Who's Your Hero?

Funny how ideas for blogs come to mind...I was chatting yesterday with a friend about our dads and he said his dad was his hero. That got me to thinking about my dad, who's been gone for 35 years now. Even though it's been a long time, I still miss and remember him. Is he my hero? I'd have to say yes...but not for any one specific thing he did, but for a variety of smaller things he accomplished throughout his life.

He fought in World War II - and that's about all I ever knew about it until my cousin gave me some letters he'd written to her dad during those times. Even then, he was purposefully vague about what he was doing because, in those days, letters were censored. He never spoke about it to us and all I knew was that he was in a couple of different places like the Coit Tower in San Francisco and the South Pacific. I guess what he saw and went through was bad enough that he never wanted to share that with anyone. Even my mother knows little about those days. My brother has his trunk with all the Navy memorabilia in it which sheds more light - but it still would've been nice to hear about it from him. I kick myself sometimes for not asking!

My dad was a farmer and a teacher - and not necessarily in that order. While he ran our family farm here for at least 10+ years, his heart was in teaching and working with young people. Even today I'll meet adults who had him for math or agriculture and say how much they enjoyed him as a teacher. At times, he was a teacher AND a farmer, which must have been rough! He'd get up at 4:00 a.m., milk cows, get ready for school, teach all day, come home, milk again, and do whatever chores he could before going to bed. I can't imagine that kind of schedule, but he had little choice in the days when he didn't have outside help.

He also was a member of the Ruritan Club, Lion's Club, and several others that I don't remember...and was usually, at some time, president of said club! He was an outgoing and funny man who enjoyed people.

Okay, you ask, so where is this all going and what's the point? I guess my point is that you don't have to do one single thing in order to be a hero. You can be a hero in how you live your life. My dad was a hero to me in how he faced and dealt with his everyday life in the good and difficult times and how he faced and dealt with his impending death with cancer at the all-too-early age of 57 (one year older than I am now). Who knows what else he could have accomplished?? however, he accomplished enough in his relatively short life that he will always be remembered and loved by those who knew him. What more can anyone ask for?

Good News and Bad News - a day of mixed blessings

Well, it's been quite a week...I subbed on Monday which was unexpected and will add a day to my not-great totals for March/April. Thank you, Windy Gap! Then I started my tutoring on Tuesday and have done that every day the rest of the week. The hours are great - 10 to 3 p.m.! Thank you, Glade Hill Elementary! I love the children and am working with some I worked with last year, so that's a real bonus. This job will continue until I start my long-term sub in the next couple of weeks.

Now for the bad news....just talked to my mother and she's having trouble with her eyes. She suffers from glaucoma and has for quite awhile now, but has always been able to manage the pressure in her eyes until now. This morning at her dr. app't the pressure was quite high in both eyes, so she's on new meds and goes back on Monday. Hopefully, the new meds will help reduce the pressure. Prayers for her, please!

Now for the good news...just heard from an old friend I had lost touch with last summer! She's been going through hard times and I've been worried about her. Thanks be to God she's alright, even though she's not in a good situation. It was so good to hear her voice! We are "astrological twins" as we were born on the same day and year! Our friendship goes back to 1981 which, heavens! is almost 30 years!! Yikes! Can't believe it's been that long!

More good news...talked to someone at school today and chances are there may be a position open for my particular "talents"...keep all fingers and toes crossed!

As you can see - quite a mixed day, which I guess describes a lot of days, huh? Thus endeth my sermon for today....

On the road again...

Just got back from a great visit to Richmond! Carrie and I went down on Sunday afternoon (Gill stayed home to babysit the livestock) and got back Wednesday evening around 6:00. Boy, is it ever a long drive - but this time, we had company with us that made the drive seem shorter. Our neighbor and friend, Gail, and her daughter, Joanna, rode with us since Gail's mom lives in Richmond and they wanted to visit her. We managed to do a couple of things with them while there which made it nice for Carrie. We don't know any girls her age in Richmond anymore because all my friends' children are practically grown!

Many thanks to my cousin, Ginger, and her husband, Bob, for putting up with us during our stay. They saved me a lot of hotel money plus it's always fun being with them. One of the things I miss about not living in Richmond anymore is the opportunity to get together with them...we've been doing it since before our kids were born which is around 30 years! So thanks again, you guys....

On Monday, we went to the Capitol Building, which had been renovated since the last time I was there - can't even remember when that was! We had a great tour guide and saw the new part as well as parts I remembered from before. My dad was in the House of Representatives back in the 50's, so I was able to locate his picture in one of the hallways. I took a picture with my camera phone, but it didn't turn out that well.

On Tuesday, Carrie and I went to visit some friends of ours and had a great time. Then, we went to Belle Isle - one of my all-time favorite places at the river (or I should say "rivah") in downtown Richmond. You get to it via a footbridge, then there are rocks in the river where you can sit, sunbathe, take off your shoes and dabble in the water, etc. Unfortunately, hundreds of people had the same great idea, so even though it was late in the afternoon (we went after the boys got off work), there were rocks full of people everywhere we went! We finally found some space at the back of the island, Carrie took off her shoes and socks and stuck her feet in the water, and everyone was happy. Then we ate at Mary Angela's, a little Italian place in Carytown - good pizza!!

On Wednesday, we met up with Gail and Joanna at Maymont Park, another one of my favorite places. It was HOT, but we managed to stay in shade as much as possible and toured through the Italian and Japanese gardens before leaving. I would've liked to have gone in the mansion, but they're charging now...what's up with that???

After leaving Maymont, we stopped at Tony's Italian Restaurant in the West End for lunch. Unfortunately, Tony wasn't there, so I wasn't able to give him a hard time - something I do every time I see him...he just makes it so easy....! Oh well - next time, Tony!!

Then came the drive back - the question I always ask myself "Now, why did I move again?" - but thanks to our passengers, the trip went fairly quickly and we were home in (almost) no time.

As they say: "A good time was had by all!" Weather was great, food was good, company even better...who could ask for anything more??!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what it means to me...

And this week, I got a great lesson in respect from a wonderful first-grade teacher here in the county. I will be filling in for her when she has her baby in a few weeks, so I spent a couple of days this past week observing and trying to remember all that she does during the day to keep her class going. Not only has she given me six-eight weeks of wonderful lesson plans (THANK YOU!!), but she also taught me great ways to interact with the children in a positive way and how to handle negative issues in a manner that does not shame the child, yet reminds him/her to make good choices.

For example, how she calls roll...instead of just blurting out the child's name and expecting a hand raised or a small voice yelling "here" or "present", she says "Good morning, Mr. or Ms. So-and-so" and the child is expected to LOOK at her and respond, "Good morning, Ms. (name)". This to me is a wonderful way to not only remind a child of his/her manners, but to show them they matter to the teacher by the respectful way she addresses them. I'm so impressed that I will do my best to carry on this tradition as well as others I have learned this week!

Respect....not always something we think about until we see such a great example that it has to be pointed out.