Lucky 13

13 years ago I stood in front of a young man who is now my partner and has held my heart for almost half my life. Back then I was niave and alturistic. I had pie in the sky hopes and dreams. I had no idea what I was doing.

13 years later some of those dreams (and others I had no idea about) are now a reality. However, my life is not and never will be a pie in the sky. I have often thought that I am glad we all must live life in linear fashion. As I look back on the years, I am not sure I would have had the courage to continue if I knew some of what would face Nathan and me. Yet, life has happened and Nathan and I have moved with it together.

Last night we sat and discussed our greatest accomplishments to date. The only rule was it must not be our children. The children are definitely up there, but them as a response would be way too easy. We were going with deep thoughts.

As we talked, I got an amplified sense of us as real partners. Sometimes I push at things and sometimes he quietly sits a waits for things to happen. At times we both puff up and bump heads. But together, we are a team. My affection, love and need for him grew again last night as I sat talking with him.

In spite of my niavity at age 20, God was with me and helped me make the right choice in a lifetime partner. I have been blessed beyond measure. God gave me the right partner to have as we moved from our first out- of- college jobs to our current jobs, became parents of a kid with special needs, and began working our way towards the "greater good" through education, service, ministry, and family.

In linear form, I am unable to know what will happen in the next 13 years. What ever it might be, my prayer is simple...By Your grace, my God go we...together.

Jugs and Drugs

Once in a blue moon we would get a snow day growing up. It was very once in a while because I lived in Missouri then and regularly went to school in knee deep snow. Now, occasionally we still get a snow day. It is more of a black ice and crazy driver day, but still I get the rush of getting a freebie. A whole day without schedule. An opportunity to do nothing and catch up on what ever I am behind in.

So this morning at 5:30 I started my wake up routine only to be interrupted by the house phone. The ringing felt odd at this hour and I thought, surely not, but deep inside I knew the caller was the bus dept. Nathan answered the phone and got the news, no school. This started to sound like a very elaborate joke, because we were not expecting no school. The weather didn't seem too bad outside - just amazingly cold. On came the t.v. and school was definitely called.

One of the great things about a day like today is the opportunity to linger at the dinner table. Tonight, while eating, Aaron started talking to us about girls with red dots who live in England and carried jugs on their heads. We explained this was probably India. He agreed and we kept the conversation going. He kept explaining about the jugs, and then he suddenly said he didn't know why they carried the jugs since he learned in school that you shouldn't do
jugs. They are dangerous. "Those girls dipping river out into the jugs should find something else to carry the river back to their villages." he said.

I tried to keep a straight face - but yeah right. That was classic. Jugs instead of drugs. These funny little miss understandings are exactly what makes living and working with children such a joy.

Crazy Weather

Will Rogers once said if you don't like the weather in Oklahoma, wait a minute. Well, I'm not in Oklahoma, but the weather here changed in about a nano second today. I rose to balmy seventy degree weather and left my first school in frigid weather about 11:30. Now I hear sleet and straight line winds outside. If it would all accumulate into a snow day, this weather would all be worth it.

Students as always were crazy all day as the weather dropped. I actually had 2nd graders hide under the table, kindergartners fall asleep and a third grader make strange noises in the middle of class. I saw my eldest child burst into tears four times today and my youngest was at fault for only three of them.

I guess the whole family is feeling a bit under the weather, both figuratively and literally. So it is nice to all be curled up and sitting on the couch, if just for a little while.

8 more days to Christmas break, but who's counting.

Fast Forward to Christmas

Our Thanksgiving holiday turned out fairly well. We roasted marshmellows, sang songs and told stories around a bonfire and ate loads of food. It was complete with all four of us having a stomach bug right before or during the holiday. That didn't stop us from going to Nathan's homestead and visiting, though.

Then we rushed right back to the daily grind complete with our own children and students believing that the Christmas holiday has already begun. Therefore, this week has been filled with lots of angst in regard to doing what before we have always done. Here are examples of what I get to hear daily.

"Mom, why do I have to do all the work." After unloading the dishes, one time.
"I don't want to do the project over. I can read it just fine." Sure you can read it, but your teacher's 40 year old eyes will not be able to see your pencil scratches on blue construction paper.
"My teacher says I don't need to study my sixes." Upon me asking him to study the morning of the test.
"I am not tiiirrred." Said while crying at 8pm when they got up at 6am.

It has been a littany of these little things. In fact, as I write this both boys have been sent to their respective rooms for fighting.

But I digress...

One of my most difficult lessons that I must learn over and over is that I don't have to be in the middle of everything. I went to exercise this morning and ran right into the parade and Home Town Christmas Extravaganza that our little town always has the first weekend of December. I immediately called my adoring husband and said we should join the bounce house fun that I saw before me. The cute homey crafts, hot cocoa, visiting Santa and the allure of being in the middle of excitement was sucking me in to their fold.

Unfortunately, I heard no excitement in my darling H's voice. He hates crowds and a morning filled with the revelry of Home Town Christmas is like death by a thousand nicks to him. The rest of my workout, I silently struggled with not going. I want to be there and see it all, and I wanted to rest. Back and forth, my thoughts pulled me. But in the end, logic prevailed. I reminded myself that Christmas doesn't have to be a continuous race to see it all and get it all. In fact, Christmas should be a time when you get to slow down and enjoy the blessings that we all have.

I can rejoice that I have (currently) two healthy boys, Nathan and I have good jobs doing things we love, and supportive family and friends. In the perilous world in which we all live, this is about as good as it gets.

So please, all who might read this, have yourself a very Merry and restful Christmas.

Also, please take a look at the blog prayforeli.blogspot.com The Ramirez family can use our prayers.