shouts of joy

I was in my third and fourth grade classroom the other day and it just so happened to be science time when I walked in. We were talking about the heart and exercise and I was showing them how to find their pulse. The ones who needed help finding their pulse circled around and we began to search for the beat. Each of them lit up with excitement when they found THEIR heartbeat. "I found it and it feel so cool!" "Teacher, I can feel it!" It reminded me of the time when I searched for my heartbeat when I was their age and never found it. I was in the 3rd and 4th grade when I started searching for it, but never could find it or feel it until I was much, much older. But as I was thinking about my personal experience Maria, one of the 4th graders, ran up to me and explained that when she took a deep breath her heart beat stronger. She put my hand on her wrist and I tried to feel for it. I got excited for her but couldn't really feel anything. Later after school was out...

"Teacher! She said I'm and idiot!" "Teacher, he through my shoe into the middle of the field for no reason!" "Teacher, I had the jump rope first! Tell him to give it back!" "He keeps throwing the ball at me!" "She always tells secrets and makes me pinky swear not to tell." "Teacher.... can I go to the bathroom?" (a wet stain in the lap of his pants) "I... I just threw up..." (maybe tomato soup?) This was my recess today. A big class full of tattle-tails, and helpless 3rd and 4th graders. It didn't stop there either... a boy in the third grade hit a girl in the fourth grade and he's been suspended for tomorrow. In my 2 years of assisting I've never had a recess as colorful as this one. It was a change from the normal, not really the best change, but I'm learning without change life would be boring. Whether good or bad change makes for adventure. And with all the stress from school work it was r...

I went on a walk with a good friend a while ago through a vineyard. I had always wanted to walk through a vineyard and eat the fresh, juicy grapes. Except my idea was to "trespass" and "steal" making something small and insignificant seem like an exciting and dangerous adventure. But let me get back to the story... It was a beautiful and warm day and to share it with such a good friend felt so special. As we walked through the rows of vines we were sharing stories and laughing out loud when unexpectedly I felt a sharp pain in the soul of my foot that shot up to my leg. Somehow the stickers and thorns had lodged themselves into the soul of my thin flip-flops causing me to come to a quick halt. I had to interrupt the conversation to pull the thorns out of my shoe. After pricking my fingers a couple of times I finally removed them and we continued on, sharing dreams and goals still laughing from time to time when not more than 20 steps later I had to dislodge the this...

I love mornings! I'd wake up early for almost anything, especially the chance to sit in silence. Alone. With a friend. It doesn't matter. There's a certain ambience about early mornings. The crisp air. The darkness. The solitude. A few mornings ago my friend Emily picked me up at my house at 5:30 am. It was dark outside and the usually busy streets were empty. Our bags were heavy and full of the weeks homework, assignments and study guides. We walked into an almost empty Starbucks with disheveled hair and sleepy eyes. Gave our coffee orders to the friendly employees and pulled out the books. The books were pushed to the side and small chit chat became deeper conversation with a few giggles here and there. From where we sat we could see a group of men, who might be known as "the regulars", sitting in a circle with coffee and newspaper in hand discussing some of the important topics from the daily news. After some minutes of giggling a gray-haired man, who I would l...

Fight, Fight, FIGHT, FIGHT... the words repeat in my head as I walk from class to class. Over and over, that's all I hear. When I'm busy the voice keeps getting louder and louder. FIGHT. Don't give up. FIGHT. Don't give up. The other voice starts as a whisper in the night when I'm falling asleep. And it wakes me up in the morning before the sun. This voice is the one that tears me down. Brings me to tears. RUN. You'll never be good enough. RUN. You'll never be good enough. I don't know which to listen to. They both have their pros and cons. FIGHT. Don't give up. - "It's going to be a hard fight, but you'll make it." In other words, there is hope. But it's not easy. RUN. you'll never be good enough. - "There's an easy way out. Run away from your fears and start fresh." Another option... Run away and never face the truth, it's that easy. Two voices to listen to. Two options, two choices, two paths, two lives....

"Take I-5 North" "No, South!" "No, wait. Tina I think we're suppose to go towards Seattle." "No, it's the Dalles going North." "Hey, we've been over this bridge already. And I think I've seen that building before." And it went on like this for at least 30 minutes... A group of 11 or 12 of us went to Portland this weekend and cheered Ashley Zalsaman on as she ran another one of her marathons. We each took turns running along side of her for a couple of miles and cheering her on. It was so inspiring to see so many people finish such a tough race. It almost inspired me enough to want to run a full marathon someday. It was a ton of fun and a great opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. On our way home I rode back with Emily Wilkens and Kara Hughes. I guess you could say none of us have a good sense of direction, but we do know quite a bit about cars and the 3 different ways to get back to Walla Walla from Portl...

Wow, what a week!!! *long sigh* This week I have been through a lot and learned a lot. WWU started classes Monday and my classes feel like a huge rock in my backpack. I can't even walk to my next class without feeling like I'm going to fall over from this rock of stress on my back. My classes are a big load but then there's an extra rock that snuck into my bag from work. I don't know where the time goes in the day. I start class at nine go to work at 1pm, then start homework at 5pm, and where do I fit in my time for fellowship and friends? I haven't figured that out yet. And this week has been tough, I really need a good friend to talk and share with. I would fall asleep at night feeling lonely and empty, but Wednesday morning I woke up to my phone ringing and looked at the clock to see 5:30 am. Who would be calling at this time? I thought. I answered in a croaky voice and to my great surprise it was my two very good friends Hillary and Kati, calling all the way f...