2020 Reading Challenge: A Re-Read

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my post the other day. Thank you also to those of you who saw my post about it on Facebook and took the time to pray, share, and donate. I am just in awe of people's generosity. It has truly uplifted me the past couple of days. A family I know from Huntington contacted me yesterday evening and said they'd like to match up to $500 in donations. I put it out on my Facebook, and so did this family, and in a matter of one evening over $1,000 was donated to the fund! I was in tears. As an aside, I do want to mention that at least $1,185 of the $2,500 currently donated was donated by people from West Virginia. (Some donations were given anonymously, and I have my suspicions about who those people might be!) Not all of them still live there, but they are West Virginians. These people have never met and will never meet Mildred's family. Some of them don't have a lot extra to give, and some of them are facing their own overwhelming medical challenges. Nevertheless, they just donated to a total stranger out of the goodness of their hearts. Guys, if you know me you know this is a mountain I'm willing to die on: West Virginians are just the world's greatest people living in the world's greatest state. Almost Heaven.

UPDATE: I just learned that Mildred's claim for some necessary at-home post-surgery supplies for Mona was denied by their insurance company. Therefore, they have had to increase their goal again, this time to $3,500. Donations are still accepted at this link.

Thank you also to everyone who wished Joe a happy birthday Monday. He doesn't have social media, and he doesn't go to an office with coworkers every day, so basically Joe just has us to wish him a happy birthday, and Bert, Asha, and Jane Austen can't talk. So he's low on people!

Today I want to check in about the 2020 Reading Challenge that I wrote about last week. As I stated in that post, since I was starting the challenge midway through January, I decided to read a short book for this month. What I chose was Kristy's Great Idea by Ann M. Martin for the category "A Re-Read." I had been wanting to re-read this book since my parents brought me a box of my old books when I moved into my new house in May.

Short verdict: Kristy's Great Idea did NOT disappoint. It is, in fact, just as good as you remember!

Long verdict: I have been a fan of the Baby-Sitters Club since I honestly don't remember when. I truly have no recollection of picking up Kristy's Great Idea for the first time. What I do know is that I spent a great portion of my childhood reading and collecting BSC books and loving every minute of them. I have read them all, most of them more than once. For a decade or so now I have toyed with the idea of donating my giant collection to a library or to a young girl, but I JUST CAN'T. I don't like clutter, but I just cannot part with these books. In fact, they are now all housed on a bookshelf in our home library. Re-reading Kristy's Great Idea was my great idea for this month, for sure. There's nothing in the book that makes you think, "Wow, I can't believe I thought this was good when I was a kid!" It's just a good book, period.

One of my favorite parts to re-read was the very beginning, when Kristy gets in trouble in Social Studies, and her teacher makes her write an essay on the word "decorum." Kristy didn't know what that word meant, and I remember that I didn't know what that word meant at the time either. Ann M. Martin taught it to me. Truly, I cannot use, read, or hear the word "decorum" without thinking of Kristy. (Additionally, it's worth noting that the first time I learned about a person with autism and a person with Down Syndrome was in Baby-Sitters Club books. These aren't just silly books about teenage baby-sitters. They are so much more. Thank you Ann M. Martin.)

Re-reading Kristy's Great Idea has inspired me to re-read all of the BSC books! Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls, here I come!

My next pick for this challenge is The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand. I am reading this for the category "Book Recommended by a Source You Trust." I picked it up at the library yesterday, and, even though it's not February yet, I've already started it. Maybe I'll get to read more than one book per category this year. We'll see! I'd love to spend all day today reading, but I have this annoying baby who, like, wants to be fed and stuff. Sigh.

____

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a book through this page, I may receive a small commission. All the thoughts shared here are my own.

Our Neighbors

I was going to write an update today on the 2020 Reading Challenge (read my January book!), but something has come up, and I feel called to write about it on this blog.

Last year (my first in Georgia), Joe and I lived in a townhouse in Sandy Springs. There were several other townhouses in our community, but we never really go to know anyone except for one family that lived next door.

This family is a three-generation, all-female household that includes Mildred, the grandmother, who is 70; Mona, the daughter, who is a middle school teacher; and Chayce, who is 11, is in the 5th grade, and is a ballerina. Early on in our time living in Sandy Springs, Joe and I were taking Jane and Asha for a walk when Mildred introduced herself to us. In the course of our chat, we found out that Mona is (and has been for several years) suffering from breast cancer. We found out that Mildred, a retired schoolteacher, had come out of retirement, sold her home, and moved all of her things into storage to move in with her daughter and granddaughter to help take care of them since Mona could no longer work.

Over the course of the year we lived next to them, I believe we only saw Mona one time because she can so rarely go outside and is constantly ill. We saw Mildred fairly often, on our way in and out during the day, and also because Joe would occasionally work on Mildred's car. Joe actually saw and talked to her more often, due to working on her car and also my pregnancy which kept me in bed for several weeks last winter. When Joe had to tell Mildred we were moving, it was awful. She cried. Honestly, we cried too because, although we are SO HAPPY to be living where we are now, it's about 45 minutes from Mildred's family (without traffic), and they were awesome neighbors.

We keep in touch with Mildred and her family through texts, and we took Bert to visit them in early December so that they could meet him and Joe could work on Mildred's car. It was wonderful for me because I got to sit and visit with all three women, share Bert with them, and really get to talk to and get to know Mona for the first time. That day, I discovered that Mona had been a middle school teacher before she got ill. I also learned the BIGGEST NEWS EVER which is that Chayce was getting pointe shoes for the first time! (If you are a ballerina, or know a ballerina, you know what a big deal this is!) I was so touched when I saw that they were displaying Bert's birth announcement in their living room along with their family photos.

I'm not clear on all the details, but I know that Mona is about to have a surgery which will require an 8-10 day long hospital stay.

I say all this to say, Mildred's family could really benefit from some financial help. I know that the holidays are recently over, and many of us are recovering financially from buying gifts, travelling to see family, and donating to charities. I also know that there are so very many worthy causes that need our financial help and that so many of you reading this are constantly giving to charities, your church, and your neighbors in need. And may God bless you for it. I am going to post a link to a Go Fund Me page for Mildred and her family. I think what has touched me the most about their request is that they are only asking for exactly the amount they need so that Mildred can be with Mona in the hospital and take care of her at home for one week after: $1,520. Exactly. They are not asking for help with medical bills, groceries, rent, or anything of that nature. (Which I would totally understand if they were asking for those things. I lived where they live, and I know how the landlord is, which is terrible, so I know how much their rent must be.) I know this family, and I know how difficult it must be for Mildred to ask people for their money. She is such a hardworking person, and she continues to work hard to be the sole support for her family. It must be very difficult for her to admit she needs help, and I know she is doing all she can. One thing I try to tell other people -- and remind myself when I can -- is that we have the opportunity to bless other people when we ask for their help. If you allow someone to help you with something, it totally blesses their life because it makes them feel good that they can help you. Amazing. So if you need help, please ask!

If you are reading this, could you pray for this family? Guys, I'm going to just say it: we are scared about Mona. It doesn't look good. But we have faith and trust in God to do what He knows is best.

Go Fund Me link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mvkg5h-medical?fbclid=IwAR1YSONQK-HYK4VaNwZ-BEL_3wD50lECuIU6C2NtIiWY1flabUmqzDdsZrA

*I just want to be clear that I'm not sharing personal details here that were not already publicly shared on the Go Fund Me page. The only non-public information I have shared is about our personal interactions with our neighbors. 

How are You?

Do you ever feel like you just want to give everyone a hug? Maybe sit down with them as an individual and just listen to them?

This was not the blog post I was planning to write tonight. I sat down to write about change -- and that post is coming -- but as I went to begin, my attention was diverted to a show on PBS called "Journey to Recovery," described by the network as "An examination of the opioid epidemic." The show is set in Kentucky, but it talked about counties that are very close to mine. (It was KET (Kentucky) and not PBY (West Virginia); here in Huntington we get PBS out of both states.)

According to the CDC West Virginia has the highest rate of death due to drug overdose. And there has been story after story after story about Huntington basically being the "epicenter of opioid epidemic" in the United States.

I have never written about drug use or overdose or anything like that, and there are several reasons for that, namely:

1. I don't know much about it; I'm not an expert
2. I don't want people who do not live in Huntington or who have never been here to think we're a drug-ravaged hell-hole (excuse my language) because we are not
3. There's been so much written on the topic already that I'm not sure what I could add

However, as I mentioned, my attention was caught by the documentary I am currently watching on PBS. Something hit me as I watched, so I decided that, instead of writing about what I sat down to write about tonight, I wanted to share my thoughts on what I'm watching.

Two of the first interviews in the documentary were with a young man and a young woman, unrelated, but both had lost a parent to an opioid overdose. (The young woman lost her mother, and the young man lost his father.) Although the two teens would go on to detail their lives watching parents struggle with, and ultimately die of addiction, they both started by saying basically the same thing -- 

My mom loved me. I know she loved me.

My dad was a great dad. I loved him. 

Two teens, two children, who had watched their parents become addicted, steal money from their families, be strung out  -- The girl details having to pick her mother up off the floor and try to get her into bed many times after she'd passed out from drugs on the floor. Her father was in Afghanistan at the time. She also details how she would never, ever spend the night away from home, for fear her mother would die. One day, she finally decided to spend the night with a cousin. Her mother died that night. --  wanted to begin their parts in this documentary by telling anyone who would watch that they thought their parents were good parents and that they know their parents loved them.

Not that I haven't thought about this before, but it just really hit me tonight that people who are addicted to drugs and/or die of drug overdoses belong to someone. They all do. They are someone's mother or brother or cousin or son. Once upon a time they were just little babies in someone's arms. Somewhere along the line, something -- an accident, a mistake -- happened to them and put them on the path to addiction. Something in their hearts hurt so badly that they felt that drugs were all they had. 

In the September Issue of Vogue I just read, there was an interview with Oprah Winfrey. I know people have a lot of opinions about Oprah, and I'm not even sure how I feel about her as well, but she said something in this interview that struck me and that I really agree with:

"There's not a human being alive who doesn't want -- in any conversation, encounter, experience with another human being -- to feel like they matter. And you can resolve any issue if you could just get to what it is that they want -- they want to be heard. And they want to know that what they said to you meant something. Most people go their entire lives and nobody ever really wants the answer to 'How are you? Tell me about yourself.'" 

Isn't that the truth? Don't we all just want someone to listen to us?

I recently told Joe, because I just recently realized it myself, that I am already far less tired this year than I was last because I have someone to listen to me. I have Joe. He listens to me every night. I don't have to carry burdens alone in my heart because someone hears me. (This is not meant to make any of my friends or family members feel bad; I know you also hear me!) 

How often do we go through life -- and I'm pointing the finger at myself here -- saying, "How are you?" to people but not really meaning it, just hoping they'll say, "Fine" so we can move on with our shopping or get to why we started a conversation with them to begin with. I know I do it all the time. 

I wonder if we could just sit down with each other individually -- everyone on earth -- and just LISTEN to each other, how much better off we might be. How many kids may no longer lose parents to addiction. I know hugs and listening won't solve the addiction problem, but I believe our hearts heal when we can unburden them to someone who REALLY hears us. 

So I'll tell you this: I am going to work on truly asking people how they are doing, and not expecting/hoping them to say fine. I need to figure out a new question to ask that's not "How are you?" because we are so programmed to answering, "Fine" whether we are or not. I am going to try to do a much better job of truly listening to people and not trying to rush on to the next thing. Because every time someone talks to us about anything, they are sharing a part of their heart or their brain with us, and -- wow. How humbling is that? I have friends and loved ones who have seriously struggled with something this past year or who are currently struggling -- one beloved friend got some heartbreaking news today -- and I bet if you asked her or any of these people, it helps when others listen. 

Below is a preview of the documentary that I watched. It's a quick 3 minutes, but the first 30 seconds will be enough to get you. 

I love you, friends. 

Thanksgiving Food Drive 2015

Man, there has been so much going on lately -- teaching, three graduate classes, student teaching, Junior League, Dress for Success, life!

Luckily I was able to spend yesterday doing one of my absolute most favorite things, and that was helping man The Divine Intervention Thanksgiving Food Drive. The Divine Intervention is a local nonprofit, and I am on the board of directors. I encourage you to check out our website (especially if you're local) because there's something we might be able to help you with! Three times a year we do a food and/or clothing drive for local organizations, and those three days are among my most favorite days of the entire year! I can't really explain it, but there's something so fun about spending the day watching people help other people and spending time in fellowship with each other, enjoying coffee and a donut. I also like the other people on the board/volunteers -- Dave, Kim, Lisa, and Eileen -- because they are such a joy to be around, and I always love the time I spend with them.

From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. I helped unload donors' cars and re-load the food into our trucks. I also took so many photos because I love to document how much fun these food drives are. Luckily, I was also able to make the trek out to ECCHO (where we take the food) to help stock the food on the shelves. Our donors are so awesome because they gave SO.  MUCH. FOOD. It was awesome seeing ECCHO's shelves fill up. It's also very humbling to know that that food won't be on the shelves for long because there are so many families in need. As John (an ECCHO volunteer an DI supporter) said, "If you have 70 families come in, and each family gets two cans of vegetables, that's 140 cans right there." And ECCHO serves WAY more than 70 families.

I love this time of year for so many reasons, but one of the biggest is how much focus is put on thinking about people other than yourself. Yes, people are hungry all year long, and yes, we need to donate food all year long, but there's something really special about the holiday season that brings out the best in (most) people, and I really see the Thanksgiving Food Drive as the kick off to my holiday season!

Here are some amazing photos of people's generosity.

Kim, Lisa, and Dave

Me, Lisa, and Dave

First truck starting to fill up!

A donor unloading her car.

More donations coming in.

About an hour into the drive!

Catching up! Our food drive is really an event, not just a food drop off.

My dad and Father Jim.

The shelves at ECCHO as we're beginning to help fill them.

Another shot of the shelves at ECCHO.

Regular People Helping Regular People.

This past weekend I had one of the best Saturdays I had had in a while. I sit on the board of an organization called The Divine Intervention, and our mission is to provide spiritual guidance to people who are suffering, hurt, or need help and comfort as well as to help local organizations that serve the poor. It was the latter part of the mission that we were working on on Saturday. We held our first-ever Winter Warmth Drive, a drive to help provide blankets, socks, underwear, coats, and other items that would help someone stay warm this winter to people in need. We give our donations to a place called the Eastern Cabell County Humanities Organization (ECCHO); they serve the poorest of the poor in our county. They are fully staffed by volunteers.

Before I go on, let me back up. Back in November we held our first-ever food drive. We are a small organization and we really had no idea who, if anyone, would show up to donate food. We were afraid no one would come, and we made ourselves okay with that. Man were we wrong. So, so wrong.

So you'd think we'd have learned our lesson, right?

I am embarrassed to admit it, but after we planned the Winter Warmth Drive ... well, I was really afraid no one would come. I totally remembered the whole food drive thing, but I made excuses to myself, like blankets are pretty expensive, we're not talking about a .49 can of green beans here, blah, blah. Well, this happened:

And this was only halfway through the day. In the middle of our drive Saturday, I told my friends and fellow volunteers Lisa and Kim that I thought God was laughing at us. We of little little faith. We planned a food drive, we doubted, God came through in a big way. We planned a winter warmth drive, we doubted, and God came through in a big way. As my mom said, if we keep worrying ECCHO will never lack for anything! Haha.

The thing is, it's easy to forget that people that live down the street from us or whose kids go to school with ours really need our help. ECCHO serves something like 420 families a month, and that is just from one part of our county. Their funding has been cut, and, like many nonprofits, they are having to do more with less. Just as soon as items go in the door at ECCHO they go right back on out again. They always need food, and they told us Saturday that things like blankets, socks, underwear, coats, hats, mittens, and scarves are also so desperately needed. People cannot afford to heat their homes in the winter, so blankets are truly life-saving.

I absolutely had the best time Saturday hanging with my friends and sorting donations as they came in. I really think this is how the world works -- regular people help other regular people and then we all do a little bit better.

For Granted.

How often do we hear about something tragic -- a life lost too soon -- and think to ourselves -- she was too young, every moment is precious, tell those you love that you do? ... and then three days later we're back to our old ways of complaining because it's too cold/our coworkers are annoying/gas prices are high?

Guilty as charged. At least I am.

I am really bad about reminding myself that we can't take any moment for granted ... and then getting annoyed when my mom asks me a question. Or something goes wrong at school. Or my Internet won't work. (Seriously Anna?)

I found out yesterday that someone my friend Sarah knows was in a serious car accident with her boyfriend. He passed away at the scene, and the young woman, her name is Sara, was in critical condition at the hospital. Sadly, she passed away today around 3:15 p.m., right as we were getting out of school. I found out when I went to Sarah's classroom to return a borrowed laptop. Feeling absolutely helpless, Sarah and I prayed together at her desk. (Another post for another time, but praise God that I work at a place where situations like that are common.) We prayed that her family, friends, teachers, and classmates find peace, and that all who hear about this use it as a reminder that life is so precious and we don't know when our last moments will be.

I pray that I will be a person who loves everyone, even those who treat me badly. That I will let little things roll off my shoulders, realizing what is really important in life. As Ebenezer Scrooge says in my family's favorite version of A Christmas Carol, God forgive me for the time I've wasted.

The young woman who passed was a senior in high school. A precious, 17-year-old child of God. Her family is not wealthy by any means, and now they are not only facing the devastating loss of their daughter, but also the mountain of medical bills and funeral expenses that come with. Consider donating? I know there are so many people in need right now, but every $5 gift helps.

I pray that God will bless you and your family and friends as we enter this holy and beautiful holiday season.

The "Neighbor" in "Love Thy Neighbor" is Everyone

We are entering that time of year where it's so easy to get caught up in THINGS. Things you are buying other people, things on your own Christmas list. Things. Nice things, who bought the best things, is my house decorated with the prettiest things.

We're all guilty of it. I like to get gifts too. Which is why I am so glad my holiday season unofficially kicked off this weekend with an awesome food drive!

I am on the board of this little organization called The Divine Intervention. Our mission is to provide spiritual guidance and comfort to those suffering from illness or addition, going through a tough time, or just in need of a listening ear. We provide these services free of charge. We also help other local organizations that exist to benefit the needy. And it is that last thing we were working on this weekend.

There is an organization in our county called Eastern Cabell County Humanities Organization (ECCHO). They serve the poorest of the poor in the eastern part of the county in which I live. They serve about 420 families a month. FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY in one small part of one county. They provide food, clothing, and other basic essentials at no cost. And they are staffed solely by volunteers. Needless to say, they are always in desperate need of food. So my Divine Intervention friends and I coordinated a food drive. Not only are we a small organization, but we are a new-ish one, so when we began planning this food drive we were afraid we might not get too many donations.

Boy were we wrong.

So, so wrong.

We stood outside from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, accepting donations. Our goal was to "Fill Father Jim's Truck!" Well, Father Jim's truck was too small.

Much, much too small.

We filled FIVE trucks. Five truckloads of food were donated this weekend. Donated by a bunch of regular people who did what they could -- sacrificially gave so that others wouldn't go hungry.

It was an amazing sight to see. I was bowled over by everyone's generosity. It was the PERFECT kickoff to my holiday season. An event that helped show a selfish person like myself the true meaning of how to love others as you love yourself. I read on Amy's blog once that she decided to host an orphan for Christmas when she realized that she didn't want herself sitting alone in an orphanage on Christmas ... and THAT is what the Golden Rule really means.

The shelves at ECCHO were practically bare, and this donation barely made a dent in the need that is out there. There is so, so, so much need. But a few more people will not go hungry tonight. And you can't put a price tag on that.

Goodness.

The other night my friend Cindy invited me and my other friend Sarah to a dinner celebrating our local City Mission. Cindy recently joined the board of this organization, and she invited us to sit at her table for the event. The City Mission is about two blocks away from where I live, so I sort of see them as my neighbors. They do great work, feeding, housing, and clothing many of our area's homeless who are trying to get back on their feet. It was a great event, and I was so glad to be invited.

In the middle of the event it really just hit me -- and this sounds so stupid and obvious I know, but sometimes I just need a reminder -- that our job on earth is to care for each other. That's really it. To care for and love our neighbor -- whether it's someone we like, whether or not they deserve it, whether or not they "did it to themselves." No matter what. Our job on this earth is to care for orphans and widows, drug addicts and prostitutes, the homeless and the mentally ill. Along with our own families and friends. Regardless of our faith, regardless of their faith. Regardless if they look scary or dirty. Regardless if we have money or not.

Love each other. It's honestly that simple.

And this is a really great time of year to remember this. If you can buy $100 worth of food to donate, then do it. If you can buy a single can of green beans and that's even a stretch for you, do it. Either way, that's so awesome. And I need to too.

As I was thinking about this today I saw this really great thing online. Click through and read if you have a chance. I won't lie -- I cried while I read it. I think I was just overwhelmed by all the goodness in the world. We often hear so many bad things. It is so nice to be reminded that there is so much goodness out there. And we can see it every day if we just look. And if we can't see it or don't see it, then we need to be the goodness. And maybe someone else will see us.

Election Day.

I've been letting my mail collect at the bottom of my stairs for the past few days. Partially because I'm a Lorelai, but mostly because I wanted to see just how many campaign mailers I'd get in about five days or so.

Since the election is tomorrow I decided to pick it up this evening when I got home. I got my answer. It's 14. 14 campaign mailers in about 5 days. From both parties. No one is blameless in this endless blame game we call election season.

This morning in 8th grade language arts we were doing vocabulary. Our first word was "apathetic." So I shared an example with the students: Some people are apathetic about voting. (Which drives me nuts, but that's neither here nor there.) But just hearing the word "voting" unleashed an outpouring of thoughts from my students.

These students -- these 13-year-olds, these 8th graders -- said the following things (and I quote):

- Miss Lafferre, none of these candidates ever say what they will do for you. They just say "don't vote for my opponent." 

- It's so annoying! "I'm Alison-Something-Grimes, and I approved this message because Mitch McConnell can't hold a gun right." 

- "I'm Mitch McConnell and COAL!" 

- I can't watch TV for two minutes without seeing one of these commercials. You know how many I saw in a row the other day? Six. SIX! 

- Why can't they just tell you what they'll help with?

- Miss Lafferre, do they think that if they say something bad about their opponent -- like Evan Jenkins hates kittens -- then someone will just be like, "Really? He hates kittens? Well I'm not voting for him then!" 

And these are just the ones I remember. I finally told them that I'd like to film them saying all this and then send it to the candidates. They were like, "Will you do that? Really? That'd be great!"

America -- THIS is what we've done to our children who cannot even vote yet. We have caused children who are not even old enough to register to vote to absolutely hate the democratic process and election season. They are already fed up with political elections and they are THIRTEEN. And BOTH parties are responsible.

Candidates, I ask you -- are you proud?

Rabbit of the Month!

I have always known that Snicks is the best and cutest rabbit on the face of planet earth, and now the whole world (or at least the greater tri-state area) will know what I've known for years. 

Snicks won a spot on the Little Victories calendar! He is now my little calendar bunny! Homes all over will be looking at his face for a whole month in 2015. Of course in this house it'll be all Snicks all year long. :) 

If you voted for him, thank you for helping him realize his dream of being in a calendar! 

But seriously, thank you for bringing a little excitement into the life of this nerdy girl who just has her rabbit. It's a little thrill for S and me. :) 

A Great Reason to Skip Tomorrow's Latte

This morning our town saw a fire downtown that destroyed people's homes as well as two local restaurants much-loved in this community. Those restaurants -- Backyard Pizza and the very newly opened The Peddler -- are both owned by a young couple, and also staffed by young adults and other hard-working people. Backyard is home to my favorite pizza ever -- the Warren Pear, which is too delish to describe in words. More importantly, the service and atmosphere are just friendly and outstanding.

The fire was a total freak accident, and I know the entire city of Huntington is distraught. My friend Sarah, her boyfriend Kevin and I JUST had dinner at Backyard Pizza last night ... so heartbreaking to know that was our last meal there -- our last meal only for a while, I'm sure.

I am confident and hopeful that both restaurants can come back better than ever, and I'm also confident that our city will come out in full force to help Drew and Megan rebuild, as well as to help those who are, for now, unemployed.

If you want to donate, another awesome local person set up a GoFundMe page, which you can access here. $4,245 has already been raised, which is AWESOME. Maybe take the $5 you'd spend at Starbucks on the way to work tomorrow and donate it instead? This is one of the reasons it's awesome to live in a smaller town. People just come together in a big way.

I know everyone will join me in keeping the first responders, the restaurant owners and employees and all those who lost their homes today in our prayers.

Funny Kids and Not-So-Funny Legislatures.

I babysat for a new family tonight that has three boys. They lived in this area before and then moved away and have now come back. They go to my church, and the littlest boy had been in my Vacation Bible School class earlier this summer. They were sweet kids and definitely rowdy boys! It was fun to be with them.

I'm saying all this to say the middle boy, who is going into second grade, looks at me and goes "Do you have a boyfriend?" And I was like, "No I don't, but thank you for asking." To which he says, "Um ... you might want to think about getting one!"

Duly noted. :)

They also asked me what I did, and I told them I was in school to be a teacher. Later in the afternoon, the youngest boy asked me to do something, and I said, "I didn't hear a nice word in there!" And he said, "Oh! Please!" And then the middle boy was like, "You are going to be a really good teacher!"

Loved it!

************************

In less fun news, the State of West Virginia is developing legislation, known as the "Dangerous Wild Animal Act," that would prohibit certain animals from being owned in the state. Like a lot of people, I (incorrectly) assumed that this list was created to prohibit ownership of things like mountain lions, bears and certain breeds of snakes.

As it turns out, the list includes, among other things, all breeds of rabbit. Not just wild rabbits, but ALL rabbits, meaning Baby Snicks. (You can read the full list here.) What's curious is that things like Komodo Dragons are allowed, while my house rabbit is not.

A photo of the "dangerous wild animal."

I know it might seem silly to ask, but if you are a resident of West Virginia (or have a vested interest in the lives of precious West Virginia bunnies), I was hoping you might be willing to email the Department of Agriculture and voice an opinion about rabbits. At this time, I think it's rabbit breeders (that sell rabbits as pets and for meat) that are most concerned since it's their livelihood, but obviously in my case it's because I'd prefer to keep Snicks alive and where he is -- with me. The proper person to email is Jodee Martin at jodeemartin@wvda.us. You have until noon on August 1. Something to mention might be that rabbits are the third most popular companion mammal in the United States after dogs and cats. (Source) And, personally, Snicks is neutered, litter box trained, lives inside, is free of disease and sees a vet once a year for a physical.

I think Snicks may be grandfathered in since I already have him, but there was also talk of applications and $100 fees. My questions are things like would they require me to cage him or keep him outside? I don't know. That's not his life. And when Snicks dies one day, which I don't like to think about but he's not immortal, I can't adopt another homeless bunny?

When I emailed Ms. Martin I told her I'd be happy to bring Baby S by to meet her at her convenience so she can see what he's like in person. Maybe she'll take me up on it! :) I'm prepared to argue that Snicks is calmer, better behaved and less of a threat than some people's dogs and cats.

That Girl Who Disagrees With You? She's a Person Too.

On days like today I like to stay off Facebook. Days when a controversial issue is super big news, and everyone has their own opinion. I debated with myself over whether to blog about this, but then I got this survey in the mail today and it seemed like a sign. It's not opinions that I mind -- we all have them -- but it's the way in which people share them that bothers me.

I think it's really easy to hide behind our computer monitors and phone screens and forget about the fact that we're addressing other human beings. The truth is, people on both sides of an issue usually believe that they are honestly right and that their opinion is in the best interest of women/death row inmates/drug addicts/whatever the thing is. But I think when we're using our keyboards to pontificate about any issue, it is really very easy to forget that the people who disagree with us aren't demons, they are other human beings. They are people with moms and brothers and kids who probably donate to charities and do community service. I think it's perfectly fine to hold an opinion -- I actually don't really love fence-sitters -- and I think it's totally okay to voice your opinion ... in a loving manner. Also, has anyone ever changed their mind on a hot-button issue because one of their Facebook friends lectured them and told them they didn't care about individual freedom or whatever? I honestly bet that no one ever read a post like that, or a comment, and thought, "You know what? Sally is totally right. I am a woman-hater who is on the wrong side of history. I'm totally changing my mind 180 degrees. I am SO glad she yelled at me so rudely on Facebook."

As they say in The American President, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating, at the top of his lungs, that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours." 

And, there is that little matter of loving your neighbor as yourself.  No one wants to be lectured or shouted at or demeaned. Especially on Facebook. The fact that we all have different opinions and ideas is what makes this nation great. And I understand that these are BIG issues with outcomes that wound people's hearts and people feel I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-Y passionate about them. There are many issues I feel incredibly strongly about too and there are also things that hurt my heart. But before I say anything publicly, I always try and remind myself that the person to whom (not AT whom) I'm speaking is a person. Like I am.

Just my opinion. Hopefully shared in a loving manner because you are a person too.

Show Some Skin

A lot of times when West Virginia makes national news, it's not a good thing. But the other day, the great state of West Virginia made national news for something awesome.

On UrbanSpoon, an unidentified patron of the restaurant Atomic Grill in Morgantown, W.Va., (which has since been deleted) requested that the servers "show more skin." Restaurant owner Daniel McCawley was offended.

"It was brutish. I was upset. I’m a father of a 12-year-old girl, and I’ve got five sisters," McCawley told ABC News. "The way that women are treated is pretty personal as far as I’m concerned."

So, in response, for the entirety of Memorial Day Weekend, the restaurant is offering a potato skin special for $7 and donating 100 percent of the proceeds to the West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services. Talk about making something AWESOME out of a stupid situation.

My grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, etc. live in Morgantown. I was planning to visit this weekend anyways, but after I heard about this event I was even more glad I planned to visit. Last night, my sisters Erin and Emma, my cousin Rebecca and her husband Danny and my sister's friend Alex went to dinner at Atomic Grill. We, of course, ordered the potato skins. Two orders in fact! We also got a massive pile of other delish food and beer.

Air high five Atomic Grill. Way to be awesome.