Rough week

I'm ready for Friday. This has been a rough week. First, on Monday I went to Coach Webb's funeral. Then Wednesday we had a "Don't Drink and Drive" event at the high school. The original plans had to be changed because it was raining buckets all morning. We were supposed to go outside and watch emergency vehicles pull kids out of a simulated wreck. The kids were dressed in prom dresses and supposed to have come from an after prom party. Because of the rain they just read a narrative of the accident over the intercom. Then in the afternoon we had a mock funeral for a girl who was supposed to have been killed. They had a coffin, flowers, everything. Don't worry; my friends took care of me. They had already made arrangements to cover my classes before I even heard of the events. I stayed in my room with the kids who didn't want to attend. Some of them just don't want to face reality, but some of them have lost family members recently, and they were advised to stay in my room with me. It wasn't very long, but I hope it was powerful enough to get the kids' attention. They had the kids walk by the open coffin and look inside to see a mirror.
I'm so tired of having these kinds of events. Every year we schedule anti-drug and anti-underage drinking assemblies, and every year I attend a funeral of a former student who I know attended these assemblies. People are thick-headed. They think it won't happen to them, but I have looked at the faces of the heart-broken parents, siblings, fiances, and friends. What will make a real difference?
Some of my colleagues have come from our grade school or middle school. They are so frustrated because the very students who swore they would never, never take drugs, drink while they underage, or drive impaired are now noted partiers.
I have always hated alcohol--not because I think drinking is sinful--but because alcohol destroys lives.
If one kid listened and learned from yesterday's activities, it was worth it.

RIP--NOT

I went to Coach Webb's funeral today. It was a nice service with a huge crowd as I expected it to be. I saw many former faculty members, students, and parents of students. The highlight of the service for me was when the minister opened it up for others to speak. Several people told funny, heartwarming stories that were the essence of Ron Webb. That's what a funeral should be, especially for a Christian person who is enjoying heaven while we are down here grieving. If I had spoken, I would have said that we who taught with Ron were so glad when he finally retired because we had a chance at Trivial Pursuit with him out of the game. That man knew so much about so many topics; he was unbeatable. If you put Ron and Kathy Gilmore on a team, the rest of us didn't have a chance, so with Ron and Kathy retired, the remaining faculty members could compete with one another.
One thing I have noticed since Jason's death that I never thought of before is the overuse of RIP. Rest in Peace--what does that mean anyway? I think it may have something to do with the idea that spirits don't rest if they are troubled, but I don't believe it is a phrase that should be said about a Christian. Ron Webb, Jason Humphrey, my parents, my sisters are NOT resting in peace. They are having a blast in heaven experiencing wonders that we can't even imagine.
We're the ones who need to rest; they don't. They are having a blast in bodies that do not feel pain, do not have cancer, do not need medicine with horrible side effects.
So let's put to rest the RIP comments and begin telling our loved ones in heaven to Live it up, forever.

Weekend unwind

Sunday nights are stressful. I have so much to think about for the week to come, things to do that didn't finish yesterday, and here I am typing and playing on the computer.
The sermon series at church has been about being Transformed by Jesus. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn't had an encounter with Jesus as a young person. I made enough mistakes and strayed from God's plan on my own, but what if I hadn't had the Holy Spirit to bring me back to Him.
I have many regrets in life, but I can honestly look back and realize that God has been with me in all my "Silly Seasons."
I have my mom to thank for equipping me by taking me to church, teaching me to be a woman of faith. My mom never had her faith challenged as I have by the death of a child, but I watched her handle life with grace and faith. She certainly had plenty of heartache and worry, but she didn't lose her faith in God because she too had been transformed by her relationship with Jesus.
Jimmy said today that it is the Holy Spirit that calls others to be saved. I wish I could do it for them; the transforming power of God is available--free of charge.

Plan B

I worked out in my yard all morning, finished my flower beds, and started working on the small vegetable garden in the back yard. I know I'm late getting is in, but I still have time to get tomatoes, peppers, green beans, crowder peas, cantelope, and watermelon in. I stopped to take a facebook break, and I just realized our water has been turned off. This makes going back to the garden a real problem. I can't water the new plants, I can't clean up after I finish. What a pain. I hope they get it turned back on quickly. I have thought of a dozen things I need to do that all require water. I'm too impatient. I need to learn to let it go and just do something else. Right.

Ready for spring gardening

I went to buy plants today. I haven't been working in my flower beds because my hands were hurting, it has been cold, I've been busy, etc. etc. etc. I cleaned house Wed. night so I am planning to work outside tomorrow. After my trip to the accupuncturist yesterday, my hands did not hurt today. Very strange.
I bought flowers, vegetables, and herbs. I have a feeling the wind is going to blow a gale tomorrow, so the work will be exhausting, but I'm ready to be physically tired. I go to bed each night mentally and emotionally tired, but I seldom am physically exhausted. I like that feeling. Very, Very, strange.
I just found out my summer school schedule at EAst Central. I will go from 7:30 to 4:00 Monday through Thursday for the entire month of June. YUK!!! The only consolation is that I will be finished with my master's. Yea!!! It has really been fun to challenge my mind with new methods and teaching ideas, but I'm ready to be finished so that I can figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

Interesting experience

I haven't posted in a while because I felt like I was rehashing the same topics day after day. Lately I have had some people ask me why I have stopped writing and encourage me to post something, so here goes.
I went to the acupuncturist today because I have been experiencing pain in my hands. I don't like to take medicine, so I thought I would try an alternative. I'm not going to say that it was pain free, but the pain kind of felt good. I'm sure that doesn't make sense, but she said that was a common response.
She spent almost two and a half hours with me, asking questions about every part of my life including my emotional health. She worked on my back, legs, arms, and hands. When she placed a needle in certain places, it really hurt for a few seconds, then I wouldn't feel it for awhile. She would come in and move the needles around, and I would feel the pain again, for a few seconds. Some of the needles didn't hurt at all. She said we wanted them to hurt a little; that meant they were in the spot they needed to be in. It's too early to tell if this will help yet, but I'm willing to give it a try. I hate to take medicine.
Some of the points she treated on my back were for depression. Fascinating.
She asked me about my sleep patterns. I told her that I had no trouble going to sleep, but I wake up between 3 and 4 many nights. She said that from 3 to 5 is connected to grief times.
I have been taking an anti-depressant for about a month. I don't like taking it, but it does help me not be so weepy. Before I started taking it, I would sometimes cry at very inopportune times.
We still do not have a headstone. I called two weeks ago to ask about it and was told that the stone was in, but the engraving hasn't been done yet. They thought about two weeks which means it will probably be ready soon. I'm ready to cross that bridge. I know it will be excrutiating to see his name carved in stone, but I hate seeing the empty place at the cemetary right now.
I'll keep you posted.