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Christi Diggs
on Jun 20 2013 - 06:00 AM
In lieu of good taste, request people bring money
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Lindsay Metcalf
on Jun 19 2013 - 06:00 AM
My top five most important moments of the summer so far
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mara williams
on Jun 18 2013 - 06:00 AM
Hey, manchild, mama says: clean your room, wash the dishes, don't drink and drive.
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Emily Parnell
on Jun 16 2013 - 06:00 AM
Eating fresh, local produce is good for body and soul
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Jim Cosgrove
on Jun 13 2013 - 06:00 AM
I just want to buy some pants. Please, turn down the music.
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This week has been about forms-gobs and gobs of them. The beginning of a new school semester means new syllabi for semester classes, permission slips for Forensics and Debate and Scholar Bowl. Of course, five weeks away from the big pancake dinner means packets of tickets for each of my boys and then finally, a large packet of paperwork sits on my end table, required for a future doctor’s visit.
Combine this with my forty hour work week paper trail and my position as newly-elected editor for our local union-my eyes are feeling a little crossed and my head is looming close to its self-destruct point.
Don’t take the previous two paragraphs as a way to make you my sounding board to complain, because it isn’t and you are not. There are worse things in life than having to slap my signature on a paper and to make sure that the kids have what they need to be successful in class. I am ecstatic that my children are brave enough to try new things and are finding their talents and utilizing them in the activities their schools offer. Work, it is work and while I don’t always love it, I am thrilled every single day that I have a job to go to. The reality is that there are many that do not.
Taking on a new task myself was a little scary, I already often feel like I am at a breaking point. Though, when I look to the future I see myself dropping a couple of my long-term activities to make room for this new adventure, and I don’t feel a single bit of regret. Our interests and activities, much like the tide, ebb and flow and I think my passions are taking me to ride a different wave.
As I signed the permission slips and schedules I saw a new set of numbers that I would have to maneuver-pick up and drop off times, with their own prescribed challenges. I have past experience lodged deep in my mind to allay any anxiety I have worrying about whether I can handle the new, crazier schedule than we had before. The kids always make it home, dinner is served whether it is cold sandwiches or quick casseroles and I have yet to forget a child at school.
Busy, but well rounded, we will sit at home on the less-than-busy evenings and banter about the events of our days, an energy that makes the heart of my house beat with life. It is this life that makes all of those forms and permission slips worth every stroke of ink I have to apply. The knowledge that is gained is worth every gallon of gas I use to make sure practices are kept and tournaments are attended. I won’t get back the minutes of my days used to make sure my kids are busy, active and happy, but I can’t give them these opportunities back if they are missed.
In preparation, planning, doing and living-the kids and I must go where our hearts and minds lead us, using those opportunities to find who we are and where our talents are can be most applied.
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