Another Day, Another Year, Another Thought

This may be the longest I have gone without writing here.  I should probably apologize, but I won't.  2016 is the year for a kindness epidemic for me, and that means from me too.  So while I have had plenty of thoughts, I haven't really solidified those thoughts by writing them down here.

But this is a new year and I want to turn over a new leaf. So today I thought I would share MANY thoughts, that are NOT my own.  But I did like them!

R.A.K. and the Payback Plan

I hadn't ever seen this acronym: R.A.K. but I recently experienced it Wednesday morning when I stopped for a diet coke refill on my way to work.  I filled my lime green insulated mug and stood in line to pay for it.  The gentleman ahead of me was quickly joined by his co-worker (they had on the same HVAC company shirts).  the gentleman at the front of  the line said he'd get his buddy's drink and chocolate do-nut and then added, "I'll pay for her drink as well.  What is that a 44?  A 64?"  He was indicating me with his head.  His smile was a big as all get out.

Once this kind gesture was recognized--it was morning, I was slow--I told him that wasn't necessary.  he said "Not much is necessary.  I'd like to pay fro your drink.  How big is your mug?"  That goofy grin only got bigger on his face.

I'm sure I was awkward and flustered and probably even blushed.  I stammered out that it was a 32 ounce mug, and a sincere "Thank you so much" and the two happy heating and air conditioning guys headed to their truck.

Paul, the local Gas 'N Sip cashier, who is delightful in his own way, mirrored the silly grin and wished me a very happy day.  I returned some kind of greeting and floated out to the car.

I'm pretty sure the gentleman who bought my drink would agree, but that was the best 95 cents he spent that whole day.  I was absolutely tickled that he did that for me, a total stranger.  And that he did something so simple with such sincere kindness was so meaningful to me.

I thought about it all the way into work.  In fact I was a little flustered still when I go there, thinking about this generous man who paid for my diet coke.  Small and simple things make big differences.

The thought stayed with me all day that he did this without obligation or expectation.  He did it because, from the looks of it, he enjoyed surprising people at the local Gas 'N Sip.  He probably felt so good about that!  He should, after all.  But maybe he didn't think about it again.

I couldn't stop thinking about it.

I've had people do nice things for me  before.  But these were friends, family, loved ones.  I have the best friends, family, and  loved ones.  They do wonderful things for me all the time.  And I do try to reciprocate those kindnesses.  But that was the difference.  This wasn't reciprocation.  This was a Random Act of Kindness.   R.A.K.  And RAKs deserve to be paid forward.

At work, I received a phone call from a good customer who had a small part on their wheelchair break.  She asked if I could just order the replacement part for her and drop ship it to her where she could fix the problem herself.  It was an easy fix.  After my Gas 'N Sip surprise experience I thought, I should be able to help this lady somehow and surprise her with a RAK of my own.

So I did.  And when our driver stopped by with the part she needed and no invoice or bill, she asked what she owed us.  He was pleased to tell her "Nothing!"  He said she smiled a big goofy grin at him.

The world would be a much happier place if we each passed on a big goofy grin.

A Mother's Wisdom

I thought I'd share a few little thoughts over the next couple of days...or until my headache eases.

Words To Live By

Recently I had a friend share this quote with me.  I am not sure what it is about it, but I felt an immediate respnose to it.

"The purpose of life is not to be happy.  It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have made some difference that you have lived and lived well."  --Ralph Waldo Emerson


I am planning on using that as my closing thought to my PTSA board for the year.  We meet one more time to close out the month and wrap all our activities up.  But Mr Emerson really sums up what I feel is the purpose I feel as I have served in PTA over the years. By a pleasant happenstance, I also find happiness in being useful and honorable and compassionate.  Making a difference in the world can do that for you.  And I'm happy to have discovered that for myself.  I hope that my community and the schools and children I have felt have benefited by my little difference are as happy about my work as I am to do it.

Joy is Random

Sometimes, there is no rhyme or reason to things that make you happy.  Today I'd like to share a few that help me...

 

So there you go.  Random joy.  May your weekend be filled with it!

Away From The Office, Day 2

Day two's offering...

When Worlds Collide

Indy?  I'd like you to meet Doc Brown and Marty McFly.



Bravo, Sir!

Friends, just when I was feeling cynical and discouraged about the world we mive in, I heard about this story.  It truly does a sour old heart good:

(from the Associated Press Updated 8/28/2011 12:03:51 PM)

FRESNO, Calif. — Some people give back to their community. Then there's Fresno County School Superintendent Larry Powell, who's really giving back. As in $800,000 — what would have been his compensation for the next three years.

Until his term expires in 2015, Powell will run 325 schools and 35 school districts with 195,000 students, all for less than a starting California teacher earns.

"How much do we need to keep accumulating?" asks Powell, 63. "There's no reason for me to keep stockpiling money."

Powell's generosity is more than just a gesture in a region with some of the nation's highest rates of unemployment. As he prepares for retirement, he wants to ensure that his pet projects survive California budget cuts. And the man who started his career as a high school civics teacher, who has made anti-bullying his mission, hopes his act of generosity will help restore faith in the government he once taught students to respect.

"A part of me has chaffed at what they did in Bell," Powell said, recalling the corrupt Southern California city officials who secretly boosted their salaries by hundreds of thousands of dollars. "It's hard to believe that someone in the public trust would do that to the public. My wife and I asked ourselves 'What can we do that might restore confidence in government?'"

Powell's answer? Ask his board to allow him to return $288,241 in salary and benefits for the next three and a half years of his term. He technically retired, then agreed to be hired back to work for $31,000 a year — $10,000 less than a first-year teacher — and with no benefits.

"I thought it was so very generous on his part," said school board member Sally Tannenbaum. "We get to keep him, but at a much lower rate."

His move was so low-key, his manner so unassuming, that it took four days after the school board meeting for word of his act to get out to the community. There were no press releases or self-congratulatory pats on the back.

"Things like this are what America is all about," said friend Alan Autry, Fresno's former celebrity mayor who played Capt. Bubba Skinner on the TV series "In the Heat of The Night."

"America is as much about overcoming obstacles in difficult times as it is opulence," Autry said. "This reminds me of the great sacrifices made throughout our history, especially the Great Depression."

No one has been more surprised about the positive reaction than Powell, a lifelong educator who didn't realize that what he did was newsworthy. He chuckles at his desk when yet another e-mail arrives from a colleague blown away by his generosity. Two days after word got out he had received 200 messages on his Facebook page.

"When you make good choices, good things happen to you," said Powell, who tends to talk in the kind of uplifting phrases that also make him a sought-after motivational speaker.

He even sees as an asset his childhood contraction of polio, which left him with a limp and a brace, and now a lingering post-polio syndrome.  "It's the most spectacular thing that has happen to me in all my life," he said. "People stepped up to help me be successful."

Powell might credit others, but others say Powell's drive always has come from within. Despite the right leg brace and experimental operations to stop the growth of his healthy leg, he became a champion high school wrestler in Fresno and set a record for one of the most dreaded of all gym class drills — the 20-foot rope climb, which he completed in 1.8 seconds. Today he carries a six handicap in golf.

After moving into school administration he became deputy superintendent, and was appointed to his current job before running for the office in 2006.

The ordained Baptist minister, who serves on the board of a national anti-bullying group that sprang from the Columbine shootings, is so popular he even counts among his friends his contract bargaining nemesis, the former head of the employees' union.

"For a leader to step up to help the budget is phenomenal," said Mike Lepore. "It gives you hope. It gives you the feeling that everything is being done to try to make education work. It's Larry. It really is."

Powell will still earn a six-figure retirement, especially hefty by the standards of California's farming heartland. But because his salary comes out of the district's discretionary budget, for the next three years he'll be able to steer the money he is giving up where he wants: to programs for kindergarten and preschool, the arts and a pet project that steers B and C students into college by teaching them how to take notes and develop strategy skills.

"Our goal has never been to have things," Powell said of himself and his wife, Dot. "We want to give back."

BRAVO, Sir!

What's The Deal With....

MILK?!

I mean, it is the first thing I need to go to the store for.  We run out of milk before anything else. Why is that?

It is the one thing that never makes it to the "must sell by" date once it is in our fridge.

Why can't lunch meats, corn chips, condiments and Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll tubes ever go that quick?

Now, I am off to the store.

Can you guess what we need?  Yeah.  What's the deal with that?!

It Requires A Sign?!

We visited The Homestead Resort as part of our disappointming lunch outing this week, and part of that visit included the stop by the crater to take a peek.  A group was preparing for a scuba diving lesson, and a mom and little daughter were swimmingint he 98 degree cratered hot pot.

On our way out The Girl caught sight of this sign and we all laughed.  Must be a problem, if you have to post a sign.  Or maybe that is just too much information, for the rest of us.

PTA Can Do That To You?

A very dear and funny friend gave me this little picture this past week. She added the identifying notations pointing out the two of us, plus added a couple other PTA friends we work with regularly. 

I know the text is too tiny to read, but it says:
"The Sun City Poms (a group of nine senior-citizen cheerleaders and dancers based in Arizona) begin all their performances by telling the audience that their goal is to inspire.  Without question, the Poms succeed.,  The troupe defied the notion that elderly folks are sedentary.  In fact, after seeing them perform, I was motivated to be more active and try new things."

After seeing this photo--with one of the ladies supposedly representing me, I am inspired too.  Inspired  to be fit enough to wear a sequin covered leotard when I am in my seventies.  Heck, I'm inspired and all, but I'd be happy to be in that good a shape NOW to wear a sequin covered leotard...or any leotard at all, in fact.

Makes Me Go HUH?!

OK.  The post counter on blogger just said that this is my 1000th post.  I think it must be scratched and has some kind of skip in it.   Oh well.  At lest I was able to post, finally.  All day yesterday things were apparently "under construction" and it wouldn't let me log on.  Ah, the joys of these technological times.

Here is something worth considering...Are these JUST coincidences, or is there something more to these photos? I'm just saying.

Random Sampler

Today is post number 999.  Does that seem a little freaky to anyone else?!

I'm not sure what happened to yesterday.  I know I was busy, but I didn't remember being so busy I forgot to write.  Oh, well.  "Dees tings happen!"

The Girl is, as I type, taking her AP Government test.  She was kind of sweating over it.  This weekend she went so far as to make flashcards to study the various court cases, government policies, constitutional amendments and piece of legislation she had to memorize.  AS the test grew closer we both realized she probably would have had a better chance with this Government class had she taken AP US History first.  But the HS counselors--whom she has yet to meet with (and she's ending her sophomore year, for crying out loud!)--haven't seemed too concerned with her academic progression.  So we are left to our own devices, along with guidance form some wiser members of the Official Smartypants' Moms Network.  You know, the moms who have had older kids who were so bright that the kids earned their associates degrees along with their high school diplomas.  That is the order of smartypants The Girl belongs with, and I try to just network with the other moms on what we should be doing to make that happen for her.

Part of my busyness yesterday was a final PTSA meeting for this year at the High School.  The incoming co-presidents introduced their board and the room looked a little like a musical chairs event.  But there are some truly dynamic women who work on the HS PTA board.  I am excited to get to know them better! Plus the little Thank You  luncheon the school presented was delightful.  I am gearing up to really jumping in there to see who the system works next year and expand my Involved Mom Network.

And finally, Sunday night, while we were finishing dessert at the Mother's Day feast at Grandmama's the phone rang.  Low and behold, it was Genius Golfer's brother, Mike, calling from a friend's place in Anaheim. Mike apparently lives in a truck, in a parking lot of an Alpha Beta, where the management has told the police that he is their unpaid night security so let him stay there.  He told the family that he had found Jesus (didn't know He was missing) and that when he leaves things up to God he always has what he needs.  This is the same brother who lived under a rock, or a bridge, or in a public park or something for many years.  His current vocation, aside for the Alpha Beta security position he gave himself, is "doing nice stuff for people" who then will feed him or give him a few dollars.  It is such a far cry from what I understand in my life.  GG spoke with him (for the first time in probably 8 or 10 years) and said Mike sounded really happy and really good.  Even when he was here, living with Grandmama, Mike always had a good heart, but was just off a little bit.  Traditional work seemed like it rubbed him the wrong way, but he was always willing to help out a neighbor or friend.  And he really, sincerely cared for an loved all the nieces and nephews.  I do hope he is happy, and that somewhere down the road, he'll figure out how to live in the same reality with the rest of us--or at least, let us know where his reality is once in while.  Maybe more often than once every 8 or ten Mother's Days.

Random Thoughts

Today is minimal day...or as we like to call it--Super Early Out Day.  My question is WHY?  I mean, I know that why the district did this to us, to the kids, and to the teachers.  Poor teachers.  You are still left to have meetings and collaberation efforts all afternoon.  But it sure feels like I just get kids off to school and in about 47 minutes I have to turn around and collect them back home for the day.  I have the same about of "stuff" to do each day, so that each few minutes before I must return full time to my mom role can feel discouraging.

Later this week I volunteered myself to teach a training seminar for others going into my PTA job within this school district. I just put together an outline of what I think I want to teach.  Yet, I have a sinking feeling that I will wing it more than I wish.  I do have a plan, and can share with these folks how I have done things, but they each have to figure it out for themselves.  Maybe that is the approach I should have taken, and not ever volunteered to teach it at all.

I recently read a friend's note to herself: "Nothing taste as good as thin feels".  Yeah.  Well, I beg to differ.  It is Girl Scout Cookie time, people.  Need I say more?  Plus, I found a generic brand of Tagalongs for about half the price and they taste great.  I'm sure I will rethink that the first time I squeeze myself into a swim suit when the pool opens.  But hey, that is months away.

# 800

Well, so much for the mellow Friday I had imagined.  But I did get a lot done, so there is that.

Today is post number 800.  Is that crazy to anyone else?!

My thoughts are scattered and fairly random today, so I'll just give you the bullet points:

* I love that our school district is seeking (pro-actively, and a full year in advance) public input on their proposed bond--and that they listen.

* I wish the city would have done the same about the utility rates.

* My dad mentioned our new furniture on the phone the other day and then added that he wondered if I realized that in another 10 years I could have grand kids playing on the furniture.  YIKES!

*If I am walking briskly uphill for almost an hour each morning, why are my pants not feeling any looser?  Is the exercise still just working my heart and lungs only?

*The Girl asked if she could get checked for exercise-induced asthma, as she is having a hard time breathing when she works out too hard at the pool.

*Does she realize that we call her a "fish" metaphorically?

*Why do Reece's Peanut Butter cups taste so good, in absolutely any form?  Dangit.

*Maybe that is why my jeans don't feel any looser.  Double Dangit.

*Why does Ferris Bueller's Day Off  seem full of so much more naughty language now than when I first loved it in the 80s?

*Hope our Viking boys win the football game tonight.

*I sure put my foot in my mouth at my PTA meeting yesterday.  I was doing a show 'n tell of the on-time drawing prizes.  A couple of things were 2-for-1 cards to a couple of local burger joints that I got when I purchased the Viking Cards from a pair of darling HS boys in my congregation. As I was showing the PTA folks the prizes, I explained that "as I love HS boys, I was a sucker for the stuff they were selling anytime they ask me."  Or something to that effect;  to that level of embarrassment.

*There must be a warning system in my brain that malfunctions and allows me to say unbelievably inappropriate things.  In front of other people.  All the time.

*It is a good thing most of the PTA folks are my friends, and understood what I meant, despite what I said.

* It is even better that the sweet HS boys of whom I misspeak regularly also understand what I mean despite what I say.  And so do their moms.

*Maybe this is a good place to stop for today.

Have a great weekend, friends.  And thanks for reading 800 posts thus far--even if it means that you must read between the lines to understand what I mean.

First Step to Recovery

They say in many a 12 Step Program that admission is the first step to recovery. If that is indeed true, than I would like to admit to a pile of things today, in hopes that I can eventually recover.

1--I admit that I eat when I am stressed, angry, or bummed out.

2--I admit that I tend to choose things like the Costco ice cream bar dipped in chopped almonds for just such emotional eating--even if it still breakfast time.

3--I admit that the minute I say exactly what I am thinking, which is generally not nice, and get that feeling off my chest I feel bad immediately and want to apologize.

4--I admit that I prefer to have my kids busy doing things than sitting around, even if I could get to sit around with them.

5--I admit that I feel a sense of guilt if I do not pitch in to help my kids' teams/friends/classes/schools.

6--I admit that I enjoy watching naughty teen 80s movies when I am home alone.

7--I admit that I buy more produce than we ever eat in hopes that when I line my groceries on the check out conveyor belt that it looks like I cook more healthy food for my family than I actually do.

8--I admit that I have stalked people I knew as "popular kids" in HS on Facebook hoping to find them fat and miserable.

9--I admit that sometimes I just put on my "happy face" for the public and keep my nasty real-self for my family. (And yes, I know that is totally unfair to them.)

10--I admit that I feel no guilt on Sundays when Genius Golfer gets tired of waiting for me to wake up from a nap to make dinner and he grilled steaks and bakes potatoes by himself.

11--I admit that I wish the first day of school was a Mother's Holiday event at my favorite burger joint, The Barn.

12--I admit that I stash M'nMs and Reece's peanut butter cups in my house so I can eat them without sharing with my kids.

OK. I think a dozen admissions in one day is enough. In some of these cases, I am not sure I really want to recover, but I feel better admitting them just the same.

Spaced Out

You know it has been a long week when you remember posting your blog piece early in the morning of Thursday and now at 6PM we realize it is really Friday! Yikes. I think I need a nap.

Genius Golfer is working late, again. The Girl is headed up to some after-dinner pool time with friends, and The Boy just asked if he got his chores for tomorrow done (he is going to be gone at a scout service project most of the day) can go play with friends down the street.

I believe I just bought myself a night off. Spacing out seems to have worked. My darling Jane (Austen) and I will spend the evening together, I imagine...maybe with a milkshake in hand for the movie.

Surprises

Well, after my rant about the neighbor kid who picked my tulips, I got a surprise pair. These two showed their tiny, shorter heads this week--after I thought all hope was gone for my flowerbed.

Don't you just love a happy ending?

20 Questions

About a week ago the newspaper ran an article on Pulitzer -Prize winning Dave Barry, humor columnist extraordinaire. They just interviewed him and asked him 20 Questions. He is doing publicity for his new book "I'll Mature When I'm Dead". This was originally found at:
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/124724-dave-barry/

Not that I'll ever be a columnist of his caliber, but I enjoyed the article and was inspired to interview myself with the same 20 questions. So that is my posting today.

1. The latest book or movie that made you cry?
Reading Remembering Anne Frank has made me tear up. It is just astounding that evil and wickedness at that level was allowed to occur.
2. The fictional character most like you?
I'd love to say Elizabeth Bennett from Jane Austen's masterpiece Pride and Prejudice but I am more like The Poky Little Puppy.
3. The greatest album, ever?
Journey's Greatest Hits. Easily.
4. "Star Trek" or "Star Wars"?
Star Wars, forever!
5. Your ideal brain food?
I like steamed broccoli. I think that helps your brain.
6. You're proud of this accomplishment, but why?
My kids...but they came pre-wired to me as they are and I just like to take credit for them. I know in my heart that they are as good as they are despite my efforts.
7. You want to be remembered for...?
That I did the best I could at every point of influence of my life. I wasn't perfect, obviously, but I sure tried to do my best.
8. Of those who've come before, the most inspirational are?
Well, my mom, of course for inspiration generally. But I get pretty excited about Abigail Adams for her progressivism and Abraham Lincoln for his integrity. There are more, but I'll have to think more about that.
9. The creative masterpiece you wish bore your signature?
Ansel Adams' shot of Half-Dome at Yosemite, maybe in particular.
10. Your hidden talents...?
I can tap dance for about a minute and a half. And I can sing almost any song Opera Style--which I do regularly in Family Home Evening.
11. The best piece of advice you actually followed?
"Move far, far away." Advice from my mom at my graduation and marriage.
12. The best thing you ever bought, stole or borrowed?
I borrowed a pair of great already-broken-in-perfectly shoes once. They were great!
13. You feel best in Armani or Levis or...?
Levis. Remind me who Armani is again.
14. Your dinner guest at the Ritz would be?
I'd love to have dinner with President and Sister Hinckley. Or John and Abigail Adams. They'd be great too.
15. Time travel: where, when and why?
Yes, revolutionary and civil war eras would be cool. What we read in the history books is not necessarily the way it really was.
16. Stress management: hit man spa vacation or Prozac?
Usually a box of Girl Scout cookies and a DVD marathon works for me.
17. Essential to life: coffee, vodka, cigarette, chocolate or...?
Of those? Chocolate I guess is the only option.
18. Environ of choice: city or country, and where on the map?
Country, is it means at home where I grew up. City, if it means a place I haven't ever been.
19. What do you want to say to the leader of your country?
"Hello?! Is anyone listening in there?!?"
20. Last but certainly not least, what are you working on now?
PTA, Young Women, Family, keeping it together, scrap booking catch-up-mode.

In a Funk

In the event that you have already noticed this by my postings this week, I would like to confirm the suspicions: I am in a funk.

I am sure there are several factors that feed this funky feeling. One is that I will have two teenagers as of tomorrow. Another is this shift in the weather. But there are others that are less easily identifiable.

I believe part of this is the busyness I feel without seeing the results at the end of the day. I have had a lot to do, but nothing that I could quantify at the day's end.

The other part if the recent weariness I feel in regards to my future. Not that there is anything imminent, but I think I an at the halfway point with my PTA life now and that allows me to look forward to the end of the proverbial tunnel. What am I going to do then? Yes, I realize I still have a year, but as a planner-type, I'd like to be making those plans now.

Some of this is that I haven't had any good writing topics this week that weren't directly related to something politically minded--and that makes me crazy lately.

I am happy to say that the weather will undoubtably, change; My kids will continue to get older; I'll know someday what I want to be when I grow up; And eventually I will have something to show for what I do each day. Until any or all of that works out, I'll just keep plugging away. Feeling funky.