this post goes out to my wife–the mother of my children…
the fact of the matter is…that some women are born to be moms (regardless of their status/standing in the world, marital status, or biological factors and realities)…it is a trait they possess…it is something innate…it is something that you know ‘when you see it’…
my wife is one of those women…
one of the things that i love to watch…other than the mummy’s day celebration on amc (‘mummy movies’ marathon)...is…the way that she loves our children…jack and grace…it’s not half-way, three-quarters, or even 99.9%…it is a complete and total immersion…100%!!! this is not just ‘every other day’, or when ‘she feels like it’…but, she is there, she is present…every day…and they know it!!! this is significant because she also works full-time, as a middle school teacher (7th grade science)…try doing that, then coming home and lovin’ your kids like she does, people!
amazing…
so, here’s to you, babe! i love you, i admire you (bigtime)…and i wouldn’t want to herd (our own) cats with anyone else!
joe has been in my class for two years (the curriculum is set up so that you can take four semesters of criminal justice if you want to (and if your schedule “allows”)…
joe is a rarity among adolescent boys in today’s world…
because joe is the real deal; little about joe is a “front” or “false”…he possesses real self-confidence and bearing and maturity…and holds a worldview that, while not perfect, is truly positive…
joe has the potential to be a great man…
a few weeks back, i told the students that we would be watching freedom writers in class as a part of that week’s lesson (as a teacher, it is a truly inspirational tale–erin gruwell did some amazing work with those kids!)…a movie which usually gets groans from the boys, especially in a criminal justice class…and there was a groan that was voiced by one of the guys…but, joe cut it off…instantly…saying…
dang, d….you’re getting all inspirational on me now…it’s a good movie…makes me want to volunteer and donate all my money to the community…
he was saying it in a very awesome way, kind of giving me a hard time…but, mostly lending his positive support to the movie choice…legitimately so…and the other guys got on boardwith it too…they got on boardwith it because joe said it, because joe is a leader…to the positive…
not in some cheap-ass, rose-colored, leave it to beaver way…but, with gravitas (a word i’ve never used to describe a teenage boy before;)…and because he can communicate in that way, he can speak with some authority to his peers…in a way that immediately wins them over…
iron sharpens iron, and so one man sharpens another…
it is something that i’ve appreciated all year–and especially, during this year…one that’s been really tough, one where i’ve been ‘on the ropes’ more than not…
but, joe’s been there (many times)…in my corner, and i can pretty much guarantee that i wouldn’t have made it this far without him…
in a couple of months, when he graduates…i plan on shaking his hand and telling him…
thanks for ‘having my back’ this year, i appreciate it…keep on keepin’ on… with ‘what you’re doing’…you’re a good man…you give me hope…
outside of my father, there are a handful of men that have been and continue to be (in some cases) mentors to me…i consider it an honor and a privilege to have known these men…because they are…
men who have made me a better man…
iron sharpens iron, and so one man sharpens another…
one of “my guys” is affectionately known as “big e”…his real name is rev. eric olsen…and he runs luther heights bible camp in the sawtooth wilderness (in central idaho)…he’s been the camp pastor/director there for more than 20 years…i was fortunate enough to have worked closely with eric over the span of 6 summers…a short, but highly potent and influential time in my maturity…
the term “big e” is fitting because he isa big guy…nature made him that way…he’s the kind of guy who can crush boulders with his bare hands and pull fully grown pine trees out of the ground without breaking a sweat…
ever hear of paul bunyan? this guy trained paul bunyan, folks…
no, but seriously…
you won’t see him on the front cover of a magazine or hear about him on twitter…but he’s the kinda guy you should see and hear about there …because he’s a good man, a man who has dedicated his life to the service of others…and when you’re around him this is unmistakably clear…
you won’t know what he’s about by what he says, he speaks sparingly after all…
you’ll know it by what he does…
by his faith…he lives it out every day…
by the way he treats people…the kindness and love he shares with his family, the staff, the campers, the supporting congregations and individuals from those churches…
by the way he works…whether balancing the books, repairing a leaky roof, rebuilding a trail, building a new cabin, raising money for the camp, or digging out the composting toilet…(yes, he’s the camp pastor/director…but, he doesn’t leave the grunt work to someone else…he doesn’t shy away from the dirty jobs)…
working alongside big e is a lesson unto itself…if you can keep up, you can learn a lot…
so, thank you, eric…for everything…you made a difference in my life…you gave me trust, responsibility, and most of all–grace (and there was more than one time when i needed that;)…for a ‘gentle giant’…you were a powerful presence in my life and in the lives of many other people…and i know i’m better for knowing you…
before i was a teacher, i worked with kids in many different settings…coming through a gauntlet of years in youth work & (now) teaching, it takes a lot to impress and inspire me in this field…
but, i have been truly impressed and inspired over the past 3+ years…
with our in-home day care provider…
and yes, i said in-home daycare provider! …in-home daycare programs are often regarded as marginal, “fly-by-night” operations that may be alright in an emergency….but not as a serious long-term consideration…because “they’re just not as good as centers” or a mom/dad staying home with their children…nor are they viewed as “safe places”–you get the feeling that this is one of the most horrific decisions you can make for your children–tantamount to sending a kid cross-country on an orphan train (esp. from my parent’s generation)…like your kids will end up abducted, abused, neglected, abandoned, in the emergency room, dead in the street and on the nightly news if you leave them there!!! i heard the world saying, please report to the shame corner and turn in your parent card, now!
…this is not the case with our person, sharon–yes, her name has been changed to protect the innocent–or in the many cases of parents who use amazing in-home daycare providers each and every day…anyways, my wife did the first drop-n-go routine, through a river of tears (mind you, this is a person who cries over the voice🙂 and i did the job three days later…and this is what happened…
i entered the house, took off my shoes, and proceeded downstairs to find my children…i was excited to see them…arriving downstairs, i made eye-contact with my son and daughter…they recognized me and smiled…but, they weren’t that excited to see me…they stayed where they were–by the side (son) and in the arms (daughter) of sharon…i thought, what the hell is this?! i’ve been your father for nine months–you think that was a piece of cake–i was there when you were colicky, when you wouldn’t sleep, when you had that “projectile shit”–the rapid fire, .50 caliber shtuff that ‘took out’ the nursery room door–and this is how you repay me…how dare you?! i mean, i had envisioned my children running from sharon, bounding towards me–their father–with outstretched arms (press play on can’t hold back by survivor)…but, it didn’t happen…so, i made funny faces, talked to them, waved for them to come to me…but still, they stayed with sharon…so, i hiked back upstairs, put my shoes on, went out to the van and grabbed the wonder bar…so-to-pry my children off of their in-home daycare provider!
…since those early days, we’ve seen and heard all about the amazing things they’ve learned from sharon…sign language, “how to wear a helmet with style”, music, how to pronounce their “t’s”, please and thank-you’s, “how to help”, potty training–you name it…she is unbelievable…so, let me just take this moment to say…thank you, thank you, thank you, sharon…for teaching our kids, for loving our kids like that…i am impressed and inspired…you’re the “+1” to my wife and i, you’re the best around…
(it's like) herding cats... 