Things your child's teacher would tell you if they could.

From Reader's Digest:

1. We are not the enemy. Parents and teachers are really on the same side.

2. The truth is simple: Your kid will probably lie to get out of trouble.

3. We can tell the difference between a parent helping their kid with homework, and a parent who actually does it for him (especially when the kid is clueless the next day in class).

4. Teaching is a calling. There's not a teacher alive who would say they went into this profession for the money.

5. Just because your child says he did his homework doesn't mean it's true. You must check. Every night.

6. Parents give their kids pricey gadgets when actually, what kids crave is for you to talk to them. They want to know you are interested in their lives.

7. We spend money out of our own pockets to buy things our students need.

8. We wish parents would make kids own up to their own actions instead of pressure us to bend the rules.

9. Please stop doing everything for your child and making excuses for them. Allow them to make mistakes. How else will they learn?

10. We don't arrive at school 10 minutes before your child does. And we don't leave the minute they get on the bus. Many of us put in extra hours before and after school.

Two columns

Last posted on February 13th, huh. Well. It's been more than a month. Several times I've sat here and tried to put into words what I want to say, but they just don't come. It's so hard sometimes to describe how things affect you, or what you need, or what you have observed, or what has been learned.

I've saved a couple of newspaper columns to comment on, and I've had some changes in my work situation. Life happens, and then you go on, and sometimes your observations remain unsaid and unnoticed. That's ok. I'm not the epitome of self-expression, and people certainly don't need my contribution to this blog in order to go on with their lives.

The two columns I was going to comment on were published weeks ago - one on February 1 and one on February 13. Both different topics, both by columnists I don't agree with all the time, but I remain a loyal reader to both Leonard Pitts, columnist from the Miami Herald, and Clarence Page, a columnist who writes for Tribune Media Services. Both of these columns just made my soul weary.

In the first, Leonard Pitts is commenting about the insane comments of the Lt Gov. of the great state of South Carolina, Andre Bauer. (You may recall that the governor, Mark Sanford, was involved in some sort of nasty business with a woman from South America, lying to the voters who elected him and the world regarding his disappearance for more than 4 days. Turns out he was with her, half a world away. His wife has since been granted a divorce.)

Anyway, Mr. Pitts took the honorable Lt. Gov. Bauer to task when he compared poor people to stray animals. He (Bauer) stated: "My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Becaause they breed. You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that. And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better."

Blink. Blink. It STILL takes me aback after more than a month.

Mr. Pitts asks, "Who speaks for the poor? Who raises a voice when they are scapegoated and marginalized?" Good questions. But what I'm noticing is, there was a little media flap, but not much. There was a little on the news, but not much. The comment came and went. Had he said it about any other group of people, he would have been on his knees apologizing. He would have said many mea culpas. He would have possibly been asked to resign. But the poor? There's no power in poverty. And he knew it. I agree with Mr. Pitts. Bauer needs to know - sometimes, stray animals bite.

The other columnist wrote an article about Sarah Palin's horror at the use of the slur, and it IS a slur, "retard", which was used by Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel - he called some liberal democrats this word for threatening to attack the more conservative party members over health care reform. He states, "Who can argue with Palin's call for "decency", particularly since it comes from her, a mother of a child with developmental disabilities..." All true. Palin's son Trig has Down Syndrome. The Chief of Staff apologized privately for using this word.

I was gratified to see Palin's response to this. Finally! I thought. Someone who is defending the defenseless. Someone who knows, who has walked in those shoes. Hurray for her. But my cheers were short-lived, when conservative talk-show mogul Rush Limbaugh used this exact term to describe liberal Democrats and she DEFENDED his use of the word. She stated, "Rush Limbaugh was using satire. I didn't hear him calling a group of people whom he did not agree with 'effing retards'." Really. Then she must have not heard his response to the backlash: "Our politically correct society is acting like some giant insult has taken place by calling abunch of people who are retards retards."

I'm weary. Is there anyone connected with the political process who remains true to their convictions and beliefs? Anyone? Anyone who stands on truth? Anyone who doesn't change colors with the wind? Anyone who finds the use of the word "retard" inappropriate no matter who says it? Anyone who serves the American people selflessly, and with integrity and honor? Anyone who tells the truth? All the time? Anyone who doesn't look to re-election as the goal of life? Anyone who doesn't distort facts or statistics? Anyone who truly and with their whole heart, honors and serves God with a heart like Jesus? Or is that asking too much?

Considering 'Curing' Down Syndrome with Caution | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Considering 'Curing' Down Syndrome with Caution Christianity Today A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

This is a long article, but one I found fascinating especially in my line of work. What do you think?

I'm a dinosaur

Well, here's the news for the week: I learned to text on my cell phone. I know you guys are all just aghast that I never knew how to do it until now, but it's true. I made it all the way to February of 2010 without learning.

I'm very clumsy. It takes me forever. I had a few glitches in it and I hear from my kid that if I'm going to text, I need an upgraded phone. My daughter has a phone with a tiny keyboard with teeny tiny little keys. I practiced on hers and my big old fingers were really clumsy but the keyboard "felt" right for me. I may have to invest in one of those kind of phones, plus she has a bigger screen on hers than mine is. And, with my newfound skills, we may have to upgrade our phone plan to include free texting, as it's 10cents a text now. We'll see how much I use it. I plan to "practice" every day so I won't forget how! Jay, I'm getting ready to send you one.

It was nice to see the sun some days this week. The snow is almost all melted. I've thought about my brother and sister-in-law in the Dallas area and all the snow they've had - good grief, what a fun winter for them! I see out my front window that the pile of snow in the school parking lot across the street is still visible above the 6 foot wooden fence, so we have melting to go yet.

What can I say about the job - we had inservice Friday and Monday we have President's Day. I know I should be "happy" about these days out, but every day that kids aren't there is another day that I can't get my work done. Next week I have so much stuff on my list to accomplish that I will hardly have time to breathe. Currently at one school, I have about 8 evaluations in the process, and at the other I have 6. They are all in different stages of being completed, but I hope by Friday, I'll be much further along. After spring break, the train starts rolling backwards down the hill, so I have a lot to look forward to!

We were going to take a trip over spring break, but with other financial stressors going on, are not able to do that. We're looking at taking a day trip or two around here. It's just leaving things for awhile, even if only a few hours, that helps your persepctive some.

My puppy is limping! I don't know what's wrong with her leg, last night after coming in from outside she couldn't put any weight on it and actually hopped around here on 3 legs. She also wouldn't let me take a good look at it. This morning she's bearing a little weight, but not much. If she's still having problems I'll have to take her to the vet on Monday. I guess dogs can sprain their ankles or knees, can't they? I was going to take her for a walk today as the weather is a bit warmer and it looks like the sun is coming out, but maybe not.

Have a great weekend, all.

Ethics

Every once in awhile in this job, a dilemma presents itself. A sticky problem arises. An ethical issue comes up. And, it's always a bit stressful to walk through. In that process, options are considered, but first, it's always incumbent to figure out two things: What are my responsibilities, and, what can I control? Often, the answers to those two questions will guide the rest of the thinking process, and, a process it is. At times like this, I'm always amazed at the amount of mental energy which can be expended - and you know, that is almost as draining as expending physical energy.

It's also very helpful to speak with colleagues, as they usually see possibilities and options that you didn't think of because your perspective was a bit clouded. The other thing which almost always is true is that there's usually no clean resolution. No clear cut path, no sudden bright light, and usually, no TA DA! Do THIS! Many times it's messy no matter what decision you make, and it's a matter of choosing the least "mess" to deal with in the aftermath, and trust me, there's always aftermath.

The responsibility to do the right thing is awesome. The way to go about it can be unclear. The fallout can be messy. Ethical values are easy to uphold in conversation, in training, in seminars, and in college classrooms, but sometimes, they are hard to put into practice. That's the nature of really trying to do the right thing.

Speaking of ethical values, a well known buisnessman is on trial for securities fraud here in Sedgwick County. It's been fascinating for me to follow the trial and read the interactive courtroom blog. I'm not saying he's guilty or not guilty. But I've learned some lessons watching his rise and fall. The man apparently did not learn from previous legal problems caused by him crossing the line with investors in other business ventures, and although he said he converted to Christianity, his ego swelled as he took pride in his accomplishments. In a recent business adventure, he began to cut corners in small unethical ways. He bragged about things that were almost true, but not quite. And because people want to believe that people change, and they want to believe the best about those who are charismatic, and appear business saavy and knowledgeable, he obtained a loyal following of people only to happy to give him money for his latest business venture. It was a disaster, and the house of cards fell. He truly built his life on sinking sand.

My dilemmas don't involve money, they involve other things less tangible, but still as important if not more so. The lesson for me - don't become so egotistical that you think you're above following ethical practices. They are there to keep your values from shifting and to help you know there's something bigger than you that you need to be accountable to.

Haitian Orphan Rescue

Maybe you read recently or heard about the group of Baptists from the US who went to Haiti in an effort to rescue orphans by taking them to the Dominican Republic to an "orphanage" (a building which had been a hotel) and then possibly trying to bring them back here for adoption. Ten American Southern Baptists were arrested at the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, having in their possession 33 children from 2 months to 12 years old. These folks knew that they did not have the proper paperwork or permission from the Haitian government for such a mission, however, one of the members of the group defended their actions by saying, "...we were just trying to do the right thing." According to the Associated Press, no charges have been filed yet as the Haitian government is still questioning the detainees. Also, there are reports that many of these children were not orphans at all and still had families willing to continue to provide care for them.

"We were just trying to do the right thing." Really. I don't think so. You know, I'm a Southern Baptist. And from time to time, I get in conversations with people who think that somehow, I'm part of the Baptist clan in Topeka who preach a gospel of hate (the Fred Phelpites at Westboro Baptist, and no, I'm nowhere near them in theology or anything else) - and so I am glad I can disown them as they aren't even on my planet in terms of religious beliefs. But these folks - these Baptists who went to Haiti are a part of my "family" so to speak. And I am appalled. And aghast. And saddened. And upset. And speechless. And aghast. (I already said that, I know).

Well intentioned, perhaps. Well meaning, maybe. But as Wade Burleson, pastor and faithful blogger says, "Unfortunately, our Southern Baptist friends were...very unwise, yes, even stupid." (http://kerussocharis.blogspot.com/). I am amazed that normally intelligent Christian people would somehow think that it was ok to do this, and that somehow, God would bless them, give them "traveling mercies", and help them find success in this mission. Why, oh why and how oh how do people ever think that God would sanction such an endeavor? And how on earth did they ever conceive that working outside the law would be endorsed by Baptists back here at home? How misguided they were! This casts a unfortunate shadow on the good work that Southern Baptists ARE doing in Haiti - we are providing disaster relief, medical help, and other aid as we always do worldwide when disaster strikes, and we do it through proper channels and with swift and timely execution. Check out the International Mission Board's website for further information about that if you're interested (http://www.imb.org/).

I don't know what should happen to these people, but my heart is broken for how this act of stupidity might impact what Southern Baptists and other relief organizations are doing, those who continue to work there with blood, sweat and tears and who are accomplishing their labors within the law, above board, and with respect for the people of Haiti. I am truly, deeply, saddened.

Sunday evening

9:40 on a Sunday night. I haven't posted in awhile, so thought I might sit down here and try to get something together. I spent a little time this afternoon working with my digital camera - and I gotta tell you, I'm just not meant to do technology. I finally figured out how to get pictures off my camera, but forgot that my daughter set up a "My Pictures" folder right on the desktop so I wouldn't have to look for them in Timbuktu. Once I remembered that, I found them. I think. I love my camera, and it does a lot but I dunno, it's like my brain freezes up. I finally figured out how to change the picture on my profile on facebook, and I don't even like what I changed it to, but I just wanted to see if I could do it. Maybe I'll put Lyd's picture on there. She's cuter than me.

We had a nice time at church this evening making music. Thanks to everyone who who participated. Thanks to PL for helping me play. And for the fellowship afterward.

A glimpse of the past

I've been going through some of my "treasures", and this last weekend, spent some time looking at old books. I have several textbooks that my dad used when he was in high school, and even a couple that his dad had, and one from his mother. Keep in mind that my dad was born in 1912, and his dad was born in 1870, so these books are pretty old. The ones his mother and dad used when they were students are copyrighted in 1880 and 1883. I have one that's called "New Fourth Grade Reader" that has my grandfather's initials on the back cover, but some pages are missing, so I don't know for sure how old it is, I would venture to say it also was printed in 1880 as well (he would have been 10 years old then). Here's a poem from this reader:

The Sky-Lark

The sky-lark, when the dews of morn
Hang tremulous on flower and thorn,
And violets round his nest exhale
Their fragrance on the early gale,
To the first sunbeam spreads his wings,
Bouyant with joy, and soars, and sing.

He rests not on the leafy spray,
To warble his exulting lay,
But, high above the morning cloud
Mounts in triumphant freedom proud;
And swells, when nearest to the sky,
His sweetest notes of ectasy.

Thus, my Creator! thus the more
My spirit's wing to Thee can soar
The more she triumphs to behold
Thy love in all thy works unfold:
And bids her hymns of rapture be
Most glad when rising most to Thee.

The "exercise" which follows this poem is this: "What should the happiness and the merry singing of the birds teach us?"

Did I mention this came from a 4th grade reader? As someone who works with elementary students, I thought this most interesting. There are many references in this book to God, and even a reading lesson from the Sermon on the Mount.

I have a book my dad used in high school, it's "Elementary Latin". The copyright was 1920. From the scribblings and doodlings in the book, I can see that dad was perhaps not entirely focused on his Latin lessons. He wrote his name on several pages, and it looks like he's traced circles in pencil maybe from a compass. There are 3 assignments on paper folded in the book that look like they were never completed and handed in. On the first page of the book, the introduction, is written in pencil, Bueno Dias, Senorita...so apparently, his mind was not on Latin that day.

But really, the most overwhelming evidence of dad's wandering thoughts is from the inside front cover. In pen, he had written this little verse: "The taller the tree, The thicker the bark, The closer you sit, The bigger the spark." Underneath that are three or four rows of cursive letter "E"s. Hmmm. What or who do you suppose he was thinking of?

If you're gonna lie, just admit it.

The Bible reading for today was the story of how Jacob and his doting mother Rebekah, deceived Jacob's father Issac into giving him the blessing that was usually reserved for the firstborn son, which in this case, would be Jacob's brother Esau. I just noticed today that when Jacob first objects to his mother's plan, he says this: "But my brother Esau is a hairy man and I'm a man with smooth skin. What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing."

Did you catch that? Jacob doesn't say, I can't participate in this plan because I would be tricking my father. He says, "I would appear to be tricking him..." This one word changes the whole meaning, doesn't it! Jacob is not willing to man up and admit this is deceptive, he says it appears to be deceptive. He is already making excuses and playing with words, justifying to himself and his scheming mother this lie. I think Jacob would have made a great politician today, but even back then, he was promoted to a position of great responsibility and governing. Did his deceitful habits follow him? Maybe. Does it seem in general, as people ascend the ladder of their political and public careers, that they learn early on what to say, what not to say, and how to say it? As we do too. We do it privately, we do it publicly. We choose our words carefully when justifying our behavior to ourselves and to our families. Hmmm. There's a lesson to be learned here.

Monday Posting

Thankfully, the weather has moderated some and it's almost balmy out, compared to what it was last week. I'm no longer feeling quite so chilled. I mean, even in my house, which is old and drafty and just...I dunno, COLD, I was having a hard time staying comfortable in wind chills and temps so low. But tonight, it's 20, and I'm happy to see that. We had a frozen pipe, actually 2, last week - one thawed out pretty quickly with a blow dryer, the other one took involving a helpful brother with a radiant heater, and a spouse crawling under the house in a tight crawl space to position the heater and get the pipe warmed. Also thankfully, the pipe didn't split or crack so we got to keep our hard earned money instead of giving it to a plumber.

I'm busy at both schools, and, I have taken on an extra project of supervising a counseling practicum student for the spring semester. It won't require a lot of extra time because I know this person well and she will be responsible and do things the way they should be done, plus it might be something to add on a resume should I ever decide to seek other employment. I am also teaching a class at church, and just keeping pretty busy with ordinary mundane things.

The clock in the kitchen just sounded 10:00. My "adopted son" Michael gave it to me - it has birds pictured on it, and on the hour, a different bird sound eminates from this clock. It took me a couple of days to get used to hearing this, and you should have seen Lydia looking at it quizzically the first day or two I had it. It was pretty comical.

Well, I guess that's about it from my boring life. I will end this with some assorted observations, take them or leave them as you like:

**Congrats to my husband, one of the most rabid Dallas Cowboy fans ever. The Cowboys made mush of the Eagles last weekend and are headed to the playoffs for the first time in several years. The Chiefs remain an embarrassment to us all.

**The state budget crisis is affecting our schools in 259 in a big way. I ran into a teacher Saturday I used to work with at another school, and she told me she has 30 kids in her first grade classroom. They are beginning work on a new wing to the school, but her concern, and rightfully so, is that the district won't be able to hire teachers to staff this new addition.

**Brett Harris - where are you? I miss you on B98. You made me crazy with your ADHD-like radio patter sometimes, but for the most part, I enjoyed your "perkiness". Sign your contact with Clear Channel and get back to work.

**l love the CDs my son gave me for Christmas especially Beethoven's Symphony #9. Thanks, Dan.

**I had a conversation with someone, (let's call them "Lee"), who, let's see, how to say this without revealing too much - Lee had a family member who was in a very serious accident 3 years ago and that person sustained a tremendous traumatic head injury - they were in a coma 30 days and nearly died. However, Lee had the blessing of great insurance coverage from an employer, and their loved one got outstanding medical care, not only at the hospital but also at a follow-up rehab facility after discharge from the hospital. Coincidentally, another family about the same time had a loved one in an accident also with a serious head injury - the patients were in the same area in the hospital and family members became friends as they interacted in the waiting room. However, the person from the other family did not have any insurance coverage. Lee said the person with no insurance was discharged sooner from the hospital, and did not receive the level of followup care at a local rehab facility that their family member received - both were admitted to the very same facility within days of each other. Lee said that person did not have nearly as good as outcome as her/his family member did - and Lee believes it was due to the insurance situation. Just something to think about...

Have a good week, all.

Italian motorcycle police

Italian motorcycle police

I thought this was very cool. Enjoy a minute of mindless entertainment!

Heroes of the Faith

While I'm thinking about folks I appreciate, I'd like to add these pictures I took of my uncles, Mervin Troyer and Wayne King. I visited both of these gentlemen this last week at the retirement community they live in and enjoyed it immensely. Mervin is holding a "corn dropper" implement that his father made (I believe he said it was his father) many years ago. He explained how it worked, and it was interesting for me to hear about that and ponder just how how innovative people were back then. It would have taken a long time for people to plant even an acre of corn, but this tool would have helped with that chore. It hangs in Mervin's room, a reminder of an era long ago. I think Mervin can best be described as a person of a profound, but simple faith in the God he serves. He has a humble, servant attitude and a work ethic that puts me to shame-he is always busy as much as as he can physically be - at almost 91 years old.

And Wayne is my mother's youngest brother. After a lifetime of ministry as pastor of several Mennonite churches, he and his lovely wife have recently moved to a community not too far from here. It has been wonderful for me and my siblings to re-establish contact with them and visit occasionally. I appreciate the life of faith Wayne and Clara live each day, and of their willingness to share that with us, his sister's family. He is a craftsman-he makes pens and pencils out of wood as well as other things which grace his and Clara's comfortable home.

Thank you to both of you for your attitudes of thanksgiving and for your continuing faith-walk in circumstances of physical frailty. You are much appreciated!

An Example of True Love

I know most of you reading this blog have read the story of Loren and Florence Gerber, however, I could not let this day pass by without mentioning it in this blog. I am attaching a link to that story about them as printed in the Wichita Eagle on Christmas Day. Loren was a first cousin to my dad, and thus, a first cousin once removed to me. His daughter Marilyn and I grew up together at the Pleasant Valley Church in Harper, however, I have not seen her in many, many years. If you have not read this story, please do so.

http://www.kansas.com/news/story/1112336.html

New Word

I learned a new word yesterday. It's "sprezzatura". Have you heard of this word? It's Italian in origin, and it is defined as, "A certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it." Other nuances of this word are, that it is the ability to "display an easy facility in accomplishing difficult actions which hides the conscious effort that went into them", and it also has been described as, "a form of defensive irony, the ability to disguise what one really desires, feels, thinks, means, or intends behind a mask of apparent reticence or nonchalance."

Some examples of this are: college students who obtain perfect grades and seemingly never study, politicians who have rehearsed every "ad lib" comment they make before debates, but yet the comments roll right off their tongues looking completely on the spur of the moment, and the butler who serves his master, keeping confidences but also his opinions about the goings on in the household to himself.

My friend who introduced me to this word says that it's a goal in his life-to not only do his job with grace and make it appear effortless, but also to look unruffled and unfazed in front of coworkers and administration.

I've never thought about this quality before, much less whether or not I'd like to possess it. I have had some say to me in the past, "You seem to play the piano so easily", but this is almost always followed by a remark about the years of practice and effort that it takes. When I watch craftsmen - for example, I recently saw a video about a master knife maker that pours his sweat into handtooling kitchen knives, and all the work that goes into that - yet, when he pounds the layers of steel together and shapes the handles, it almost looks casual. After watching that, I find that I have a new appreciation for those folks who work with their hands and make it look easy.

I have uncles, who following a long line of people in my family, fashion things from wood - and I so much appreciate the craftsmanship that this requires, but one thing I don't see as the grateful recipient is all the projects that didn't turn out well, all the frustration and effort and cutting pieces wrong, and making mistakes, and all that which goes into learning how to be a craftsman. As I think about it, it makes these things even more dear to me - they are the product from someone who seemingly effortlessly made them, but yet, I know the sweat and tears, so to speak, that went into the creating of them. (That reminds me Wayne, I need to come up over Christmas break, which starts next Monday, and get that last set of pens from you. I will email you about that!)

Thank you, craftsmen and craftswomen, for all the practice, effort, mistakes, and learning that went into helping you do your jobs so well! Our world is certainly more beautiful in every way because of that.

Comfort Ye

Dan, Rebekah and I attended the presentation of Handel's Messiah, at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Wichita Sunday afternoon. I have seen Messiah several times, once driving to Lindsborg to Bethany College, where this oratorio has been performed every year on Easter Sunday since 1882. I love this work and I look forward to hearing it every year that I can go.

After the Overture, the first piece is "Comfort Ye", a a tenor recitation, followed immediately by the tenor continuing with "Every Valley". The chorus then sings "And the Glory of the Lord". Isaiah 40:1-5 is the basis for these first 3 compositions. Verse 1 is especially poignant - "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for." And in verse 5 - "And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken." I don't read these words without hearing that stirring music along with it.

Doing a good job

Brrr! The wind's blowing and winter is here. I'm sitting here with my coffee cup, trying to get warm. No snow, just a biting wind that seems to go right through ya. I hear people say, it's because we aren't "used" to cold. That may be true but I think I'd do better with a gradual decline into winter frostiness instead of a dip in the ice water all at once.

This has been one of my busiest weeks ever at school - you would think it was the end of the year. I've put in some late hours at school and working from home the last two weeks. I'm in my 4th year in the district and Tuesday, I got the second what they call "Attaboy" email since I started. A downtown person was in attendance at a recent staffing and sent an email to the principal and another downtown person with a nice compliment in it for me. That sort of thing is just rare at my job, and I would venture to say, that's true in a lot of work people do. There's folks all over the place who are doing their jobs well because they gain personal satisfaction from that, or, they feel they have a moral obligation to do so, and no one recognizes their efforts. It has made me more cognizant of the fact that I COULD recognize that in others if I would just look. The server that refills my coffee cup at the right time, and brings my food hot, the sacker that works to make sure my bread isn't crushed and handles the eggs carefully, the grocery checker who is pleasant and cordial when sliding my items over the scanner (I almost said "rings me up". THAT'S an old expression which dates me), the man who volunteers to vaccuum the sanctuary at our church, the pleasant man at the dry cleaners who made sure he understood what I wanted and appeared to value me as a customer, my co-workers who exhibit a degree of professionalism in teaching that makes me proud to work where I do, the people at my vet office who really seem to care about Lydia and want to serve her needs, the list goes on. There are those that would say, "That's what we pay them to do! We PAY them to provide a service for us." True, but HOW the service is provided is as important and sometimes more so than the service itself.

All of my kids and kid in laws and my spouse work in retail or have in the past. I'm proud of Josh when I hear people from my school tell me as a co-worker did last week: "I figured out which person at Dillons is your son, because when he was helpful, I thought, not only does this kid look like Marianne, but he's nice too, so I looked at his name tag and asked him who he was..."

This time of year is stressful and crazy, and I bet an encouraging word from you would help someone else have a better day. As you go about in the next few days, be aware of those who do a good job and say something to them. It will be an encouragement they won't soon forget.

Offensive clotheslines

Did you see this in the news, that a woman is in big trouble in her community for hanging her laundry outside to dry? This is happening in Peraksie Pennsylvania. Although there are no town laws preventing her from doing so, a city official called her and asked her to quit, and, she's received notes from neighbors telling her they do not want to see her underwear flapping around on the clothesline. For the record, she doesn't hang her underwear out, she says.

The article says, she is "one of a growing number of Americans demanding the right to dry laundry on clotheslines despite local rules and a culture that frowns on it." Did you know there are 5 states that prohibit it all together? That would be Florida, Utah, Maine, Vermont, and Colorado. Another 5 states are considering legislation to outlaw it. A lawyer representing homeowners associations in Philly says that it is an "aesthetic" issue. He says, "In most communites, people don't want to see everybody else's laundry".

I gotta say that I am both amused and amazed. We live in a society that freely uses sexual images to sell everything from cars to beer to laundry detergent, and where anyone with a few clicks of a mouse button can view any sort of pornographic image they desire, no matter what. For our viewing pleasure on TV, there is conversation, and explicit language, and visual images which a person with any sense of morality would blush at. The innnocent bystander eating a meal or walking down the street is assaulted by private content of cell phone conversations. Kids freely use street language which you thought was only applicable in armed forces boot camps. Ugly billboards dot our landscape, and the carving away of our forests and pollution of our rivers and oceans is ongoing. Smokestacks belching black clouds and odors hang over our cities. Ground water contamination and nuclear waste disposal issues are ever with us.

We have people sleeping under bridges here in Wichita, and I would assume, in Pennsylvania as well.

And there are those who are offended at the sight of a shirt or a pair of jeans, or a towel, or bedsheets hanging on a clothesline in the sun. I'm...wordless.

Aging Gracefully

It's Sunday night and I'm getting ready for another work week. What has happened to the weekend? I have enough coming up this week to make me want to bury my head in the covers and not get up, but alas, can't do that until I'm retired. And even then-I know some retired people who are as busy as they were when they were working full time. I'm glad when I see that people can do that.

Speaking of retirement etc., there was a lunch today for the "Senior Adults" in our church. And I was invited! I was not able to attend as we already had lunch plans, but I gotta tell you that I do not consider myself a senior citizen - even although the wafts of good things to eat were very tantalizing coming from the Fellowship Hall of our church. I was told that for the purposes of the "senior adult" lunches, if you're over 50 you can come, but I still can't do it. I'll be 55 next week and I still think I'm a kid!

And, I'm still young enough to like humor such as this:

Bumper Stickers View of Life

I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe.

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, and then used against you.

Despite the cost of living, it's still popular.

I intend to live forever. So far, so good.

When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

All good things in moderation-including moderation.

Living on Earth is expensive, but it includes a free trip around the sun.

I took an IQ test and the results were negative.

Forget about world peace, envision using your turn signal.

We are born naked, wet, and hungry. Then things get worse.

Always remember you are unique, just like everyone else.

Ever stop to think and then forget to start again?

I doubt, therefore, I might be.

If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?

I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges?

One Year Later

One year ago this evening while getting out of the car at my brother's house, I saw a scraggly, smelly, skinny, patchy-haired 4 legged creature with its nose down the grate near the curb I had pulled up to. Getting out of the car, I motioned toward the animal and said, "Who's that?" "Oh," he replied, "it's been hanging around here the last couple of days. I dunno where it came from." I paused to look at the dog and was a little repulsed by the sight. "Man", I thought. "That is one ugly mutt." I turned to walk away, but looked back. The dog had laid down by the grate in the yard and I walked toward it, curious. As I approached, she looked at me with sad dark eyes, the skin hanging loosely from her muzzle and gave a small twitch of her tail. She looked like she had just had pups, however her ribs were showing and obviously she was not in good nutritional health.

"She's awful. Let's put her in your backyard and I'll take her to the Humane Society tomorrow." I put a rope around her neck and tugged, and she followed me hesitantly, a little unsure if she could trust me. While we were waiting for dinner to be ready, I hopped in the car, and my husband looked at me incredulously. I asked him if he wanted to come along to get some dog food and he emphatically said, are you NUTS????

When I got back the dog gulped both cans of food down and drank a bowlful of water, then stood at the back patio door, her scrawny face peering through the glass. We ignored her while we ate, and I promised to return the next morning to take her away.

The next day my daughter and I returned. As we put her in the car we discussed what all could be wrong with her, and how much money it would take to fix her. I didn't even know what vet I could take her to on a Saturday. She offered her vet services, and wouldn't you know it, they were open. Wouldn't you know it, they could see her and evaluate her. We took her in, armed with a generous brother's financial aid and some money of my own.

I decided on the way over there that if she had heartworms, I was going to put her down. If she had mange, I wouldn't treat her. She had neither of those maladies, but a lot of other issues. Skin infection, mites, fleas, crusted over skin sores, seriously underweight, ear infection in both ears, a couple of small skin growths, broken and cracked teeth-the list grew. The vet saw signs of abuse and severe maltreatment.

I brought her home and I named her Lydia. I spent money on her I shouldn't have, but one year later, she is beautiful to me. She's gained 20 pounds. She's ornery. She's smart and she's just what I needed. She's learned to trust me, and does so implicitly. She's a member of my family, and she gets on the couch when I'm not home, but that's okay with me. I know that someday I'll face the heartbreak of laying her to rest-but you just do that when you take the risk to love and care for someone other than yourself.

In a very ordinary way, I rescued someone who needed me. How very much more does God do the same for us! How very much more does He love us, care for us, want us to trust Him implicitly, and yes, He longs for a relationship with us even when we're unlovable, stinky, hairless, and have all kinds of problems requiring all kinds of help. We're in the gutter, trying to survive on our own, and here He comes - He sees you and me as his children, with potential we don't even know we've got. Lessons from Lydia-I learn 'em every day. And I'm grateful for her and for Jay - I'm not sure why he thought I needed her, but as usual, he was right. Thanks brother, for your help a year ago-what did you see in that mangy scraggly animal that you thought I might need? One of these days you'll be learning your own lessons from someone God brings into your life-and I'll have the privilege of watching you do that.

You deserve a donut today

I was getting gas at the QT the other day when I noticed a sign in the parking lot. The sign featured a glazed donut, with these words: "Life is too short to eat oatmeal." What do you think about that? I, personally, was taken aback and a little, oh, not offended, but who do these people think they are? They are basically saying, you're going to die anyway, and maybe soon, so just enjoy yourself and have a fat and sugar-laden pastry while you're at it. Don't eat wholesome "boring" cooked oats. You deserve more! You deserve to get all the gusto you can get! After all, donuts can bring happiness and pleasure. You're going to work hard today-reward yourself!

Speaking of health issues, here's some things you don't want to hear during surgery:

"Rats! Page 47 of the manual is missing!"

"Don't worry. I think it's sharp enough."

"That's cool! Now can you make his leg twitch?"

"Ya know, there's big money in kidneys and this guy's got two healthy ones..."

"Hand me that...uh...thing-a-ma-jig."

"What's this doing in here?"

"There go the lights again."

And, here's some medical definitions:

Benign: What you be after you be eight.
Artery: The study of paintings.
Bacteria: Back door to cafeteria.
Dilate: To live long.
Labor Pain: Getting hurt at work.
Pelvis: Second cousin to Elvis.
Urine: Opposite of you're out.
Colic: A sheep dog.
Outpatient: A person who has fainted.