Share a Square

A good blogging friend, Shelly Tucker, whom I've never actually met incidentally, has decided to take on the momentous task of organizing Share-A-Square for another year. The woman eventually has to dedicate an entire room of her house to this venture, as people send their crocheted squares to her house from all over the world.

Shelly has a heart for those in need, and this year the need is a group of kids at a camp in South Texas. The camp is for children with cancer, and Shelly's goal is to provide each one of these campers with a little bit of comfort by giving them a crocheted afghan made of 80 6"x 6" squares, each square representing a different person who is thinking of them and praying for them.

This is a year long project, and Shelly has put the call out for the campers for next year. Last time, Shelly paired up with a group of ladies called "the Happy Hookers" who lovingly pieced together each square into the final afghan that was given each child.

You can get the information you need to participate at Shelly's blog, thisecclecticlife.com Shelly is inspirational in this task, and her telling of events is always entertaining. Please look her up and participate! Be sure to look at the afghans from the previous Share-A-Square venture.

A Little Link Love

So someone posted in my comment section yesterday telling me they were going to link to a post I wrote about this time three years ago entitled Dignity vs. Pride. I decided to go and see her blog for myself, and all I can say is "wow."

Her name is Laurie Pace, and she's an artist. She could not be more different than me in that aspect. I am not a creative person by nature, and have to work really hard and steal ideas from others to make any attempt at creativity. So, I'm really envious of creative people, and her art is particularly beautiful.

The more I read, though, the more I saw what we had in common: both from Texas, both teachers, and we both have gone through some similar circumstances with difficult people in our lives. In one post she spoke of how much she puts herself into her art, and as God as my witness I had a conversation about this very thing with a friend last week! How people who are artists really put themselves out there, and how much they put themselves into their art.

So it seems that at least for now, with all we have in common, we were meant to meet. She even has a daughter named Stacey. How crazy is that?

You must go see her art and read her posts. Even though she linked to my post, she is much more articulate than I am. Go see Laurie Pace's blog at www.lauriepace.blogspot.com. You'll be glad you did.

Palo Duro Canyon

I went to Palo Duro Canyon for three days this week. I never really thought much about the desert, but after driving through it, learning about it, and hiking in it, I see it is really a beautiful place! This trip was the final field trip after a year long study with my gifted students on the the topic of change. It was a great way to end the year. Although, I must say, it has caused me to see my GT colleagues in a new light! Those women are crazy.

One of the highlights of the trip, and I don't have a picture of it here for whatever reason, was the outdoor ampitheater in the canyon and watching the musical, Texas. It's been a long time since I've had Texas history, and it was a great way to refresh my memory. The ampitheater sat inside the canyon, with one of the canyon walls as the backdrop, and the show was spectacular, even adding a fireworks show at the end. It was good for the kids to see a live musical performance, and I'm sure they won't forget it!

I'm exhausted, but this was a fun and truly memorable trip!

Affirmation

You know, anytime there is a big change or big move in our lives, we always seek God in those decisions. Repeatedly He has tested MY faith by opening doors, many times waiting until the last minute. But when those doors open, they open wide and we just stand in awe of His provision. It happened over and over again during our move to Asia, and things are no different since we moved back to the States.

He provided jobs for T and me, which was no small task. Not only were the jobs provided good jobs, they were dream jobs. And not only did He provide them for us, but He did so at a time when there was a job freeze. Again, we stand in awe, I'm ashamed to say.

But yesterday He affirmed us again, but this time through one of our kids. Any time we had to move, our children and their well being was at the top of our list of concerns. Moves are extremely difficult on kids, and we did not want to raise children who are emotionally detached, which is something that can happen when children move too often, even under the best circumstances. In our case, there was also physical concerns. Two of our children had some pretty big physical obstacles, and we needed to find the right doctors to meet their needs.

So yesterday, C went to see his endocrinologist. Not only did he have a good report, the but doctor told us that the timing in which we came to see him was crucial. C definitely could have had major life changing problems had he not come to see this particular doctor when he did. His medication at the time was all wrong, and he was at risk for developing more problems as the antibodies in his system could have turned on other organs in his body. The doctor emphasized the timing of our first visit to him on several occasions during the visit. Presently, C's antibodies are extremely low, leading the doctor to say that in some cases his particular disease can reverse itself. It is something that might happen. If it doesn't, he'll be OK, but it's out there.

Once again, we just looked at each other realizing that once again, our decision to move halfway across the world was affirmed. We pretty much knew it at this point, but there was just that additional word that adds to the contentment already there, and made us say, "Yes, Lord. Thank you!"

Lone Star

OK. This is kind of exciting. The son-in-law of my good friend and teaching partner wrote this show and executive produced it. It's coming out this Fall on Fox, on Monday nights immediately after House. It's called Lone Star and it looks like a good ol' Texas soap opera to me. My friend even had a little bit of a say in the choosing of the lead character. ;) Click on the link and watch the trailer! It looks intriguing....

Perfect Imperfection in our Beloved Sport

* Picture courtesy Foxnews.com

It's amazing how quickly a sport can fall from grace. One minute, the crowd is up singing "Take me out to the ball game..." and the next minute they're throwing beer bottles and cursing the very turf on which their beloved players play.

But this week was a little different. The crowd was witnessing history: the pitcher for the Detroit Tigers was on the verge of pitching the elusive Perfect Game. He had not allowed one player on base, and now, in the last inning, he could almost taste this once in a lifetime achievement that most players only dream about. Only one more out to go.

You should know the rest. It's been all over the news: There was a clear out at first, yet the ump called the runner safe. Perfect Game gone. Coaches came over to give the ump their favorite choice of words, other players fell over in disbelief. But there was one person who was curiously not a part of the hubbub. The pitcher. I'm sure, he was disappointed, but he just walked back to the mound and waited. When everything settled, he pitched to the final batter and didn't allow him on base.

Here's where it gets good. It's where the imperfect almost becomes perfect. The ump asked to look at the play immediately after the game. After viewing the play, he knew he was wrong, and he said it! He was so remorseful, that he admitted he would understand if Galarraga never spoke to him again. He said, "It was my fault. I robbed this guy of a perfect game. I blew it. This was not just any call, this was the call of a lifetime, and I blew it." Enter Galarraga. With so much grace and humility, he noted that calls like that are part of baseball, and the unpredictability is what makes the game great.

There's a lot of speculation right now about technology and baseball. Some want to bring it into the sport for plays such as these in order to over rule the ump, like in, say, tennis. However, wondering if the ump is going to get the call right is part of the imperfection of the sport that adds to the excitement. If we brought in technology, as tennis has, then there would be no need for an ump to stand behind the catcher and very dramatically yell "STUURRIIIIKE THREEEEEE", and forget about the coach running toward the ump, bumping chests, kicking dirt, letting words fly, being the ultimate advocate for his players. Can you imagine that being gone from the game? It's part of the whole tradition of the sport we love.

The next game, there is a picture of the ump, Jim Joyce, and the pitcher, Armondo Galarraga shaking hands at the beginning of the next night's game. Jim is crying. His immediate acknowledgment of his actions may have even created a new friendship. This event, and the way it was handled, was a defining moment for them in their careers. It may take fans a little longer to come around. But hopefully the sheer honestly of Jim Joyce, the courage he displayed by speaking the truth, and the sheer grace that Galarraga showed at a time when he had every right to be upset, will allow these two men to stand out in their careers for very different reasons.

I'm impressed with them both.