Procrastinating again...

I fell back into my procrastinating ways...

I've missed three days of writing prompts.  So now I must choose one to do today.  My four choices:

• What do people thank you for?
• What's one thing you are proud of?
• What's your elevator pitch?
• What difference do you want to make?

My quick responses to each of these questions is

• People thank me for helping them.  I am one of those who makes sure that events are cleaned up.  I will come early to help setup. 
• One thing I am proud of is helping my daughter's girl scout troop complete their Marian Awards (a 16 month scouting religious award journey)
• I don't have an elevator pitch.  My shyness usually keeps me from speaking to anyone I don't know.
• The difference I want to make is to live the best life that I can and show my children by my example that treating others as you want to be treated makes life better for everyone.

If I really want to challenge my writing, I need to work on my elevator pitch...  I'll have to sleep on that one and see what comes to me.

What really makes me angry about the world

Today's topic is a writing prompt suggested by Scott Dinsmore of liveyourlegend.  I have been reading his emails for a few months and trying to decide if I am going to jump in with both feet.  So far, I haven't made the commitment.  Some days I like what he says, other days, not so much. His current challenge is a 7 day blog challenge which matched up with my need to express my opinion to the universe yet aimed at no one in particular.

So what really makes me angry about the world?  I suspect a lot of people would say the current wars and civil unrest.  While these things don't make me happy, they are not the things that make me really angry.  What makes me really angry is the attitude I see all around me.

It feels as though the prevalent attitude is "what is in this for me?"

Put out a notice for volunteers for weeks before an event.  Very few responses.  People show up at the event and when they see you running around working hard, they comment "I would have helped if you had asked me".  Huh?  What do you think those four notices in email begging for volunteers was?

...

It seems like I have more to say on this topic but my thoughts are all jumbled and it is going to have to wait until some other day.

Careful what you ask for...

I couldn't think of a topic today so I asked a friend for a topic.  Be careful what you ask.  The topic suggested was cramps.  Now what the heck am I supposed to do with that?  I thought about wimping out and writing about something else but I asked so the least I can do is follow through.

It's like being back in school again.  Quick! Write an essay on .  Brings back memories of grade school and makes me a little more empathetic to my sons' dislike of school.  When you are interested in Minecraft and Star Wars, why would you want to write about what moral lesson is conveyed by Maibon's wife's advice "Hoe your field or you'll have no crop to harvest, and no food for you, or me, or the little ones"  (the current story in the reading textbook is The Stone).

Oh, back to the topic of cramps.  If this were the old days (or if I were still in grade school), my hand would be cramping up about now.  I never learned to hold my pen/pencil lightly.  I always have a death grip on it so my hand cramps pretty quickly.  Add my carpel tunnel to it and writing longhand can be a painful process for me.  Makes me wonder why I keep a handwritten journal still.  I usually have to stop at least once on every page to let the tingling subside.

What is the point of cramps?  To make you slow down?  I understand when I am writing with a death grip on the pen that my hand would cramp and force me to stop.  Or cramps in your legs when you run too far or too fast.  But the worst?  Charlie horse leg cramps that wake you in the middle of the night!  What purpose does a sharp pain waking you from a deep sleep serve?  Nothing like waking up trying not to scream and wake up your spouse and trying to get out of bed and not stub your toe so you can walk off the pain.

I got nothing.  If this was a school assignment, I would probably get a C.  I wrote something but I didn't really cover the topic.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day...  and I see some beautiful cloud formations reflecting the setting sun outside.

Everybody Counts

Last week at my sons' school's Parent Teacher Council meeting, the topic of Everybody Counts was raised again. Everybody Counts is a program that allows the students to learn about conditions that make life different for people.  For example, what is it like to be blind or deaf or dyslexic or missing an appendage.

Everyone agreed that the idea of the program is a good one and one that we should bring back to the school.  It has been at least 6 years since the program, run by parent volunteers, has been offered at the school.  It is usually a one day event and each grade learns about a different condition.

One of the mentioned goals was for the children to understand that not everyone is exactly the same and that no matter what the differences we need to treat each other kindly.

The topic of timing was discussed.  Someone else had mentioned Catholic Schools Week but the teachers pointed out that week is already crazy busy.  I mentioned that the end of the school year seemed like a good time since the teachers are winding down on graded assignments and it would fit in with Goodwill Games and the Relay for Life walk (cancer related).  A fellow parent said that seemed too late in the school year if we are trying to teach the children tolerance for differences.  That parent's feeling was that the kids would quickly forget the lessons taught over the summer break.

That night it occurred to me that perhaps we missed the boat on explaining what Everybody Counts is supposed to be about.  Everybody Counts is meant to teach the students about the conditions and what it might be like to have the condition.  For example, to be blindfolded and led down a hallway by  someone else trusting that they will not let you run into anything.  Or feeling braille.  Or being able to see someone talking but not able to hear their words.  Or tying your shoes without using your thumbs.

The job of teaching them tolerance began years before they ever crossed the classroom doorway.  That responsibility began with us as parents from the first day of their precious lives.  The idea of tolerance can be reinforced by the teachers at school but the primary responsibility still lies with the parents.

When did we as parents turn over the responsibility of teaching our children values to school teachers?  

I am grateful for teachers who reinforce the great truth "Treat other as you would want to be treated". But if I did not teach them this before school and do not continue to reinforce while they are not at school, I cannot expect them to learn it in the short time they are in school while expecting them to learn all the academic things they need to learn.

My, how time flies

Hard to believe that I actually started this blog 6 and 1/2 years ago.  If you look at it, you will realize I have been quite the slacker when it comes to writing.  The same is not quite so true of my handwritten journal.  I tend to run in spurts there.  I get on a roll and write on a regular basis and then slack off and don't write for days or weeks.  Unfortunately when I slack off is usually when I should be journaling the most.

One of the reasons I am going to try to pick this up again is I find myself having trouble falling asleep at night thinking about things that are happening in the community around me.  My mind goes over and over my thoughts and opinions.  I have decided I need a place to express those opinions and if no one ever reads them, so be it.

So let the fun begin...