What song would the Piper play for you?

Ah, the Pied Piper of Hamelin.  We read the Robert Browning version of the piper story recently in sixth grade.  Don't quite remember it?  A rat infestation plagued a small community in Brunswick.  Soon the town's folk stormed the city hall and demanded a solution from the mayor and his council of obese imbeciles who were hopeless to find a fix.  The problem was quite serious... the rats were "fighting the dogs and killing the cats".  Soon a queer fellow raps on the door and offers to rid the mayor and his city of the problem for $1000.  The mayor, exasperated and a bit unbelieving runs off his mouth and says if he can indeed do it, he'll give him $50,000!  Well, the piper plays his pipe and lures all the rats to the rolling river and in the river where they all drown, save one.  So the piper fixes the problem, returns for his $1000, and the mayor refuses to pay.  He offers the piper a meager $50 for the extermination of his epic problem.  Thus the phase "it's time to pay the piper..."  Keep your promises and pay your debts.  The piper is not one to be trifled with... he went back onto the street and piped a tune that this time lured all the children of the town away, save one.... forever.  How did he do it?  The stories from the rat who survived and the lame boy who couldn't keep up are the same... the piper's song is so enthralling and cunning.  It promises each creature the desires of his heart if he just follow.  The old rat described it "like a great sun shone glorious, scarce an inch before me... soon, I found the Weser (river) rolling o'er me."  The boy with the lame foot was in utter despair that he couldn't keep up and spends the rest of his life in depression and remorse over the situation.  The piper's song had promised him healing. 

So, what would the piper's song sing to me?  I thought for a short moment.  What fun!  Suntanned skin year round and blaze orange polish on my toes with warm sand between them... Hair that never needed styled and a PX90 body without the PX90 workout... the sun on my face and a gentle, warm breeze on my back.  Health, and hands that work all the time...  Never have to eat again...  Ooh, this IS fun.  I could go on and on. But what is the cost?  Do I get to have my husband beside me?  My children?  My family and my wonderful friends?  What about my God?  Does he get to come, too? I have a hunch that the answer is, sadly, no.  Keep focus on what is real and what really matters. The rest will be destroyed.  Exert energies on what is eternal... people.  Find people generally fickle?  Adjusting our attitudes and saving our judgments does wonders for our heart condition and ultimately our acceptance of people in general.  We are not perfect.  In fact, we are quite messy.

I assigned my sixth grades the question "What song would the piper play for you?"  I didn't spend any time predicting what kind of responses they would give me.  Naturally, some talked about very trivial things... chocolate, no homework, etc.  Others, however, were very thoughtful in answering the question... one girl said that she would sit at God's feet and ask him questions.  Another wanted to be friends with Queen Ester and described what the two of them would do together in great detail.  Others talked about healing relationships in their families and places where people loved each other and love them all the time.  I almost wept.  Me, too.... me, too.

Golden Eagle basketball...



O how I've missed you friends...  I have so much to share but so little time to write.  Right now, I'm keeping up with my life, my children, my other 29 children, and my household.  I have been snapping a few pictures and capturing some great shots.  Here are a few of my favorites from the elementary basketball season this year.  My fifth grader Rayne is #4 and my sixth grader Rosalind is #24.  I am a very proud mama of these two tough little players.... they're a joy to watch.

At first glance, this is an average shot of a jump ball... then I noticed #4 was also in the air.
 I guess she was helping her teammate, Kim, jump.  Now that's a team player/cheerleader all in one!

Take it to the bucket!  You've got her beat!

Autumn going for the ball

Andre moving to the bucket

Ref, look! and blow your whistle!  My girl's being fouled.

Garrin #30 is being pounded by two fourth graders in the same colored jerseys...
easy boys, he's on your team.

Great position girls!  Waiting for the rebound...

Rosalind shooting two



Rayne and Abby "taking care of" the opponent

From my front porch...

I received a new camera this year, but I am ashamed to admit that I haven't spent much time learning how to get really great shots.  Sigh.  But here are some of my favorites from September 2011... enjoy.

Shooting baskets... that Tharp tongue... it's definitely genetic

This is her "Uggg, why did I do that?" face

fudge pops

My red crepe myrtle that actually lived through this summer's scorching drought

One of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen

Nine weeks...

I have been blogger-starved for months now. All summer, my future was so up in the air with what I was going to be doing this fall that I really didn't have much to say.  So here is a reflection of my first nine weeks back to school...

I feel like I've been on somewhat of a roller coaster ride.  Going from teaching junior high and high school to teaching 5th and 6th graders was much harder than I had anticipated.  See, I've been teaching Jesus to 3rd - 6th graders in Awana and Sunday school for years, but I guess subordinating conjunctions are much harder to grasp than the gospel of Christ. Go figure.  I knew I would struggle with finding out what they knew and what they could handle and still push and stretch them, too. Keep in mind that I have a daughter in each grade I teach, too.  You'd think I'd had a little more of an advantage than most teachers.  All my sixth graders have been stretched and stressed with three big writing assignments already, and they are learning how to produce well organized and well thought out papers.  I am so excited about the growth I've seen in just the first three assignments.  I am also so blessed to be able to draw from all my days of teaching Awana counciltime lessons and Sunday school lessons and use them when applicable thoughout my days.  But, for the most part, my days are leveling out; my students are getting comfortable with me as I am with them, too. 

Sure, there are days I want to pull my hair out because they are, well, they are elementary students.  Ten, eleven and twelve year olds for the most part... but they are the sweetest blessings with the biggest hearts.  My girls fit in so well; we are a good match with our schools both the elementary and Regan's high school, too.  Rosalind wants to go to school every day... no breaks.  Regan never wants to come home... until she can't and has to spend the night in the dorms.  Then she realizes how much she needs her mama to help her decompress her day.  And Rayne, well, Rayne is just happy no matter where she is.  My girls are all going through really fun stages right now... good times.

I teach with some really awesome women... women of all ages.  Some new faces and some old friends.  A building full of women and not a snide comment or dirty glare anywhere.  No tension or contempt.  No gossip.  These women are so good.  They are just good.  And that, my friend, is priceless.  I know what you're thinking.... and you fit in?  Yes, usually :)

Home life is different, way different, but it was going to change even without me teaching full-time because of Rodney's change in occupation, too.  It's going very smoothly.  We couldn't have asked for a better transition.  We are both enjoying our work and staying connected emotionally via text, cell phone and our short evenings at home.  Weekends have been busy with us girls cleaning house every Saturday from when I roll them out of bed (somewhere around 9-10am) to noon.  We continue with laundry, and then we play or go and do.  Rodney's Saturdays are usually much shorter work days than normal.  On Sundays we cook and bake for the week, so we can start all over again.  A wrench is thrown in when we are gone for a weekend or extremely busy with something or someone else.  That makes for a very difficult week to follow... we're usually tired and hungry... thank goodness we own enough clothes so we're not naked, too!  Well, almost.  I've spent the first 9 weeks in basically the same three pairs of pants. I'd throw in a couple of skirts and a pair of capris occasionally to try and mix it up a little.  Finally, Friday I'd had enough, so after school I dumped my kids off on friends and ran to the city and shopped for pants.  Hallelujah, I found three pairs in Banana Republic, the very first store I went to. What a blessing.  I almost wept.  But that's my life these days... stock full of small blessings everyday.  I couldn't ask for more.  (maybe a get-a-way with my sweetie.... but that's coming this weekend!)  Cannot wait!

Twins?

Browsing the card aisle at Walgreens this week, (I'm really really bad at keeping up with birthdays...sigh), anyway.... browsing the card aisle I find this card...

Hallmark greeting card 2011

and I think to myself, "Wow, that sorta looks like my grandparents."  I pick the card up and look more closely and think (this time a little louder in my head) "WOW!  This REALLY looks like my grandparents!  This has to be them!  Wow... this has to be!"  I decide to purchase the card. 

Later, at home I pull the picture of my grandparents out of my curio cabinet just to be sure... here are my grandparents in 1965 at Aunt Bunny's farm... somewhere in Iowa, I'm sure.  Didn't everyone originate in Iowa?

Wayne and Valda Ridenour 1965

See why I was blown away?  or is it just me?

What kind of card was it?  I'm not sure.  The greeting inside said, "Bow-chicka-wow-wow!"  I'm still not real sure what that means, but bow-chicka-wow-wow is right when I think about the resemblence.

Here's a shot of the back of the card and a picture of the woman who entered this photo.  I'm guessing she is in her late 60s.  She took this picture when she was 8 years old.  Circa 1945.  My picture is 1965, and I would guess them to be about 20 years younger in her picture... weird.



This changes everything...

Life changing events.  We all have them.  Rarely, but we all pass milestones in our lives- good or bad.  We have to, or we aren't living.  Some are simple, cut and dry rites of passage we all go through at some point.  Some are pure joy, and some are total heartbreak.

Right now I'm reflecting and grieving with hurting loved ones of mine today.  A status on facebook reveals that a family whom we revere is suffering the loss of a baby due to miscarriage after years of trying to conceive again.  It reminds me of how many more out there are dealing daily with the inability to conceive today -again or for the very first time?  I know of at least two more.

A call came yesterday with news of a postponed wedding... just two and a half weeks before the big day.  Regardless if it was the right thing to do or not, it was still a heart wrenching decision to make.  So many dreams of white dresses, tulle and flowers just so, and pews full of those you cherish... must wait for another day.  I'm so proud of her for being obedient to the counsel she's known her whole life but mourning with her as she waits for another day... or possibly not.

Pets are pets.  Whoa, not true.  Every family with a pet has a different degree of intimacy or communion with its animal.  For example, some are farm dogs that have slept on the porch their whole lives while others are sleeping in beds... with you.  Today my aunt is putting her old faithful companion to sleep.  He doesn't sleep in her bed, but he does sleep in her room.  She is a single woman, and this dog she rescued from the pound has been there for her through thick and thin... cancer, heartbreaks, the loss of her mother, retirement, and an 800 mile move across the Heartland.  He was a service dog that brought joy to those in hospitals and rehab centers over the years, and he's been a constant friend for my aunt.  Her heart is breaking today.

Sometimes life changes in a day.  Sometimes we are given the chance to be obedient and make the hard, right choice, and sometimes we have no choice and it all seems so unfair.

Other times, life changes in a day and it's not quite so sudden.  We have time on our side...time to plan and time to adjust.  Retirement days are counted down and finally arrive, babies are conceived and soon are born healthy and usually not a day too soon... at least that's how I felt about pregnancy.  And big questions are popped and vows are eventually exchanged.... even if it takes 20 years to see it through.  Haha!  I waited almost 20 years for that particular wedding last weekend.  And sometimes it's illness lingering and finally a passing from this life.

As you know, we Wherritts are still in a transitional stage at the moment.  Everything we've been waiting on... I don't say this lightly-  we've been waiting on the Lord without knowing what we've been waiting for... for several years now.  At times it was difficult to just "be" and trust that it is right.  But mostly, it was an obligation of ours to follow through and be patient until it was revealed to us.  Through this stretch of time, in looking back, everything has worked for good in its right timing, and we have been blessed beyond belief.... overwhelmingly so.

Next month I go back into the classroom after 14 years of being home with my girls.  I guess, in a way, I'm following them to school... I will have two of my three daughters in class with me throughout every school day.  After enrolling Rosalind and Rayne in Christian education, the school called an asked me to consider coming to teach for a year due to its growing pains its feeling because of a recent growth spurt.  These truly are exciting times for this school with another satellite school established this year and more teachers being added at the parent school.  It's not what I had envisioned myself doing, but I know it's part of the plan.  My heart desires to be in the upper grades, but I see the benefit of beginning again at a lower age level.  It's where I've been for the past several years in Awana and Sunday school, and at home with my own children.  I know these kids. (demographically, not personally)  And that familiarity will be such an asset as I settle into teaching again.

We are called to be peculiar...

"We are called to be peculiar."  This is what one of my very dear and very lovely 70ish-year-old friends says often of us Christians. I love that.

Peculiar... distinctive.  Different from the usual or norm.

What I have found is that the choices my husband and I are making that go against the usual or the norm tend to offend others. We provided our oldest with Christian education- at our tuition expense and our transportation time and expense, and people in our hometown are offended. We're certainly not the first from our community to do this.  But, some of my friends are offended. Many in my church family are offended.  And I'm sure it's going to start all over again this summer when they find out our other two younger children are going to Christian school this fall, too. I don't understand this thinking.  Why do others take our choices so personal?  We're not self-righteous in our thinking or our speech. We don't spew our beliefs on others or treat others who are unlike us, like scum.  We don't even talk about our choices unless directly asked.  We're not trying to sway anyone to join us. Why then are we so offensive to the crowd (our crowd, even) just because we choose to go against the grain? Why are Christians so offensive?  Why is following Jesus so offensive? 

I love getting to know people. Especially one-on-one time with people or families where people share themselves with each other and invest time in one another. Where we actually talk about something besides pop culture... besides football (or whatever sports season we are in), besides reality tv programs...  I don't care about your "team" or your "show".  I don't care about your haircolor or your nails.  I don't care about your new technology gadgets or your new car.  I don't want to be brought up to speed on the latest "news" a.k.a. gossip in town.  There's just so much more to life than this.  I care about you.  I care about what makes you tick.  You are not defined by these things. 

I am peculiar and distinct.  Do you know what makes me tick?  Do you know where my passions lie?  So why are you choosing to judge me or be offended by me when you really don't know me?  You think you do, but really you don't.  When you choose to judge me, you choose to label me and keep your distance and not know me.