The Good and the Mad

Recent blood work fell into the "excellent work" category from the docs.  Since joining the gym and working out again, everything seems to be falling back into the correct places.  Next doc appointment will be in September.

Been trying to get a schedule created for school, even to the point of working about 7 days extra to do so.  I'm the kind of personality that can't just have something hanging over my head for 2 months and the idea of having 560+ kids unscheduled until we came back just wasn't working for me.  But the extra time worked out well and now I can finally begin to relax.

I also spent a couple of days at Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville doing some consultation work for them.  The Headmaster is my sister-in-law's brother and I review their procedures and handbooks and make recommendations for changes or additions.  Haas Hall has been named one of the 5 best charter schools in the nation and now has @360 students in grades 8-12.  It is a college prep curriculum that allows students to advance at a faster rate and better prepared for college.

The "Mad" part of these few weeks was the result of an interview I had for assistant principal positions in my district.  After 12 years of trying, it seems that it isn't going to happen in this district.  The recommendations from the committee were that I would make an excellent academic coordinator (which the district has eliminated this year) or college professor.  I am puzzled as to why they don't feel that I wouldn't make a viable candidate for administration in the district, but there are always others who might feel differently.  I really don't want to leave this area of the state due to the age of my parents, but it may come down to that if I want to pursue administration.  It just doesn't seem like my district is going to work out.  It is frustrating when some of your peers have gotten jobs and moved up in the district, and really frustrating when they call you for advice and yet they have the job but don't know the answers.  But, I believe in my abilities and believe that there will be an opportunity for me somewhere.  As Journey sings, I won't stop believing.

Let the training begin!

On my last visit to the doctor, I was asked how much exercising I was doing.  Well, since it occurred smack in the middle of state testing...not much!  It was "strongly" suggested that I get back into working out and to work more on strength training than cardio.  Since I have no experience with weights, I decided that I needed to find someone who did.  So, off to a local gym where I signed up not only to work out but also for personal training.  I may not be able to afford to eat, but I guess I will be in better shape.

Perspectives

Eight days ago a community of 50,000 were doing what they normally do on a Sunday afternoon.  For some, it was a special day because they were participating in or watching a high school graduation where kids were starting their own futures.  For others, they were were heading to church to worship.  Some were visiting friends in the hospital, others were working.  All would have never believed how their world would change around 5:30 on that Sunday.

The EF5 tornado that ripped through Joplin, Missouri, was a cause of concern for my family and I.  We have immediate and extended family members and friends who live in Webb City and within a couple of blocks of St. John's Hospital.  Amazingly enough, through social media we were able to discover that they were ok.  But so many were not.  Graduates ripped out of their vehicles as they were trying to get home.  Elderly residents who were bedridden and could not get to a safe location. Shoppers out to pick up items at Home Depot and Wal-Mart.  Customers eating pizza.

Those who are left are trying to find anything, any item, that would help them hang on to their past.  And their looking through piles of debris and communities miles away since the wind carried things up to 70 miles away.

I sat in my home last week and looked around, grateful for what I had and wondering what I would grab if I were put in their place.  Came close to it one night as we were "ripe for action" as our local weathermen called it.  Family pictures hang on my wall.  My Grandmother's tatting in a shadow box.  My camera's.  My computers that have all my family pictures scanned on their hard drives.  My medicines that keep me alive.

I'm blessed and I often forget that.  I'm sad that it took this tragedy to remind me, but it did.  I've been given a second chance, and I need to take advantage of that.  I've been re-evaluating some things in my life and hopefully some things will come forward to fruitation.  But if not, then all I need to do is remember Joplin, and how lucky I am to have what I have.