One two three....

Those of you who have watched my development will understand the fact that I am borderline obsessive/compulsive.  Ms. Lucy used to aver if I woke up in the morning intent on doing something, by the time I went to bed, it would be done, regardless what she did.  Apparently my agenda items were not always positive...or safe.  When I go up or down a staircase for the first time, I count the stairs.  When I run, I have to convince myself not to count my steps.  Now you have to understand, my compulsion is limited in scope.  For example, if you saw my kitchen or watched me cook, you would realize cleaning is not in the purview of my "disorder"!  Picking up my clothes?  Another anomaly.  And there's that whole consistency thing with the toilet seat....  Maybe I'm an O/C savant?  You may well wonder what precipitated this post?  It was the first 103 paces that started my morning jog.  And the fact that I consciously was able to quit.  Now if I could just get that toilet seat thing down!  Enjoy the 318th day of the year, and know you are loved!

Hbty

Happy birthday to you.  Happy birthday to you.  Happy birthday dear Annette.  Happy birthday to you!  Who’s Annette, you ask? The most precious of things.  A friend.  We were co-workers.  She allowed me to share her family.  She and her husband have raised three of the most delightful young gentlemen you could hope to meet.  For several years, we shared a room at school, our plans and hopes, and a relationship built on trust and admiration.  Oh, yeah, and she bowled part time, too!  We have spent hours laughing.  We have spent a few moments crying.  We have solved the world’s problems on more than one occasion.  No one ever asked!  She is the only person for whom I have ever substituted.  Please be advised, there really are no friends that could convince me to do that again.  It’s probably her fault that I run.  (Okay, even the best of friends have flaws!)  And to prove her awesomeness, she reads my blog!  Now that is true friendship.  This is an excellent time for an exhortation.  Get up off your resting rumps, go to your phone, or your computer, or your paper and pencil, and take a moment to tell a friend how they help make your life complete.  It doesn’t have to be their birthday.  It doesn’t have to be a special occasion at all. Make their day!  Tell them you love them.  As I love you!

Preface to a presentation

There are things that make this old teacher’s heart go pitter pat.  One of them is the opportunity to talk to teacher gonna-be’s about what worked in the good old days (and hopefully still will)!  I have the privilege of doing just that this coming Thursday, so of course, I call up the old powerpoint and decide it needs a little up-dating.  Now, everyone knows the teacher’s mantra…if it works for someone else, steal it and adapt it to make it work for you.  I decided to go to the top…of the clock…and steal from Dave Letterman.  I have a top ten ways to make school work.  I won’t bore you with the entire list.  I will share with you my favorites. 

Number one on the list…catch someone doing something right.  As an educator, I frequently was drawn into the “find it wrong” syndrome.  If a child misbehaved, I called the parent.  If a child got on my nerves, I took him/her home at night and stewed (and shared with my espoused!)  It took a long time for me to instigate my 50/50 proposition.  If I had to contact a parent about a behavior problem, I contacted another parent of a child who had done something “right” during the day.  Any time I had to send out failure slips, I also sent out “good” letters thanking the parents for the wonderful child they had entrusted to me.  I discovered that I was finding more and more positives and fewer and fewer negatives.  My attitude improved.  My classroom improved, and to this day, I have students come up and say, “Do you remember that letter you sent my folks?  They still have it!”  I wonder how many of them kept the failure slips?  I’ll tell my group to steal this idea.

Number 2—While you teach them the ABC’s, also teach them the RMB’s!  Poetic, isn’t it?  What are the RMB’s you ask (or if you didn’t, you should have!)  There are three.

1. Respect Must Be Given.  It is my philosophy that every living thing deserves respect from the get-go.  It is not something you earn. Instead, it is something you can lose.  Until there is a reason, respect must be given. 
2. Responsibility Must Be Accepted.  We make a number of choices every day.  Some of them are right.  Take the credit for those.  Some of them are wrong.  Take the credit for those as well.  Own your mistakes, appease them where and when you can, learn from them always, and move on. 
3. Reputations Must Be Earned.  If you want to be known as a nice person, you must be nice.  If you want to be known as a bully, shame on you.  But you earn your titles! 

Number 3—Do the math.  Too often, we follow the wrong formula—circumstance + circumstance + circumstance = who you are.  Totally fallacious.  We cannot control from whence we cometh.  If we were born poor, it’s not our fault. If we had less that loving parents, it’s not our fault.  If we had no role models, it’s not our fault.  Our circumstances often cannot be changed.  And too often, they become the rationale for our behavior.  The unfortunate thing is, the answer is incorrect!  A better formula is--choice + choice + choice = who and what we become.  It’s not the circumstance.  It’s how we react to it!  As Charles Swindol says, “we can play on that one string we have, and that is our attitude.”  See note above about “fixing” the mistakes and realize that failure is an event, not a life style!  Events can be excellent stepping stones!

So there you have three of the ten.  Aren’t you thrilled I didn’t give you the other seven?  I will attempt not to be this pedantic when I speak to the gonna-be’s.  Hopefully, this will be able to discern how wonderful it is to teach;  how rewarding it is to teach;  and how it changed my life in so many positive ways.  And hopefully, they will know they are loved!  Just like you!

The wee things

It is the little things in life that make it worth while.  For example, today was our virginal Costco membership experience.  We had lusted after our friends who always mentioned this and that came from Costco, and we felt somewhat deprived of the possibility of that excitement.  Well, with a quick trip to Sioux Falls, that is no longer the case.  Observation...what you don't have is always more appealing than what you have.  While an entertaining excursion, it was not the epic event for which I had anticipated.  Besides which, they don't carry Crystal sugar (the brand of choice for fudge) so we had to stop at Sam's club anyway.
Example number two.  Crystal sugar was $2,00 cheaper a bag than when I last purchased!  SCORE!  Life as we know it is fantastic!  100 pounds later (that would be pre-fudge weight), we are headed home.
Example number three.  Proof once again it's not the destination nor the journey...it's with whom you travel.  What could beat a day out with mi esposa and her sister?  All in all, I give thanks for the little things!  And the big things, like you, my limited yet faithful readers!  You are loved!

"Last Vegas"

It's been quite a while since I went to the movies.  This afternoon was the exception.  I went to see "Last Vegas", and it's been a long time since I have laughed that hard or that often at anything.  Sure, the characters were all mature.  Hell, they were old.  Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Robert Deniro, and Kevin Kline, all on the same screen, were amazing!  The one-liners hit home, and the visual liners were even more stunning.  The introductory aquasize scene was brilliant.  There were young folk in the audience, and I think they may have missed the not so subtle nuances of aging.  I didn't.  The movie is about friendship.  The movie is about dignity.  The movie is about relationships. The movie is about the best hour and forty minutes I have spent in front of any screen.  I strongly recommend you see it...for the laughs, the memories, and because you are loved!

And that's the truth

From Elmer Fudge to Willie Wonka, my personas seem to gravitate to the sweet parts of life!  Whether distributing that which I make myself or helping entice others to enjoy the fruits of the Watertown Confectionary laborers, I seem to continually be at odds with the ADA.  But here’s my philosophy and I’m sticking to it…today.  Sometimes, a sweet treat is an amazing thing.  It warms the body (that would be the sugar burning off!).  It warms the soul (that would be the endorphins released by the chemical reaction of chocolate to the pleasure sensors of the brain).  And it is an excellent cardio/physical aid (oh my god, I can’t believe I just ate that.  I have to run to burn it off!)  Likewise, I continuously maintain that goal one should be to take care of ourselves.  If we are not strong…if we are not content to some degree…we cannot completely give to those around us.  And what more could bring us a sense of well being than the slow melt of chocolate on the tongue…or the amazing tang of pineapple and sugar together?  So get yourself a little sweet.  Revel in the sense of wellness and swellness, and go do good in the world.  And that, my friends, is what’s known as rationalization.  But it works for me!  And you are loved!

The things I did't learn

I obviously led a deprived (depraved?) childhood.  There are things typical y-chromosomal units learned that I did not. 

·         I cannot throw a ball.  As a youngster, I was pummeled with one over-riding epithet.  “Zubke, you throw like a girl.”  That, of course, was patently untrue. Every double x I know throws better than I, and most of them outdo the epithet hurlers of old.  There’s just something about the skill that eludes me.

·         I cannot remove a bullhead from a hook.  Try as I would, the slimy little devils outmaneuvered me every time.  I am convinced that my father-in-law had the only true method…and that one I learned.  Catch a bullhead, cut the line, and start over!

·         I don’t know how to spit.  Some of my cohorts could hit a tin can with unerring accuracy from distances greater than three feet.  If the can were between my feet, I would miss it.

You may wonder how I got to today’s chain of thought. Even if you didn’t, I’m going to share!  I just got back from running (in and of itself a punishment for leading a bad life!) and I was totally engrossed in ideas for today’s blog.  While running, I have learned that it is better to expectorate the product of my salivary glands rather to ingest it.  Lost as I was in thought, I didn’t even realize that I had turned into the wind.  As my ninth grade boys would say (and you realize all ninth grade boys have one commonality…wait for it…) I hocked a lugie.  And it returned.  My ninth grade girls also have a commonality to ninth grade boys doing things like that.  Here it is.  “Gross!”  Thank god for gloves and little traffic.  I did make it home.  I did come up with a topic.  And I have shared.  At times, for me, life is the spits!  But I sure do enjoy the ride!  May the wind always be at your back and always remember you are loved!