The weather has cooled off, and I’ve been making an effort to have computer free days–at least after work, anyway! I’ve been spending the time outside working on the yard, riding Sky’s old bike or walking.
I’ve got the walking thing down. I bought a backpack, pictured below, that I carry to work with me everyday with my Sugarbuster’s approved lunch and a thermos of coffee.
Okay, not a day goes by that I don’t consider the issue of class in this town. The thing is, if you live here, you only walk if you are poor, or if you are walking with a friend in a nice neighborhood in the evening for exercise. Even though you can get anywhere in town by walking three miles or so, no one does it unless they don’t have a car.
So I’m walking to the farmer’s market this morning with my backpack and pedometer, and I’m super aware of this fact. I felt like a freak show, and of course, the people in the cars that you see ARE really looking at you, because they are wondering if they know you, and if so, what the hell happened to your car. However, I took a picture underneath the bridge that I like.
Another reason why I haven’t been blogging has to do with my abysmal followup to my very ambitious-sounding posts about my volunteer work. In the past, when I’ve mentored families, students, etc., it has generally went very well. I’ve even won awards. So I felt very confident about this whole thing.
I’ve learned a lesson though, and it was a hard one. Some people absolutely DO NOT WANT to help themselves. There was nothing I could do about that. It was a horrible situation, the worst I’ve ever seen, and all I can do at this point is look at it as a learning experience in so many ways. Seeing children literally grow up like wild animals definitely gives me more insight into my disruptive students’ behavior. Seeing it is really believing it. It’s so much different than reading about poverty and neglect in a book.
It really sucked and I was depressed but I will have to get over it and pray for those kids because at this point my hands have been stomped on and tied.
Sage has joined the Boy Scouts. Greg has undertaken it as his project. I have to admit that I was worried about the whole conformity aspect of the Boy Scouts. Not to mention military undertones. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. They learn the coolest things to earn those badges. It is very nature oriented, and teaches the boys to be good citizens in the right way, as opposed to say, not complaining when billions of dollars are sent to Iraq. Here’s a pic of Sage in his new uniform.
Today, I have the day to myself. Sage and Greg are off to the Renaissance Festival. A couple of days ago, they went to the fair. One of the things they did was look in the funhouse mirrors. Also, Sage rode one of the scary rides by himself. He’s growing up fast!
Looking at myself in a funhouse mirror would have made me cry. Right now, looking in the regular mirror at home is like looking in a carnival mirror. Of course, I’m trying to change that. I’m down 11 pounds. Sugarbusters really works for me, although, when I got stressed out last night, I did want to go and grab the chunk of bread sitting in the kitchen and cram it down my throat. But I didn’t, and I guess that’s what counts. Perhaps by Christmas, yall’ll see some photos of me on this blog…
