I went to see The Jellybean Conspiracy Saturday night. As I entered the Historic Bama Theater, a friend and usher for the evening asked: "Did you bring your Kleenex?" And indeed, I had grabbed a handful before I left the house. I certainly needed them. The kids on that stage were near and dear to my heart. My passion from many years ago in 1985 when I was bold enough to tell a University of Alabama advisor that in fact I did not like computer science at all but was very interested in special education. I declared a major and began on a journey toward working with kids with emotional difficulties, but ended up majoring in Orthopedically Handicapped and Other Health Impaired. These kids typically have Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, or Spina Bifida. Those are the kids that appeared on stage this weekend. Playing the drums, singing, dancing, and smiling oh so big!
Perhaps the most touching part was listening to the stories from the parents. A handful of very brave Moms stood on stage and shared what it was like to get the news that their precious baby would not be "normal." There can't be anything easy about raising a special needs child, but it is amazing to hear that in reality these kids teach us so much. Most of them, although they sometimes are laughed at, teased, or called names such as stupid and retard, are loving and kind. They greet each day with a smile and most days make everyone else smile as well.
Act II hit home as well since it took place in a high school. The story of a teenage girl with a brother who has Down Syndrome. In that classroom, kids were calling each other names such as idiot and retard and stupid, unbeknownst to the fact that Cricket had a brother at home who actually fit that description. Cricket, prompted by her wanna be boyfriend, sets out to make her brother normal. She tries to try and fix what is wrong with him. Of course in the end she realizes that he is just fine the way he is, and boyfriend actually makes friends with her brother.
I would venture to say that the first real "bad" word kids learn is stupid. Ummm...he just said the "S" word. It is a no-no in Kindergarten, and probably most of elementary school, especially when directed toward an individual. By middle school, however, it is pretty common-place. As is idiot and retard. My son uses idiot frequently. I don't like it. He was also at Jellybean, and I think now he gets why that word bothers me so. You never know who is listening, or what circumstances someone is facing, and you certainly would not hurt them on purpose
Aren't we all like the character Cricket, though. We want to fix things. If something doesn't fit into the mold just right, it needs to be fixed. Parents don't want to see their children hurt emotionally or physically. We can bandage a skinned knee or put a broken bone in a cast, but some things are just meant ordained to be.
I have to tie this all into my faith. I am reminded of someone who was laughed at and scorned as well. Jesus, my savior, died humbly on the cross for my sins. The God of all things created each and every one of us, all unique individuals with various gifts, talents, and quirks. Thank goodness we are not all alike. We're "fearfully and wonderfully made." You wouldn't want to walk in my shoes, and I probably wouldn't want to walk in yours. But the body of Christ works together.
So, fellow jellybean, you are just right. You are beautiful in the eyes of the Lord. God created you to be who you are, and sent His son to save you from your sin. You will never be perfect on this earth, but neither will anyone else.
Psalm 49:3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
Monica
WOW! Back to school hit with fierceness this year. I can't remember ever being so busy. The Tuscaloosa City Schools changed from the four block day to the seven period day. At the same time, our Case Manager at Northridge decided that she would like a change and go back into the classroom. That means that she no longer handles all of our paperwork and meetings. Sooo...I could go into a really long explanation about the new things I have to do at work, along with having forty-three students at once rather than the ten or so that I am used to managing, but that would probably be looooong and boring. Suffice it to say that I am working 300% harder, and I also have half the time during the school day to manage the workload. My brain might explode. Some days I get lose all coherent thoughts. I'm getting too old for that. I am tired when I get home mentally and physically.
One thing I am set on, however, is the family dinner hour. I use the term loosely, because sometimes it is the family dinner ten minutes, but we make it to the table.There are many obstacles to this event.
Obstacle one: Extra Curricular Activities...especially theater. It is next to impossible to get everyone together during show production week, but it can be done!! Many times the hubs walks in to sit straight down at the table, scarfs something yummy, and then heads out to a meeting or a practice. If I have to pick someone up from an after school practice, that messes up cooking. You can't start dinner, leave for a while, and then come back and finish it. Someone has to be home to keep the house from burning down :-). Thankfully J is driving this year. But Unlike Scott, he is not home much so if sister needs a ride it is up to me.
Obstacle two: Event start time. Don't event planners know that it is virtually impossible to feed a family and make it to an event by 6 PM? If they don't I guess I just officially let the word out. It is even harder for the working mom who doesn't even leave until five. No way can you cook, sit down to eat and make it on time for something that starts at 6 PM. What falls into this category? Open houses, baby showers, craft nights, board meetings...etc. This leaves two options for the sit down to dinner crew: fast food or chicken nuggets. Why? Because one you pick up on the way home and the other takes 10 minutes to cook. If you are lucky you can add a veggie or two to the nuggets. Oh...option three would be to cook after the event, but that would put bedtime at around midnight I guess, by the time conversation and clean up are finished with.
This fall I have managed to plan every evening event under my control on the same night. That way we only miss one family dinner opportunity. Only one missed opportunity to talk about grades, friends, and events at school. Maybe one missed opportunity to have a rousing family disagreement. Ummm...yes that happens a lot, but we use it as a teaching tool. Only one missed opportunity to pray for each other and bear one another's burdens. Only one missed opportunity to cry with each other. All of this and more has occurred at our table for the past twelve or so years.
There are many statistics about the advantages of family meals together. You can google them if you wish. I can tell you I just like talking to my kids and my husband. I want to know what is going on in their lives and what brings them joy or sorrow. I want to minister to them through paper plates and chicken nuggets and sometimes no veggies. So if you plan an event during the week I am not shunning you, I'm just home cooking and waiting to talk.
My kids have friends over occasionally to spend the night and we sit down to dinner with them. Some of them feel very awkward at our table. I can tell they eat on the run a lot. Possibly in front of the television on a tray. I've had folks come to the door while we were all gathered at the table. (you can see us through the picture window) They look startled and unsure what to do. One kid even asked his parents why they never sat down together to eat. Heavy sigh :-(.
So I hope if you are able, you might be inspired to try one sit down dinner per week with the fam. Baby steps, you know. We're all busy and have different things that might prevent the dinner hour. Good luck and happy dining. Try some new crock pot recipes for those busiest days.
Roll Tide and Go Reds!!
Monica
Yes that's a turnstile. A fully functioning electronic programmable turnstile that when turned on reads Welcome to Great American Ballpark. How cool is that? Really, Really cool if you are a HUGE Cincinnati Reds fan.
Our Cave of Champions is not new by any means. I've previously mentioned it used to be a bedroom. We transformed it into a cave, which by the way can't really be considered a cave since we have a one level house, several months after my Nanny died in 2005. What is new is that it now has a name, and a really cool entrance.
We can't call it a "man cave" because it has always been more of a "teen cave." When it isn't full of teens, it is full of crazy Alabama fans! When it isn't full of crazy Alabama fans, it is full of my family watching a movie. Hopefully soon it will be full of Reds fans watching the World Series.
So...back to the turnstile. Ladies, have you ever been shopping and found the perfect dress or the perfect pair of shoes, so you just bought it (them), no matter what the price? I guess this piece of history can sort of be compared to that. In 2002, Riverfront Stadium, home of The Big Red Machine, was demolished. At that time, there were seats from the stadium for sale. We thought about purchasing a few. These would be original seats from the stadium where Lowell went to games with his dad. Priceless. Unfortunately, we were not able to do this. I was a stay at home mom. It was a wise (and pretty easy) financial decision to let that dream go.
Fast forward to July 2012, on vacation in Cinci. Our family walked into the REDS Hall of Fame to check on ticket prices, and there it was...another piece of history...with a price tag on it. There are no longer turnstiles at Great American Ballpark, and sure enough the remaining were for sale. Cries of "Dad, you have to buy that" began. Everyone wanted Lowell to buy this thing, and I'll admit I was on board as well. Did we have the money, no...not really. NO NO NO said Lowell. We thought about it...overnight. The kids, bless their hearts, donated their allowance. Scott offered some of his graduation money. So sure enough, the Great American Ballpark turnstile was loaded into our minivan. (free shipping) I drove the van to the Cincinnati Zoo with that 300 pound piece of history in the back. [ And please don't tell any cops but the kids had to trade out riding on the floor on the trip home. ]
If you ever visit my house for a sporting event, or to watch a chick flick, you can now enter via turnstile number 15. This is the very same turnstile L and J went through at their first Cincinnati Reds home game. At least that's our story :-).
Here is my ticket taker. She worked a couple of hours making Bama vs. Michigan game tickets. There are a few fans in the background. They had to wait for the gate to open.
If you want to know what we paid for our piece of history, I'm not telling. I will tell that I looked it up and retail price is around $3000.00. We didn't come anywhere close to that. It was a little bit like an episode of American Pickers, except we are not reselling!
Roll Tide and Go Reds!
Post Script: I hope you like color...some of this was on purpose, some of it just happened :-)
