Sunday, December 30, 2007
Last Minute Christmas Shopping
I wrote this a few days ago but didn't post it on here when I wrote it. I realized that so I added it. Hope you like it.
Yeah I decided @ the last minute today I needed to go to Houston to shop for last minute Christmas gifts. Everyone here is either recovering from surgery, still jet lagged or sick; so I was bored outta my mind. I decide @ 1:30 to jump in the shower, grab my friends Christmas gifts (figured I could play Ms. Clause on the way back) and off I go. Now please remember the trek to Houston either involves Beaumont and puts you on the wrong side of town anyway or just deal with a 2 lane highway all the way to Livingston until you hit 59 (Real Highway for my friends who aren't from here) and then have fun keeping up. After riding an hour behind the slowest driver on the planet (don't you just love little old ladies that can't see over the steering wheel); I finally get to Livingston. Shortcut across town and I'm off. Ahh speed, accelration, TRAFFIC....I miss it!!!! Radio blaring, windows down...fun fun fun. I hit construction YAY More insanity 80 miles an hour and construction cones WAHOO!!!...then finally HUMBLE!!! YAY...I hit the strech between Kingwood and Humble going almost 80 and still getting passed...I LOVE IT!!!! It takes me 10 minutes to take the u-turn on 1960...this is what driving is supose to be like...horns honking..people not waving, radios blaring a million different songs (hey wait i love that song what station is he listening too)...ah I love it..Drive through the parking lot...woah don't wreck while looking @ the guy hot guy that just winked (oh wait that's a different blog lol) ( I love this city!!!)..lol... Run into the store.. Only have 20 minutes till they close. So I grab my items and wait in line for 20 minutes...YAY I miss this...wow...a wait in a store other than Walmart!!! YAY!! Then I'm off again...Next store...grab a couple of random things I didn't have on my list but man they were too cute!! Someone will like them...Standing in the checkout line forever...yay I love it!!!! Now I'm off again. Slow down..another hottie..lol WOW I miss this city!!!.Darn stores are all closing..off to get Wrappping paper!!! One more stop...I can't help but notice I only have 2 choices for wrapping paper @ this moment; oh well that will be ok. I hope the kids will like Christmas tree paper!!
I've decided @ this point that I'm having so much fun I'll drive by my old apartment. Ok Houstonians remember.. I lived @ the 610/I 10 Interchange by the galleria. Madness, mahem, rude drivers, again I feel like I'm on the set of the fast n the furious. I LOVE IT!!! fight my way to my exit..uh oh my exit's gone what's a girl to do. Never fear fight your way through one more exit and just loop around. Again this takes 10 minutes to go through the U-Turn and the longer it takes the happier I am. I'm loving it. I drive down Chimney Rock, zig zag some unknown road over to Sage and I'm on my way by the already closing galleria. It takes 30 minutes to get back on the freeway and i'm blaring the radio the entire time. (in the back of my mind i'm thinking "Man I miss this!!") and I do.
Don't get me wrong; I love my job; I love the people I work with, I love my students (yes, even the ones that make me pull my hair out) and I love this town because it's my hometown; but honestly I'm a city girl @ heart. I want shopping centers, and exquisite resturants and little cafe's downtown where I can play on my laptop , while drinking coffe and watch the people walk by. I miss walking around the Galleria, I miss the traffic, I miss the noise, the lights; even car alarms blaring all night!!! I even love having to set the alarm on my car and never dreaming of leaving one item in my car just incase my car disapears while i'm alseep. Yeah at 8 am on a monday morning; while stuck in traffic, I might sing a different song. But you take the good with the bad. So where will I be down the road only God really knows....what I do know is I'm gonna have to do that again next weekend. I had way too much fun!!!!
Yeah I decided @ the last minute today I needed to go to Houston to shop for last minute Christmas gifts. Everyone here is either recovering from surgery, still jet lagged or sick; so I was bored outta my mind. I decide @ 1:30 to jump in the shower, grab my friends Christmas gifts (figured I could play Ms. Clause on the way back) and off I go. Now please remember the trek to Houston either involves Beaumont and puts you on the wrong side of town anyway or just deal with a 2 lane highway all the way to Livingston until you hit 59 (Real Highway for my friends who aren't from here) and then have fun keeping up. After riding an hour behind the slowest driver on the planet (don't you just love little old ladies that can't see over the steering wheel); I finally get to Livingston. Shortcut across town and I'm off. Ahh speed, accelration, TRAFFIC....I miss it!!!! Radio blaring, windows down...fun fun fun. I hit construction YAY More insanity 80 miles an hour and construction cones WAHOO!!!...then finally HUMBLE!!! YAY...I hit the strech between Kingwood and Humble going almost 80 and still getting passed...I LOVE IT!!!! It takes me 10 minutes to take the u-turn on 1960...this is what driving is supose to be like...horns honking..people not waving, radios blaring a million different songs (hey wait i love that song what station is he listening too)...ah I love it..Drive through the parking lot...woah don't wreck while looking @ the guy hot guy that just winked (oh wait that's a different blog lol) ( I love this city!!!)..lol... Run into the store.. Only have 20 minutes till they close. So I grab my items and wait in line for 20 minutes...YAY I miss this...wow...a wait in a store other than Walmart!!! YAY!! Then I'm off again...Next store...grab a couple of random things I didn't have on my list but man they were too cute!! Someone will like them...Standing in the checkout line forever...yay I love it!!!! Now I'm off again. Slow down..another hottie..lol WOW I miss this city!!!.Darn stores are all closing..off to get Wrappping paper!!! One more stop...I can't help but notice I only have 2 choices for wrapping paper @ this moment; oh well that will be ok. I hope the kids will like Christmas tree paper!!
I've decided @ this point that I'm having so much fun I'll drive by my old apartment. Ok Houstonians remember.. I lived @ the 610/I 10 Interchange by the galleria. Madness, mahem, rude drivers, again I feel like I'm on the set of the fast n the furious. I LOVE IT!!! fight my way to my exit..uh oh my exit's gone what's a girl to do. Never fear fight your way through one more exit and just loop around. Again this takes 10 minutes to go through the U-Turn and the longer it takes the happier I am. I'm loving it. I drive down Chimney Rock, zig zag some unknown road over to Sage and I'm on my way by the already closing galleria. It takes 30 minutes to get back on the freeway and i'm blaring the radio the entire time. (in the back of my mind i'm thinking "Man I miss this!!") and I do.
Don't get me wrong; I love my job; I love the people I work with, I love my students (yes, even the ones that make me pull my hair out) and I love this town because it's my hometown; but honestly I'm a city girl @ heart. I want shopping centers, and exquisite resturants and little cafe's downtown where I can play on my laptop , while drinking coffe and watch the people walk by. I miss walking around the Galleria, I miss the traffic, I miss the noise, the lights; even car alarms blaring all night!!! I even love having to set the alarm on my car and never dreaming of leaving one item in my car just incase my car disapears while i'm alseep. Yeah at 8 am on a monday morning; while stuck in traffic, I might sing a different song. But you take the good with the bad. So where will I be down the road only God really knows....what I do know is I'm gonna have to do that again next weekend. I had way too much fun!!!!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Three Letters From Teddy
Ok this is my all time favorite Christmas story. So I'm posting it on here for everyone. It's a story that was published in Home Life Magazine many many years ago. But it's absolutely Wonderful!!!
Three Letters From Teddy by Elizabeth Silance Ballard
Teddy's letter came today and now that I've read it, I will place it in my cedar chest with the other things important to my life.
"I wanted you to be the first to know." I smiled as I read the words he had written, and my heart swelled with a pride that I had no right to feel. I have not seen Teddy Stallard since he was a student in my fifth-grade class, 15 years ago.
It was early in my career, and I had only been teaching for two years. From the first day he stepped into my classroom, I disliked Teddy. Teachers (although everyone knows differently) are not supposed to have favorites in a class, but most especially they are not to show dislike for a child, any child. Nevertheless, every year there are one or two children that one cannot help but be attracted to, for teachers are human, and it is a human nature to like bright, pretty, intelligent people, whether they are 10 years old or 25. And sometimes, not too often fortunately, there will be one or two students to whom the teacher just can't seem to relate.
I thought myself quite capable of handling my personal feelings along that line until Teddy walked into my life. There wasn't a child I particularly liked that year, but Teddy was most assuredly one I disliked. He was dirty. Not just occasionally, but all the time. His hair hung low over his ears, and he actually had to hold it out of his eyes as he wrote his papers in class. (And this was before it was fashionable to do so!) Too, he had a particular odor about him that I could never identify. His physical faults were many, and his intellect left a lot to be desired also. By the end of the first week, I knew he was hopelessly behind the others. Not only was he behind, but he was just plain slow! I began to withdraw from him immediately.
Any teacher will tell you it's more of a pleasure to teach a bright child. It is definitely more rewarding for one's ego. But any teacher worth her credentials can channel work to the bright child, keeping him challenged and learning while she puts her major effort on the slower ones. Any teacher can do this. Most teachers do it, but I didn't. Not that year. In fact, I concentrated on my best students and let the others follow along as best they could. Ashamed as I am to admit it, I took perverse pleasure in using my red pen; and each time I came to Teddy's papers, the cross-marks (and they were many) were always a little larger and a little redder than necessary.
"Poor work!" I wrote with a flourish. While I did not actually ridicule the boy, my attitude was obviously quite apparent to the class, for he quickly became the class "goat," the outcast - the unlovable and the unloved. He knew I didn't like him, but he didn't know why. Nor did I know - then or now - why I felt such and intense dislike for him. All I know is he was a little boy no one cared about, and I made no effort in his behalf. The days rolled by and we made it through the Fall Festival, the Thanksgiving holidays, and I continued marking happily with my red pen. As the Christmas holidays approached, I knew Teddy would never catch up in time to be promoted to the sixth-grade level. He would be a repeater. To justify myself, I went to his cumulative folder from time to time. He had very low grades for the first four years, but no grade failure. How he had made it, I didn't know. I closed my mind to the personal remarks:
First grade: "Teddy shows promise by work and attitude but has a poor home situation."Second grade: "Teddy could do better. Mother terminally ill. He received little help at home."Third grade: "Teddy is a pleasant boy. Helpful, but too serious. Slow learner. Mother passed away end of year."Fourth grade: "Very slow, but well behaved. Father shows no interest."
"Well, they passed him four times, but he will certainly repeat fifth grade! Do him good!" I said to myself.
And then the last day before the holiday arrived. Our little tree on the reading table sported paper and popcorn chains. Many gifts were heaped underneath, waiting for the big moment. Teachers always get several gifts at Christmas, but mine that year seemed bigger and more elaborate than ever. There was not a student who had not brought me one. Each unwrapping brought squeals of delight and the proud giver would receive effusive thank-you's.
His gift wasn't the last one I picked up; in fact, it was in the middle of the pile. It's wrapping was a brown paper bag, and he had colored Christmas trees and red bells all over it. It was stuck together with masking tape.
"For Miss Thompson - from Teddy," it read. The group was completely silent, and for the first time I felt conspicuous, embarrassed because they all stood watching me unwrap that gift. As I removed the last bit of masking tape, two items fell to my desk. A gaudy rhinestone bracelet with several stones missing and a small bottle of dime-store cologne - half empty. I could hear the snickers and whispers, and I wasn't sure I could look at Teddy.
"Isn't this lovely?" I asked, placing the bracelet on my wrist. "Teddy, would you help me fasten it?" He smiled shyly as he fixed the clasp, and I held up my wrist for all of them to admire. There were a few ooh's and ahhs, but as I dabbed the cologne behind my ears, all the little girls lined up for a dab behind their ears. I continued to open the gifts until I reached the bottom of the pile.
We ate our refreshments, and the bell rang. The children filed out with shouts of "See you next year!" and "Merry Christmas!" but Teddy waited at his desk. When they had all left, he walked toward me clutching his gift and books to his chest. "You smell just like Mom," he said softly. "Her bracelet looks real pretty on you too. I'm glad you liked it." He left quickly, and I locked the door, sat down and wept, resolving to make up to Teddy what I had deliberately deprived him of - a teacher who cared. I stayed every afternoon with Teddy from the end of the holidays until the last day of school. Sometimes we worked together. Sometimes he worked alone while I drew up lesson plans or graded papers.
Slowly but surely he caught up with the rest of the class. Gradually there was a definite upward curve in his grades. He did not have to repeat the fifth grade. In fact, his final averages were among the highest in the class, and although I knew he would be moving out of the state when school was out, I was not worried for him. Teddy had reached a level that would stand him in good stead the following year, no matter where he went. He had enjoyed a measure of success and as we were taught in our teacher training courses: "Success builds success."
I did not hear from Teddy until seven years later, when his first letter appeared in our mailbox.
"Dear Miss Thompson,I just wanted you to be the first to know. I will be graduating second in my class next month.
Very truly yours,Teddy Stallard."
I sent him a card of congratulations and a small package, a pen and pencil gift set. I wondered what he would do after graduation. Four years later, Teddy's second letter came.
"Dear Miss Thompson,
I wanted you to be the first to know. I was just informed I'll be graduating first in my class. The university has not been easy, but Iliked it.
Very truly yours,Teddy Stallard."
I sent him a good pair of sterling silver mono-grammed cuff links and a card, so proud of him I could burst! And now - today - Teddy's third letter.
"Dear Miss Thompson,
I wanted you to be the first to know. As of today I am Theodore J. Stallard, M.D. How about that!!?? I'm going to be married in July, the 27th, to be exact. I wanted to ask if you could come and sit where Mom would sit if she were here. I'll have no family there as Dad died last year.
Very truly yours,Ted Stallard."
I'm not sure what kind of gift one sends to a doctor on completion of medical school and state boards. Maybe I'll just wait and take a wedding gift, but my note can't wait.
"Dear Ted,
Congratulations! You made it, and you did it yourself! In spite of those like me and not because of us, this day has come for you. God bless you. I'll be at that wedding with bells on!"
Three Letters From Teddy by Elizabeth Silance Ballard
Teddy's letter came today and now that I've read it, I will place it in my cedar chest with the other things important to my life.
"I wanted you to be the first to know." I smiled as I read the words he had written, and my heart swelled with a pride that I had no right to feel. I have not seen Teddy Stallard since he was a student in my fifth-grade class, 15 years ago.
It was early in my career, and I had only been teaching for two years. From the first day he stepped into my classroom, I disliked Teddy. Teachers (although everyone knows differently) are not supposed to have favorites in a class, but most especially they are not to show dislike for a child, any child. Nevertheless, every year there are one or two children that one cannot help but be attracted to, for teachers are human, and it is a human nature to like bright, pretty, intelligent people, whether they are 10 years old or 25. And sometimes, not too often fortunately, there will be one or two students to whom the teacher just can't seem to relate.
I thought myself quite capable of handling my personal feelings along that line until Teddy walked into my life. There wasn't a child I particularly liked that year, but Teddy was most assuredly one I disliked. He was dirty. Not just occasionally, but all the time. His hair hung low over his ears, and he actually had to hold it out of his eyes as he wrote his papers in class. (And this was before it was fashionable to do so!) Too, he had a particular odor about him that I could never identify. His physical faults were many, and his intellect left a lot to be desired also. By the end of the first week, I knew he was hopelessly behind the others. Not only was he behind, but he was just plain slow! I began to withdraw from him immediately.
Any teacher will tell you it's more of a pleasure to teach a bright child. It is definitely more rewarding for one's ego. But any teacher worth her credentials can channel work to the bright child, keeping him challenged and learning while she puts her major effort on the slower ones. Any teacher can do this. Most teachers do it, but I didn't. Not that year. In fact, I concentrated on my best students and let the others follow along as best they could. Ashamed as I am to admit it, I took perverse pleasure in using my red pen; and each time I came to Teddy's papers, the cross-marks (and they were many) were always a little larger and a little redder than necessary.
"Poor work!" I wrote with a flourish. While I did not actually ridicule the boy, my attitude was obviously quite apparent to the class, for he quickly became the class "goat," the outcast - the unlovable and the unloved. He knew I didn't like him, but he didn't know why. Nor did I know - then or now - why I felt such and intense dislike for him. All I know is he was a little boy no one cared about, and I made no effort in his behalf. The days rolled by and we made it through the Fall Festival, the Thanksgiving holidays, and I continued marking happily with my red pen. As the Christmas holidays approached, I knew Teddy would never catch up in time to be promoted to the sixth-grade level. He would be a repeater. To justify myself, I went to his cumulative folder from time to time. He had very low grades for the first four years, but no grade failure. How he had made it, I didn't know. I closed my mind to the personal remarks:
First grade: "Teddy shows promise by work and attitude but has a poor home situation."Second grade: "Teddy could do better. Mother terminally ill. He received little help at home."Third grade: "Teddy is a pleasant boy. Helpful, but too serious. Slow learner. Mother passed away end of year."Fourth grade: "Very slow, but well behaved. Father shows no interest."
"Well, they passed him four times, but he will certainly repeat fifth grade! Do him good!" I said to myself.
And then the last day before the holiday arrived. Our little tree on the reading table sported paper and popcorn chains. Many gifts were heaped underneath, waiting for the big moment. Teachers always get several gifts at Christmas, but mine that year seemed bigger and more elaborate than ever. There was not a student who had not brought me one. Each unwrapping brought squeals of delight and the proud giver would receive effusive thank-you's.
His gift wasn't the last one I picked up; in fact, it was in the middle of the pile. It's wrapping was a brown paper bag, and he had colored Christmas trees and red bells all over it. It was stuck together with masking tape.
"For Miss Thompson - from Teddy," it read. The group was completely silent, and for the first time I felt conspicuous, embarrassed because they all stood watching me unwrap that gift. As I removed the last bit of masking tape, two items fell to my desk. A gaudy rhinestone bracelet with several stones missing and a small bottle of dime-store cologne - half empty. I could hear the snickers and whispers, and I wasn't sure I could look at Teddy.
"Isn't this lovely?" I asked, placing the bracelet on my wrist. "Teddy, would you help me fasten it?" He smiled shyly as he fixed the clasp, and I held up my wrist for all of them to admire. There were a few ooh's and ahhs, but as I dabbed the cologne behind my ears, all the little girls lined up for a dab behind their ears. I continued to open the gifts until I reached the bottom of the pile.
We ate our refreshments, and the bell rang. The children filed out with shouts of "See you next year!" and "Merry Christmas!" but Teddy waited at his desk. When they had all left, he walked toward me clutching his gift and books to his chest. "You smell just like Mom," he said softly. "Her bracelet looks real pretty on you too. I'm glad you liked it." He left quickly, and I locked the door, sat down and wept, resolving to make up to Teddy what I had deliberately deprived him of - a teacher who cared. I stayed every afternoon with Teddy from the end of the holidays until the last day of school. Sometimes we worked together. Sometimes he worked alone while I drew up lesson plans or graded papers.
Slowly but surely he caught up with the rest of the class. Gradually there was a definite upward curve in his grades. He did not have to repeat the fifth grade. In fact, his final averages were among the highest in the class, and although I knew he would be moving out of the state when school was out, I was not worried for him. Teddy had reached a level that would stand him in good stead the following year, no matter where he went. He had enjoyed a measure of success and as we were taught in our teacher training courses: "Success builds success."
I did not hear from Teddy until seven years later, when his first letter appeared in our mailbox.
"Dear Miss Thompson,I just wanted you to be the first to know. I will be graduating second in my class next month.
Very truly yours,Teddy Stallard."
I sent him a card of congratulations and a small package, a pen and pencil gift set. I wondered what he would do after graduation. Four years later, Teddy's second letter came.
"Dear Miss Thompson,
I wanted you to be the first to know. I was just informed I'll be graduating first in my class. The university has not been easy, but Iliked it.
Very truly yours,Teddy Stallard."
I sent him a good pair of sterling silver mono-grammed cuff links and a card, so proud of him I could burst! And now - today - Teddy's third letter.
"Dear Miss Thompson,
I wanted you to be the first to know. As of today I am Theodore J. Stallard, M.D. How about that!!?? I'm going to be married in July, the 27th, to be exact. I wanted to ask if you could come and sit where Mom would sit if she were here. I'll have no family there as Dad died last year.
Very truly yours,Ted Stallard."
I'm not sure what kind of gift one sends to a doctor on completion of medical school and state boards. Maybe I'll just wait and take a wedding gift, but my note can't wait.
"Dear Ted,
Congratulations! You made it, and you did it yourself! In spite of those like me and not because of us, this day has come for you. God bless you. I'll be at that wedding with bells on!"
Monday, December 24, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Refelctions
I'll never forget my best friends reaction the first morning he stayed @ my house after his Fiance and Mother of his child passed away. I woke up and started coffee as ususal. After this I started to fix my ususal breakfast. A egg sandwhich, with 2 eggs on toast. I had eatten the same breakfast for about 2 years. All of a sudden, he walks in the kitchen half asleep and looks @ me and asks "what'd you go and do that for?". The untold part of the story is that his fiance is the one who introduced me to this breakfast. He imediately went into the other room shut the door and stayed there for quite a while. I felt so bad but there is a truth to this moment that we often never think about. It is the simplest things that remind us of the people we know and love who have either gone before us or moved away. A song on the radio reminds you of driving down a long road with a dear friend on a road trip. A smell takes you back to your grandmother's house and reminds you of her cooking dinner. The smell of cedar may remind you of playing with toys in your grandmothers guest room. Anything can trigger a memory and remind you of something. A joke will make you want to rush to pick up the phone to tell the other person what happened. Our lives are so intertwined that we must never waste a single moment. We must cherish everything and never take people for granted.
It amazes me how my memories, at times, are as vivid as the moment when I lived it. The mind is a powerful thing and amazes someone. I cherrish the times I share with my friends; and I carry them with me every moment that they cross my mind. One sweet day we will see each other again; and until then in my heart is where they stay.
It amazes me how my memories, at times, are as vivid as the moment when I lived it. The mind is a powerful thing and amazes someone. I cherrish the times I share with my friends; and I carry them with me every moment that they cross my mind. One sweet day we will see each other again; and until then in my heart is where they stay.
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