Story A Day

I spent the afternoon with my Great Grandmother, yup, that’s right Great Grandmother.  Most people can’t believe I still have a Great Grandmother living, she just turned 90.  I certainly hope I am the shape she’s in when I am 90!  Anyway, we spent the afternoon looking at photos that date back to the early 1900’s.  At once I was struck by how much things change, and at the same time how much they don’t change.  The baby pictures of my grandfather could just as well be of babies today.  And though the Model T parked in the street gave away the era, the homes could just as well be many that stand in my neighborhood now.  It always strikes me to see photos of those in their youth that I have always known as “old”.  A reminder that I too will be “old” someday   I wrote down captions for the photos I get to take home on CD, the oldest is of my Great Great Grandmother who died at age 23 of tuberculosis.  The photos are treasures and the stories are treasures too.  How life has changed in my Great Grandmother’s 90 years…

Those who know me realize that I am a very outdoorsy kind of person.  I like to get out and hike, bike, kayak, and lots more.  I am not traditionally a fan of video games, a hobby that Tim enjoys a lot.  Usually his video gaming is confined to “guy-nights” with his friends and I don’t mind missing out   However, Tim has a new toy.  He’s been on the lookout for a Nintendo Wii for weeks and finally got one yesterday after my sister’s boyfriend spotted a few in the store.  I have to say that I might be a convert.  The interactivity of the Wii elimiates my complaint about video games – that all it involves is sitting on a couch and staring at the television.  Nope, with the Wii you can swing the remote like a tennis racket, pitch a ball, and much more.  Kind of fun!  Of course Tim is quite excited that I will now join him in the video game hobby.  As I write he is out “hitting” tennis balls around the court.  We just finished a bowling round in which we beat me by a lot!  It turns I that I not only stink at bowling in the real world, I’m not so good at it in the virtual world either

Despite the dreary nature of the weather today Tim and I decided to stroll around the neighborhood.  Along the way we noticed a persistent squeak. If you listen closely to a Mallard you’ll notice that a squeak-squeak-squeak sound is made as they fly through the air.  We looked up and saw an entire flock of them flying in the air just above our neighbor’s home.  It was dizzying because they were not simple en route to the lake, they were flying in a large circle over this particular house.  As we stood in one place, looking up and listening to the squeaking, we felt almost like we were spinning.  We came closer to the house and noticed that as they neared the yard they attempted a landing but usually flew back up into the air as if saying “Nope, not my turn to land yet, resume flight.”  On the ground, in this yard, there were at least 50 Mallards eating what appeared to be some kind of grain off the ground.  See, this yard is home to at least 4 or 5 domestic white geese and I think they owner had recently fed them.  The Mallards found opportunity and the whole flock of them was waiting their turn.  As we continued down the street the whirling circle of squeaking Mallards continued. 

I spent much of the day with my brother-in-laws brother – does that make him my brother-in-law too?  Not sure.  Anyway,  I spent much of the day with him and an entourage of family as he considered possible homes to purchase.  Our day involved a bit of a road trip to Albertville, Rogers and surrcounding areas.  I thought I was all set because I mapped the directions from every house to the next.  Not so.  See the combination of inaccurate google map directions and lacking street signs made for one navigational nuisance.  Thankfully, I had an entourage of navigators in the car   Between Jason, Jeff and Christy, their interpretations of multiple maps, and good memories, we found our way to every home.  Although, I do think that St. Michael should invest in some street signs   Good times.

Today is Christmas.  Christmas is about giving, about looking out into the world, finding a need and filling it.  For most of us Christmas means lots of food and plenty of gifts.  Tim and I enjoy buying gifts for others and it’s nice to get things too, but I often feel that my Christmas is lacking something.  I feel so lucky, so blessed, so overwhelmed at times by the amount of new things Tim and I get at Christmas.  Today was a reminder, a reminder of what Christmas can be.  Behind the pile of gifts under my mom’s Christmas tree sat a giant plastic bag.  My sister Kathy told me I had to open it where it was, I couldn’t move it or the bag might tear.  I was very curious what it was. I asked her if it was a gift idea I had given here.  “Sort of,” she said.  I was filled with curiosity so I decided to open it first.  As I tore the bag open I knew right away what it was.  A giant pile of boots fell on to my lap.  A call answered.  See a few blog entries back – “Basic Needs” if you’re not sure what I mean.  I was filled with gratitude and was inspired by my sister’s thoughtfulness.  This is the true meaning of Christmas – seeing a need that needs to be filled, and filling it.  Giving.  At the end of the day Tim asked me what my best gift was.  Of course, I am very grateful for all that I received today, though I have to say that the gift that touched me the most was a pile of boots from Goodwill.  A pile of boots that will fill a need.  On the way home Tim and I decided on a new tradition.  We know it’s fun to buy things for people but we also want Christmas to be about people who need things more than we do because we already feel so blessed.  So, we’ve decided that for next year we’d like those who want to buy gifts to donate $1 to a charity for every $1 they spend on us. It’s our way of blending the tradition of trading gifts with offering something more to those who need it more than we do.  To all of you, a Merry Christmas.  May your needs be filled and may you help fill the needs of others in the world around you…

I don’t consider myself much of a procrastinor, but for some reason when it comes to Christmas shopping Tim and I always manage to be getting the last few, or sometimes many gifts a day or two before Christmas.  We mentally prepared ourselves today as we left home in search of many goodies.  We prepared for packed parking lots, long lines, busy isles, etc, etc.  But, that wasn’t as much the case as anticipated.  Sure, the parking lots were busier than usual, the mall a bit more crowded, but we were surprised it wasn’t worse!  So, either the rest of the world got over their procrastination in 2006 or the economy might be slowing just a bit.  It will be interesting to see how the post-Christmas economic reports look.  For us it turned out well – all our shopping done in less that 4 hours.  Nice   And ready, we are, for the next few days of holiday festivities.  To all of you – Merry Christmas! 

On our final day before winter break my coworkers and I spent the day building two giant debris huts in the woods.  Well, more like debris mansions   Why, you ask?  Well, when we teach outdoor survival and about the need for shelter in general, it’s great to have an example!  The reason that I call them debris mansions is because these “huts” can fit a group of 12 people inside!  When all was complete we were soaked from wet leaves and branches, dirty and quite satisfied! When the kids return in two weeks we will have a new and exciting place to visit!   Pictures to come when I get them from my coworker!

In the spirit of Christmas giving Tim and I decided to participate in the Salvation Army Adopt-a-Family program.  We received a wish list from the family, a sinlge mom with three young girls and bought gifts for each.  One of the things I liked about this particular program is that we got to deliver the gifts to the family ourselves.  We intended to deliver them together this evening, but I ended up needing to go over alone since Tim was stuck in the traffic of our crazy-weather day today.  I’d spoken with the family a number of times to make arrangements and arrived knowing the kids were expecting me.  When I arrived with the gifts the 5 year old little girl came to the door first.  Her eyes lit up and she jumped up and down, “Yaaaaayyyyy!!! Which one is mine!!?”  I told her that there were actually TWO for her and she got even MORE excited.  She started pulling the packages out of the basket and spelling the names out, trying to figure out which ones were hers.  The two year then ran to the entry where I was standing.  She ran right to me and held her arms to be picked up.  Who can resist that, so I picked her up as her mom looked on with a smile.  She gave me a huge hug.  Priceless.  Of course the 3 month old didn’t do much talking   Their mom was very appreciative and said this really meant a lot.  Even though I don’t always agree with the materialistic focus of Christmas, for a child, especially a child who doesn’t have much, a toy is far more than a toy.  Tonight I remembered that and was grateful for the opportunity we had to brighten the holiday of a few little girls.

Today I taught Outdoor Survival for the first time this winter.  I had a young boy in my group who had one of those faces that lights up a room – a smile on his face all day.  He caught my attention in the morning when we were talking about survival priorities -discussing whether food or shelter are higher priorities.  He commented, “Well, I know you can live a day without food because my mom and I do that sometimes, but you need shelter to stay warm.”  Aside from the power of that statement alone, I was struck even more by the fact that he said it with a smile on his face, a look of pure normalcy and contentment.  Near the end of the day I noticed that his socks were showing at the front of his shoes.  His shoes were too small, his toes were poking through the front of the leather and the sole was completely worn in the front.  Despite that, he ran, jumped and enjoyed the cold outdoors all day.  He never said a thing.  I pulled him aside, asking him if he had any other shoes at home.  “No,” he said.  I told him we have some extra boots around the building and wondered whether he would use a pair if he took them home.  “Oh yes, yes,” he said.  He seemed excited about the prospect of some newer shoes.  Basic needs.  I mentioned to the teacher that I would send a pair home with him and her look told me that it was certainly needed.  Evident, indeed, that this child goes without many basic needs.  And yet, he smiles.  He smiled all day long.  He was a great learner, a great listener, and a great kid all around.  The truth is, we don’t really have extra boots around our center, but once in a while, as a staff, we decide that something like this is important enough to give up one of the precious pairs that we lend to kids daily when the snow falls and temperatures drop.  But today was about survival.  And this kid needed and wanted a pair of shoes. 

On that note…If any of my blog readers have boots that you would like to donate to our center, especially adult size 7 and larger, please contact me.  You can be assured that they will be used by kids daily and will probably get sent home with a needy kid someday.  We accept all sizes of warm and waterproof boots, but are especially in need of size 7 and larger.   

I taught digital photography to 5th graders today.  One of the books I shared with them to get inspiration shows the photographs of Andy Goldworthy’s sculptures in nature.  The kids loved the book and were able to learn about a lot of photography concepts like contrast, using shadows, etc, just by looking at his photos.  While the kids didn’t do any sculpting it did inspire some neat photos like the one below…Enjoy