A Little Arizona Sunshine

I wish I had money. I love buying gifts for people. But I'm broke. The End. :)

It's 9 AM and I'm sitting on a couch at a friend's house. There are the comforting sounds and smells of someone cooking in the kitchen and a stillness in the rest of the house. I got up earlier than my comrades to do some homework so I could spend more time with them while we're all awake later in the day, but I got distracted by the nostalgic feeling of a holiday. You know that feeling you get on the morning of a holiday as a kid-- that something special is going to happen today, something magical. The older I get, the less I feel that. Thanksgiving, Christmas, your birthday, or the midnight feeling on New Year's eve all had that sparkling quality. But now as an adult I just feel the stress of planning, the cost plane tickets, the job I return to after the vacation, and I lose the moment. This morning, I'm feeling that little spark of magic in a holiday. It might be *NSync playing now... but who knows. Hope your day is filled with the blessing of family, joy,...

HOPE = Helping Other People Everywhere 4 days a year the school shuts down and does community service in the Spokane area (HOPE Taskforce day). We do everything from shelters and Ronald McDonald House to raking leaves for some neighbors. Today, there was severe winds. Gusts of 60 mph. My whole day that I've spent hours and hours and hours setting up for and planning was turned into a day of frantically fielding phone calls and trying to get our kids back safely. Because of COURSE the wind didn't get terrible until they were in town already. But here are the things I've learned as a result: 1. No matter how much work you put into something, you cannot control the weather and you have to learn to just smile and roll with the punches. 2. Even when you're stressed beyond measure and don't know how you're going to get through the day, God takes care of you. A group of sophomores decided to clean my house and cook me dinner while I was trying to do damage cont...

...in a LOT of activity this weekend and early next week! Lol. Gotcha! Have a happy weekend!

Death.  No hope of life.  The outside of the tomb washed white. Youth. Crude and crass. Talking, living, thinking without class.  I just spent a few hours in my office this afternoon working on setting up our community service day for 235+ students. That has nothing to do with this post, I just wanted to brag that I'm a boss at logistics and am loving that part of my job. Several seniors regularly hang out in my office during that time and I'm typically fine with it and enjoy talking to them.  Until recently. The more comfortable they get, the less of a filter they have. While I think this is a good thing (I'd rather know them for who they are and not who they portray themselves as around adults) it has taken a toll on my attitude.  Maybe because I didn't get enough sleep last night, but today I was done.  I'm so tired of a generation that lives for today's pleasures and tomorrow's promise of freedom from the restraint...