ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

Boy, I am a slacker blogger; my last post was in February, 2018. I like to write; I just don't get around to taking the time to do so. I get consumed by things that occupy my time and mind. Fortunately, I'm rarely bored, and that's a good thing.

Anyway, I've been thinking about the holidays and my excitement to see my kids and sister, my family, and friends in both NC and OH. In the process, I've also been compiling a list of what I want for Christmas.

So, cue the music:

All I want for Christmas is to be with these folks around the Christmas tree, the fireplace, and the dining room table in my parents' house in North Carolina.....

 

So many of those with whom we used to share those spaces are no longer with us, and we miss Mom and Daddy, Uncle Frank, Aunt Lib and Uncle Robert, as well as the Randall-Schadel family who will be in OH this Christmas. Regardless, we continue the extended family tradition: we eat well, laugh a lot, share stories, and revel in the love we've shared for over 60 years now.

And I want to spend time with these two - the loves of my life. If I've accomplished anything of note in my days upon the planet, it would have to be concretizing the unwavering bond between Samuel and Eliza. They honor and respect each other and always have each other's back. My greatest accomplishments, my greatest gifts.

 

And I'll be awfully happy to be with my sister during the holidays.

We are greatly different in many ways, but our bond parallels that of my children's, and I dont' know what I'd do without her.

 

 

Otherwise, I'd like some slippers since my 30-year old ones now have a hole I can stick my entire foot through, and I'd like a head flashlight - one of those things I can strap on my head when I need both hands and a flashlight at the same time. For me, that's about it.

 

Hopefully, Santa's helpers are within earshot.

 

 

 





THE WEEK IN REVIEW: 2/18 - 2-24 / 2018

As I sat at the table this morning with a cup of coffee in hand, I found myself drifting back to a question a friend who was over for dinner last night asked me: quite simply, she inquired as to how my week had been.

I'm a lucky woman, for I realize the third week of February, 2018, provided me with loads of joy and sweet memories.

-Last Sunday, I spent the afternoon with Miriam and Jr. Murrell at their house outside of Malta, OH. Miriam cooked a wonderful meal, accompanied by Jr.'s famous biscottis for dessert, and we sat around and talked about everything from life in our mid-sixties to political matters. Three aging yet still very active "back-to-the-earthers"chewing the fat, planning gardens, playing with cats, and sharing a meal.  Doesn't get much better.

-No one likes dental work, and I dreaded Wednesday something awful. At 7:45 AM, I arrived in Parkersburg on a visit to the endodontist that would be a lengthy stay, as I had not just one, but TWO root canals done over a period of five hours. Thankfully, Dr. Scott Seago and his assistant at Parkersburg Endodonics succeeded in putting me at ease. That's quite a feat, and I enjoyed their humming along to the Pandora station over the unnerving sound of the drills. Not a bad experience at all, especially for one with a low level of dentalphobia.

-On Thursday, I got to spend the afternoon with Sophie Veladota Justice, an amazing high school freshman who's as wise as any young woman I know at that age. We made a failed attempt at dying my hair purple. Alas, I understand platinum hair like mine can be difficult when it comes to taking color, but I do have a couple of nice lightly colored purple streaks in it to show for our efforts.  And, I'm not beyond thinking that I might just try again. It was FUN to do some girly play despite the fact I'm not looking like a punk-esque grandmother at this point. Later that evening, Sophie's mom, Christy, and I had time together at dinner (while Sophie endured an ACT workshop in math and science) to catch up. Christy and Sophie, farm family from way back, know the workings of TSW and the farm and fit right in.

-All week I have felt very connected to the movement begun by the students of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School following the horrific event they experienced at their school. Every school shooting leaves me stunned, breathless, greatly (!) saddened. These incidents hit very close to home with me since I've been in the classroom for close to 40 years of my life. I identify with teachers who feel helpless, who, along with their students, are little more than sitting ducks when someone succumbs to insanity and annihilation. I identify with students, who should not EVER have to endure such slaughter, and I identify with parents, whose children leave for school every day with no thought that their life might be ended or their world shattered by a school shooting. Those who read my Facebook page know that I can't sit quiet on this any more. HOWEVER, the movement sparked by the wise and fearless students who have mobilized our nation energizes me to act, to disseminate information, and to stand with teachers and students unlike ever before. I have always said young people have it together MUCH MORE than given credit ; adults are quick to assume and criticize without really knowing young adults and what matters to them. I stand with students, and I stand with teachers who are calling out the ignorance of the public on matters that make it impossible for them to live a life that meets the quality of education and time they invest in students. Teachers need to get paid for the work they do; they need support from state and local school systems; they need to be recognized for heroic efforts in terms of shielding students and giving their lives for student protection. More on all this later......it's highly emotional for me.

-A special wedding took place in Vietnam on Wednesday that I have celebrated all week. My former student Michael Sieberg married Tran Xuan Thao Nyugen (aka Nyugen) in Hue, Vietnam. Their happiness reached around the world, that's for sure, and as I participated from a distance via photos on Facebook, I could hardly contain my happiness. (I married them in Marietta just before Christmas for the official American license.) In their honor, I have had flowers all over the house, pulled out all my Buddhas, and toasted to them via photos. My heart pumped champagne bubbles of joy for them all week.

-And under another definition of celebration, I have ventured back to Boone, NC, in my heart, along with many of my classmates and friends as we have said goodbye to our high school principal, Dr. N. A. Miller. When all the high schools in our county consolidated into Watauga County High School, Dr. Miller became our first principal. My class, the Class of 1970, was the second class to complete all four years in the school. Dr. Miller, a soft-spoken, caring, kind man earned the respect of a student body who knew him to be fair, receptive, and invested in both students and teachers. Under his guidance, the school immediately grew in reputation as one of the model high schools in the state with a deserved reputation for both academics and career education. He set the bar very high for both his staff and their students. When I first entered the teaching profession, I was under the impression that all administrators would be like Dr. Miller, a false expectation across the board. In 40 years in the classroom, not one administrator, with the exception of Neena Davis, a dean at the local community college for a very brief tenure, reached the level of admiration and respect all of us held for Dr. Miller. He was also my friend Susann's father, so my friends and I knew him as a dad, a swim teacher, and a friend. Rest in power, Dr. Miller - a great inspiration to many, many people. Your legacy lives on in your students and in the students of your students.


Here's to life. Here's to celebration.  Here's to love. Here's to taking a stand. Here's to hair that resisted. All a great part of this past week.

MOVING FORWARD - ON THE MARCH AGAIN - THIS TIME IN COLUMBUS, OH

Something tells me that every year when the anniversary of the first Women's March in Washington comes around, I'm going to be taking to the streets. Yesterday across the United States and in cities abroad, there were 650+ marches - from major gatherings in large cities to smaller ones in towns like Athens (OH) and Newark (OH). Two of my marching buddies from our trip to DC, Miriam Murrell and Jacky Miner, and I hit the road and headed to Columbus to participate with others from around the state in the 2018 march.

Since our trip to DC last year, we've been in close contact and have organized a small group in Marietta we call MOVing Forward. We assisted Appalachian Ohio Indivisible with the Connectivity Summit held in Marietta in July, and we've represented our group at a meeting with Representative Bill Johnson's aide at Johnson's office in Marietta, as well as participated in a rally outside his office earlier in the year. Some members represented our group at the Athens March yesterday, and though we are small, we are united in spirit. I believe all of us would concur that our involvement in the marches and MOVing Forward has created an unbreakable bond of friendship and respect, as well as moments of unadulterated fun. And, I do believe that we are a part of a powerful movement that will make its presence greatly felt in the upcoming mid-term elections.

We picked up Miriam at her house outside of Malta, OH, and from there, she navigated us along the back roads toward Columbus. What a spectacular day for a drive on many roads that were new to me! The beauty of the virgin snow on pasture after pasture was breathtaking.

(photo credit to Jacky Miner who was riding shotgun)



 

Much, much smaller than other marches across the country, the Columbus rally was nonetheless powerful and impressive. All of us remarked at how glad we were to see young women taking a lead in voter registration and redistricting campaigns, as well as campaigning for progressive candidates. Families, single moms, senior citizens, people of all ethnicities and orientations gathered to state their concerns and hopes for our country in a very civil, respectful march and rally.

I remember my mom's support for the DC March last year, and this year, she continued to support our family marchers from the world of spirit: I proudly wore her Avon owl necklace from the 70"s under the many layers of clothes I had on.  Eliza went to the march in Cincinnati, Samuel watched in Chicago, and Myra and friends participated in Richmond. Colleagues and former students marched in places around the country, and others will be marching today.

I want to make one point clear: It's undeniable that people in our country are angry with the myriad comments and events that have streamed out of Washington this year. That's a fact. HOWEVER, the greater truth is that those who march LOVE our country and are genuinely and deeply concerned / worried over the trajectory in which we find ourselves plummeting. Attempts to denigrate or label those who march reflect a disrespect and misunderstanding of sincere conviction.

It's a fact:  THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE.