~and there you will find it~

Mike and I took a short day trip yesterday to the great state of Oklahoma, something pretty easy to do when your home in Texas is just 5 minutes from the border across the Red River.  We visited the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur and both of us felt that it was more than worth the 100 mile one way drive to get there.  This is my "shameless plug" for them.  If you have never gone to it, please try to make the journey there some time in the future.  You won't regret it.

In my life on the east side of the great Continental Divide, 58 out of the last nearly 60 years, I've been around the influence of the plains Indians.  Yet even having said that, I didn't realize just how much there was that I didn't know about them until we went yesterday.  It was a great reminder to me of something that I have felt forever in my heart.

I intend to keep learning new things every day of my life.  Until my last day I shall say this.

We took several pictures along the way of different things that were of interest to us and learned about the Chickasaw Nation at every turn.  It was one of the trips that made you say that you would like to come back once again to see all of the things that you were sure you must have missed.  There was that much!

But perhaps the very greatest of ideas that I took away from this all was gleaned from listening to one of the dancers on stage in the auditorium who told of the ways of his Chickasaw people.  He told of how very crucial it is to remember the past and the people who went before you.  He spoke of an idea that I have held fast to for many years now as he told us all.

Do not ever forget where you came from.  Remember always those who sacrificed it all before you even arrived.

And  I do.
Always.

In my classroom at school I have everything pretty much ready to go for tomorrow's first day of the school year.  Books are neatly stacked upon the shelves.  The old science tables that I will be using are laden with dry erase boards and markers, pencils and erasers, and sticky notes by the 100's.  My desk is set up and kind of/sort of neat for now.  A computer is hooked up to a smart board and some day I hope to be able to figure out how to use it with ease.  Yet even with all of the "academia" type things, there are several others that mean as much or even more to me in a truly different kind of way.  They are the things of my past and serve as reminders for this school teacher of where I came from and most certainly of the folks who helped to pave my way.

Some people might look at them as knick-knacks but to me they are so much more than that.  They are who I am and who I will always be.

My dear and sweet forever home of Kansas~  
The man in the picture is my father.  He sacrificed everything in order that I could be brought up in a good home and enjoy a wonderful life.  The map behind is really a state puzzle that was made and put together into a frame.  Reno County, Kansas is smack dab in the south central part of it all.

I love plants and collecting pieces of pottery that are of the color blue.  Pictures of my 3 children are there to remind me of the blessing of being their mom.  Growing up a "teacher's kid" is not always easy.  They are my supporters, all the way.  My mother's photo is in a small purple frame to the right of the picture.  She loved hearing about how things were going with my students each year.  Often times she would make them special treats like cookies or cupcakes and then call me to come over and pick them up before I went to school in the morning.  She always told me that she had extra time with nothing to do and plenty of baking supplies on hand.  She really loved children and so do I.

My latest addition to the classroom was the "little library" that Mike made for me.  For about $10 worth of materials and several hours of work, he was able to construct something that can hold paperback books for kids to trade back and forth with one another.  It's not easy to be the husband of a teacher but he rose to the occasion right from the very start.  I will remember the support that he gives me each time I see a child open the little door and choose a book to have for their very own.

And to "the 20" and all of my friends and colleagues back on the other side of the big mountain in Olathe, Colorado.  This jar of stones and pebbles that are on my desk will always represent in my heart the love, care, and kindness of a whole lot of friends and family.  It was a great two years together with them.

You know, I was glad for the reminder from that Chickasaw warrior yesterday.  He was most certainly right and true.  Remembering where you came from should be at the top of everyone's personal list of things to do each and every day.

You will find it there on mine.