WARNING

Over the past couple of years, my husband and I have been watching all of the different Star Trek series season by season. We’ve already watched Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and we are nearly finished with Voyager. Since we have been home for the break, we’ve watched quite a bit more than usual, probably several seasons worth of Voyager in fact. During a recent outburst in which I tried to warn the television characters about the danger of disrupting the space time continuum, my husband pronounced me a genuine Trekkie. I insisted that he was wrong as I’m not one of those Klingon speaking, pointy ear wearing, weirdoes who goes costumed to those crazy conventions. I have to admit though that I might actually be displaying some troubling signs of Trekkie freakishness.

You might have inadvertently become a Trekkie if…

1. The paradox of disrupting the space time continuum no longer seem so complex…they actually make some sense.


2. You think it’s cool to have your picture taken with a Ferengi in Vegas.


3. You have a healthy appreciation of the Prime Directive.


4. You sometimes want to scrap the Prime Directive.


5. You are familiar with the many lives of Dax.


6. You occasionally have to step back from your irrational anger toward the arrogant Captain Janeway.


7. You say things like, “Make it so,” or “Indeed”, or even “You must comply”.


8. You can spot returning actors even if they play an entirely new alien and look nothing like their former role.


9. You can quote the Rules of Acquisition.


10. Someone makes you mad and you call them a “pahtk”.
    

Unfortunately, the fact that a person could even make a list like this might suggest some Trekkish tendencies. And just so you know, if you understand even three or four on the list, you might be in danger yourself.

Red Sock Generosity

I just want to take a minute to brag on my school. When we opened five years ago, we turned the names of a few kids in for Christmas gifts from a local charity. We were glad to do that, but we began to think that maybe we could do something more. A colleague told me about her gift closet that she keeps at her house year round. Basically, as she is out and about doing normal holiday, birthday, or bargain shopping, she picks up extra items that are such great deals it’s silly not to buy them. She gets things that would be appropriate for colleagues, friends, and her kid’s friends. Then when a gift item is needed, she can just pull something from her gift closet. It ends up saving her time and money in the long run. I thought that was ingenious and began a gift closet of my own for students at school. Several people got on that band wagon, and we started adding to the gifts of our needy kids.

We knew that the kids we were helping only represented a portion of the needy kids in our school. So, the other counselor at my school streamlined our information gathering process in an effort to serve even more of our kids and their families. She also pitched the idea for a fund that would augment our gift closets. Because our mascot is the Gladiator, she called it the Gladiangel fund. We held $1 hat days, in order to get it going.

Needless to say, this project has grown a little every year. After the first couple of years, we began adding an outfit and a gift item for all of the kids whose names we continued to turn in to the local Christmas charity; this made a total of three gifts that they would receive. Additionally, the ones that came from us were only labeled with the child’s name. That way, it could be from Santa or the parents.

The number of families asking for help continued to grow, so we began asking teachers or teams of teachers to take on families. Their response was overwhelming. Not only did some of our teachers take families, they started asking for help from their Sunday school classes, small groups, and generous family members. (It is, of course, all kept anonymous - both the givers and receivers.)

This year we served more families than ever, over 35. That translates to approximately 120 kids, and probably 5-10 thousand dollars. During the week that parents picked up gifts, I was met with tears and called Jesus, Santa, an angel, and told “God bless you” countless times. One mother came with a tube connected to her body because she had a hysterectomy that went poorly last month; she was still waiting to be stitched up. Another mother came from the hospital on her way home from having a baby. Another mother came from work, not knowing which relatives were going to let them stay the night that day. Another family continues to heat their home with a home made fireplace in an oil drum with makeshift venting out a window.

Though we served more than ever this year, I know that it still only represents a fraction of the need. I was completely humbled to look into the eyes of that need and realize how extravagantly rich I am in comparison.

May God bless all of those families in need as well as all of those who showed red sock generosity to help them.

Long Time No Post

It's been a while, so I'll just give a brief rundown of recent events.

Thanksgiving was great. My brother and nephews came in for several days. I made their favorites-mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, and monkey bread to name a few. We had special bonding time over a long lunch at Gatti's, with lots of tokens to spend, and then caught Fred Clause (which I highly recommend). We played Lights Off Golf, went to Jump 'n Jive, and the park. It was great fun. I just love getting to be the cool aunt.

The next week, I went to Austin with a good friend to attend the Assessment Conference. The conference was good, but the company was better. On one day, after our sessions were over, we headed to a fantastic mall and did a ton of Christmas shopping. I discovered the pinkest girliest store I've ever encountered called Libby Lu's. Perfect for all of my nieces.

The much anticipated 2008 District and Campus Testing Coordinator Manual arrived, and I've been busy reading, highlighting, and tabbing for an exciting new year of testing. OK, mostly I'm being sarcastic, but I have to admit there is the tiniest part of me that actually enjoys reading this stuff. Don't worry, I'm going to seek counseling.

I've been very busy being Santa's helper at my school; more to follow later on this one.

This past weekend, we went to Sudan for Click Christmas. My husband and I invited ourselves out a day early for a little extra visiting. We arrived hours before several inches of snow fell. It was beautiful. We had a nice visit with family and got some nice gifts. I especially enjoyed the impromptu piano recital from my niece and getting to do the honors of tucking her in for bed.

I am truly looking forward to a lazy Christmas break. For the first time since we've been married, we are neither going anywhere nor having anyone here for Christmas. We are not boycotting events or anything so dramatic, it just happened to work out this way. I'm envisioning movie watching, book reading, scrap booking, crocheting, sleeping in, drinking hot chocolate, and other such deliciously leisurely activities.

May all of your holidays be as sweet.

Purely By Chance

Evidence speaks loud
Momma bear speaks louder
Watch the teeth.

Motivation and opportunity?
No matter.
Coincidence.

Consequences?
Not for Precious.
Victim of circumstance.

Apple...tree
Running free
Here's your sign.

Someone Who Made A Difference

I spent three days last week at the Texas Counseling Association Conference in Corpus. Overall, the conference wasn't that great, but it was a nice getaway and relaxing time of sharing and collaborating with some fellow counselors from my district.

There was one really cool thing that happened though. On Thursday morning, I was standing in line for some much desired mocha cappuccino, when a woman walked up to check out the wait time. I glimpsed her out of the corner of my eye and felt a glimmer of recognition. When I turned back to look at her more closely, I saw that she was studying me too.

When I glanced at her name badge, it hit me. It was Mrs. Coon, my high school counselor. She recognized me at about the same time and even remembered my name (without the benefit of the goofy name badge I refused to wear.) I gave her a big hug and we had a nice little visit.

Before I let her walk away, I asked her if she knew that she was one of the reasons I wanted to be a school counselor. She tried to shrug off the compliment, but it's true. She was the counselor for my brother who is four years older than me and was there for him when my dad was so sick with leukemia. She used to let him come to her office to call him in the hospital.

When my dad died right before my sophomore year, she was my counselor. I didn't actually go talk to her much, but I always knew she was there. I think she came to the funeral. She always said hello to me in the hall; I think she was watching out for me the way I do some of my kids. She was never pushy, but always available, a gentle and reassuring presence.

She has been in education for forty years and still loves it. I'm glad I got to tell her what a difference she made to me.

What Happens In Vegas...

Wow. We've been back over a week, and I'm just now getting around to telling you about it. Actually, I turned around and left town again on Wednesday to go to the Texas Counseling Association conference in Corpus Christi. More on that later.

I couldn't possibly tell you everything we did in Vegas, but it was probably the best vacation of my life. Truly. So here were a few of our favorite things...

• Penn & Teller - smart, funny show...took pics with them and got autographs after the show
• Spamalot - laughed so hard our sides ached
• Zumanity - wow, not for the faint of heart...wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but we enjoyed it (Cirque show)
• Blue Man Group - excellent, smart show, loved the audience participation...took pics with one blue guy afterward
• Star Wars experience - cool
• Quark's - good food and had photo op with a Farenge (no idea on spelling)
• Hoover Dam Tour - great guide, imagined fighting the Deceptacons, worth every dam penny
• ATV/Valley of Fire Tour - 4-wheelers in the sand...what more can I say
• Ferrari dealership in Wynn - dreaming big
• Race Car Driving School - dream come true
• Day at the spa - wow, heavenly
• Fremont Street Experience on Halloween- Vegas at a slower pace and where you can actually win once in a while
• Auto Collection at the Imperial - are you seeing a theme here?
• Jimmy Buffet's restaurant Margaritaville for my birthday
• M&M store - who would have thought you could fill 4 floors with M&M paraphernalia?

As you can see, we did a ton of stuff and had an awesome time. You'll have to check out the scrapbook some day.

Blessings

Recently, I've been extremely frustrated with several aspects of my job. So much so that when my husband asks me how my day is, my answer is often on the continuum of yuckiness rather than good and bad...i.e. was today more or less yucky than yesterday, rather than was it good or bad. I've decided that an attitude adjustment might be in order in the form of counting my blessings. So, here are a few (in no particular order):

• As unworthy as I am, I've been saved by the blood of my loving Savior.
• I have a caring mother who loves me just the way I am and ALWAYS has time to listen.
• I have amazing siblings I admire (and maybe even idolize just a little.)
• Without naming them all, let's just say I have wonderful family.
• I have an amazing husband I love more each day...I could do a whole blog on all of the ways he blesses me.
• I'm about to take an awesome vacation.
• We can afford to take a vacation.
• Even though we are currently without a church home, we have the freedom to choose one.
• There are many people in my life I call "friend".
• I am forgiven daily.
• I have several extra special friends who are also such blessings I could make a whole list just for them.
• I have a good job.
• I respect most of the people I work with.
• I have a home, car, and pretty much all the physical things I need.
• I make a difference to kids daily.
• I helped several kids just today.
• I had the benefit of an outstanding father for 15 years, way more than many people, including some of my kids.
• I have a great dog who meets me at the gate for a kiss when I get home every day.
• I have some new tennis shoes that make me feel like I'm walking on clouds.
• They are so good, I bought them in two colors with my husband's blessing!
• Grace.
• Nieces and nephews.
• Good health.

The list could go forever. The point is I have way more to be thankful for than to gripe about. I'm going to try to count my blessings more often.

Getting Ready

In celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary, which was in August, my husband and I are getting ready to go on a week long vacation to Vegas . Yes, that's right...an entire week. I'm taking an unprecedented six days off of work. At the beginning of the year, I felt some guilt about that. Now, well, I wouldn't want the place to burn down or anything while I'm gone, but...there will be no looking back.

But before we go, here are some things that have to get done:
1. Laundry
2. Ironing...yes I know it will get wrinkled in the suitcase.
3. Clean the house...my husband does not really understand my compulsion to clean like a
maniac before leaving, but he has come to accept it as normal.
4. Grocery shopping...light on the groceries, heavy on travel necessities.
5. Arrange a dog sitter.
6. Leave notes for the other counselor.
7. Pack.
8. Arrange transportation to the airport.
9. Finish travel notebook complete with itinerary, lodging reservation, maps, show/ticket
info., race car driving school reservation, spa reservation, etc. (My friends are a little
frightened by my travel notebook. I think they are just jealous.)
10. Call in "sick".

Needless to say, it's going to be a hectic week. But all will be worth it when we head to the airport. Even the wait in the airport will be vacation as I crack open a fresh new book to read. I can hardly wait!

Grocery Shopping

As a general rule, I really dislike grocery shopping. Because it isn't just shopping. First, you have to plan your meals for the week, then check on ingredient availability, and finally make time to battle the crowds and do the actual shopping.

I have several techniques I use in order to make the experience as painless as possible, but it is still just one of those things that has to be done. For example, I usually write my grocery list in the order that I walk through the store. This helps to cut down on backtracking. Until recently, I always went to the store on Monday afternoons on my way home from school. Because once I get home, I make a beeline for the pajamas and have no plans of going back out.

The last several weeks have been off because my husband has offered to go with me on Sunday afternoon. Well, when the husband offers to help with grocery shopping, I for one do not turn him down. It just makes the whole experience more pleasant. He typically keeps me laughing for most of the trip with his silly antics.

On one of our recent shopping excursions, he pointed out that the path I take through Wal-Mart is not really the most efficient. After giving it some thought, I realized he was right. So today, as I planned my grocery list, I wrote it with the new path in mind. And lo, it was a complete success. I must have shaved ten minutes off my shopping time. OK, it may not have been that many, but it definitely felt faster.

Occasionally the monotony of shopping is broken by some weird random thing that happens. Today was one of those days. A very disturbing thing happened as I was loading my groceries into my car.

Another car pulls in to the parking place behind mine with music blasting. All I could hear of the lyrics was one word over and over, "Suicide, suicide, suicide." I think it was the chorus of the song.

Just as I was thinking about what a terrible statement the song is about our society, the unthinkable happened. A grown woman and a little girl, about 3 or 4 years old, get out of the car, and I hear the little girl singing, "suicide, suicide, suicide." The woman asks her, "Do you like that song sweety?" What? Did I hear her right?

What in the world is that lady thinking? It made me want to call CPS. Isn't that abuse or neglect or something? Maybe I missed something in the song. Maybe the words just before were, "Don't commit..."? Yeah, maybe that's it. Because surely no one would expose a little girl to that kind of disturbing, destructive, and distinctly adult lyric. Right?

Enthusiasm Socks

Several have asked about “Enthusiasm Socks.” The following is a copy of my notes for a presentation I made at my school at the beginning of this school year. It is the true story of the enthusiasm socks and the challenge of wearing them. (And you are getting the school version because it was easier than rewriting the whole thing...pretend you're a teacher.)

My dad was a pretty amazing man. Growing up I thought he hung the moon. As an adult, I discovered that he wasn’t perfect after all, but rather than diminishing my appreciation of him, it caused me to respect him all the more. I’d like to share with you one of my “dad stories” that has become a particularly powerful legacy in my family.

Dad was a math teacher and a basketball coach for years. He loved his players and was concerned with their attitude and performance both on and off the court. Of course he preached “Attitude is everything!” at home too. I remember comments like, “If you’ve got a job to do, do it right the first time,” and during his battle with Leukemia his motto was “PMA – Positive Mental Attitude.”

One year, in an effort to promote the right attitude with his basketball players, he started wearing these bright, obnoxious red socks on game days. He called them his “enthusiasm socks”. It didn’t matter what else he might be wearing or whether or not they matched. On game days, he wore his red enthusiasm socks.

The idea caught on, and soon his players were dressing up and wearing bright red enthusiasm socks on game days too. It was a small way to get pumped up for the big games and a reminder to approach the game with enthusiasm, hard work, and a great attitude. And it worked.

It was such a small thing to do, but it obviously made an impression on his players. One group of his girl’s varsity players even presented him with a teddy bear complete with enthusiasm socks at the end of the school year.

When my dad lost his battle with cancer, I was fifteen. My mom wanted my three brothers and I to have something of Dad’s that had special meaning to each of us, and the two things I really, really wanted were his teddy bear and enthusiasm socks.
But that is not the end of the enthusiasm sock story.

One of the first things I had to work out in my mind after Dad died was who would walk me down the aisle when I got married. The week after he died that was really on my mind. I might have only been fifteen, but it was important for me to get that worked out. Actually, I had always wanted my dad to do two important things, baptize me and marry me. He did baptize me, but he wasn’t going to be able to marry me or even walk me down the aisle. So, I had to have a plan.

Because I had two older brothers whom I idolized, it was a pretty difficult decision. But sometime during that week I decided that the solution was to have them both walk with me, one on either side. I even decided that when the preacher asked who would be giving the bride away, my oldest brother should say, “her mother and we do.”

On the day of my wedding, as planned, many years earlier, my two older brothers waited with me in the back of the church. While the bridesmaids were walking in, my brothers pulled me to the side for a little last second chat. They began to tell me how proud of me they were and how happy they were for Newton and me. They new it was an extremely special day for me and they were very enthusiastic to be a part of it. In fact, they said, they were so enthusiastic about it that they couldn’t keep it inside and just had to show it in some way. At that point, they each lifted their tuxedo pants leg and revealed their bright, obnoxious red enthusiasm socks. It was pretty precious.

Last year, on Wednesday, April 18, I got an email from my second oldest brother, Richard. Some of you may not recognize the significance of that date, but it was a pretty big day for me. It was the biggest day of testing on our campus. We were giving the 6th grade reading test, 5th grade reading retest, and all of SDAA reading. It also happened to be the day that we had a minor, but very frustrating, incident. Needless to say, it was not a particularly good day, nor one that I was terribly enthusiastic about.

This is what my brother had written:

I have been working a lot of hours over the last couple of weeks. I worked last night until midnight, didn’t get to sleep until after 1am, and then was called this morning for a production support issue @ 6:30.

I got up, and got ready.

As I was considering what socks to where, I pulled a particular sock out of my drawer. It had been separated from its match, so I began a search for its mate.

I got to thinking, I don’t remember how many times I have worn this pair of socks…maybe only a handful. I began to think about the inspiration for the socks, and thought, in spite of everything going on at work, I was going to wear them, and have a great day!

If you don’t know by now, I will tell you. I chose a red pair of socks today.

Have a great, enthusiastic day!

Love you all,
Richard

The weight of his words hit me like a ton of bricks, for several reasons. One, I was absolutely blown away by the timing of his letter. He doesn’t write very often, and for it to come on that day of all days, just when I really needed it the most, was a pretty awesome work of God in my opinion.

But even more than that, I think it was the first time I fully understood the lesson of the enthusiasm socks. It wasn’t just about wearing some goofy socks to get ready for a big game or day. It was about making a choice. Every time Dad put those ridiculous socks on, he was choosing to approach his day with enthusiasm and with joy. Richard got it.

We face a lot of challenges this year. We’ve lost important positions, we have lots of new people, all of our kids will take TAKS, and that doesn’t even cover all of the things that may be going on in your life outside of here. Over the course of this next year, we are going to have a lot of difficult days. In Max Lucado’s book titled Every Day Deserves A Chance, he talks about those days.

He says, “There are days when traffic snarls, airports close, friends forget, and spouses complain. Days full of deadlines, long lines, receding hairlines, luggage-losing airlines, nauseating pickup lines, wrinkle lines, unemployment lines, and those ever-elusive bottom lines. And let’s not forget divorce days, final exam days, surgery days, tax days, and days when the cemetery dirt is still fresh.” But “this is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

This day. Not just wedding days, super-sale Saturdays, vacation days, or first days of hunting season. But, back to school days, observation days, staff development days, he’s coming back from DAEP days, and even TAKS days.

Every day, we have the opportunity to decide on our attitude. Your administrative team has decided that we are going to commit to approaching all of our days with enthusiasm. And on those particularly daunting days, we are going to wear our enthusiasm socks as a symbol of our attitude choice. We may not all wear our enthusiasm socks on the same days because each day is different to each person. But on days when we need a little extra help getting motivated and being joyful we are going to wear our enthusiasm socks. And I personally have taken Dad’s socks out of the drawer in order to continue his legacy of enthusiasm.


So that’s what I said. Then I gave them all some obnoxiously red socks. And I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see them wearing them at school. I think the world would be a much better place if we all wore enthusiasm like socks. I’m going to give it a shot.

A Bright Spot

Today was just one of those days. First of all, as my school's testing coordinater, I had to coordinate (thus the title) our field testing for the newest version of state testing torture. And since it is a new test, I decided that I should be one of the test administrators so that I would understand better how this one will work and therefore be able to train future test administrators more knowledgably. Since only two small groups needed to take the test, there were only two test administrators. Simple. Right?

So we gather the kids, give them the talk about how they "get" to help the state decide if this is a good test or not, and then move on to our testing rooms where we try to further persuade them that they should do their best even though it doesn't count for anything. Well, I'm not allowed to discuss anything about the test, unless I want to lose my license and therefore my livelihood, I can only say that it was a disturbing experience on many levels. (And I feel sure that my constant hacking and coughing was not a disruption to the environment.)

Thirty minutes into the test, my principal walks in with a stack of tests and a terrified look on his face. (In case big brother is reading, he has been duly trained with oath signed, so it was ok for him to come in.) He informs me that the other test administrator has had to ride in an ambulance to the hospital with one of our other students (not one of the testers). Good grief. Testing coordinator's nightmare come true. I'm happy to report that I was able to get that situation resolved and get my kids tested and get ready for tomorrow's test, but wow. Insanity.

As I'm heading out of the building (with all tests locked up and secure), I decide that those twenty-seven people who told me that I should go to the doctor might be on to something. So I head to the after hours clinic...you know, the one where you wait for five hours with a roomful of hacking, coughing, snorting, spewing, sick people. I sign in and find a place to sit that is near a kleenex box and facing the television.

And a miracle happens. In less than thirty minutes, I'm diagnosed, paying my $20 co-pay (not some trumped up after hours price), and heading out the door with perscription in hand. But wait...there's more...I drop my perscription off and have it filled and paid for in only two minutes, sixteen seconds. Well, that may be exagerated a little, but really...it was super fast. In less than ninety minutes from when I left work, I was doctored, dosed, and drowsing in my recliner.

And some people say miracles have ceased.

The Cough

Ahem.

Sometimes surprising
Out of the clear blue
An explosive bark

Sometimes sneaky
First a tickle
Then WHAM

Sometimes soggy
Chest crackling
An expectorant hack

Sometimes savage
Head throbbing
Rib cracking croup

Always aggravating
Never neat.

Peer Pressure

What can I say? I've given in to peer/cousin pressure and joined the bloggers. I must admit though that I have some conflicting thoughts about blogging that have made me hesitate to jump in the blogging pool.

First, I think that the very nature of blogging suggests some level of arrogance on the blogger's part. Why? Well, because bloggers must think that they are smart enough or clever enough or funny enough or something that others would want to read what they have to say. I know some people whose emails are really more like blog postings, and I wonder if they really think I care about all of the things they shared.

It's not that I don't like email, but come on, sometimes I just don't need that information.

On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoy reading the cousin blogs as the unique qualities of their personalities that I enjoy in person come through in their day to day musings. So, if there is some level of arrogance there, it's justified because people like me are reading them...and enjoying them.

Hmmm...maybe it's just that I don't want to admit my own level of arrogance. And I know it's there, because frankly, I know I have worthwhile thoughts to share. It's assuming that the rest of the world might want to know them that is arrogant I guess. But I suppose, as Mitch pointed out, if the reader gets bored or annoyed or grossed out or whatever, he/she can just close the browser and move on.

Oh well, after pondering the possibility of the blog for several weeks, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge, embrace my own arrogance, and start writing.