Mr. C.’s Random Thoughts

I’ve spent most of the evening (post-kiddie-bedtime, anyway) getting ready to go on a road trip with my Key Club kids tomorrow. We are going to the K-Family (K=”Kiwanis”) Fall Rally at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington. We are leaving from Randall HS after school, driving to Arlington, spending the day at Six Flags, and then coming back home at about 6 p.m., putting us back into Amarillo/Canyon at about 1 to 2 a.m. on Sunday morning.

I used to think that parents who didn’t like to occasionally leave their kids were overly emotional and just a little bit on the needy/whiny side. Well, whinyness, thy name is Lance. I have found myself really dreading being away from Kathryn, Duncan, and Heather. I think part of it is the events of the past week…Kane and Loryn’s tragic deaths, Sunny’s surgery, Mom’s surgery, Duncan and Kathryn coming down with the stomach bug, Kathryn injuring her shoulder on the playground (by the way, hearing a three-year-old say the words “muscle spasm” is oddly funny)…all of this just makes me want to have them close to me. I know they’ll be okay but my heart just isn’t into making weekend trips like it used to be. I must be getting old…

…in fact, I KNOW I’m getting older. One of my co-workers, Michelle, said to me yesterday, “You’re in your mid-30’s?!?” It’s continually a shock to me, too! Most of the time, I see myself as a 24 year old, as if I’m still a first year teacher. Having kids has changed that a little bit, but sometimes I just look at myself and have to ask, “When the h-e-double-hockey-sticks did I get old enough to have two children?!” But then I look at most of the other parents at daycare and preschool and realize that I’m actually a good five to ten years older than most of them. Heather and I are going to be the only parents at our kids high school graduations that have to have walkers!

Well, it’s getting close to midnight so I’m going to wrap this up. Here’s hoping tomorrow’s a smooth day!

This is a really cool project.  You start with a children’s book, find a toy that goes along with it, add some games, and you’ve got a Literacy Bag.  The Key Club I advise is going to be putting these together for the Head Start program in Amarillo.  The picture below gives an idea of what’s in a Literacy Bag.

1. Clean off my desk. (I’ve been doing really good about having a clean desk at the end of the day but really fell off the wagon yesterday.)
2. Get myself out of the bad mood that I woke up in.
3. Get grading 75% done. (Yeah, right!)
4. Get the Key Club Homecoming Committee squared away.
5. Reformat “literacy bag” page on Key Club website.
6. Get a list of things that I’ll need for the trip to 6 Flags this weekend.
7. Create a study sheet for the first TAIT test in BCIS II.

I’ve heard that it’s a good thing to dream.  Let’s see if it helps!

Here’s hoping that tomorrow we will be able to get back into some sort of routine. The last week has been a non-stop stream of disruption to the routine. My kids were sick, my wife’s grandmother had surgery, my daughter was hurt on the playground, a blood vessel burst in my wife’s foot, my mom had surgery, and most horrible of all, two Canyon students were killed in a car accident.

I know that some people think that routine means boring but I actually think that most people equate routine with safety. I’m ready wrap myself in a little routine and let it wash over me. It’s nice to know what you can expect out of a day instead of feeling out-of-control.

I hate days like today. I got a call before 7:00 a.m. and was told we were having a mandatory faculty meeting this morning at 7:45 a.m., before the kids arrived at school. One of our students and his little sister were killed in a car accident last night. One of the hardest parts about being a teacher is seeing your kids in pain and there is a lot of it at our school today. If you’re a praying person, say a prayer for our kids as they grieve and then go hug your loved ones.

OK, it’s a little early in the year to be breaking out the winter coat, but you try explaining that to a three-year-old who wanted to show off all of the new clothes her Mama bought her. Any takers on how long it’ll be before she outgrows them?

I took the following picture last week as I walked into the school building. There were points this summer when I doubted that we would ever have enough moisture in the air to produce fog but here it is.

And, of course, the peace was shattered as soon as the first bell rang!

The past few days have been extremely hectic. For the most part, we’ve been dealing with the stomach bug (some things you don’t want to share!) and playground injuries. So tonight, to unwind, I thought I would share some pictures with you.

It’s really a shame that Duncan doesn’t have any toys to play with!
Duncan is getting to the point where people are saying “He is a little baby anymore!” And I have to agree. It seems like just a few days ago when he was born but he’s already starting to look like a little boy instead of a little baby.

Duncan is getting real good at holding his head up. Also some of his expressions are just pricelss.

Duncan also loves the bath (at least, most nights he does!). He is getting to where he can splash most of the water out of the little tub and onto the mirror and countertop.

The following link is a “This I Believe” essay by Frank Miller. I can’t say that I share his exact same perspective but it resonates with me.

Frank Miller on NPR’s This I Believe

Our Labor Day weekend was good. We spent most of it in Texline. My mom’s sisters Filietta (from Houston), Cherie (from Aurora, CO), and Cathy (from Silt, CO) were all there. It was so good to see them all together. None of them are alike but when you get them together you can tell that they are definitely related. My brother Mark and his wife Jeana were also there and it was good to see them. My daughter Kathryn latched onto my sixth-grader cousin Michelle. Michelle was so good to her and kept her entertained most of the time that we were there.

The weird thing about extended families getting together is that you have a chance to observe and see what traits really may be genetic. My aunts Filietta, Cherie and I were talking and something got us to laughing. We all had the same exact laugh at the same exact time. I know it’s a little thing but part of you has to wonder how much of our personalities and mannerisms are simply handed down through the genetic code. It makes me wonder how many second cousins I have wondering around that have my eyes, sense of humor, or outstanding athletic physique (ha ha ha!).

The heart attack moment of the weekend was during church on Sunday morning. My parents are members of a very small congregation and both of their regular songleaders happened to be out of town that morning. My mom leaned over and asked me if I would lead singing about two minutes before services started, to which I promptly replied, “Pfft! NO!” But then I realized that she wasn’t kidding and told her I would. For people who have never done it before, I really think it’s one of the hardest parts about leading worship. Or it may just be that it is the thing that I have done least of all. But I survived and people told me that I did a good job afterwards. Of course, I could have been horrible and they were just being nice!

Some of my Key Club kids were on television this weekend. They worked a shift for the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. One of the MDA sponsors called me on Thursday and needed 12 volunteers. With it being such short notice, I told her I would make an announcement and see what happened but that I couldn’t make any promises. Much to my (pleasant) surprise, we had 12 volunteers and they told me that they had a good time. I really think this year is going to be a good one as far as Key Club is concerned. We had our initial membership meeting last week and had over 90 students attend (or at least tried to attend, my room was completely full and there were kids spilling out into the hall. I hope that there weren’t a whole lot of the “I’ll-go-to-the-meeting-to-get-out-of-class” types. I figure on maybe 50 or so students.