and a new community is born.  Rules must be established and enforced.  How to line up, walk in a line, sit at ones desk, play on the playground equipment, use the bathroom, get to the library, the specials rooms, and cafeteria are taught over and over.  Where to sit in the cafeteria and what manners there look like are explicitly shown.  Expectations are set for all aspects of the day and strived towards.  Letter formation,  spelling, number sense and learning to read are the curriculum that start a first grade school year.

Fall break is not really a break for teachers.  Grades and comments are due on report cards just after break.  There is also other data that is collected on students skill abilities.  This information must be added to a grade level data chart.  Teachers spend their days teaching, and it's nigh impossible to sit down to input information.  So our break is filled with inputting data and getting ready for term two.

When October arrives, a teacher has parent/teacher conferences to host after the first report card has been sent home.  These conferences give us a chance to connect with parents after we've had a little time to find out our student's strengths and areas of concerns.  We are happy to share positives with parents and offer ways to help their child be the best student they can be.

By Thanksgiving, we know our class very well.  We know who needs extra TLC, who needs pushed, who needs watched so they aren't falling through the cracks and who has it all together.  When winter break arrives, we finally have a few days we can turn our brains off from school, but the holidays quickly fill the school void.

The winter months of the new year find the class running smoothly as a community.  Light bulbs seem to click on as students suddenly "get" what is being taught.  It's a rewarding time to be a teacher.  One's efforts can be seen paying off.

By the time spring break hits, the end of the year is now in sight.  Teachers panic a bit...can they get through everything they need to get through?  Students start acting more like siblings.  They pick on and tease one another.  They are much more comfortable and they speak their minds.  Class rules and expectations need to be revisited.  Students rat out each other's poor choices, ones made while away from the teacher, without blinking an eye.  Even best buddies do this to one another!  That is, unless they were making poor choices together...like using the bathroom as a parkour training room.  Then, students from other classes rat them out!  The first grade beast is both funny and fun to watch.

May arrives, and the finish line approaches.  One hundred and eighty school days completed draws near.  Charlotte's Web is the last read aloud.  Tears stream down teacher's cheeks and his or her voice may crack as these words are read...

"But as he was being shoved into the crate, he looked up at Charlotte and gave her a wink. She knew he was saying good-bye in the only way he could. And she knew her children were safe.

“Good-bye!” she whispered. Then she summoned all her strength and waved one of her front legs at him.

She never moved again. Next day, as the Ferris wheel was being taken apart and the race horses were being loaded into vans and the entertainers were packing up their belongings and driving away in their trailers, Charlotte died. The Fair Grounds were soon forlorn. The infield was littered with bottles and trash. Nobody, of the hundreds of people what had visited the Fair, knew that a grey spider had played the most important part of all. No one was with her when she died."

Tomorrow, I will say goodbye to my students.  They are ready to move on, even though I am not yet ready for a new groups of kiddos.  I will have the summer to let this group go in my brain.  My students have had a great year, and I am happy they have been in my life and classroom.  They will always be my kids.  That's how a teacher's heart works.

The day after tomorrow,  I will clean out files, take down things hanging on the walls, and clear off shelf tops.  I will be in my classroom, all alone. My heart will ache a little at the end of the day when I turn off the light and pull the door closed.

I will wake on Thursday and I will not head into school to see my students.  I will not start each day seeing and greeting my friends.  When I decided to teach, I hadn't expected the bond I form with other teachers to be as deep as it is.  I adore all the people at my school.  It truly is an extended family.  I will fall into my own summer routine.  I am looking forward to nuzzling my kitties randomly through the day, and hiking with Toby.

When August rolls around...

I'll be ready for my next class full of kiddos.  More importantly, I'll be ready to be back home, in my barn cellar, alongside all my friends.

~Lisa Kroll
 

Growing a Passion

Independence is what Habitat is all about.  The first time I volunteered to help build a house, my mom had recently died.  I built in her honor, and I built on Saturday of Mother's Day weekend. The house I worked on was to be for a single mom and her three children. My mom raised me to think of others, and I felt like I was doing something good in her memory. It felt wonderful to help someone else when I felt that I had so much in life. I had to ask people to donate to my cause, and that was really the biggest challenge for me. I don't like to ask anyone for anything. My parents were very giving souls.  Both worked full-time, AND volunteered in our community as a volunteer fire fighter and an EMT-A, respectively. When I was married, I was made to feel weak if I had to ask for help. So I did whatever I needed to do, to NOT ask for help. Ever.  

In my past life, I was a "super" mom, and "super" wife. 

I stayed at home and ran my household. I worked part-time, but spent the rest of my time figuring out the logistics of dinner menus, chauffeuring duties, house keeping, flower gardening, play dates, birthdays and doing all those things a good wife does to make her husband shine.  Even as I lead a Girl Scout troop, I struggled to ask co-leaders to do anything.  I did not want to appear weak. I could do everything, and I could do it all.  

When I volunteered to build on my second Habitat Women Build, my life was changing.  I had lost my "super" status and was feeling pathetic.  A friend had asked me a year before if I would build with her.  At that time, I was in graduate school and told her to ask me the next year, because I literally didn't have the time.  Thankfully, she remembered, and she did asked me again.  When we went to the call out meeting, I saw so many familiar faces. I found a supportive community that only asked me to give what I was able of myself. No more, no less.  I was drawn to be a part of this greater good.  It was simple to say yes, and to do something for someone else. I was happy to have a new purpose, and something to look forward to doing with others. It was still hard knowing I was going to need to ask for money, but I sucked it up. I asked my relatives.  They quickly put me over my $250 required to build dollar amount.  I thought, 'Wow. That was easy and painless.' 

My build day came.  We were working in a brand new neighborhood, on the very first two houses to go up. I was witness to a new beginning.  I had one of the future owners and her husband up working with me.  That was my first time up on a roof.  It was invigorating!!! The hardest part was transferring from the ladder to the roof and vice versa.  I have learned how to walk on a roof, how to properly cut and lay singles, and how to communicate with new people while speaking a new coded language.  I had a few friends up with me, but most of the people on the team were not people I knew personally.  Trusting others and working together, such great gifts I was receiving.  

*****

The following January, I quickly jumped at building again. I saw the home owners I had built for the year before.  Witnessing the smiles on their faces and hearing them talk about how wonderful it was to own their house made my heart smile.  I didn't need them to know who I was.  I just needed to know I made a difference.  Here was my proof.  Stories of their new place were easy to hear.  Asking for donations for a cause I felt so strongly about made this year's requests a little easier.  I expanded my donor base and ask friends.  With just a little more effort, I was close to earning a pink tool belt, which I really, really wanted.  So I pushed a little harder. That tool belt was going to be nice to have!  

On build day, I again found myself on the roof and working online side the future, and current neighborhood owners. Getting to know someone I was helping felt so good.  I was helping make a difference.  The take away for me was that I was helping better my own community.  As I was working together with others, I was growing, and so were they.  

Additionally, that spring a former student of mine became a Habitat family.  Future Habitat homeowners are selected based on three basic criteria:  1) their need for housing 2) their ability to repay an affordable mortgage and 3) their willingness to partner with Habitat by earning 250 hours of “sweat equity” or volunteer time.*  They must also take classes on home ownership, and simple repairs. The support network Habitat creates in doing all this is such a gift in it's own right. Habitat families are asked to speak in front of others and tell their stories. They inspire.  

When I signed up to build the next year, I realized that I had actually raised $1000 by simply asking the year before; more than enough to get that pink tool belt.  I raised my goal to $1000 and decided to give even more of myself.  I joined a group called S.H.E. -  Society for Habitat Empowerment.  I have agreed to raise $1000 a year for five years.  This year marked my third year in my fundraising efforts as a member of S.H.E.  

I am forever grateful to those friends and family who support my cause.  I am forever grateful to Habitat for allowing me the opportunity to help build a house for someone else in my community.  I am bonded with the knowledge that if I can help make a difference in my community, others can as well.  

We just need to choose to spread positivity, understanding and love.  

~Lisa Kroll

     volunteer, wonder woman, independent soul who is still learning to ask for help and knows she is not weak for doing so...just smart

*from the Habitat For Humanity of Monroe County Web Site. Click Here for more details. 

Words to Build By... Habitat Women Build, Day 7, 2018

I was asked to give the devotion, or words of wisdom, before a Habitat Women Build day.  

Here's what I had to say... 

"Independence is an amazing gift to receive.  But I have found, it an even more amazing gift to see, and be witness to.  

'I spend a fair amount of my time each day trying to build community and independence within my classroom.  There are skills my students need to learn, and tests that I am required to give, but I know the bottom line is that the group of students whom I am molding at any given time, will, with a little bit of luck, have 11 more years of school together.  

'I figure I'm really laying the foundation of their people skills.  Learning to work together and solve problems is what life is really all about. 

'I  like to think of myself a little bit like Wonder Woman.  Not as a hero, but as someone who is a little bit mysterious, someone who has a past that has shaped them, someone who is strong, and someone who can accomplish anything when they focus their mind on it.  I find that’s how I live my life these days really.  

'I am old enough to know, we all experience adversity at some point in our lives.  And because of those experiences, we can look at the rainbows and flowers and the butterflies in the world and see their colors a little more deeply.  We become more compassionate and understanding. One of life lessons we must learn is to ask for help.  And when we do this, not only do we become richer by admitting we are human, but those we ask become richer as well.  For in being asked to help someone, we feel valued.  And truthfully, isn’t that what we all want is to add value to the world?  

'So today, I ask that the powers above,  help us to share our mysteries, embrace our pasts, give us the strength we need to focus on and accomplish today’s tasks.  

'When we work together, we grow together.  

'Thank you all for sharing today with me."  

 -----
Our day, in pictures.

May 5, 2018 - 7:30 a.m.
Bloomington, Indiana

new shirt, old hat and tool belt

two houses to roof, my fifth time to build

instructions on the roof

selfie time! 

when in Indiana...Indiana Jones time

part of our team working on the ground

...and we are off!

morning picture of both roofs under way

first build, first cut,
first time on the roof, strong lady

power tools

our chef, taking orders

team work

my work area

roof one almost done!

my tools, and roof two almost done!

6:00 p.m.

                                                            ~Lisa Kroll
                                                                    wonder woman, lower case W's

---------notes---------

Independence: The state or quality of being independent; freedom from dependence; exemption from reliance on, or control by others; self- subsistence or maintenance; direction of one's own affairs without interference.

Habitat for Humanity: Women Build
information and my web page: click here

Earth Moving... Can You Feel It?

Earth moving as I jet off to Chicago

"I feel the Earth, move, under my feet. I feel the sky tumblin' down." ~Carole King, April 1971

Sometimes, adventures come at exactly the right time.

After a long, and unusually emotional week of teaching, I had a weekend date with seven of my high school friends.  Some of these people I have known since the fifth grade.  After school, I drove an hour north and caught an evening flight to Chicago.  Technically, it takes less time to drive to Chi-Town from my house, than it does to fly.  Our group usually likes to do this trip when we can all have three days off, this weekend would not be a 3 day weekend for me.  I told my friends to enjoy the weekend. I didn't have the energy to drive north after working all day, chat until the wee hours of the night, then to head home in less than 48 hours where I would still need to spend several weekend hours in my classroom prepping for the week ahead.  So, I was pampered.  My friends have generous hearts...it might be an unspoken stipulation for being in our "club".  My flight arrangements were made for me so that I wouldn't miss out on the weekend fun.  The benefit of frequent flyer miles: a gift from my world traveling buddy.  

I arrived at O'Hare five minutes after the world traveler.  He had started his day in Lisbon, Spain, before stopping in Boston and then landing in Chicago. We took a taxi to the hotel, and after checking in, had fifteen minutes before we needed to head out to meet up with the others.  Having arrived earlier in the afternoon, they had all ready started the reunion fun!  As in our past trips, we traveled from different parts of the world; four states...cars, trains and planes connecting us.    

Dinner was at the Copper Fox, per our gastronome's suggestion and was fabulous!  As the late comers sat down, others were all ready imbibing.  The waitress asked what we wanted but needed to wait, as I was too busy tasting drinks around the table before I could decide.  In the end, a whiskey drink called ONE FLEW SOUTH landed at my place. A little tongue in cheek fun as I had flown north!  It was a mixture of diplomatic reserve extra anejo rum, lime juice, luxardo maraschino liqueur house demerara, barrel aged bitters, and tart cherry juice.  A great combination, and the best way to kick off the weekend with my buddies.  

Over the next hour and a half, there was laughing, stories and sharing of food.  After dinner, there was talk of chocolate dessert, but we wandered back towards the hotel to hang out in the suite between the girl's rooms.  

Upstairs we toasted one another again, and began to really relax and catch up in private.  Another of our classmates happened to be in town as well, up from Atlanta, celebrating his mother's 80th birthday with his family.  We chatted with this friend for a few hours, too.  It was funny to watch as he worked the conversations around the room, basically interviewing each of us. He also admitted to a little facebook stalking before hand. Aren't we all guilty of that?  I don't think I've seen this friend in person since we graduated high school.  Facebook has the power to make one feel they haven't missed a beat with friends.    

This get-together for our main group, was much over due.  A year has passed and each of us has grown a little more since then.  Grand babies have been born, a new business venture has started, education is being continued, a spouse was lost to illness and another is leaving due to divorce, parents continue to age, children continue to grow, and our souls continue to heal from those every day challenges we all face. We shared our successes and our hurts.  We talked about the love we have for others we grew up with and our wishes that they would feel comfortable to come and join us some time.  We all have secrets and pains.  Share them or not, we understand that growing up has been hard, but we also know that our early in life friends knew us when we were still dreamers.  Friendships that can weather life are the best friendships.  This group coming together is what true friendship looks like.  The seven of us seem to turn back into our 18-year-old selves when we are together, but we are realist and know we now have a wisdom about us.  We are people who can come together, and love one another, no matter what.  


The weekend plans this trip were simply to share time together.  We each have a role to fill, and our social director suggested we see Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Palace Theatre.  We are the generation who grew up influenced by the music Ms. King created. Our production was on Saturday at 2pm.  Perfect!   After our late night Friday, we gathered near 11 to walk to brunch and then the theatre.  Brunch was at the Hubbard Inn and featured Rustic Wheat Avocado Toast, Blackened Tiger Shrimp and Grits, Pork Belly Benedict, and Slow Roasted Corned Beef Hash all washed down with mimosas.  After brunch, we expected to encounter the Women's March due to our timing, but we must have walked on paths not being used by the march.  

The show was wonderful!  We couldn't help but comment at intermission, 'I didn't know she helped influence THAT song."  We were reminded that Carole King IS an amazing lady! I found myself wiggling my feet, but really wanting to be up and dancing, with the music. After the show, we walked back towards our hotel and shopped along the way.  We tried to decide what the evening plans should include.  Dancing?  Karaoke?  More talking?  Many suggestions were thrown into the ring for consideration.  Sitting in the hotel bar, we got serious about deciding the evenings plan. In the end, we decided we'd order pizza, buy a game, change into our pajamas, and stay in for the night!  

Dinner and a game

Pizza was ordered from Lou Malnati's.  Two brave souls donned PJ's.  Drinks were made for all. Our game of choice...Cards Against Humanity.  Everyone laughed until they cried at some point in the evening.  "New" words were discovered.  Interesting conversations were sparked..."how does THAT happen???" was asked. Explanations were given in code, which made us laugh harder.  Siri was asked, and responded "You don't need to ask that question!"  Truly, tears from laughter filled our eyes.  

Local Treats

We only went to bed that night because we were all exhausted and are a bit too old, and too smart, to sleep on couches when we had paid for feather topped beds.  

*****

Two in our group had to leave before Sunday brunch.  Our weekend together was coming to an end.  The few of us who were still together went to the LuxBar where amazing Bloody Mary's topped the menu. As we returned to the hotel, hugs and kisses were shared.  Ubers arrived and we parted ways.  Until next time, I will love my friends from a distance, and stay in continual touch.  We have a thread of messages that at times can instantly blow up to 95+ comments!  Blink and you'll have to spend half an hour catching up!  Thank you FaceBook for reconnecting this group a few years back when we were planning our high school class reunion.  This was our 36th year get-together.  

For others who are lucky enough to have friends like I do, I hope you realize too what a special connection and joy are friendships. We all have secrets, but when you can let down your guard and trust others, you can heal and grow in unthinkable ways.  

My take aways from the weekend were literally an Anchor bag...meaning a bag with Anchors on it.  We had a running joke about bags we'd be bringing...heavy because they felt like they held anchors.  One of our tribe made sure we all actually had these bags for our next trip. Another in our tribe gave us all necklaces with words that reminded her of each of us stamped onto a key.  Together we are Belief, Fearless, Inspire(ing), have Faith, Strength and Hope. That sums us up nicely.  I think her word might be Joy.  While she is certainly beautiful on the outside, her inside Joy simply radiates.  

In the end, we all know We've Gotta Friend....or two, or seven.  

*****

Additional thoughts: 

My weekend away happened a month ago, but more recently I have been questioning what makes a friendship weather the test of time, how long one needs to know someone before they can truly call them a friend, and at what point does one earn the title of friend?  

I don't believe we can have too many friends in this life, and I think friendship becomes undefinable when you are at your lowest point and these people whom you call friend step up and go above and beyond what you would have expected.  One of those times for me was when I was dealing with my mom's terminal illness, and my friends stepped up to nurture my soul.  Then, I had times when I thought my life might end because I was dealing with a divorce, and friends stepped up once again and loved me despite that, encouraging me to push on, telling me I was strong and brave and capable and beautiful and that everything was going to be all right.  And accomplishments...friends celebrate big and little accomplishments, too.  

I have watched friends lose those they love, and have known others who have traveled great distances just to hold a hand and be an ear.  I know others who right this minute are sitting by bedsides in hospice care, so death doesn't happen alone for their friends.  Truly these friendships are signs from above that we can and should care for one another, and that it's easy to do!

Friends are not just people who share the fun times in our lives.  Friends are there for the dark times too, and they stand with you, no matter what. 

Wouldn't the world be a nicer place if we could all be kind to one another like we are to our best of friends?    

~Lisa Kroll
     Friend, Member of the Class of '82, Hope, Love Warrior
   

Blogging Music:  Carole King - Tapestry (1971) 

additional pictures from Ferris Bueller's Weekend Off: 

Magnificent Mile from our Suite View

Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago from our Suite View

In the morning, Suite View looking out the other window...Lake Michigan

When someone has a selfie stick and says...smile!

...and smile!

...and smile!  

...and just after I said smile...they thought I was done! lol
Please know, they actually ASK me to get out the selfie stick!
No one wants to own one, but everyone is happy they know someone who does!  

Chicago River with a little ice

We all recall having a Social Studies book in high school
that stated you could see Lake Michigan
from every room in these towers.
We all wondered if that's really true.  

I love these lines against the blue sky! 

Sitting on a stone, only evidence from the Women's March that we saw. 

Ed in Indy... September 8, 2017

"Do I love you? Do I hate you?  I can't make up my mind. 

So, let's free fall and see where we land."

     ~Ed Sheeran, Where We Land,  
                 from the album 5 (2009)

Ed, I love you!  

I don’t have the words to describe how wonderful it was to hear Ed Sheeran live for a second time.  

THIS time I was prepared.  

I knew his tour playlist. Well, I knew the general playlist, and I do know all the words to all his songs, so I was good to go.   

In March, I had an opportunity to buy tickets to his current Divide Tour,  and he would be playing in Indianapolis.  I was lucky enough to purchase two tickets on the floor. Row 19…hmm, for my first concert of his I was in row 10…clearly, I was feeling snobbish.  What was I thinking!? This time, I would be taking my sister! I would still be close to Ed.  His energy, and positivity would reach me.  

I had foolishly hoped to buy four decent seats at Ticketmaster prices, but I wasn’t willing to settle for seats that would give us “just the experience”.  I experienced that once when I saw Genesis in concert.  I’m not even sure they were really in the same arena we were in that night.  So, go big or go home.  I went big.  

My sister had a birthday in June, and guess what I gave her?  She needed to be my date for this concert.  She needed to be with me because, years before she had been the one who introduced me to Ed. "You should listen to this guy" she said. "He has this song called Lego Houses.  I really think you'd like it." I have to admit, I was too busy to take a even a few minutes to listen to her suggestion.  I was deep into student teaching at that time.  

Six months later however, a guy I was dating played some Ed for me.  This guy had a guitar and he actually PLAYED, and sang to me.  I was smitten!  Not by that guy, but by the music.  The words and melody captured my heart.  I HAD to find out about this young artist.  It was mid-June, and my divorce had just been finalized.  I was suddenly very free, and I was obsessed with a new artist.  Two CD's purchased, my detective hat askew, and I was finding out all I could about the wordsmith who created the poetic songs I was now in love with.  I talked to my sister on the phone one day, “Hey, there’s this singer I'm in love with, and I don't mean like I’m in love with him, he's like 24 and that’s gross, I'm in love with his personality, with his drive, with his word choice, and rhythm, and language. His music is intoxicating! Have you heard of Ed Sheeran?" I'm sure if she was with me face-to-face, her look would have been one of her shaking her head at me while she had that 'I-told-you-so' look in her eyes. I suspect she was rolling her eyes at the heavens as she patiently responded, "Yes (long pause) I told you about him months ago.  He has this song called Lego Houses, remember?" As a Lego lover, I did kind of remember that song name now that she mentioned it.  As a Harry Potter fan though, I also recalled my sister telling me this singer looked a bit like Ron Wesley in the Harry Potter movies. Which I suppose he does.  lol It’s funny how and what our brains choose to recall, and when.  

Well, in my obsession, I realized that just a few weeks later (7-7-15), Ed Sheeran would be playing in Indy, just over an hour from my house.  I asked the guy I was dating if he wanted to go see Ed. He was a fan, too.  He hemmed and hawed, but was noncommittal.  I was all in.  If I was going to this concert, I was going to spend a little money and REALLY see this guy.  I found two tickets close to the stage.  They cost $400, a piece.  This guy I was dating could afford it, but he had excuses.  I wasn't asking him to buy my ticket, just go to the concert with me.  He wouldn't pull the trigger.  I gave him an ultimatum...let me know by a certain time, or I’d buy myself a ticket and go alone.  He didn't respond, so I bought myself a ticket.  Go big, or go home.  I went big.  

Two weeks later, I drove myself north to attend my first rock concert, alone.  My seat was in row 10, dead center.  It was A! MAZE! ING!  I was in awe of the young performer before me.  One guy on stage, making magic happen.  He worked his loop pedal and recreated the tracks I had purchased.  I couldn’t get enough.  

As many others, I became an instant Sheerio.  That’s what Ed Sheeran fans are called.  After the concert, I made sure my music library included all the songs he has recorded.  NOT every song he’s ever written, this guy is a prolific writer.  I just want to own everything he’s recorded.  I check periodically to make sure my library is still up to date.  I believe in buying CD's to support artists, so what ever I can get a disc, I do.  Ed likes to keep things simple and digital.  

I follow Ed on Twitter, and Instagram to see what is happening in his life.  I know he doesn’t manage his official sites, but still, I love feeling in the loop.  I can’t imagine having my life in the limelight as celebrities do.  Yet, I willingly follow him, always wanting to know what he's creating.  There are a lot of wanna bees in the world, but Ed Sheeran is the real deal.  I knew from the moment I truly listened to him that his talent puts him in the same league as Michael Jackson, Elton John, Prince, George Michael, etc.  He IS a big deal.  I hope he’s around for a long, long time.  I love his positive energy and I think the world needs what he has to offer.  

So, in March…I had an opportunity to buy tickets.  This time I wanted my sister to share this with me.  I persevered, and found two seats on the floor, pretty close to the stage.  I pulled the trigger.  Sold.  Next, we just had to wait for September 8 to arrive.  

The next six months allowed me to do even more research.  What would the playlist be?  Who would be the opener?  Did I really own all Ed’s music?  Did I know all the words to his songs?  I’m pretty sure that if Berlioz and Toulouse could talk, they’d be able to sing along with Ed, too!

When September 8th arrived, I couldn’t believe it.  The day didn’t feel real to me.  I took my first personal day, and left school at noon to head north to Indianapolis.  My sister arrived a few hours later.  We haven’t spent any real alone, sister time together, since I turned 50 back in 2014.  We have stolen away a few hours here and there, but just a few hours.  We needed this weekend.  We walked to the venue, stopping for a drink and an appetizer.  Then it was time to go see Ed!  

When I saw Ed the first time, I knew Rixton was opening for him. I educated myself with their most popular songs.  This time I hadn’t been paying attention to opener James Blunt.  I found out that Ed and he were friends and not surprising, Ed has written several of his songs, too.  I was surprised when Joshua Radin came on stage.  I am not familiar with him, but he was a nice opener for the evening.  Apparently Blunt was sick.  I didn’t really care.  Sorry for the lack of love James, but I was there to sing with Ed.  

I apologized to the people sitting next to me.  “Im sorry.  I will be singing every single song tonight, and I’m not a professional singer!”  

They laughed.  “That’s fine.” They approved.  It mattered not, I was going to sing even if they didn’t.  My sister had been warned months ago.    

In my research, I found a YouTube of Ed singing a song that he’d be singing live…Feeling Good, by Nina Simone.  Last spring I took a history of Jazz class, and this song and artist fell right into that genre. How cool!  Nina started her recording career in 1958.  She was the daughter of a female Methodist minister.  She was also a civil rights activist as well as recording artist.  I was excited to be able to hear Ed singing her song live.  I knew he’d be fusing it with his song I See Fire.  He was commissioned to write that song for the movie The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013). The songs are opposite in mood and message, but melodically they work well together.  I was ecstatic to have my new phone fully charged, and with loads of memory, in my hand.  To see Ed singing Feeling Good/I See Fire in Indy on September 8, click here.  

With my Anna! 

I took photo after photo of Ed, and longed to have my big camera with us.  In the end, it didn’t really matter.  I was in the moment; going big.  I was with my sister, singing with Ed, and having the time of my life.  

I was feeling good.  

The next time I see Ed, I'd like to hear him singing unplugged, and in a small, intimate venue.  I want to hear him sing all his early songs I love from the album 5...Sunburn, So, Be Like You, Firefly, The City, Let It Out, Homeless, Where We Land, Wake Me Up...Oh my, I want it all.  I want to go big!

~Lisa Kroll
     hopelessly romantic, music junkie, Sheerio

Cell phone concert pictures: 

September 8, 2017

Bankers Life Field House

Indianapolis, IN 

Ed Sheeran

From row 19