The year I knew we were poor

I had the childhood dreams are made of.  We lived in Arizona and there was always plenty of open desert to wander through.  We found treasure around every corner.  We forged our own paths.  We learned life lessons.  We played in snow. We walked to school. We fed the pets and gathered the eggs from the chickens.  

We didn't know how poor we were because we had so much.  We had friends. We had a roof over our heads. We had food on the table.  We had a car.  For a while, we even had piano lessons.

I didn't know we were poor until my birthday that year.  I may have been 9 or maybe 10.  There was not a dime for me to have "real" birthday presents.  My mom sat up at night making me a quilt for my bed.  Then, she got cardboard boxes and made a Barbie Dream Home for me.  

That was the year I understood how poor my family was.  I knew my clothes would rarely be brand new.  I knew that I wouldn't have the great stuff my classmates had.  But I will tell you something.  I had the greatest quilt ever made.  I had the grandest Barbie mansion ever created by human hands.  

I had those because that was the year I also learned how exceedingly rich I was.

Magic Tree House series

The Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne is about the space/time travels of a tree house and Jack and Annie, siblings.  The pair stumble upon the tree house, a most excellent tree house, during their romp in the woods one day.  Being curious, they climb up into the house and find books.  Every book has a page marked.  The first book they open is the dinosaur book.  Jack looks at the picture on the marked page, points, and says, "I wish I was there!"  Then, with a dizzying whir, there he (and she) are.  

The adventures are simple, not too dangerous, and simple enough for a young child to follow.  

I have a major problem with this series, however.  The grammar is awful.  I think perhaps they go beyond awful to downright terrifying and teaching the children some very bad habits.  It is full of sentence fragments posing as sentences.  The writing style is nothing more than extremely simple declarative sentences.  The style leaves me wondering if they are written for 3 year olds instead of 5-8 year olds.

As I read these books aloud to Sarah at bedtime, I find it painful.  In order to reduce the pain, I've begun rewording sentences to add some variety.  She can handle variety.  She doesn't need choppy anymore.  The good news is that I can read a book in about three nights to her.  We will read the entire series, but I will continue editing to make it easier.

How not to host a tournament

We recently attended a sports tournament.  The age range was ages 5-the oldest participant.  The tournament started at 9am with a schedule of events posted. So, with no further ado, I bring how not to host a tournament, or why it sucked to spend the day there.

1. Schedule too many events and not enough time.  This will ensure that your schedule of events gets off track pretty quickly in the morning.  
2. Make certain you do not rent enough space for the size of the event.  This will crowd everyone in together like sardines.  People are always happier when they are crowded like sardines.
3. Call participants up to staging where they will spend one very boring hour doing nothing but waiting.
4. Move participants to a random ring where their coaches cannot find them.  Leave them, in gear, for 4-6 hours to do nothing.  
5. Tell spectators they are not allowed to bring in food but are free to purchase food that will be available from vendors at the event.  Run even 3 hours or more longer than the vendors are willing to stay.
6. Tell spectators to get off your lawn, er, fence.  So what you called their little Johnny to staging and assigned him a ring 5 hours ago and they are tired of standing.  They can get their dirty little paws off.of.your.fence.
7.  Charge schools $50/coach so that bringing coaches in becomes cost prohibitive.  This will ensure that someone's little Johnny will participate in his event(s) without a coach.  This makes parents very happy.  
8.  Refuse coach challenges unless they are from out of the area.  Then very willingly agree to their challenge.
9. Change the rules.  Start with a point head shot at the beginning of the match and then at the end, change it to three points thus ensuring that the true winner loses.  
10.  Keep the same 24 judges and 6 referees on their feet for 16 hours so that their final calls will be unacceptable and gobbledygook stupid.  

Now, for some suggestions that will help make future tournaments more enjoyable for participants.

1. Rent a larger space and set up rings like this:
 -- 2 rings for black belt participants
 --1 ring for 18+
 --1 ring for 14-17
 --1 ring for 11-13
 --1 ring for 8-10
 --1 ring for 5-7

This is only 1 extra ring than you provided.  However, it would help coaches to know where they need to be. 

2. The larger the event, the more time you need.  If you have 9 events, you should plan to split them up between two days.  

3. Give your refs and judges a break.  Have a rotation or give them a 20 minute break between events.  

I'm sure there are more ways to help than these three, but these three things alone would have made a huge difference in our experience.  There were a lot of unnecessary injuries because the children were tired and hungry and had been sitting idly for 6 hours.  

BOOKS!

So, I've been reading.

I read a book called Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim.  It was very well done.

I read Hostile Witness by Rebecca Forster which was great.

I have read many books on Asian countries with the children, and I have been reading through the Akiko series by Mark Crilley with Sarah.

I finally read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and I approve.

I have read a few not-so-great books as well, but I'm not going to give them a mention unless you ask because they aren't worth it.

Keep reading, Friends.

Even a little is something

I got a gym membership about 18 months ago. I used it faithfully until my children's taekwondo schedule changed and effectively killed my motivation.  I wasn't really seeing results anyway.  I spiraled downhill. About October, the thought of getting back into the gym started playing in my mind again.  In December, I did it.  I went.  And then I got sick.  Hooray because that took a week off of my plans and I was afraid I'd lose that motivation again.  I got well and went back.  I don't know that I had any real goals beyond something had to change and that something was me.

I'm the person who needs to see some results in order to keep going.  I was looking, trying on skirts, measuring...seemingly in vain.  But, one great morning, I put a skirt on fresh from the dryer and it was loose.

Then, I took measurements and saw just how much things had changed that I hadn't noticed really in the short time.  I put a skirt on Sunday morning that almost fell off.  I was disappointed only in that I had my heart set on wearing that one.

I'm sure that this is just a teaser and that I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I'll take anything I can get.

More of this and that

1. The chocolate lab feels she must sleep on something. Toys are good.  Shoes are good too.  I cannot figure this behavior out.  

2. The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf was a two star reading.  She carries good description of scenery but reading her is like watching goldfish swim.  Nothing really happens.  I'd also compare it to people watching in the mall. You see some people go in to a store and catch part of their conversation.  Then you forget about them until they come out engaged in a different conversation.  Meanwhile, other bits of conversation have gone in and come out but nothing really forms an entire story.

3.  Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is far better.  You get the scenic descriptions but you also get the entire story.  Even Estella's story is finished out.  Of course, Dickins is a five star writer.  He shows you every sort of human being there is in only a few human beings.  You find characters that remain the same (static character.)  You also find the dynamic characters.  You find characters who live for vengeance.  You find those that live quietly with love.  

4. I got crafty and spray painted some wall sconces I had grown tired of.  I am no  longer tired of them.  They look beautiful and they suit the decor.  I'm so happy :D

Demi-gods among us

There are all around us little self-appointed demi-gods.  No one put them in that position; they assumed it alone.  Yet men and women stood by and said "amen" as the ascension took place.  Those who gave consent were immediately taken captive.  They would become the top-of-the-pile slaves who would chase down and convert other slaves.  The demi-god grows in power and in ego.  His empire is his alone and those who would tell him "no" are exiled.  

The exile is immediate and complete.  And it is painful for all of the other slaves will be told all manner of lies about that one so that they are convinced the one is bound for hell tomorrow and nothing can stop his progress.

That one who dares to stand against the demi-god is doomed.  

Really, the one who dares to stand is making a very hard choice.  He does not have to stand.  He could continue letting things go.  There are many who won't dare.  

Then, some day the demi-god erupts and every nasty bit that was buried inside him gets flung to the wind.  

Lucky Exile, for he extricated himself from the mess.

But we don't see him as lucky.  The man we pity is the one who is left to clean up the mess.  Why? It really is a mess of his own making because he didn't choose to say "no."  He chose safety over right.

Do not call the one left to clean up the mess a good man; that is not true.  That one left to clean it up is a mere coward who was as self-serving as his demi-god.  Instead of pitying the one left behind, pity the one who lost everything in an attempt to do right.  Call that Exile the good man.  

I've known Exiles.  They are quiet, unremarkable people.  But they are strong.  They are stronger than you would ever imagine.