Today I saw some excellent examples of good character and self control. My student, Vince, was in the middle of a little disagreement in the cafeteria, and he simply and calmly walked away. At Girl Scouts, many girls were being chatty and not working on their mirror with positive self talk, but Chloe and her friend Stella were great role models of self direction, accountability, and respectfulness. Tonight when visiting my grandparents at the nursing home, Chloe was feeding Charlotte dinner, and the other nurses told her that she's the only one that can get her to eat. Chloe has quite a way with people. Today at our staff meeting, my co-worker said that his baby keeps him sane, and it was so nice to hear a positive remark about a child because so often do you hear parents saying that they're kids are misbehaving or stressing them out. In CATS time today, a mentor-mentee group that meets for a half hour every Wednesday to build connectedness, there was a little story that said that some teenagers were at a pizzeria and having a fun conversation but getting a little loud, and they saw another customer go up to the cash register and point at their table and then come over to their table, and they were afraid of what she was going to say and very surprised when she said that she enjoyed seeing them have fun and that she paid their bill and that she hopes that they continue to enjoy friendships and that her children grow up to be happy, friendly, positive, outgoing young adults like them. I think that it a small act of kindness that those kids will remember forever. Another coworker of mine said that when her daughter was recognized for her great art work in winning a contest, that little success really made her work so much harder at art. I got an email from the local newspaper today saying that they are going to do an article on a student of mine, Klyne, that I nominated for a Spotlight Student article because he is such a good role model in class and always shows curiosity, intrinsic motivation, and creativity. I hope that this little bit of recognition makes him want to continue working hard and being a leader. I ate lunch with Patricia and Tutugirl. They have very different interests (Tutugirl loves to cook and wear cute little wigs, and Patricia likes to play football and wear sweats) but they are very good friends. We found out that Patricia and I have the same birthday. We'll have to celebrate it together this year. I will have to treat her to dinner at our new sports grille, Legends. Some of my students don't have the curiosity and passion for Spanish that Klyne has, and I always have to remember that everyone is different, and I don't enjoy math and wouldn't be the best math student even today because of my lack of interest in the subject, and that even if they're not going to remember the facts that I teach them, they're going to remember how I treated them. I love the saying that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Today at Girl Scouts one of the "Brownies" was having trouble putting her straw in her juice box, and the other girls noticed but didn't bother to offer help. When my friend, the other troop leader, arrived later after running an errand and getting them a snack, some girls cheered because their Little Debbie heart shaped brownies were finally here. I had to remind them, and we all, myself included, need reminded that the best things in life aren't things, and that too often do we use people and love things instead of using things and loving people. We need to think how we would act if it was our favorite musician/actor/athlete having trouble with their straw or entering the room and how we would react and react that same way. We need to think that everyone has a sign on them that says Make Me Feel Important. I think I'll call my sister in law, Addie, and see if the kids are doing anything Saturday night, and if not bring the kids to Waterloo and take them all out to the movie theater to see Alice in Wonderland. I pray that I will resist temptation to spend money on things we don't need and we sell our property and pay off our debt. I pray that John has a safe trip to California and that the importance he puts on friendship and marriage shines to others around him. I pray that our friend, Jeff, has a safe trip home to WI from Tahoe to visit his family and friends. I pray that Grandma Mary and Grandpa Dave can quit smoking. I pray that a lot of people join our project on March 7th to bag rice with Kids Against Hunger/Outreach Africa and that we package thousands of nutritious meals to send to Haiti.
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