Little indian girl
"But what Jonah lost in weight...he gained in weight..."
So Funny to me.
I think I would like to be roasted, some day. After all, if you can't laugh at yourself, you're probably an asshole.
I have had a great break.
Even though I feel like I have been cleaning my house and doing laundry every day since I have been off, it's a feeling of accomplishment and was made possible by the fact that Alex was miserably sick for a week.
Since it's December 31, am I obligated to write a New Year's post? Maybe do a year in review?
No thanks. I looked back at Facebook's suggested year in review and it was bleak. I was like, that's it?! That's all I've done with a year?
Hows about a story instead.
Whenever I didn't like someone growing up, my Dad would always tell me that I had more in common with them than not and to try and look for that commonality.
Sure Dad, whatever you say.
The custodian at our school is less than educated. Even though she's the custodian, she thinks a lot of things we nicely ask her to do (replace soap, vacuum, etc.) are not in her job description which, admittedly, is really frustrating.
We were re-testing STAAR end of course exams for high school the first two weeks of December...and by we I mean myself and one other teacher. It was a bit of a beat down. As I walked into the lounge, the custodian, let's call her Marsha, was sitting in the lunch room talking to another employee. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at the sound of her voice. Everything she says is followed by the statement, "I tell you what..." or the "well..." that goes nowhere, ever. ("And then I told Steve, well...")
She's always giving the students (and me) horrified looks and asking me later, "what's wrong with these kids?!" Her stories are hard to follow and trying to listen and find the point, take a huge amount of patience and concentration (something I lacked on this and most days).
Some might argue that this is, in fact, something she and I definitely have in common. Save it for my roast.
On this particular day in the lounge, I was eating my soup and trying not to socially interact between Marsha and my other co worker. I had remembered seeing Marsha rush out of school the day before in the afternoon. I had a stream of snarky thoughts flood my head...something like, "another day our school does not get cleaned."
As I continued to study the fake grain of our table and eat soup, I did begin to listen...
Her grandson came home from Afghanistan the day before and he was expected to fly in at 10 PM but had caught an earlier flight that landed at 4. Her daughter or daughter-in-law called her at school and she got permission to leave at 2:30 because she had to be there to greet him...she said she had seen every milestone in his life and could not miss this.
Then she told a story about one Christmas when he was young, he was saving up to buy something expensive, and she got him a billfold and put $300 in it. He had opened it but missed the money and when he walked up to thank her, she asked him, "Did you look in the billfold?" She said when he did, he got this grin that just lit up his whole face. She said that has been her favorite smile when she thinks of her Grandson.
She was telling the story kind of like Forrest Gump, just talking to himself on the bench. Her eyes were glassy and far away and she was much more eloquent (kind of) than I had remembered. I realized I was making full eye contact and hanging on her words.
Marsha then went on to tell that when her Grandson walked into the airport to his family waiting for him yesterday afternoon, THAT smile was better than her Christmas memory and will stay with her for the rest of her life.
As she told this part, she teared up and so did I.
I am such an asshole. (This will be the last line of this story when I submit it to Volume LXXIV of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series)
My Dad was right. People have so much more in common than what they want to believe.
Even though Marsha is a grumpy, seemingly lazy cuss of a woman who referred to me as "the little indian girl" instead of learning my name for 3 years, she is going through her own journey of life, seeking love from and providing for those she loves most.
I stopped doing New Years' resolutions a long time ago because, like choosing what to give up for Lent, I could never find anything important enough to stick with. Instead I work on a few things pertinent to my life at the current time, daily.
2013, like all other years was filled with ups and downs. I continue striving to always find the positive, love, forgive, balance, and vow to try and be better than the day before.
I should add, "learn something from everyone."
I went up to school a few times when we got out to help clean up a teacher's classroom as he retires at semester. As I vacuumed the room, knowing that it might have been done maybe 5 times since school started, I smiled.
I hope Marsha is enjoying every minute of her break.
Happy New Year 2014.
So Funny to me.
I think I would like to be roasted, some day. After all, if you can't laugh at yourself, you're probably an asshole.
* * *
I have had a great break.
Even though I feel like I have been cleaning my house and doing laundry every day since I have been off, it's a feeling of accomplishment and was made possible by the fact that Alex was miserably sick for a week.
Since it's December 31, am I obligated to write a New Year's post? Maybe do a year in review?
No thanks. I looked back at Facebook's suggested year in review and it was bleak. I was like, that's it?! That's all I've done with a year?
Whenever I didn't like someone growing up, my Dad would always tell me that I had more in common with them than not and to try and look for that commonality.
Sure Dad, whatever you say.
The custodian at our school is less than educated. Even though she's the custodian, she thinks a lot of things we nicely ask her to do (replace soap, vacuum, etc.) are not in her job description which, admittedly, is really frustrating.
We were re-testing STAAR end of course exams for high school the first two weeks of December...and by we I mean myself and one other teacher. It was a bit of a beat down. As I walked into the lounge, the custodian, let's call her Marsha, was sitting in the lunch room talking to another employee. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at the sound of her voice. Everything she says is followed by the statement, "I tell you what..." or the "well..." that goes nowhere, ever. ("And then I told Steve, well...")
She's always giving the students (and me) horrified looks and asking me later, "what's wrong with these kids?!" Her stories are hard to follow and trying to listen and find the point, take a huge amount of patience and concentration (something I lacked on this and most days).
Some might argue that this is, in fact, something she and I definitely have in common. Save it for my roast.
On this particular day in the lounge, I was eating my soup and trying not to socially interact between Marsha and my other co worker. I had remembered seeing Marsha rush out of school the day before in the afternoon. I had a stream of snarky thoughts flood my head...something like, "another day our school does not get cleaned."
As I continued to study the fake grain of our table and eat soup, I did begin to listen...
Her grandson came home from Afghanistan the day before and he was expected to fly in at 10 PM but had caught an earlier flight that landed at 4. Her daughter or daughter-in-law called her at school and she got permission to leave at 2:30 because she had to be there to greet him...she said she had seen every milestone in his life and could not miss this.
Then she told a story about one Christmas when he was young, he was saving up to buy something expensive, and she got him a billfold and put $300 in it. He had opened it but missed the money and when he walked up to thank her, she asked him, "Did you look in the billfold?" She said when he did, he got this grin that just lit up his whole face. She said that has been her favorite smile when she thinks of her Grandson.
She was telling the story kind of like Forrest Gump, just talking to himself on the bench. Her eyes were glassy and far away and she was much more eloquent (kind of) than I had remembered. I realized I was making full eye contact and hanging on her words.
Marsha then went on to tell that when her Grandson walked into the airport to his family waiting for him yesterday afternoon, THAT smile was better than her Christmas memory and will stay with her for the rest of her life.
As she told this part, she teared up and so did I.
I am such an asshole. (This will be the last line of this story when I submit it to Volume LXXIV of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series)
 |
| you can pretty much google anything you think might be original to prove that someone else already thought of it... |
My Dad was right. People have so much more in common than what they want to believe.
Even though Marsha is a grumpy, seemingly lazy cuss of a woman who referred to me as "the little indian girl" instead of learning my name for 3 years, she is going through her own journey of life, seeking love from and providing for those she loves most.
I stopped doing New Years' resolutions a long time ago because, like choosing what to give up for Lent, I could never find anything important enough to stick with. Instead I work on a few things pertinent to my life at the current time, daily.
2013, like all other years was filled with ups and downs. I continue striving to always find the positive, love, forgive, balance, and vow to try and be better than the day before.
I should add, "learn something from everyone."
I went up to school a few times when we got out to help clean up a teacher's classroom as he retires at semester. As I vacuumed the room, knowing that it might have been done maybe 5 times since school started, I smiled.
I hope Marsha is enjoying every minute of her break.
Happy New Year 2014.
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