Nerds, Nerds, Nerds...

What a weekend!

My friend Nicole came into town for awhile this weekend, and we made a trip to Cheesecake Factory, Teavana (a new love for both of us!) and of course, the ever famous Trader Joe's.

I was glad to see Nicole for a few hours! We've known and loved each other since middle school so it was a great time of catching up.

Yesterday evening was spent simply hanging out with my beau. I was going to cook vodka pasta, but I kind of forgot about defrosting the sausage...oops. We'll be doing that meal Monday instead.

Today has been a rather busy day, beginning with a service at one of my babysitting clients churches (their baby boy was baptized today) and ending with Trunk or Treat at our church. Our kids came up with the idea to be nerds, and they actually pulled it off really well.

In the middle of the day we ran some errands, but managed to stop at an overlook to admire the fall colors that appeared here in TN this week!


We're cute, aren't we? Keep that image in your mind...you'll need to remember that we actually look like THIS.

Because...



Transformation into complete and utter nerdiness.

Our friend Pat actually found a Geek Squad shirt (label and all) at Goodwill.



To further prove our nerdiness, we built a pyramid out of the nerd candy boxes.
And handed them out as the night went on...


Our "Bully Toss" -- threw beanbags at a cool kid who hates nerds. The kids LOVED it.
I didn't want to post pics of our students faces on a public blog, so I'm sorry you can't see how incredibly well they pulled the nerdy look off, but this girl cracked me up. Kick Me sign and all.

By the end of the evening, however, I was freezing and my feet hurt (I don't know WHY I brought heels to wear tonight when I'd been wearing them all day. 9 am to 9 pm is not a good plan for heels.

I only wish Anthony or Kat had taken photographic evidence of how I burrowed once we got back to their apartment. 3 blankets piled on me and I STILL couldn't get warm! Fall has arrived.

(Oh, and to prove that I'm a klutz...somehow I managed to catch my shoulder in the car door as I was leaving their place. It HURTS still! Something tells me a bruise is forthcoming...

But the cold and pain were worth it. The kids had a BLAST.

Monday's Memory: The One With Fire On My Board

See this girl?

Young, skinny, cute haircut...

I was her once.

She was also a baby teacher (although the highest compliment she may have ever received from her co-workers was that she came in a veteran teacher). She loved her job passionately, and dreamed that all her students would succeed.
And sometimes they succeeded in driving her absolutely mad.

One class in particular that first year was dubbed "the class from hell". We, as teachers, have one of those every few years, more frequently if we are blessed to be in inner city or metropolitan areas. And mine was my 6th period 6th grade choir. To add insult to injury, I also had to oversee this class's dismissal procedure so I was given approximately 15 extra minutes with them every day.

Lucky me.

One afternoon as I was standing at my door one of those students came to me. She was among the last to be dismissed, and quite frankly I was ready for her bus to be called so that I could just get some peace and quiet! This was not to be had for a few moments though. The following conversation ensued:

Student: (tentatively)
"Miss B? Um...someone said something really mean about you."

Me: (trying not to show that I really have no interest in this topic of conversation...after all if I'm worried about what a 6th grader is going to say about me I've got bigger problems anyway.)
"Oh yeah?"

Student: "Yeah, they did." (pauses, looking down. then brightens as she says) "I can't tell you who it was but I can tell you what they said!"

Me: (stifling a yawn and resisting the urge to check down the hall to see if anyone had let students go for late bus line-up yet)
"Ok..."

Student: (with exaggerated pauses)
"Well, she SAID...'If she's teaching our class...then who's running Hell?"

Me: (trying oh-so-hard not to burst out laughing)
"Ah"

Intercom: (calls students on her bus)

Me: (running down the hall to the other teachers in the 8th grade wing)
"You guys are gonna LOVE this!"

Now, after telling the story most people probably would have thought little of it.
However, I have a little sadistic streak.
(after all, I did teach middle school)

You see, I knew exactly who had said it (not hard to narrow down as she was the chief troublemaker in the class) and I knew I could make her squirm.

So the next day in the 8th grade reading class I was teaching (don't get me started on how I was given that class and a 7th grade one as an afterthought and had to figure out how in the world to teach reading when I was still trying to figure out how to teach music! and especially don't get me started on how I loved teaching those 2 classes so much that I'm still considering getting a Master's in Language Arts just so I can do it all day...)

Anyway, in the 8th grade reading class I was teaching I approached the boy who always sat in the corner doodling and consequently had about 3 grades out of the 10 he needed. And I said

"Manuel, how would you like to get full credit for xxx assignment even though you didn't turn it in?"

Naturally, he was intrigued. And asked how that was possible.

"Can you draw fire?
"Sure Ms. B"
"Can you draw it on my board?"
"Sure"
"All right. Take the whole period if you like. Fill it up."

This did raise a lot of questions as I tried to teach class and he cheerfully drew flames on the board behind me. So at the end of the period I let the 8th graders in on the joke. They apparently are as sadistic as I am and thought it a wonderful plan.

My 6th graders came in the door as the reading class exited and we began business as usual. Funny looks exchanged all around, but no one dared open their mouth about it.

We went through warm-ups and had even sang a song before a brave soul finally raised her hand. (which was an accomplishment in and of itself with this particular class, believe me!)

"Um, Ms. B? Why is there...fire on your board?"

Without missing a beat, I simply replied

"Oh that? Well, I thought I'd multi-task today and do both my jobs at once."

As the culprit sank in her seat with cheeks as red as the flames on the board, we continued on singing. Most of the students didn't understand what I had said, but I only needed her to. I didn't have to yell, pull her aside, or embarrass her at all to get my point across. It just took a little creativity. And you know what? She didn't give me any trouble for the rest of the year.

Guess that young teacher wasn't so naive after all.

Bad Haiku Friday

Going to a maze!
(made of corn). Nope, not kidding
It's a cornfield maze.

I wish I were kidding.
But that's what we're doing tomorrow.

The kids love it.

When I was their age I could have done it for free right next to my house!

Don't believe me? Here's the website: http://www.rippavilla.org/cornmaze.asp

A few highlights from their website--with original bolding and punctuation intact:


The maze will not be haunted at any time.
(can they guarantee that? Do they have an agreement with the ghosties?)
NO SMOKING!!! CORN IS FLAMMABLE!!
(you don't say!)
Do not pick, pull, throw or damage the corn. You may eat the corn for survival purposes only !!
(this, to our middle schoolers, means that they haven't seen chocolate in 10 minutes. expect a few less ears of corn when we leave)
If you have small children, are pregnant, claustrophobic, have a medical condition, or get easily frustrated we advise against entering the maze.
(If you have lack of common sense, we advise obtaining some)
Out of common courtesy, please refrain from using cell phones in the maze, unless absolutely necessary.
(what is this? a movie?! I think 100 middle schoolers and not enough adults constitutes "absolutely necessary", thankyouverymuch)

I love the teenagers...
I love the teenagers...
I love the teenagers...
I LOVE THE TEENAGERS!
(this should be proof)

:0)

Of course I remember.

In the midst of working, packing for retreat, looking for permanent work, and generally living my life...I've read a lot of facebook statuses and blogs today that reflect on this day as it was 8 years ago.

Some are poignant, all are honoring, and I'm torn between focusing on that day and focusing on this day.

Do I remember?

Of course I remember.

I was 20, and in college. The world as I knew it was smaller then, and I was enjoying all that the (small, private, Christian) university life had to offer.

We were in our 8:30 music theory class when someone came in late--not an unusual thing at all, but the way he frantically interrupted the prof to tell us all to get online NOW was unusual. We were sitting in front of these awesome Mac flat screens, and we all went to CNN as our professor turned on the TV.

And we sat in horror.

Class was obviously dismissed, and we headed to the student center...because no one wanted to be alone. We crowded around the teeny tv in the lounge, never minding that there were larger tvs in some of our rooms, much less the dorm common areas. It started with about 20 of us, then grew until there were probably 200 people in the space usually taken up by less than 100.

And then something happened.

The bell tolled for chapel.

And silently, simultaneously, 200+ college students turned and walked up the hill.

Not because we had to. Chapel requirement was the last thing on our minds.

Because it was ALL WE KNEW TO DO.

Chapel was the first place I heard a sound other than a news broadcast since we first found out the news.

It was the sound of nearly 2000 people on their knees before a God who they loved, honored and adored...and didn't understand nearly as much as they had thought 3 hours before.

It was anguish, despair, hope and healing all at once.

And all we could do was believe God heard.

The rest of the day was a flurry of activity--calling friends and family in the areas affected, comforting those on campus who hadn't yet heard from their loved ones, trying to go to the American Red Cross to donate blood only to be turned away because the whole of Nashville was doing the same...

And in the midst of all that activity...God heard.

And though my world is larger today, and I stay busy

I still know that God hears.

So yes, I remember the yesterday of 8 years ago. And of course I mourn for those lives taken abruptly and too soon, and for the tragedy the world experienced--and still experiences.

But my focus is on today. Because God is here, because He hears, and because I can't change what happened then.

But I can remember, and realize how I am better now than I was before that day.

Tonight and this weekend I will be at a retreat with a youth group--some of which are to young to truly remember the events of that day.

My responsibility isn't to try to sensationalize a past they can't possibly appreciate.
My responsibility is to teach and convey to them what I've learned as a result of that past.

And that--that I can do.

God hears.

As far as my experience of September 11, 2001 goes...that's all they need to know.

Camp 2009

Here's the (long) low-down:

Sunday

the kiddos boarded a bus and I thankfully got to ride down with another adult (I got seriously green on last year's bus ride so I was grateful!)
We arrived WAY earlier than normal, fed the kids pizza, had a short orientation and then headed to our cabins.
I got 7th grade girls again :)
I was with 2 other counselors, but I was alone with the 18 girls for about 2 hours before either of them showed up. No biggie...I just gave them the "expectations" talk and watched them interact. They are amazing girls!
We were treated to the "Potty Rangers", courtesy of one of the girls having adorable underwear that 3 of them for some unknown reason decided should go on their heads...

(I have video evidence too...)

Monday

the first day of camp is always filled with questions from the 7th grade girls. "what do we need?" "do I HAVE to leave my shoes on the porch when I come in?" "Do I REALLY need my water bottle?" "what's the devo about?" "what's free time?" "what do we DO during free time?" "you mean I can do whatever I WANT during free time?"
Sigh.
Our group played sports (basketball and kickball) and won both games...no thanks to me, really. Since our group was larger than either of the other teams, Pat and I stood on the sidelines and cheered them on.
Hailey and I saw each other twice (she's A's little sister, who had told me she was going to hang out with me at camp as much as she could since neither sibling of hers was there...but since she's in high school now and I'm with middle school that proved to be somewhat impossible)
We mined for gemstones and I got some HUGE rocks.

(the small one? apparently a ruby. we'll see.)

Oh. OH.
And I got hurt. Playing duck, duck, goose.
Yup.
I'm not as young as I once was...and I have further to fall.
In all fairness, I saw that all the kids were slipping and falling on the semi-wet grass. And neither Pat nor LaJuana (the other adults in our lifegroup for the week) were playing. For good reason. And really, I thought to myself that I would probably fall but "no big deal"...after all, the kids were getting right back up!Mistake.
I bounced. Starting with my knees and ending with my chest. And both were sore for quite awhile. And my knees? Still sore. According to my massage therapist (who, bless her, gave me a "love gift" yesterday of an absolutely free, no-strings-attached 90 minute massage) they're still very swollen and tender. I am STILL taking Ibuprofen.

Camp Coker Creek has gone green! Not only were there eco friendly disposable (compostible) plates and utensils, they also had "corn cups" instead of the normal styrofoam. I also noticed a significant healthy change in the menu. Whole wheat pastas, and whole wheat wraps available at every lunchtime, plus an amazing salad bar, and for the first time ever...skim milk!

Worship was led by some visiting band. The kids loved them. I listened from the front porch. Believe me, it was loud enough there :0)

Tuesday

Solo time with middle schoolers is always interesting. Trying to keep them quiet for 2 hours? Impossibility.
It was ok this year. Better than usual.
Doug gave me a ride up the mountain since my knees were REALLY killing me this day.
I sat and wrote letters to all the girls in my cabin. And a few extras to older girls in the lifegroup who had showed real leadership the night before.
Somehow Judy, LaJuana and I missed the lunch call...
We walked down the mountain...alone...about 20 minutes after everyone else had left.
We were talking about things going on in our church family that has the potential to tear it apart...or make it stronger. We're hoping for the latter.
(my awesome group of girls. They learned both the "zoo" game and the cup game on the same day. Headaches for Anna, LaJuana and I. I finally just joined them! Notice skunk rub-on tatoo on my arm. Abigail, our youth ministers 3 year old daughter called it a "sunk". And on the day it started rubbing off she told me my sunk broke)

Wednesday

Sports again. Ultimate Frisbee and Dodgeball. Pat and I played both of these. Anihalation was in order--we dominated in both games. And I got a couple of interceptions in ultimate! I've already told Anthony that we need to play sometime. He loves the game. I don't think it'll take too much convincing.

(We had just been scored on...I was not thrilled. And my shirt says "I heart/love boys who recycle. I can wear it...A recyles!)

Unfortunately I paid for playing the rest of the day by limping my way through activities.
And for the first day of camp I took a nap. Which was heavenly. And Hailey came and visited my cabin twice...bearing mini Butterfingers. Love that girl!
When I woke up, I ended up french braiding the hair of 4 of the girls in the cabin. Cute.
Worship, led by our student praise band, was amazing.
Quote number one from yesterday's post came in here. The girl was putting her towel on the porch and wanted to know if the bug was bigger than her fist or not, so she would know whether or not she could scream.
I told her it wasn't.
It may have been.

Thursday

Our traditional day to go whitewater rafting, this year we spent it doing a service for the camp we've been attending for 9 years. We moved rocks from one side of camp to another to prevent erosion. The group I was with (all of the middle schoolers and about 50 high schoolers) was loading them into the truck. I was shocked--and proud--when instructions were being given and none of the 7th and 8th grade girls in our group screamed when the words "spiders, snakes, scorpions" were mentioned simultaneously.
By the way, we found 2 out of the 3. Snakes were hiding, but we had plenty of the other 2. Didn't even know Tennessee HAD scorpions. But we do. And they're poisonous!
We finished in less than 2 hours what it would have taken the camp staff over 3 weeks to do...and that's if they had no other groups coming in over those weeks.
The kids were pumped about it, and I didn't hear a single complaint about not rafting.

Of course this quote happened during that time:

Does anyone have a Tide to go pen? I got mud on my white tank top.
Why did you wear white on a work day?
I thought we would be doing easy stuff

We also had the hoedown in the afternoon, where we danced to our hearts content (and apparently I had NOT learned my lesson from Ultimate, so I danced anyway)

(Hailey and our favorite horse, Trouble. She's the one I rode last year. She can no longer be ridden--arthritis :()

I missed worship, because a girl in my cabin started her period. For the first time ever. And didn't want to be alone. Bless her heart. So I stayed with her, rubbed her back, and made a hot compress with a washcloth and ziploc bag.
I was glad there was only one.
Doug has to stop putting me with the 7th graders. I'm a first-timer magnet.
One year I had 3. First timers. In less than 2 days.
*Shudder*
I ALWAYS come prepared (ha. Pun not intended, but now that it's out there I'm kinda giggling)
We packed and cleaned the cabin and spent some more time laughing and enjoying each other.

Friday

As we were stepping off the front porch to head down to the busses, massive downpour.
It only lasted 5 minutes. We were told to "hold" them for at least 30.
So we were late leaving out. And no cabin pictures (I realized this on the way home)
I had to ride the bus, since my ride had left earlier in the week. But leaving is much better than arriving--all the twists and turns at the beginning rather than the end, and my stomach has 4 hours of interstate to calm down again.

Around Knoxville I heard someone behind me say:

Hey! We're in Tennessee! We're almost home!

(we had been in Tennessee...all...week.)

Arrival at the church, hugs and "see you Sunday"s all around
I took Hailey home
And then I headed home for my post-camp routine:
drag luggage in house
greet cat
throw load of laundry in
shower
throw load in dryer
nap
(that last one didn't happen because I was afraid I would miss getting to Anthony's on time. His family, bless them, pushed back the departure time for family vaca so that we could have a meal together. He treated me to an amazing Italian meal, we went to Target, we kissed goodbye, and I sent him off to San Antonio. Where hopefully he's having an amazing time :)

Overheard at Camp

Miss Lora? Come here for a minute. I can't tell if this bug is bigger than my fist or not.

Does anyone have a Tide to go pen? I got mud on my white tank top.
Why did you wear white on a work day?
I thought we would be doing easy stuff.

Your sunk broke!

Hey! We're in Tennessee! We're almost home!

Explanations of these will come sooner rather than later, but I have a bed that is calling my name, and a worship team to sing on tomorrow morning...

love to all

Thursday's Ten

Thursday's Ten

I'm at youth camp this week, with a bunch of middle and high schoolers from our church. This, as all the other blog posts this week, is a scheduled post...I'll respond to comments when I get back TOMORROW!!!

Ten Reasons to Love and Hate Camp

1. The hike up Hootie Hill
2. Front porch time at the Retreat Center
3. The smelly dog who will get in the creek to presumably make the smell even stronger
4. Worship times (truly amazing)
5. Attempting to get 20 middle school girls out of bed at 7 am
6. Attempting to get 20 middle school girls to just.go.to.bed.
7. The dining hall (salt and pepper football will be on a hiatus this year since Anthony isn't at camp :()
8. Solo time
9. Horseback riding...my first attempt was last year. Oh dear.
10. The Dam Trail. More about that later.

About this time last year

I was eating each meal in the dining hall with a certain Anthony. We created a paper football adaptation using pepper packets since I got one with nearly every meal. I knew with every moment we spent together that I was falling more and more for him.

(and right after camp he sent me a text stating that the week had been fun and he thought we should hang out more. wish? command.)

Anthony's sister was a co-counselor in my cabin and I was constantly listening for hints about whether he was crushing on me as much as I was on him. Little did I know he had asked her to "spy" to see if I mentioned him.

I rode my first horse. It was...interesting.

I continued the tradition of telling my cabin that if a bug wasn't "bigger than your fist" it's not appropriate to scream.

We instituted nap time/quiet hour in the cabin. Ahhhh.

I was making a hemp bracelet for someone. Several someones, actually.

I was reminded of how wonderful the worship times are. And I was enjoying watching Anthony worship. It made me like him all the more to see how incredibly uninhabited he was. In the church tradition I grew up in, that was the norm, but the church I attend does not have roots in freedom of worship!

I was missing my real bed, but thankful that we were in a great cabin with wooden bed frames and not one but 2(!) showers in the cabin itself.

I was falling in love with a group of 7th grade girls that I shared a cabin with.

Can't wait to see what this year holds!

Monday Memory

*note: all posts this week (Sunday - Thursday) are scheduled posts. I am WAY out of cell phone and wireless network range. I love your comments and will look forward to reading them when I return on Friday!

My first camping experience with the youth group at Woodmont was...interesting. I had no desire to actually volunteer with the youth group-- I worked with middle schoolers every day! So when I was invited to go to camp I hesitated. But truth be told, I got bored in the summers and then they dangled the prospect of going whitewater rafting in front of me and I jumped at it.

(Incidentally, Anthony tells me he noticed me at camp that year. He was interning, and since they're busier than anyone else on the grounds we never really talked. But he says he thought I was "cute". Heehee)

Anyway, I rode up with my friend Vera, and when we got there we had a small orientation in the retreat center. Keep in mind that I knew NONE of these students.

Doug reads off my name, along with another adults name and says "oh, but Lora...Angie will be here tomorrow afternoon. You're on your own tonight"

Great.

And then he reads off the name of 15 7th and 8th grade girls and says "Follow Lora to the Eagles Nest"

Well...I had no idea WHERE that was, so thankfully a camp staff member joined us on the hike.

It had been raining...no, POURING. And the Eagles Nest just happens to be a part of Indian Village, the group of cabins on the very tip-top of the campgrounds.

We had a looooooooooonnnnnng walk.

And true to form the middle school girls were quite vocal about it. It was muddy, they were tired, their bags were getting dirt, how much further.

I finally turned around and said something on the order of "Keep that up and your cabin's nickname will be the Whiners."

They shut up.

(although I felt awfully bad that that was their first impression of me)

We got to the cabin, made introductions, and because few of them wanted to sleep on a top bunk I got the honor.

We turned the lights out about midnight, just as the storm started.

A few minutes later I heard frantic whispering. I turned around and saw 3 of the girls huddled in the center of the room. "What's wrong?" I ask, and they respond "Nothing, nothing. Go back to sleep."

So I did.
Yeah RIGHT.
I rolled back over, waited for about 3 minutes until the frantic whispers continued growing and turned over to say "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"We're scared of the storm."

So I drag myself out of bed, walk onto the front porch with them and assure them it's just a thuder and lightening show, nothing severe.

They don't buy it.
(and we WERE isolated in a dinky little cabin at the top of a hill. I can't really blame them for a bit of freakout)

I finally said the only thing else I could think of (I'd tried praying, hugging, reassuring...nothing worked.)

"Well, why don't we all pull our mattresses off the bed and sleep on the floor together."

And somehow that was the magic statement. 4 matresses magically fit in the space that about 2 and a half should have, and all the girls were asleep within moments.

I should have left my matress down there. It was the best night's sleep I got all week. Silly metal creaky bed frames.

(Lots more happened that week that I'll share in time. But suffice it to say at the end of the week I told Doug "I think I'd like to start working with the teens.". He was estatic. :0))

Goodbye! (but not really)

This is the first of a few scheduled posts for the week. Now that I know how to schedule a blog post...oh dear, world. Watch out!

At this very moment, I am in the parking lot of my church doing one of several things (or a combination):

a. impatiently waiting in a car behind buses that have been loaded for a while but have yet to just MOVE
b. frantically trying to check students in, tell them what bus to get on, and explain that YES, everyone has to put a ribbon on their suitcase and NO they can't pick the color
c. standing on the steps of the bus alternately stating: (to the front of me) "Once you get on you can't get back off. Have you hugged mom/dad/sister/brother and peed?" and (to the back) "I TOLD you, you can't get off. Go sit down."
d. already missing Anthony, who is missing out on camp this year because he's going on his family's vacation the following week
e. sprinting around the loading area trying to find a youth minister for the latest crisis
f. playing with the cool walkie-talkie radio I get to hold as an all-powerful counselor
g. looking forward to an awesome week at Camp Coker Creek

Probably a bit of all of this has already happened by the time you're reading this, and the truth is I really am looking forward to being at camp with our students. It will be an awesome time to watch them grow as people and in their faith, even though there will be moments I wish I were back in Nashville, or at least somewhere with a cell tower.

I go to help lead the kids, but I always learn a lot too.

The learning has already begun for me this year. I told our youth minister last Sunday that I wouldn't be able to go to camp this year because I haven't been working the last 3 weeks since Nancy hasn't needed me much. I told him I had 3 bills due that had to be paid and I needed to be able to work the week of camp to try to make the money to pay them. And he told me...not to let money stop me. That *I* was needed at camp, and that it would be allowing someone else to serve me if I were to accept help.

Friday I was handed an envelope with the cash needed to pay those 3 bills along with a note that read: "Thank you for the blessing you bring to our students and the love you show them. Thank you also for the opportunity to join God in serving you this week!"

I can't wait to be in the position to pay that one forward...what an amazing blessing to be in a church that gets it.

See you all Friday...and I hope you enjoy the posts between now and then! I'll be responding to comments when I get back!

Love to you all,