Heroes

Heroes...we all have them.  That one person who we look up to more than anyone else.  For most of my life, that person has been my aunt Lynn.  A lot of my childhood memories are from times when I was with her.  I spent many summers at her house along with school vacations or quick weekends.  She was an amazing person, and she had an amazing will to live.  She inspired all of us to be better than we were, and I can honestly say that I would not be the teacher I am today if it weren't for her.  Sadly, we lost her after a courageous battle in August.  Not a day goes by that I don't think about her, and I don't expect that will ever change.

I've come to realize this past week that your hero might not be just one person.  I sat down yesterday morning to send my daughter an inspirational quote as she was traveling to regional cross country.  I closed that text with, "You are my hero."  And, it was definitely a true statement.  This young girl chose (as you might remember from my last post) to make a change and start running cross country.  She never participated in that sport before, and she did this even though she knew it meant no more Saturdays with her closest friends at volleyball tournaments.  At the age of 15, there is no way I would have gone my own way.  I would have stuck with my friends.  She knows what she wants and she set her mind to do it.  She is my hero.

As I pushed send yesterday, I realized that heroes come in all shapes and sizes.  While many of us have that one person in mind when we hear the word hero--a family member, a veteran, a friend, etc., we are really surrounded by people who show heroic qualities everyday.  It might be a hug, just when you need it most or an email thanking you for something you have done.  It could be anything.  I challenge everyone to look for that heroic quality in the people around you.

You don't become a hero because of what you do but because of who you are.

Choices

Choices...we make them every day.  Usually they are not life impacting, but sometimes they are and we don't even realize it.  

During the past few weeks I watched my daughter make one of the most difficult decisions she has had to make in her short life.  I watched her struggle and weigh the options.  I offered advice when she asked, but the most important thing I did for her was support her.  Whatever her decision, we would be behind her 100%.  Her struggle---whether to stay in volleyball or change and run cross country.  Some would not understand the difficulty she had, and 20 years from now, it may not matter at all, but when you are raising a teen-age girl who is athletic, making a decision like this is major.  She ultimately went with cross country because she knows that will help her reach her goal of running at state track.  I couldn't be prouder of her.  She has experienced success and has medaled at every meet she has run.

So back to my topic...choices.  I've also in the past few weeks witnessed people making a choice that not only affects their health negatively but also those around them.  Proof that the choices we make today can impact our lives or the lives of others tomorrow.  Because of this choice, they are missing out on the "big" things in life.

Every day I see students make choices in the classroom...some are wise and some are not.  I always try to teach my students that the choices they make today may have a consequence they don't like tomorrow.  I think some may have learned that lesson, but there are others who unfortunately "choose" to ignore the signs.  My hope is that they figure it out someday.

I guess in the end we should all follow our hearts, instincts, and that inner voice.  I've never gone wrong listening to that voice.  It has told me to turn around and go home instead of going on a trip, to apply for that job, to not head to class right on time, and the list could go on and on.  Each one of those examples, I can relate back to a moment in my life that made an impact.

Choices made, whether bad or good, follow you forever and affect everyone in their path one way or another.
    

So, I spent part of my weekend moving our 14 year old daughter downstairs into her new bedroom, which required moving my husband out of his office/man cave.  My basement now looks like it could be on an episode of Hoarders. When I walk down the stairs, I get the heebie-jeebies because of the mess, and I am one who can stand a bit of clutter. 

This got me to thinking....why do we, or in this case I, think I need to hang on to everything?  In a drawer I found do-dads that keep extension cords together that were purchased at Gibson's (they were still in the package with the price tag sticker).  The Gibson's in our town has been closed for many years, AND do I really need these?  And why did we buy them to begin with?  I'm perplexed, but I'm sure I will come across many other "valuable" items in my efforts to relocate the office and take back the basement.

Add to this the fact that we are redoing a bathroom and have done some work outside, our house seems to be in total chaos.  At this moment, there is not a single room in my house that is "clean and tidy".  We have too many projects going on, and it's time to start marking them off.  The bedroom move is the first check off, thankfully.

So, I close with this....if anyone has great ideas for organization, please feel free to share.  I'm all ears.  It's time to start purging!