The View from Here

Dad's House

I finally drove by my father’s house yesterday. Yes, it was the first time I had done so since he died. I took advantage of the fact that I have several brothers and I let them remove his things from the house, take what they wanted, sell what they didn’t, and get the house ready for another family to live there.

I have to admit that I drove by rather quickly yesterday and I’ll have to repeat the process a couple of times before I really “see” the house. I know that my brother has worked very hard to clean the lot and repair the house, but I can’t absorb all of that while it’s still painful to know that Dad isn’t there.

There is more pain when I drive into the next block where my grandmother and great-grandmother once lived. You see, Russell Street used to be our family’s street.  My Granny Simmons lived in a house on the lot where Dad’s old house now stands, and in the next block was Big Mama’s house, and on the next corner across the street was my grandmother’s house where my parent’s got married. Dad tore Granny’s house down when he built his. Both of the other houses have been totally “trashed” over the years and no longer bear any resemblance to the homes I remember from my childhood. It’s like part of our history has been removed from the books. I can only hope that the same fate does not befall Mom and Dad’s house.

I know that time and people move on. I know that houses get old and fall apart just as people do. But watching it happen still makes me sad and I hope that someone with children moves into Dad’s old house and loves it for a little longer. 

Labor Day thoughts...

It’s ironic that on a day set aside to celebrate the “contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their country”, many workers will not be at home celebrating. They’ll be at work! Instead of a day of parades and picnics we’ve turned the day into the second biggest shopping frenzy of the year. As someone who once worked every holiday and nearly every weekend in retail, I can tell you that most cashiers and sales clerks won’t be on duty Monday just because they have nothing else to do. They’re more likely working because they have no choice or they’re getting a little extra money. If you are out shopping Monday please be patient and kind. My husband will be one of those laboring.

Of course Labor Day is a reminder that I have to start shopping for Christmas. Please don’t tell me how few weekends there are between now and then. Ignorance is sometimes best.

Labor Day was once the day that marked the end of summer fashion. I remember reading in the Sunday paper that people weren’t supposed to wear white after Labor Day, and women were certainly not supposed to walk around in white shoes. I was lucky to wear any color I had! When I was a kid I usually owned two pairs of shoes: one for school and one for Sunday. The rest of the time I was bare-footed.

Labor Day is also a frantic freeway day! Please, please be careful out there as you head back home after whatever you do. Stay safe!

(The photo was taken during my Macy’s days.)

Things meant to be...

It amazes me to look at my class this year and realize that once again the grandchild of one of my first cousins is sitting in front of me. Last year it seemed like just a pleasant coincidence that someone from our family ended up in the town where I teach. I was happy to get acquainted with the offspring of one of my childhood playmates and I look forward to following the progress of my little cousin. But this year it seems even more profound to find a young relative looking back at me. His grandfather and I spent many hours together playing and arguing. Like most boys he was annoying and his sister and I tried to get away from him and from my own brothers! But somehow we usually ended up playing together as a group…and often got into some sort of trouble. The stories of our antics could fill a book! I can still remember how angry my mom was when she found out he talked me into swinging from a rope tied to a tree and jumping into the pond. lol And I swear he was the one that opened the window and let the squirrel come inside!

I suppose teaching relatives doesn’t sound unusual to people who grew up in this small corner of the world. When I explained the relationship to the rest of my students one of them commented, “I have LOTS of cousins!” Yes, I do too, but the idea that after fifty-one moves I would end up living here, where my parents began their lives and where I once played with my cousins, that I could teach in a different town several miles away and STILL end up having relatives in my own classroom, is high on my list of things that are meant to be. 

Community Service

I attended an emergency meeting of the Town Restoration Association of Caddo (TRAC) last night. Our little group has been together since 2005 when nearly forty people gathered to exchange ideas for creating a better future for our community. Since that time most of those people have disappeared and only a dedicated core group of a dozen people have remained to complete projects around town. Now our efforts and current projects are at a standstill because of government bureaucracy. We have been told that the way we have done things for nearly ten years is no longer legal and proper and we must now comply with a whole new set of regulations. While we are quite willing to do so, and we are in the middle of the LONG and EXPENSIVE process, this makes me wonder about the future of volunteer organizations. It has been difficult enough to recruit people for service, but when this old group is gone will new and even more tedious regulations prevent others from following in our footsteps? Sad to even consider…

Goodbye August...

I know it seems a bit premature to say goodbye to a month when we still have a week to endure, but it’s the “endure” that makes me count the days until I can flip the calendar to a new page. Though it started out politely with cooler temperatures and pleasant breezes, August is ending with its usual steamy ugliness. It has never been my favorite month.

My mother loathed August. She suffered terrible headaches from the heat and August was a demanding month of school shopping and preparation. My mother worked diligently to make our clothes and shop for the best bargains for shoes and other necessities. Money problems often meant some tough decisions had to be made and we were sometimes unhappy with her choices.

August also meant the beginning of the grape harvest and working longer hours. We usually arrived at the fields just before sunrise so we could work as long as possible before the heat became oppressive. If school started before the harvest was finished then we knew we had to work the weekends until the end of the season.  I even recall some years when school was delayed until most of the grape harvest was completed. BTW, I first learned to cut grapes when I was four.

September was the month of my mother’s birth and that’s just one of the many reasons I look forward to seeing it on the calendar. It’s also the beginning of fall, brightly colored leaves, and cooler temperatures.

So…last Monday of August. Counting the days…

No words...

I have been working on some projects and apologize for not posting much lately. I finally took a walk outside, but it was almost too hot to even breathe.

There is very little blooming in the garden so it makes me more grateful for the little bits of color here and there.

I must admit that the vultures made me a bit nervous! Lol 

Just Happy to Be Here

I was a bit overwhelmed by all the things I wanted to accomplish today. I did manage to complete the top five tasks on my list, but clearly I’m not yet into my school+home+hobbies routine. So I stopped working at 5pm and went out to water the tomatoes and fill the little pool used by the raccoons. I found myself feeling grateful just to be alive and well. Some days that is far more than I deserve. 

Horrors

A couple of recent events have been horrible, but nothing shocks me anymore. That’s not a result of age, but of repeated, daily exposure to violence and horror and death and destruction on that little screen in my living room. I’m tempted at times to take a vacation from the evening news, but as an adult I also feel an obligation to be aware of what is going on in the world and how it might affect me and my friends and my family. We are no longer insulated in our own little world. We can’t witness the events of any foreign country or any section of our own country without knowing someone who is there or has a child or friend or relative there. It’s no longer “those people” who are in the middle of conflict and crisis, but all of us. Our global economy and global communications have created global heartache.

My profession keeps me sane and balanced and generally optimistic about the world and our future. But I pray for those who are so deeply involved in adult concerns that they have lost their balance. There is no vacation, there are no options for some people. They have jobs that are so vital to our survival that I imagine they are aware of their responsibilities even while they sleep. We who watch the news are often quite vocal and critical of others. We know what they should have done. We know what needs to be done next. We know how everything in the world should work. But would we really be so wise if we were in the middle of the war? In the midst of the crisis? Confronted by the violence? Surrounded by tragedy and disease and despair? I think not. I think we might make some mistakes.

I thank God each day that many of the horrors I see on television are not part of my daily life. They are not happening next door to me. They are not happening to someone I love. But I am also well aware that that could change in a heartbeat. 

Starting Point...

I began testing my students yesterday. I need a “baseline” of operations for several reasons: lesson planning, progress reports, etc. And knowing a child’s starting pointing also helps me understand their confusion and frustration as we begin the serious work of learning to read. What we do in kindergarten may sometimes look like “just fun and games” to an outsider, but everything in my classroom, including Playdoh, contributes to a purpose. That purpose is mastering a long list of skills and concepts. So it’s important for me to have enough information about what my students already know so that I can build on that foundation at a reasonable pace and avoid too much frustration. We have a very long path ahead of us.

Unfortunately there is a big finish line at the end of our path and I already know from experience that some children won’t cross it. Some have such a limited foundation that even tremendous progress will only help them master half of our skills and concepts. I’m not sure what they have been doing for five years, but they certainly haven’t been exposed to speaking, reading and writing. I know that sounds absurd to some of you, but since many of my first students are now parents let me share with you one major change I’ve seen in five year olds over the years: many don’t have parents who speak, read, or write with them.  Some children spend more time with the television than they do with their parents. I know parents think that “educational” television is wonderful, and it does serve a purpose in small doses, but it is NOT a substitute for conversations and experiences with an adult. Children acquire most of their language skills before they turn five and they need good role models. Many children never see or hear an adult read a book. Even fewer see an adult writing with a pencil or pen. Our world has embraced technology and progress at the expense of some vital foundation skills and until the requirements for graduation drastically change our children will suffer the consequences. We still require that children learn how to read, write, and solve problems…in math and in life. They can’t just touch a screen and let a device do it for them! I don’t see that changing before I retire.

So…in the meantime I do what I can to bridge the gaps. I teach everything from how to hold a pencil to why “y” sometimes makes an “e” sound. We cover about fifty basic skills and concepts, plus behavior and character traits. We start where we are and go as far as we can!

 

Seek and you will find...

Proverbs 11:27

He who seeks good finds goodwill,

but evil comes to him who searches for it.

 

I don’t often quote a single verse out of context, but this one spoke to me this morning. I don’t think it needs a particular story or background or companion verses to go with it to make it any clearer. If we are looking for trouble we will find it!

I like to have friends around me who are positive, trustworthy, moral, and responsible. I don’t want to worry about what they will do next. I don’t want to look for their names in the police log or wince when I read their FB status. That doesn’t mean that I’m looking for perfect people or that I’m going to bail out on a friend who makes mistakes, but it does mean that I am trying to live a good life and I want to surround myself with others who are doing the same.

I also like to spend time in places that are likely to attract good people. With the exception of Walmart, you won’t find me in many places where I’m certain to encounter bad behaviors. I don’t hang out in bars or casinos, or attend rowdy parties or even some sporting events. I know where evil typically lurks and I’m not going to purposely expose my mind and my heart to it. I’m just selfish enough to not want the stress!

There are also books I won’t read, and movies and TV shows I won’t watch…not because I fear their influence, but because they are a waste of my time. Why seek out evil and then spend time trying to get it out of your head?

Many of the problems we encounter in life are the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. This is especially true when we are young and easily influenced by others. It takes a while for most of us to find our own path and not stray from it for promises of fame, fortune, or friendship. The older I get, the more I seek those people and places that contribute to my peace and joy.

What are you seeking?