So Many Posts, So Little Time

The great quote about retirement is "I'm so busy now, I don't know how I had time to work!" When I first retired, that statement was not for me! I was burned out. I was ready for a break from responsibility and obligation. I spent the first year avoiding commitment. I remember one day I felt it was time to get involved somewhere. I decided to go to the local elementary school to volunteer. This was my world. I would fit in easily. I would find a niche, and a purpose. As I approached the intersection leading to the school, I reached for the turn signal. Instead, my foot hit the gas and I went through the intersection! My body said...."NO! Not yet." (It's not the first time my mind said one thing and my feet said something else. Apparently they connect to the brain on conflicting signal paths and with me...my body wins!)

I've been retired for 6 years now, and all that has changed. I became more involved but I carefully selected activities that fit my personality and would be rewarding. I tried not to get too busy.
That saying still didn't seem to pertain to me....until now. If you've noticed, my blogging has slowed up a good bit. I find it harder and harder to get to my laptop.

There are a couple of truths here. In the winter I am 1) home bound, 2) alone, as Larry is traveling 3) stuck in a house with only the threat of using the snowblower to offer outdoor adventure. I have little to write about. There is so little happening.

But summer is just the opposite! We travel a lot in spring, so there I am with much to share and little time to share it. After the spring travels, comes the yard work catch up. During the long days I'm outside, and reluctant to head up to my indoor room where the computer awaits. I love summer, but it means long hours of neglect for my computer.

The annuals have been planted and the mulching is almost over. The church flea market (a one week event that consumes a lot of time) is done. Family will be here for a couple of weeks. When all is said and done, I will probably have lots of potential blog posts.

Until then, be patient and check back. I will share stories, observations, and thoughts, even if they are weeks removed from the catalyst that started them.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends"

NOTE: This blog post is delayed. I always write first, then wait and edit later. Generally, I don't think well 'on my feet'. I like to double check my words as well as my spelling! Anyway, I wrote this shortly after the first Oklahoma tornado. I've had a busy couple of weeks and am just getting back to my blog. I've re-read it and I feel that although it is delayed, it is still relevant, especially as storms wrack our countries interior and hurricane season begins in the south.  As we hear stories of protection, may we always remember that "greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends". John 15:13 

 

It's happened again. Another tragedy, this time from Mother Nature, has hit a community. Unfortunately, school was in session and 2 schools took direct hits. 7 children died.

Horrible.

Heartbreaking.

Awful.

Really? Are there words that equate to the feelings we feel as we hear the news?

Not in my vocabulary.

When I first heard the news about the tornado that ripped apart Moore, Oklahoma I checked the time and hoped that school had been dismissed. But it hadn't. Photos later showed the school buses lined up ready to load those children and deliver them home.

Often schools are a safe haven; a place that can be locked down or secured. But they are also a place where hundreds of children are targets if that place is the target of a direct hit. What if they had been on the buses? How many would have been lost then? The sad reality is losing 7 children (or 9) may have been a true blessing. What if all those buses had been on the road when that tornado hit? How many would have been lost then?

Sorry. I'm rambling now. "What if's" are usually irrelevant questions. They are vehicles to divert our attention from reality to possibility.

Here is my reality. This tragedy is hitting home for me, because I was a teacher. I remember the annual tornado drills that we did on April 1st, (or maybe March 1st?) the designated beginning of Tornado season.

As I listen to the news reports I find myself repeatedly tearing up as I hear teachers recount their experiences. Last winter we heard the horrific account of a gunman on a rampage in an elementary school in Sandy Hook. That story hit home for me as I listened to the ways teachers tried to protect their students. I could relate on one level. But this story is a little different. I have visions of tornado drills with students crouched on the floor, covering their heads in a protective position, waiting "interminably" for the final call from the office that the 'threat' had passed and we could get up.

The children in Oklahoma never heard that. They heard a roaring noise, crashing sounds, pitch black, and teachers yelling "IT'S ALMOST OVER! IT'S ALMOST OVER!" at the top of their lungs as they crouched OVER their students.

Recently I saw a photo of a bird with it's wings spread out protectively over it's babies. It's a beautiful picture. And in the midst of that raging black turmoil, those teachers would have displayed an equally protective vision.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

Your child's teacher may have never displayed this amount of caring for his or her's class. Pray he or she NEVER has too. But know in your heart, that most of them will do whatever is necessary to protect and calm your child should an emergency ever arrive.

I love teachers. They are among today's heroes, because, in front of TEACHING your child, Protecting your child will always be first on their list.