My middle name is Lee. I got the name, best I can tell, from my maternal great grandfather. I think his middle name was Leroy. I’m glad my parents shortened it to the more modern middle name of Lee.
I learned today that at least one person, a teacher’s assistant, thinks I do a good job in working with the younger elementary grades. I substituted today in a first grade class and had a good experience. I’ve worked with this particular group of children before and that certainly helps. I normally just like to work with the older elementary students, so it was good to hear someone who would know say that I was doing a good job. – David Lee
I’m taking the season of Lent to take a break from all social media. The first two days have been relatively easy, but I’ve caught myself going through some of the same motions as before….
Wednesday, March 5th was my first day away from social media. It also happened to be the only day this work week I didn’t have a substitute teaching assignment. To make things even more interesting, we had rain most all of the first hours of daylight and I had to find things to do to stay away from my tendency to look on social media.
In the morning hours, I started a new routine with several devotional books. One of the books, Streams in the Desert, is an old favorite. In addition to reading entries each day, I make notes in my journal. Another book is one that allows me to see daily readings on letting go of attachments. I also made notes from this book. I also continued playing four online games using the New York Times website, although I wasn’t able to post my daily results to my Facebook page as I would normally do. I have started posting the results here on my WordPress page each day.
At several points during that first day, I caught myself looking on my phone and came to the quick realization that there wasn’t much there for me to look at. Facebook, SnapChat, Instagram, and TicToc apps had been uninstalled from my phone and FB Messenger as well. I didn’t find myself looking at my phone as much on day two because I had a fourth grade substitute teaching assignment and had to direct most of my attention to that task. I do usually post at least one picture with each substitute assignment and I had to remind myself I wouldn’t be doing that.
The fact I’ve taken this same hiatus from social media for several years now makes the whole process a whole lot easier. I do miss catching up on the comings and goings around town and seeing what others are up to, but that’s one of the likable assets of social media that I know I’ll have to do without.
Day three is nearly half done and I haven’t been tempted as many times today. And as I have found in previous sabbaticals away from social media, I know it gets easier in the days and weeks to come.
Such is the nature of the beast…
David Lee
Wordle 1356 3/6
🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Strands #368
“Love is in the apps”
🔵🔵💡🔵
🟡🔵🔵🔵
🔵
Wordle 1355 4/6
⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Strands #367
“Ahoy!”
🔵🔵🔵🔵
🟡🔵
It would be nearly impossible to list just one. In the colder months, it’s definitely coffee….To be specific, sugar-free vanilla or pistachio latte, breve, with whipped cream……In the warmer months, I gravitate towards either diet Sundrip or Mt. Dew….either one will work.
And truth be told, I’d drink all three, given the chance, any time of year.
David Lee
Once again this year, I’ll be taking a leave of absence from all social media during the season of Lent. The time period is officially Wed, Mar 5, 2025 – Thu, Apr 17, 2025, but I always extend it until the morning of Easter Sunday, which will be April 20th. I’ve taken this sabbatical for the past several years and while it’s difficult to adjust to at first, it gets easier as time goes by.
There are a lot of benefits to being a part of social media. I have developed friendships with quite a few folks, including some who live quite a distance away that I’m fairly sure I’ll never actually meet. There are those “actual friends” as well that I am able to keep up with and see what’s going on in each of their lives and that will be something I miss.
I enjoy sharing my daily readings each day and I’m once again planning on leaving links to the website that those can be accessed for those still wanting the daily reads. I will truly miss posting my daily “punnies.” Of all the things I post each day on Facebook, those are the ones that people seem to enjoy the most.
There are those parts of social media that I won’t tend to miss as much. Of course the multiple ads that I see each day will be one of the things it’s not difficult to live without. I also won’t miss the sometimes-constant talk of politics that seems so divisive with folks these days. This part of social media I will not miss.
When I’ve taken some time away from social media before, it’s difficult at first, but gets easier with time. The big question always comes when Easter Sunday arrives and it’s time to return and I question whether or not I really want to do that. It’s a thought-provoking question that happens every single time.
We shall see….
David Lee
Nearly two months ago, I had my remaining teeth removed and immediate dentures put in their place. The journey has been anything but easy and definitely life-changing. As time goes on, I’m getting more used to having them and eating is not the chore it once was. Lessons definitely have been learned and I think I’m finished with the most difficult days.
Several things come to mind when I share my thoughts on this journey. The first is that no one could be prepared for the changes that getting dentures will bring about. I took so many things for granted when I had my own teeth. Getting dentures definitely changes the whole process of eating food. I’ve lost nearly twenty pounds since the beginning of this journey. Your taste receptors are definitely different and food doesn’t taste almost as good as it once did.
I have gradually gotten back to eating some foods I enjoyed before denture placement. Sandwiches have been especially challenging. I have found it’s difficult to use my front teeth to break the bread into pieces. But as we say, practice makes perfect and I am getting better. I did eat a pork chop one evening and I found that I have to cut the meat into small pieces before putting it in my mouth. I have as of yet to eat a steak,,,maybe one day soon.
One of the biggest differences in eating meals after having dentures installed is that eating meals is now really a chore! I have to focus more on each bite of food that I put into my mouth. Since the dentures contain teeth that aren’t connected to my body’s nervous system, I have to focus more on each bite. I don’t eat nearly the volume of food that I used to, which at least in part is responsible for my weight loss.
I have also found that I pay a whole lot more attention to other people’s teeth. I’ve noticed quite a few that are missing several teeth and wonder if they’ll be facing that same denture placement decision that I did. I also notice older folks who have their own beautiful, natural teeth and find myself being somewhat jealous. I only wish that I had taken better care of the teeth I had. It’s certainly true in life sometimes you don’t realize how much something means until it’s no longer there. Such has been the case in this dental journey.
It’s been five weeks since I’ve gotten a full set of dentures and I’m beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve been able to eat some of the heartier foods that I actually enjoy and even though there are still challenges, it’s at least getting better.
One of the challenges of getting new dentures is learning to eat all over again. It’s quite different using prosthetic teeth that aren’t your own. Since there are no nerves and the teeth aren’t physically your own, it’s a whole different feeling when you bite and chew on food. I’ve gradually started working my way back to some of the foods I previously enjoyed eating.
After watching a YouTube video of a denture wearer eating a hamburger, I thought it would be worth a try. I got two plain cheeseburgers at the local fast food joint and separated them into small bites that I thought I could handle. Although there was some slippage on my bottom set of dentures, I claimed it was a success overall.
I have gotten brave and since those first two burgers have eaten some foods I formerly was intimidated to eat. I got broiled flounder at a fish camp, as well as a sweet potato and had success with those. I went to the local grill and had both a chicken salad sandwich and egg salad sandwich and at those with no issues. I also tried a piece of pizza and although they were out of anchovies, I was able to eat everything but the crunchy crust without any issues. I felt like I was making great progress.
When I’m substitute teaching, the cafeteria almost always has crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and although they’re very soft, the peanut butter does tend to want to stick to my top set of dentures. I’ve had chopped BBQ and a livermush sandwich as well.
It’s still a real chore to eat any food in a usual quantity. It’s a real chore to eat the foods I’ve listed above and several times have had more leftovers than I would normally have. I also have made note of the fact the foods aren’t quite as flavorful, but that’s still a work in progress.
I’m pleased that I’ve been able to return to some of my favorite foods and look forward to trying out even more. Perhaps one day soon, I’ll be able to sink my teeth into a juicy steak. Patient progress, not perfection!
It’s been five weeks since I’ve gotten a full set of dentures and I’m beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve been able to eat some of the heartier foods that I actually enjoy and even though there are still challenges, it’s at least getting better.
One of the challenges of getting new dentures is learning to eat all over again. It’s quite different using prosthetic teeth that aren’t your own. Since there are no nerves and the teeth aren’t physically your own, it’s a whole different feeling when you bite and chew on food. I’ve gradually started working my way back to some of the foods I previously enjoyed eating.
After watching a YouTube video of a denture wearer eating a hamburger, I thought it would be worth a try. I got two plain cheeseburgers at the local fast food joint and separated them into small bites that I thought I could handle. Although there was some slippage on my bottom set of dentures, I claimed it was a success overall.
I have gotten brave and since those first two burgers have eaten some foods I formerly was intimidated to eat. I got broiled flounder at a fish camp, as well as a sweet potato and had success with those. I went to the local grill and had both a chicken salad sandwich and egg salad sandwich and at those with no issues. I also tried a piece of pizza and although they were out of anchovies, I was able to eat everything but the crunchy crust without any issues. I felt like I was making great progress.
When I’m substitute teaching, the cafeteria almost always has crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and although they’re very soft, the peanut butter does tend to want to stick to my top set of dentures. I’ve had chopped BBQ and a livermush sandwich as well.
It’s still a real chore to eat any food in a usual quantity. It’s a real chore to eat the foods I’ve listed above and several times have had more leftovers than I would normally have. I also have made note of the fact the foods aren’t quite as flavorful, but that’s still a work in progress.
I’m pleased that I’ve been able to return to some of my favorite foods and look forward to trying out even more. Perhaps one day soon, I’ll be able to sink my teeth into a juicy steak. Patient progress, not perfection!
David Lee 