First of all, when did the word "wondering" become acceptable to be used as a noun? I hear it (and use it, obviously) all the time. Five years ago? Never! I know you are curious about some of my other wonderings, as well. If you aren't, you likely should quit reading this post right about...now. :) Here are my top 10, in no particular order, and then I promise to get serious: 1. Since when did men's undergarments cost upwards of $30? There are so many reasons they should only cost about $5, but alas, the cool kids are wearing $38 underpants. Sorry, Dave, you are NOT a cool kid. 2. I have to include a couple of Dave's questions (these are for God): one is the notion of why men and women are so vastly different and shouldn't the opposite sex come with a Technical Assistance Manual? 3. Another one of Dave's is perfect for all the little kids in your life. He says the first question he will ask God is why God created boogers (I told you the first part of this was going to be silly)---you think it's silly but it's not (say that fast and it will be even funnier, according to Dave, who is quickly being thrown under the bus). 4. Who was the first person to think of a balloon being a celebratory item? As Bill Murray tweeted, "Balloons are so weird... "Happy birthday, here's a plastic sack of my breath." 5. Why is it that if you have almost 4000 square feet of house do all the humans and canines end up in less than 200 square feet for 90 % of the time? (Technically, this is not something that bothers me in the least but I do wonder about it) 6. Why is the word colonel spelled the same way as a piece of unpopped corn? Is there any rationale to that? 7. In somewhat (but not really) related news, why is it, that no matter how many times you tell people how to say the word "realtor" (and this one is even pronounced the WAY it is spelled), it is the #8 misspelled word in the English language. 8. In even more related news, why is it that some of my students who are studying to get their master's degree in Educational Leadership spell the word "principal" as "principle"? I have told them, "If you want to BE one, you need to know how to SPELL one." 9. Here is one to which I am fairly certain most people can relate. Why is it that if YOU are eating corn nuts, they taste great, but if you are sitting near someone (this statistic is significantly heightened the closer the proximity to them you are, I think) eating them, they smell horrendous?? In high school, our teachers told us that we were not allowed to buy and eat corn nuts from the band or choir kids selling them unless everyone was going to get some. I now understand the reasoning. 10. If someone says "Bless your heart", how are you supposed to know if they really mean they are going to go straight to prayer formation or if they actually have a sneaking suspicion you are a bit slow on the uptake? Now, let's get serious for a minute. I wonder about a couple of things when I pray and meditate (which I am truly working to do BOTH every single morning before I begin my day): 1. How can we possibly justify the low wages college-educated teachers make when teachers truly are the reason for almost every other profession in the world? The average teacher salary in the United States was around $58,000 less than two years ago and we all know of those teachers who work other jobs in the summer or the evenings just to make ends meet? I told a group of teachers recently how much I loved them (I don't even know them except having taught them for 3 hours last week) for what they were willing to do for the students who will ultimately grow up and take care of Dave and me (unless I can convince my dear niece or grand-niece to do it for us---my niece asked what the job would pay) :) 2. The second thing I wonder is about beliefs. I truly believe that the way people approach contradicting views on politics and religion has hurt families, friends, communities, our nation, and the world, in general. I may be taking a completely simplistic view, but after reading a novel recently about a topic that has polarized our country for so many years, I was able to say, "I still believe what I believe, but I at least understand why others viewing the issue from the other side believe what they believe". I get frustrated with people who say things like, "Facebook is the root of all of that disagreement." NO!! WE are the root of it. Facebook is for finding friends, family, and even a 5th grade teacher who you haven't seen or heard from in 30-40 years! I love seeing prom pictures, dog pictures, pictures of your dinner, and see positive posts about life in general. The posts I don't want to see, I simply flip past (a touchscreen does that task even more quickly). And frankly, Facebook connected my diagnosis of breast cancer three years ago (and the subsequent surgeries and experiences) to others who would soon go through the same experience. I got support from those who had gone before me, and I was told by three people they went to get mammograms because of my telling my experience on Facebook (they are all fine, but one had to have a biopsy). s3. Finally, and I know many might disagree with me on this one, I wonder what Jesus would want me to pray for. I have always wondered about the act of praying for someone with cancer to get well or praying for someone not to die. I have a pretty good sense that if someone is going to die, my prayer is not going to change that. In fact, if it did, what would that say? If I pray well enough, the person lives? What about really great people who die of cancer who had tons of people who were praying for them to survive? Does that mean the people didn't pray well enough? To me, that is ludicrous. I happen to believe that prayer is partly for me, to humble myself before God and admit that I am not, despite what I sometimes seem to want to believe, the most important person on the planet.
But I also believe in praying for peace and serenity. In fact, when I know of someone going through a difficult time, I always tell them that I will be praying for their peace, serenity, discernment, or whatever they need to get them through the difficult time. I believe that we are going to go through what we are going to go through---death of a loved one, trauma, disease, very difficult times. But I pray for people to feel the peace of God with them the entire time---to feel that they are being held the entire time. I know.....some pretty heavy stuff, right? But I do want to know what you wonder about. I would love to hear your wonderings, funny or serious. In conclusion, as Mitch Hedberg (one of my favorite comedians who died way too early in my humble opinion) wondered: How do people who don't believe in picketing show their lack of agreement with picketing? :) Happy Communicating! Shelly
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I am super excited to try out another VLOG this week, this one perhaps a bit more personal than last week's. I was so honored to get a chance to work with a group of teachers from two different schools this week. I worked with them on how to improve their teaching, they said they learned some new engagement techniques, and they said they loved learned a few new protocols for discussion techniques. I also had the distinct pleasure of working with administrators. We conducted some walkthroughs and observations on teachers and talked quite a bit about the practices we noted in the classrooms, then I got to talk with a teacher about her own teaching, asking her questions that she said truly made her self-reflect. What could be better than that? Please check out my VLOG on preparing to be amazed if we are open to being amazed by what is yet to come. And please, I beg of you, to give me some feedback on the VLOG. Is it easy to hear? Do you prefer the written format I usually use? I love feedback in all forms. Thanks so much! I love each of you for taking a few minutes out of your busy schedules to listen to my ramblings about life, education, and passion for what we do. Happy Communicating! Shelly Okay, here we go. I am moving into the new technology age of using a video to talk with you tonight about respect and love.
Check out my latest VLOG on love and respect. Tell me what you think! Happy Communicating!!! Shelly |
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