I am Thankful

This Thursday in America we will celebrate Thanksgiving. It is a time when most of us get together with our friends and families for Thanksgiving dinner. It is a time to be thankful for what we have.

In honor of this holiday, I thought I would take a few moments to tell you about all the things for which I am thankful.




Family
I am thankful for the family I call mine. Growing up, I was blessed with a family that loved me, protected me, and would do absolutely anything for me. I always felt safe in my family. We are by no means a perfect family...we surely have our up and downs. The one thing that remains constant is the unconditional love I have come to realize exists in this family.


That unconditional love has been proven this year when I came out to my aunt and my dad. They both have shown nothing but love and acceptance.


There are times when I get frustrated and will complain about my family. I often joke that I can only take my family in small doses (true, totally true!), and that is the reason I moved away from them. I know they will always be here for me when I need them. In return, I am always going to be there for them.


As a teacher I have seen, first hand, the painful and awful lives that some of my students live. They did not choose the life the lead, and my heart aches to think how unsafe/unloved they can be. I wish I could offer them my family, so that they would know what a loving family is.

I am so very thankful for my 9 neices and nephews. They range in age from 1 year to 13 years old. The majority of my neices and nephews are bi-racial. I am thankful for that. The fact that their fathers are black has been a blessing in my family. I come from a very Old South-type family. My grandparents were not necessarily racist, but the prescribed to the old south ideas...that blacks should marry blacks and whites should marry whites. When my neices and nephews came along, my family was force to change their outlooks and beliefs on interracial relationships. Plus, they are absolutely adorable. I love getting to see them and chasing them around the house. I love being Uncle J.




Friends
In an effort to insure I thank those who have made the most of my life, I want to take some time to individually let you know what I want to tell you.


Cal - Cal has been in my life since the 6th grade. Good grief, that is 20 years ago. (feeling old!) We have been at each other's side through everything. Even to this day, we may be miles apart, but we will be there when the other calls.


Jenny - Jenny is another who has been in my life since 6th grade. However, my friendship with Jenny did not flourish until we ended up at the same university. We became, and to this day remain, inseperable. We know so much about each other's lives...probably more than anyone else knows about us. For instance, I know behind that confident doctor exterior is an unsure, scared, indecisive little girl needing someone's hand to hold. I have always been, and will always be there. I love you Dr. J!


Ben - My roommate in college. You were an unexpected surprise and consumate friend throughout. It was awesome to share a dorm with someone who had my views on religion, moral issues, etc. You introduced me and made me part of the family. I was honored to watch you get married a few years back, and now I get to watch you become the father you were always destined to be. Take care of that little boy! Also, tell your mother I miss her. (And tell her I still have the Tennessee jacket she bought me for Christmas that first year!)


Christy - Chris, you and I have been through so much since high school. You have become so much more than a friend. I truly have always felt like your big brother. I have always been there to protect you. I got to see you finally fall in love with Jodi, and I grinned from ear to ear when you asked me to be in your wedding. Now I get to see you finally treated the way you are supposed to be treated...like a goddess!


Paul - Well, Cuz, you and I have been more like brothers than cousins. Being only a month apart in age, we got to grow up together. You were my best friend as a child. You are still a great friend now. Our lives have taken very different paths. You chose to go into the Army instead of college. You have four incredible children and a fantastic wife. I love that I get to be an "uncle" to your kids. I love them like they were my own. You know I will always be there for you and them whenever needed. I am also thankful to know that God will bring you safely home from Iraq in the upcoming weeks. You have been gone for too long, and we all miss you. Also, I can never say thank you enough for all you have done for our country. You are a hero to me and so many others.


Mikey - Though I have only known you a short time, I have spilt many details of my life to you that I have never told anyone. You were the first person to reach out to me in this blogging world. You have become a friend that I continue to confide in, even though we have never met face to face. I look forward to our continued friendship. I promise that when you come to TN, I will give you the tour of DW!


MNJ & MH - The two of you have been a bright light over the past few weeks. Getting to know you both and to meet you (Well, one of you anyway. Look out, I am coming back through there soon. We have to finally get together and go dance!) has been a true blessing and joy. You two are truly unique, and I appreciate your willingness to open up. You have three fantastic kids that are lucky to have the two of you as parents. Please continue to just be yourselves. I look forward to getting to know you all more and having you as friends in my life. And, who knows, you might find a new neighbor in the coming months. You have been warned!


Chris & Camilla - Thank you for sharing your story with me and the rest of the world. I am grateful to know you, and I look forward to continuing to learn more about you.


There are so many more of you that I wish to thank, but I am not finding the words to construct the right way to say thanks! Just know that I am glad to have each of you in my life. I would not be here without each of you...




Being a Teacher
I know I have talked about this before, but I cannot go without saying how thankful I am to have such a wonderful career. There is rarely a day that goes by that I am not working with a student. There isn't a day that I can remember not seeing that light bulb that pops in a child's head when try to solve a problem. Not a day goes by that there is not some student that comes up to hug me and/or to tell me about something that happened to them last night.

I never knew that being a teacher would make me so emotionally connected to my students and their families. I have become, in a sense, a member of some of their families. Some of the parents have become awesome friends of mine. Even a few years after they have left my class, I still get phone calls, emails, and visits from former students just to let me know how they are doing.

Next year will mark the first class of my students that will graduate high school. That's right, my kids are becoming young adults. I hope we have prepared them well for the "real world."

Being a teacher is God's gift to me by allowing me to change the world through my work with these kids.


Freedom
It may be cliche, but I am grateful for the freedoms I enjoy as a citizen of the United States. I relish in the fact I can get in my car and go wherever I may want to go at whatever time I decide. I am blessed to know I can make decisions for myself and for my life. I am able to live my life without fear of persecution for being who I am.

In my class I am constantly discussing freedom with my students. This discussion usually turns towards the freedom of religion and the right to vote. My students and I have discussed at great length the freedom for each and every person in this country to practice whatever religion their believe in and follow. We also disuss the fact the some people do not follow any religion, which is also their right. 

In our recent unit on the Greek democratic system we got into huge discussions about the right to vote. Voting is a right we have to make our voices heard. I live under the idea that if you, as an American citizen, choose not to vote then you have NO right to complain. The beauty of our democratic system is that if you don't like what is happening in our government then you have the right to vote for changes in government.  


Random Things to be Thankful For...

- Rainy days

- Tennessee Vols football (my blood runneth orange!)

- Moravian Cookies

- My restless nature

- Naps

- Goat Cheese (LOVE IT!)

- Indian Foods

- Hiking in the mountains (I know, MNJ, I don't really know what mountains are.)

- The changing of the leaf colors in the mountains.

- Music

Final Note
This post may seem sappy or insane. That is fine with me. But, this has helped me to see that I have a very fortunate life. Sometimes I may think life sucks, but I look at a list like this and I am content once again.

I am also thankful for being able to blog. I have met some truly wonderful people through this opportunity. Each of you has had some effect on my life, and I will always be greatful for that.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
- JC

Job Search Update

Just wanted to write a quick note to share the news on the job hunt thus far.

Today one of my colleagues (and former teammate) stopped me after our faculty meeting to let me know that the company I applied to this past weekend has sent her a letter as a request for a reference.

I was shocked to hear of how sudden and how quick they are moving on my application. The posting for the position does not even close until December 3. I am taking that as a wondeful sign that they are interested. It made my day.

Thought I would share that with you. Thanks to everyone for the words of support.

I wanted to send a special shout out to MNJ and MH. Thanks for sending the messages and sending the plans for life. You two rock!

More news as I learn it myself!
- JC

Oh Happy Day

I am sitting here watching "Sister Act 2 : Back in the Habit." I know it is not a masterpiece of modern cinema...I get that. However, the music in this movie is pretty awesome. Just thought I would share.

Something incredible happens at 2:30.

What Did I Just Do?

Well, I did it!

I just sent in my resume and application for employment outside of the teaching profession. Okay...sort of outside the teaching profession.

I recently caught wind of a job opening in an education company that really has peaked my interest. I have always wanted to get into politics. Specifically, I want to pursue lobbying for education reform. This potential new job would be in that realm. I have given great thought over the past year about leaving teaching but pursuing a job with this particular company. Ironic how a position opened up this year. It is rare!

I am excited, but extremely terrified at the same time.

The idea of starting anew is incredibly exciting, and outside of my little box. Most friends would agree that it is uncharacteristic of me. I am changing.

What terrifies me the most is the idea of starting a new life in a new city. Also, I have become so emotionally attached to my school, my colleagues, and my students and their families. I know I will be an emotional wreck if the time does come for me to leave my job as a teacher.

If I don't get this position, at least this company will know I am interested in working for them. I have been told that there will be a number of positions opening up in the next year.

Who knows what the future is going to bring. One thing is clear, I am choosing to consider a new path for my life. Hopefully the rest of my life will follow along with this change in career.

I will keep you updated.

I am heading home from my weekend teachers' conference in just a few hours. It has been a long weekend, but one full of useful information I cannot wait to take back and put to use.

Let me just say this before I go...THE HOTEL WAS INCREDIBLE! I could live there and want for nothing.

Talk soon!
- JC

Can You Ever Truly Go "Home" Again?

It seems the week is flying by so fast. I am not complaining...not in the slightest. Sometimes I just cannot believe that the time moves faster and faster. What happened to those long dog days of summer when I was a kid? Do you remember those days? They are the ones you think will never end.

I think that this post will be something new for me. I want to tell you a little about my childhood. I don't really know why I am going to do this, but it could be fun.

I am a child of the 80s and 90s.

In 1982, my parents divorced, and my mother moved out of the house. I was only 5. My brother was 3. I remember the months leading up to the divorce to be awful, especially for a 4 or 5 year old. I remember my parents arguing about this or that. They would get loud. I can recall one specific time that they were in the kitchen fighting. I was there, too. They did not know I was there. I was under the kitchen counter hiding in the corner. (It is a spot next to the cabinets which makes it a very hidden area.) I remember just being curled up in the corner listening to them argue. What I remember most is just sitting there crying to myself. I blamed myself for thier fights and their divorce. Before anyone says anything...I know now that it was not my fault, but to a 5 year old it is their fault.

My dad was the one to raise me and my brother. We lived in an incredible subdivision that was picture perfect for any child living there. Our subdivision had 20 houses in it. My house was dead-center of the subdivision. Every other house had a swimming pool. Almost every house had children in it my age. There were, in total, about 30 - 35 children growing up in that subdivision. At the edge of the subdivision we all had access to the lake and an area we called "the woods." I spent so many years there growing up in that neighborhood.

I remember getting married there in 3rd grade. My "wife" (Bridget) was in 5th grade. Yes, an older woman! We even had a house next door to her parents' house. Okay, it was a one-room playhouse that her father had constructed earlier that summer.

I remember playing hide-n-seek on many summer nights. We would all start in my yard, but we would eventually expand it into the entire neighborhood. My favorite spot to hide...in the shadow of this giant pine tree in our yard. I would lay on the ground in the shadow. It was the best because no one ever expected it.

One Christmas, Santa (aka my Dad) brought my brother and I a pair of three-wheel Honda ATVs. (We had a Honda 125 and a Honda 200) They were the best. We rode those for years and years. We eventually carved out numerous riding trails in "the woods." It was the perfect place to ride the three-wheelers. It was out of the way of all the neighbors, and we were left alone just to be kids.

The woods became the neighboorhood children's sanctuary. After we had all the trails cleared and formed, we would spend numerous hours in there just riding bikes, camping, hikings, etc. How fortunate was I to have this area of nature that we all could escape to, and a place for our imaginations to run wild when playing games.

My best friends growing up were my neighbors. We were a tight-knit group. We all spent uncountable hours, days, weeks, months, and years of our lives together. We were all like a big family. If that were the case, then my father was the biggest kid of them all.
  
I mentioned that every other house had a swimming pool. That is 100% accurate. What I failed to mention is that all the kids in the neighborhood ended up in my pool. I guess since my house was the center of the subdivision, it became the community center. If you were ever looking for your children, always call my house first. Dad was probably already feeding us all by grilling hamburgers or hotdogs. At that point, the neighbors would bring tomatoes, lettuce, canteloupe, and watermelon from their garden. The party would begin.

I remember just laying in the middle of the road in the center of the neighborhood on summer nights. Just a bunch of neighborhood kids laying there looking up at the stars and talking about things kids talked about then. (Remember, this was STILL the age on innocence.)  If any of you are wondering if we ever got run over...NO. Cars that would come into our subdivision were always someone we knew, and they knew to look down the hill at the center of the subdivision to see if their son or daughter was lying in the road. There was only one road into the neighborhood, and it was the same road out.

During the school year, we would all meet at the top of the hill (the entrance to the subdivision) every morning and wait for George to bring the school bus to us. George drove bus #20, and we rode that bus with him every year up until high school. We were always the first kids on the bus at 7 in the morning, and we were the last kids to get off the bus at 4:15 in the afternoon. We loved it!

Oh, and do you remember when the original Nintendo came on the market? I do. I begged and begged my dad for the Nintendo. Our neighbor, Keith, had one. He would bring it across the street to our house when he would babysit my brother and I. Super Mario Brothers was THE game. We finally got one for Christmas, and again all the kids would congregate at our house to play.

I grew up with a grandfather who loved to fish. He taught me everything I ever needed to know about fishing. So, as a kid I loved to go fishing. (What southern-bred, American boy didn't like fishing?) Having a subdivision on the edge of the lake provided a prime fishing spot at all times. My friends and I would gather our fishing poles, tackle boxes, etc and head for the lake. We would stop in the woods to dig up worms for bait. We would just sit on the banks and fish for hours...never catching anything more than a blue-gill or a small-mouth bass. We didn't care what we caught. It was just fun being around your friends.

I forgot to mention the fields behind my cousin Melinda's house. She lived just above the subdivision at the top of the hill. Behind her house was acres upon acres of rolling fields. In the spring we would run to the fields and fly the kites. There were no trees, powerlines, or roads to get in our way.

As I look back on my childhood, I think back to how innocent life really was. I guess the old saying is true: "Ignorance is Bliss." Well, we were definitely blissful all the time in our neighborhood. Life was so much simpler then. And, yes, it was the 80s and early 90s.

Like all good things, it had to come to an end. It started with us selling our house and moving out. We needed a bigger house when dad remarried. After we left, others left too. I guess we were the lynchpin in the center of the neighborhood.  It was never the same.

Sometimes, when I am in town visiting my family, I will make a trip to the neighborhood just to see how it has changed and how it has not. The same houses are still there. There is one new house, but it is owned by one of the original neighbors in the "hood." He built his new house in his field, just across the street from his former house. He built it for his wife. Go figure!

Obviously, all of the kids I grew up with have left and live their own lives now. There are a few of the old neighbors still in their houses. I go over to Jim and Linda's house to talk to them, and I will sit in their living room and just stare at my former home across the street.

My former home looks very similar to the way we left it. It is still yellow, maybe a creamier shade (better). The massive pine tree is gone. Was told it fell over one night in a bad thunderstorm. The pool that my dad, my brother, and I put in when we lived there and the fences are still there. The windows have been changed. The garage, once converted into a gameroom, has been returned to a garage. It still looks good.

How funny are the memories that we can hold on to for so many years of our lives. This is my "happy place" when I need to go there in my mind.

Thanks for taking a ride down memory lane with me.

PS. I know that some of this sounds too good to be true. Honestly, this was my life growing up. (Not a fairy tale...a true story!)