Angels - God's Super Heros

Angels – God’s Super Heros

We were playing Christmas Bingo in class this week. The kids have Bingo “cards” that have various holiday items on them ranging from stockings to Mary holding baby Jesus. I have found that it is hard to teach all the vocabulary involved with holidays without pictures and games. (There is a great website that lets you create bingo cards for many holidays, animal groups, letters, shapes, colors, etc.) I should also tell you that this group of students LOVES to play bingo. By  LOVE I mean they beg me, daily, to play. Could be the candy they get if they win, could be the fun of competing against each other. I am not sure which, but they love, love, love it.

Sometimes I call out the items on the card, sometimes they do. We were playing a round on Wednesday when one of my students was the “caller.” He called out “super hero.” Then he pointed at the angel (in a flying pose, blowing a trumpet). His classmates corrected him, we all giggled and moved on to the next item. But I was left thinking, aren’t angels really like God’s super heros?

Think about it. Super heros swoop in when people are in dire need then leave without a trace. Explaining how they helped makes you look like an idiot or a crazy person – either way, most people won’t believe you. They ask for nothing in return for their help. They don’t say a whole lot, but when they do talk – you better listen – very carefully.  Angels are there when people needed help (think Daniel in the lion’s den; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendigo), they bring good news (Elizabeth; Mary; the angels at Jesus’ birth and at his tomb), and they watch over our children. The Bible clearly warns us against worshipping them, but it does let us know that they do look upon God’s face and help carry out his will here on Earth.

This time of year we see angels just about everywhere. What do you think of when you see an angel? Peace? Love? Comfort? Joy?  Right now I am thinking about Gabriel and how he told Mary about her coming baby. How scared would she have been? Only God’s super hero would be able to tell an unwed teenager that her coming baby would be the savior of the world and that she was going to be ok. Then tell her boyfriend what to do (and have him follow it to the letter). How cool is that job?

God has plenty of Super heros in the Bible – Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Joshua, Solomon, all of disciples, Paul, and of course Jesus.  But the angels, they have a very special place in Heaven and on Earth.  We see plenty of images of angels this time of year – they come in all shapes and sizes.  We see them in cards, on windows, even air-puffed on front lawns. I am very grateful for the real-life angels (super heros) watching over us, protecting us, and occasionally visiting us from time to time.

Merry almost Christmas to you all!

#8 Christ in the Classroom

My New Normal #8  Christ in the classroom

I am about to begin week six of my long term sub job. It has not been easy, but I am having a blast. One of the tough parts of teaching “Newcomer” ELL is that there are no real curriculum guides to follow. So I know that I need to work on reading, writing, speaking, culture, and math; but I pretty much have free reign as to what I want to do and how I want to teach it.  Thankfully, the teacher I am subbing for left me some ideas and books to use, but she told me I can pretty much do what ever I want, I just need to test them every 10 days so we can mark their progress.

For those of you who are not familiar with my teaching style, let me fill you in. I am a planner, big time. It was not unusual for me to have the entire school year mapped out by the end of August. If something needed to be changed or supplemented, it was no big deal because I knew where I was and where I was going.  This assignment really had me thrown for a loop, because I had about a week’s worth of plans to start with, then I was on my own. 

The Language Arts  (Communication Arts is what they call it here) section was no problem, we had books to use and workbooks to follow up with. Math – um, hello – I had more resources than I knew what to do with. I didn’t have to teach science – thankfully. This left social studies and another Comm. Arts, but both are for kids who are really new to English and living in the USA, so the Comm. Arts is really more like American Culture class.  When I got there, we were working on the different regions of the USA and clothing. This moved into Native Americans and going to the doctor. You might think that these are pretty general things to be teaching, but try teaching a kid (who can barely read and write in their own language) how to say “I have a sore throat.” or “Iroquois’ lived in longhouses.”  Before I knew it, it was Thanksgiving.  We learned about the Pilgrims and why they came here, later in the day, we talked about what families do on/for Thanksgiving. It is not easy to not talk about Christianity when you are talking about Pilgrims – so I didn’t dance around it – I just told it like it was. Thankfully, the Discovery Channel has multiple movies which explain why the Pilgrims came. My students had lots of questions, like “Why couldn’t they pray the way they wanted?” “Why was the king so bad?” “How come they move here instead of staying in Holland?” etc. We had some good discussions – then it was onto the Spanish Explorers  - wouldn’t you know it, religion comes back into the class discussion again. Who are missionaries? What do they do? Why do they leave home to teach people about God?

We just started talking about Christmas. I wasn’t too sure how I was going to teach it, as you are not supposed to favor a religion or get too “preachy” when teaching about holidays. So, I planned units on Hanukkah and Kwanzaa as well. Hanukkah is all about religion, there is not a whole lot of “gotta have for this year.”  Kwanzaa is about family and thankfulness (not about a $79 Kindle or $199 iPhone). For me, teaching about Christmas and leaving out Christ is like teaching about Thanksgiving and leaving out thankfulness. I did a lot of praying as to how I was to teach this without getting into trouble. Last week, we learned about the history of Santa Claus. Some of the kids knew who he was, some had no clue. One kid was really worried that some strange man was going to come into his house and leave stuff without anyone knowing who it was. We discussed who Santa was in each of their cultures (six different countries in all). Then we read about the history of Santa in the USA. Wouldn’t you know it, Christ pops up, thanks in part to Pope Julius I; a Turkish Priest who helped out sailors, kids, and unwed young ladies; and the Dutch pilgrims. The Scandinavian pilgrims came next and before I knew it, Christ was all over the lesson and I didn’t have to say a word. Yay God!

We are in the midst of breaking down Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs. I am trying to keep it “jolly” and Christ is still there – in the lyrics. Every really listen to “Here Comes Santa Claus?” “…Santa knows we’re all God’s children…” Hanukkah songs don’t mess around – you are singing praises to God who kept the lamp burning for 7 days, 8 nights.

We are going to play Christmas Bingo this week using familiar images of Christmas. I am going to have to explain why we use the Evergreen tree for Christmas trees (symbol of eternal life), the dove (peace/love), the nativity scene, wreaths (eternal life, unending circle of love), carolers (those spreading the joy of Christmas through song), and why we give gifts in the first place (pagan festivals + three wise men).

Please say a prayer for my students. Most are Christian or Catholic, but I do have some Muslims and Buddhists. For several, this is their first holiday season in the US, and they are overwhelmed with the marketing, to say the least. What I teach them may well be their first introduction to Christianity and how it is worshipped/celebrated here. I want them to go on their break knowing the real reason for the season – not just the hyped up ads and cheesy symbols. Let me know how I can pray for you at your workplace, and hopefully, we can keep Christ in Christmas!

Extending Grace

My New  Normal #7

Extending Grace

This week I was reminded – humbly reminded – that sometimes we all need to extend grace to those around us.

One of my students suffers from a few learning disorders and we are still in the process of trying to diagnose all of them. We were in the middle of a vocabulary lesson and I had asked him to write five original sentences from a list. He could not copy the words and write the sentences, try as he might, he just couldn’t do it. I found myself repeating the instructions to him, over and over, and I finally realized, “Kim, he isn’t refusing to do it, he simply cannot do it. You need to help him and change your expectations, or else you both are going to have a melt-down.” Once I changed the assignment and helped him, he got the work done and everyone was happy.

Later that day, I had to get some blood work done. I went to the “drawing station” (their name for it, not mine) close to my house. I have been there several times and am friendly with the staff. When I got there, it was a new shift and I did not know the women working behind the counter. The station is usually run with military-style precision and I am never there more than 20 minutes. After waiting 15 minutes, they called the woman sitting next to me, and I knew I would be there longer than anticipated. Once I was finally called, I realized why they were so behind. There were only two women working and for one of the women, it was her first day on the job (not as a phlebotomist – just at this office) and she was learning the computer system, filing system, and labeling system – all at once. After we were done at the check-in counter, they realized my billing information was wrong and it needed to be updated. I was getting antsy and angry (I needed to pick up Sloane from daycare),  the “usual” staff had changed it three weeks ago, why can’t they find the new info?  After a few deep breaths, I remembered that just two weeks ago, it was my first day on a job, with a whole new way of doing things. An attitude check was needed, quickly!

Humbled, I stood at the counter as the tech re-entered my information and made more copies of my insurance card. I thought of my students, who had to get used to me learning how “they do things” in class and learning how to follow three class schedules all at once.  No one complained that I hadn’t graded their papers as fast or that I was late in giving their usual assessments. They had been very patient with me and I needed to show that same patience to the tech.

All in all, I was there for almost an hour; I picked up Sloane and learned I had just missed a fire drill, so it didn’t matter that I was running late.  She was having fun outside anyway.

As we get closer to the frenzy of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I am hoping that I remember these lessons as I shop, teach, drive, and work with others.  I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with love, peace, and grace!

Why are you laughing?

My New Normal  #5

Why are you laughing?

When my grandmother died in 2000, we had to have two funerals for her. She lived nine months out of the year in Arizona and three months out of the year in New Jersey, splitting her time between her two daughters and her grandchildren. She had many friends in each state and there was no way just one service would suffice.  After we arrived in New Jersey, for the second service, my mom turned to me and told me, “We really need to find something funny about all of this, or else we are all going to have a meltdown.” Trying to find humor in the midst of a funeral (for your grandmother no less) was almost impossible. Then the funeral director invited us into the viewing room to see her  before the other guests arrived. (You need to know that Grandma had naturally wavy hair, when she arrived in NJ each summer, her hair curled into tight, poufy curls. Usually, just as the plane touched down, her hair curled right up.)  When we were escorted into the room, we all started laughing. Why? Turns out you can have bad hair days, even when you are dead, because Grandma had a post-mortem afro.

From this experience, I learned that in life’s really awful experiences, it is wise to try to find some humor in them – otherwise, it is very easy to look like you are the lead anchor in the nightly “Gloom and Doom Report.”

For example, when the court clerk confirmed that my divorce was in fact final, I spontaneously said, “I LOVE YOU!!” to her; then we both started laughing, thus sealing the end of a painful part of my life with a big smile.

When I got remarried and moved to the Midwest from Scottsdale, I was excited to live in a climate that had all four seasons; instead of “hot and not hot.” No one thought to tell me about the tornado drills though. So, one rainy July afternoon, the sirens started blazing and I cowered in my basement with my dog, frantically calling my husband – who was in Detroit – asking him what I should do. He told me to check the TV news – which told me that it might rain that afternoon. About an hour later he called me back and calmly told me about monthly drills – after a few seconds, we both started laughing (but I still jump when those sirens go off).  I think this story has become canonized amongst McGuire family members.

When I wrote my birth plan, I was warned to keep it short and simple. Mine was, “Drugs please.” I was not disappointed.

Moving four times in two years, cross country, you learn that packing up your stuff and loading it into a moving truck is nothing more than a gigantic game of Tetris; and you don’t get to move up a level if you make it all fit the first time.

A few days ago, I had to put my “find the humor in this” theory into practice, with the help of my exceptional sister-in-law, Mindi.

I was a few weeks pregnant and I started spotting. After a panicky visit to the doctor, I was put on medication and told to “take it easy” for two weeks, until my next visit. About a week later, the spotting turned into heavy bleeding. I was working with my Mindi that day, I told her what was happening, and she drove me to the ultrasound clinic, where the worst was confirmed. She then took me to her house, fed me, and entertained me all evening. The next day, my doctor prescribed some medication that would “help the process along.” Because the medication had serious side effects, I was not allowed to be alone. Mindi  took a half day at work, bought me some “supplies” and kept me company until my husband could get home. Amongst the supplies she got me were Depends. At first, I thought, “Are you serious? It is not gonna be that bad!!” Then she looked at my face and said, “You know, sometimes there comes a time when you know it will be bad and you just don’t care any more.  These are here if you need them.” She left it at that.

A few hours later, I shuffled out of the bathroom, holding the dreaded disposable undies. I looked at her, we shared a knowing look, and we both started laughing – so hard that we started crying. Then I asked her, “Do you know if the red dot goes in the front or in the back? I assume it is the back.” The hysterics continued. 

The past few weeks have been tough, but my mind keeps coming back to that pastel package of grown up “pull-ups.” And that stupid red dot. If it wasn’t for them, Mindi, and a deep desire to find humor in a dreadful situation, I would most likely be a walking zombie.  While I am not looking forward to my next move, tornado season, or exciting “life experience,” I know that it is going to wind up as a good story, hopefully with a funny ending.

Mutterings of a Toddler Mama

My New Normal #6

Things I wish I knew…for moms of toddlers

Note: I am doing this as a list, similar to an assignment I had in a writing class last week.

Your child will develop a craving for some fruit or vegetable in its opposite season (and refuse to eat anything else), thus forcing you to pay an obscene amount of money for strawberries, oranges, tomatoes, apples, avocados, bananas, etc..

You can try to feed your child wholesome, healthy foods, but sooner or later, they will discover cake, chocolate, soda, and candy. Just embrace this and be thankful that you can tell them the goodies are “asleep right now” and they believe you.

There are three types of parents who take their kids to playgrounds: the “helicopter” parent who hovers over their child and makes sure no dirt (or harm) comes near their child; the parent who both plays with his/her child and lets them discover the playground on his/her own; and the parent who brings the child to the playground, plops down, brings out the smart phone/laptop/book and totally ignores their child until other parents point out that the kid is running away, bleeding, naked, or totally out of control. Eventually, this parent either gets shunned (by the other parents) or is involved in some sort of altercation with a “helicopter parent” and is rarely seen again.

On play dates and picnics, it does not matter what kind of food you bring, your bundle of joy will want whatever the other moms bring and will refuse to eat anything you have.

Daylight savings time means nothing to your child. They will wake up and go to sleep whenever they want.

You can never sing “Old McDonald, Itsy Bitsy Spider, the ABC song, or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” too many times.

The first time your kiddo says “I wuv you Mama!”  your heart will melt and you may cry. This is totally normal.

Your child will get sick at the worst moment possible, and most likely, it will be all over your favorite or most expensive outfit.

If you have a pet, your child will at some time eat the dog’s/cat’s/bird’s/etc. food.

Your child will be able to operate your phone better and faster than you. There is a good chance they will also “hide it” aka lose it a few times too.

“Date night” may transform from a movie and dinner out into grocery shopping with a stop at a drive thru. But don’t worry, you can still work your mojo in the frozen section.

Please and Thank you will eventually become part of your child’s vocabulary, and they will use them to melt your heart.

Someone in your child’s daycare will come down with a strange disease with symptoms like fever and diarrhea, and you will spend a week trying to analyze every diaper and checking temperatures.

 It is ok when your child has a total meltdown in church, at the grocery store, at Target, etc. Every kid does it sooner or later and if some mom gives you a condescending look, give her one right back.

Your child will become obsessed with a television show you find mind numbing and redundant. Said show will most likely be on during one of your favorite shows, in which case, you get to watch your DVR fill up faster than you knew possible.

No matter how hard/difficult/long your day was, a smile and hug from your munchkin will make it all melt away.

I’ll bet you can add a few words of wisdom here too. Be sure to pass them on to your friends, listen to theirs as well. But before you do, be sure to tell them about that booger petrified onto their shirt.

Thank you Jesus!!

My New Normal 3 Thank you Jesus!

So I went and got a job; subbing for a wonderful school district – the one we live in as well. I tried to get a teaching job and discovered that people with 12 years experience and a master’s degree are not likely to get hired because they cost too much. By subbing, I could back ease into the working world and let Sloane get used to daycare.

Before I even applied for the job, I made sure Sloane had good, experienced childcare. We hired (by verbal contract) a family friend who had watched other kids we know and they all love her. She was a smoking deal price wise and flexible with hours. It was a dream come true! I applied for the job, had an interview and was hired in less than a week (much, much faster than I imagined). Thank you Jesus!! I then called our childcare provider to let her know when we would be starting with her. She then told me she decided to retire and would not be able to watch Sloane. WHAT!! DO!! YOU!! MEAN??? I was screaming inside, but I was polite and wished her well, hung up, and had a mild panic attack. 

I called Matt, let him know and he gave me some wise advice, “Call my mom, she may know of someone who can help.” Mom did in fact know of someone and gave me the names of a few decent daycare centers. Under her advice and Matt’s I called a family/church friend who used to run an in-home day care who graciously agreed to watch Sloane until we could find something permanent. Thank you Jesus!!

Next came several hours of web searches, phone calls, and number crunching.  My heart was breaking when I would find a great place only to find out they opened later than we needed and closed way too early. We were put onto two waiting lists in our top two choices. Then a spot became available, then possibly another. Thank you Jesus!!

I seriously wanted to break down and cry several times this week, then I was reminded about what I prayed in the days before my interview, “God,  if you want me to have this job, have them make an offer, if not I will know.” They offered me the job 20 minutes into the interview.

If God was going to provide the job, HE would also help us find the best place for Sloane.

We are visiting both centers on Friday. If you have a chance, say a prayer for us, that the best place for Sloane has an opening. Thank you and thank you Jesus!!

My New Normal

The New Normal

I never considered myself  materialistic, sure, I like nice things and can tell the difference between a name brand a fake from a mile away, but me, materialistic? No way! I am a “good” Christian woman who hasn’t been to a mall in months, carry a backpack as a purse/diaper bag, and wear my shoes until they have no soles left. I have learned many things in the past two years, one of the biggest lessons has been “It is just stuff.” What follows is how I learned that lesson and what it is still teaching me today.

We have moved four times in the past two years. No, we are not nomads, world travelers, or eccentrics.  The funny thing is that we never planned on moving. When we moved into our house in 2008, we both said that we were not moving again. As the saying goes, “People Plan, God Laughs.” Fast forward two years, my husband Matt and I are both out of work and we needed to sell the house. Thus, the first move was to clear out our house to get it on the market while Matt looked for a job and I became a stay at home mom; we moved in with my in laws. It really wasn’t as bad as it sounds. I married into a wonderful family that understands “life changes” better than any other group of people I know. My MIL made space for us in her home, we put most of our belongings into storage, fanned the rest out to family who had space to spare, and waited. That was late March. In May, Matt got a job. In South Carolina. You should know he travels for work, so having him work out of state is unusual. He leaves Monday morning and comes home Thursday night. We have had this set up since we met, it doesn’t make marriage any easier being apart four days a week, but, we know how to work with it.

 I am digressing… in June, Matt was able to work out a deal with his employer to move us to S.C. while he works there. They saved on travel expenses and we got to be together. We really like South Carolina, the weather is mild, the winter is not too bad (compared with MO winters), and the people are friendly. Matt was scheduled to be in S.C. for about a year. Around May, I started applying for jobs in MO. We moved back into my in laws in June, hoping I would find a teaching job. We have discovered that experience and education doesn’t always make you more desirable to employers.  We considered moving other places, prayed about it, and decided to stay in MO and I would continue to stay home with our daughter. So once again, we moved, into our newest home, a lovely townhouse.

Remember me telling you about putting our stuff into storage? We realized we had way too much stuff (we had a four bedroom house) than we could fit into our new place. So, we trekked down to the unit and started to sort out what we needed and what we didn’t. What did we find? We had lots of clothes we never wore, too many kitchen supplies, a few broken treasures and spiders. They seemed to love the dark space. We quickly learned to wear gloves when moving and unpacking boxes, just in case. To combat the spider infestation, yes, it was that bad, we used a bug fogger to be sure we were not moving any new tenants into our new home.

Then we found mold. Yes, mold. Turns out our unit had a bit of a moisture issue, and not in a good way. The thing about mold is that it doesn’t care what it grows on, as long as it can grow. Little did we know, this mold loved our stuff. As we sorted through box after box of things we thought we couldn’t live without (like my leather jacket), I started to find my self saying, “It’s just stuff, Kim, it is just stuff.” We had to throw away some pricey items, like two mattresses, box springs and a roll top desk. Matt took it all in stride, I think because he knew we wouldn’t have to move the stuff again, just find a dumpster for it all. 

As I started to unpack, knowing I would have to wash all the clothes because of the bug fogger, I found more mold and mildew. Once again, I found myself lugging boxes of clothes to the trash mumbling, “It is just stuff, it is just stuff…” We found mold inside dressers, on TV trays, in our daughter’s changing table. Now instead of a simple unpack from yet another move, I was going to be doing a full on scrub down of everything we owned. “It is just stuff…it is just stuff.”  

Matt didn’t get upset when we threw away his leather gloves, pairs of jeans, hats, and scarves. What got to him? His plasma TV, damaged in the move, rendered totally useless. When we discovered it had broken, he took a deep breath and said, “That hurts God.”  He wasn’t furious, just ticked off – as most men would be when their 42 inch plasma TV dies an unexpected death.

Two weeks after moving in the laundry is finally done (took two weeks to get it done), the furniture is scrubbed and vacuumed (spiders), and only two boxes remain unpacked. Do I anticipate throwing more stuff away? Yes. Am I used to those walks to the dumpster? No. Is it getting easier? Yes. It is becoming my new normal…