Promise Me

For anyone who has ever experienced the 3 Day you know you get lots of emails with promos or if you join facebook groups you get news feed with tons of items to purchase related to raising money for breast cancer research. This summer I found something I could not resist...not that I don't buy a bunch of other items to keep me pinked out all the time!!!

About four months ago I received an email about a book that would be coming out in September. It was Nancy Brinker's autobiography on the founding of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. I was able to preorder at a discounted price as well as nominate a sister or friend to receive a free cope from the Komen organization. Now I was fortunate to buy my copy with shipping included at $14 but I would pay the retail price any day. I was also fortunate to nominate a dear friend for an autographed copy. My friend will be awarded her copy in October!!!

This book is a wonderful story of how the Komen foundation began as well as how much has gone into breast cancer research throughout history. Most of all it is a story of two sisters growing up together, being there for one another and eventually one honoring another in a way that no one could have ever imagined would become such an inspiration to millions of other people. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good read, to all women (but men as well), and most especially to those who have been effected by breast cancer.

Everyone who knows me knows I am passionate about all things pink. If you have a sister or a friend read this and think about how special all our relationships are to us and ponder whether or not you would make your life's work saving others in the name of your sister/friend!!!

Honoring 9-11

I thought I would honor September 11 by having a story of photos with my experiences related to the World Trade Center site. I have had the privilege of going to NYC several ties and it is one of my most favorite places. I have also had the honor or touring the Pentagon which is something not everyone has the opportunity to do.

Today I hope that once again our citizens can for at least one day stand United as we did on that day. The story of Todd Beamer on United 93 has always been one that has touched my heart but we all remember so much. Let's always remember our policeman, firefighters, volunteer workers, and our service men and women, but most especially today. I hope you enjoy!

My first look at the WTC came in April of 1999 from Liberty Island. It was cold cold April day, but to see those buildings rise above the NY skyline was amazing. Here I stand with two close high school friends, Erica (Hamrick) Warren and Danielle (Burleson)Kennedy. Who would have ever thought back then something so devastating would happen two yeas later.

I will never forget that early September morning in 2001. My roommate and one other suitemate shared a 9:15 class so I got to e first in shower that day. As always once I got out Lindsey followed and I turned on the Today show (Katie was our favorite in those days) Within minutes I was waking Elizabeth up and hurrying Lindsey out of the shower. We were standing there watching it when the second plane hit the towers. We all made it to class only to find out class was cancelled. We continued to watch the coverage in dorm rooms and dorm lobbies. I had the good fortune of attending a Christian university, but most especially on that day. Our chapel service was a moving prayer service that by then included the Pentagon and PA. We had prayer services at churches and really were all in shock. I remeber crying as you watched the news each night and people were pleading to find thee loved ones.

Each yer on the anniversary I remember watching the memorial services, but actually seeing it in 2003 was amazing. At first glance dirt and rubble were still lingering around. Buildings were still bored up from broken glass. You wee hardly able to walk around it and firefighters and policeman (especially) still stood on patrol of the area.

This was the skyline as I saw it in 2003

A flag hung around the cleanup and the steel beams which were left standing in the form f a cross was still visible to see.

A billboard at one end of the site as well as a construction workers cleaning up.

This was a statue at the wax museum in 2003. It was so real looking we bought an 8x10 of it.

The ground was left with a big giant hole. It was amazing how deep it was. they were almost finished cleaning out so they could begin working on the subway system.

Just two years before I remember standing in this same area and just looking up as far as my neck could bend and seeing all building, but on this day two years after 9-11 it was only sky.

This past spring (yet again in April) I was able to go back and visit the site. It was shocking to see how far they had come just six years later. This time I spent time in the church beside the WTC site. This church was one of few building left standing. The graves in the graveyard are leaning, but few marks. It also became a shelter and rescue area. They have so much memorabilia left from 2001.

The bell if you can read it was given to the church and NYC from the city of London. It reminded me of a mini Liberty Bell.

Here lies a fireman's suit who did not survive as well as badges from all the fire departments who came to help with rescue efforts.

Now I have been to the OK city bombing site and it was just as humbling, so when I saw this banner it touched my heart.

If you remember from above I have a very similar picture. Now you can see the subway has been built back and roads are paved. It no time this will be a beautiful area.

here is one of the memorials they have now at WTC site.

Today I hope everyone one remembers those were lost and especially their families who survived. God Bless America!! I leave you with words from America the Beautiful.

America, America

God shed His grace on thee

And crowned thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

The Walk

After some ups and downs with teammates, fundraising and training I am participating in the 2010 Atlanta Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure. This event is a wonderful experience and I could nto pass it up again. Nt to get into drama I will just say things are a go. I am going to really need to get into my training. It seems I have aged some since last year or I am getting out of shape. I seem to have a lot more aches and pains. The fundraising is going well. We are over halfway thee. We have a few events to do, so hopefully we will be finished soon. My teammate is Flori Sweatt. I should have started with her from the beginning, but that is hindsight. I am really excited for the event. I can not believe it is almost here. I am sure I will be talking about it more in teh next few weeks!!
Our team is "Two Pink chicks" The following is the back of one of our t-shirt we sole to raise $$

Back to School

For over a month we have been back to school. I began my seventh year at Forest Hills. Things have started off well. We have some precious new children and it is wonderful to see all the older children. I am still getting used to being back in school and getting into a routine. We have had our ups and downs, but we all make it through with laughter and great friendships. I could not ask to be in a better place than on "The Edge" I would love to tal more about my job, but confidentiality revents that, so jut take my word for it!!!

Summertime

My summer was not really spectacular but I enjoyed it so that is really all that matters. In June I worked with Extended School Year. I was able to see soem the students I work with year round, but also met some wonderful new children. I do enjoy woring at summer school but in July I am glad for a short break. Also this past June I had to renew my teaching certificate. For the easiest way to do that was to take an class at UNA. Silly me thought I would be better off taking an online class. There was only one class left at UNA that I could take which was strangely enough Intro to Disabilities. Mind you I have a Masters in special education, btu when I started my masters I did not have to take this class because I had an undergraduate degree in special education. It was a great refresher course, but online classes are a whle LOT of work. I enjoyed my professor Dr. Hulsey. She has a intrestig story and I recommend anyone taking her classes. Needless to say everyday after I work I went home to do school work on teh computer or reviewing movies. I found a little time to lay by th epool and hang out, but not too much.
July was absolutely relaxing. If I wasn't by the pool, I was i teh hammock. I got some cleaning done and of course caught up with those Golden Girls and Who's the Boss. Sometimes it is nice to just stay home and have quiet time!!!

NYC in Spring

This past April I made the trip to one of my favorite cities!!! I absolutely LOVE NYC!!! I never miss an opportunity to go to the Big Apple. My cousin Hudson was playing with his high school band at Carnegie Hall. The trip crew consists of Tim, Pam, Hudson, Bailey, Mrs. Real, Toni, my mom, and of course me. I will not get into all the details, but I will say we had a wonderful time I never get tired of seeing the sites in New York. We were only there for a short time so we had to cram a lot in like four days.

We traveled by plane, boat, subway, taxi, rickshaw (via bike) and bus. The harbor cruise took us ALL around the island. The tour guide and boat were part of the Hudson plane crash recovery, so he had fascinating stories to tell. We used the tour bus to travel each day because it ended up being the cheapest to get around town teh quickest each day. We went in one direction each day. Great food consisted of Fiorellas, Roxy, Mickey Matnles, street food, great maret for bfast each day, Magnolia Baery and of course Serendipity. We saw Mary Poppins on Broadway, did some major shopping and walked our feet off. There are so many things to talk about and so little time.

I will include a few pictures but the main group them can be found on my facebook page. Hope you enjoy!!!

YMCA

As 2010 began the Forest Hills faculty and staff decided to have our own Biggest Loser contest. Since I am a huge Biggest Loser fan (thanks Lisa) and I am all about competitions...I was all in. Knwoing this going into the hlidays I ate whatever I could get my hands on...why not enjoy while I could. I stayed in the top 3 and ended up getting second by only a small percent. I did all the crazy diets like the uAB 3 day heart diet to detox, the Dr. Oz six meal plan, and exercise ALL the time. After Charlotte's death exercise became my therapy. I ran in the morning (until the deer incident), moved around all day at work, rode a bike, lifted weights, did eliptical, steam room and walked every afternoon until it was time to go hoe and get ready for bed. By teh end I was exhausted but lie I said helpful therapy.

My gym of choice is the Shoals YMCA. I love it there. I like the more fmaily atmosphere...I say that and next week some screaming kid in play area will driv eme crazy. I am not really into classes, but more of a loner. I enjoy puttin gon my headphones and relaxing or catchign up on my TV while I do the eliptical. I did lose about 15 pounds but alas I have gained almost all of it back. Like most resolutions after the Spring I got lazy about going to the gym.

LONG Time No Blog

It has been quite a lng time since I have blogged. I thought I would be better at this, but I guess life gets in the way sometimes more than you can ever imagine. Ten months have come and gone while my blog has sat here idle. It is obvious I am not really followed by a lot of people, but maybe I can get back into this full swing and attract some readers.
I guess I will try to catch you all up on some happenings in my life. For the sake of length I will try to split this into a couple of blogs. After the recap I will get back to the randomness because I already have some random thoughts I would like to discuss.
My last blog was was my momentous chat with teh Palin family and holding little Trig. That was the week of Thanksgiving 2009. THe holidays were a little different this past year. Looking back I have to say they were some of th emost memorable, but maybe the saddest I hope to ever have.
In one of my frist few blogs "Friend of Mine" I talked about my dear frined Charlotte and her battle with cancer. Shortly after I completed the 3 Day walk Charlotte took a turn for the worst. She reached the point of being confined to her home with hospice anf family caring for. The holiday season was spent with weekly visits to Hamilton to spend time with Charlotte. I went ot Hamilton more than I have sinc emy parents moved away. She was very weak, but we had some of the most powerful conversations in that short time. It was so difficult seeing her so weak, but being able to have that closure and say things we wanted to say was definitely a gift from God. Charlotte passed away on Jan. 28, 2010. .She almost made it to the Super Bowl she so longed to see. Her death was extremely hard on me. I still on occasion have my days, but most of the time I can listen to a Rod stewart song and luahg or just reflect on our wonderful memories we shared. The funeral service was uplifting, funny and of course tearful. Charlotte will always be a art of me. She is a part of who I am . I want to close this blog with a cop of a speech that a friend presented at her funeral.

The Magnum Opus of Charlotte Rich

By Cassius Johnson

January 30, 2010

I would be remised if I did not start with verse.

Whan that Aprill with, his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour.
Whan Zephrus eek with his sweete breth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes; and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe coursy ronne.

We still know that the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales. Three generations of this community know these verses written at the end of the fourth century in Middle English by Geoffery Chaucer. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories told by a band of pilgrims visiting the shrine of Saint Thomas Benedict at Canterbury. As was the custom, stories were told often with great theater, the primary form of entertainment of the time. It turns out that the prologue that we learned to recite is a beautiful description of the breaking of Spring. Chaucer describes April showers and their rich power that cause the flowers to bloom. He described the air as sweet with birds singing and the constellation Taurus visible in the night sky as the pilgrims start their pilgrimage to Canterbury.
Today is not Spring. And before this cold Winter day, learning the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, and Shakespearean Sonnets and lines from Macbeth ("Out, out brief candle”), and John Donne (Oh, how I do love John Donne. His sonnet “Death Be Not Proud” has given me great comfort the last couple of days.), these were among the hardest assignments that Mrs Rich gave. If you remember she had no deep affection for American literature. She was a romantic and loved the rhyme, technique, and the craft of English literature. For us, learning classic English literature was a rite of passage and a capstone education experience at our dear ole Alma Mater (“Hamilton High, Hamilton High, All hail!”).
Mrs. Rich first asked me to speak at her homegoing service just over four years ago. When she went into hospice care last month she reached out to alert me that the time was near. We all knew that the time would come, but when I heard the words come out of her month I started to cry. She quickly told me to stop it. I could not help but to chuckle and wipe the tears from my eyes. I replied, “yes ma’am” and explained to her that standing before you today would be the hardest assignment she had ever given me. There was a pause as she summoned the energy and the oxygen to state clearly, “Tell them that.”
My friends, this is hard. Today is a difficult day. There is a feeling of great and deep sorrow that hangs over this congregation today. But let me remind you that in spite this, today is a celebration.
Today I stand before you to speak in celebration of the life and endearing legacy of the woman I affectionately called Lady Rich. It’s funny. She wrote in one of her online journal entries that each time she talked with me, she would hold her head just a little higher or maybe not so much higher as with a regal tilt. “He calls me ‘Lady Rich,’ she wrote, “and when he does, I feel like royalty. I remember that I am the daughter of a King,” a child of God.
And she was. She was a lady. She was as Maya Angelou wrote a phenomenal woman. Seldom does one person aspire to have and realize such an impact on the lives of so many people as Mrs. Rich did. This congregation abounds with memories and stories of this great lady.
Can you hear them? Well, can you?
Can you hear her voice in our memories and in our stories?
There are countless memories of engaging conversations, as she was a curious intellectual that took great pride in her humble small town roots and values. Yet there was nothing small about her intellect or her worldview. We all have had conversations where she put in front of us nuggets of wisdom that quiet simply sent our thinking in a different direction.
There are many stories of being challenged by Mrs. Rich the teacher who never lowered her expectations for any of us. Even when we fell short, her firm and gentle affirmations would prevail upon and push us. As she proclaimed “I am no super teacher, just one who has been blessed to teach what I love to those I love.
”Teaching was her profession and one of her many passions. She was also passionate about America, Alabama, and Hamilton. And when I say Alabama and Hamilton, I mean that state and our town, as well as the Crimson Tide and the Aggies.
She was also passionate about music, especially Rod Stewart. Her favorite song was “Have I told you lately that I love you?” “You fill my heart with gladness; take away my sadness; ease my troubles, that’s what you do.”
She was passionate about God, our savior Jesus Christ, and about prayer. Over the last 10 years she knew that she had an entire community praying for her. It was those prayers and the sincere love of those who prayed that emboldened her to wage a most valiant of fights against the “Beast” she called cancer.
She was passionate about her son Colin. Colin, you should be at peace. She loved all of us, her kids, but especially you she loved unconditionally. She never missed an opportunity to say how much she loved you and how proud she was of the man you are and will become. Our prayers are with you and your entire family. May peace be with you.
Most all of us here today have spent the last 48 hours in reflection. We have called friends and classmates to reminisce and share memories and retell stories. We have looked through the Agi-H-Eco, even re-reading the message she wrote to us in our senior yearbook. We looked through our own picture albums and old emails. These are among the things people do when we lose someone we love-- we reflect. We yearn to surface and hold onto those memories and stories that time attempts to leave behind. In her own wisdom Mrs. Rich left a gift for us all in the form of a journal on the Caringbridge website that she started over a year ago. I sat Thursday evening and read through her numerous entries.
You actually go back in time as you read through the journal creating the sense that as you read she is getting better. She wrote about many of you, including “her girls,” her closest friends in the world. She wrote about Mrs. Ruth Palmer, one of her mentors another phenomenal woman who also touched my life and the lives of so many others at Hamilton High and Bevill State.
She quoted great works of literature that she loved—John Milton, John Keats, John Donne, Emily Dickinson and Kahil Gibran who wrote: "Your children are not your children; they come through you but not from you; you may house their bodies,but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams."
The last passage on the webpage, which was also the first passage she wrote in her journal was distinctly Charlotte Rich. She wrote: I do want to dispell a rumor that is circulating-I have only six months to live. No doctor has ever told me that; I haven't asked! I will live, as you will, until it is time for me to die. Maybe keeping this journal of facts will help distinguish fact from fiction.Have a blessed day,Charlotte
I encourage you to read her words online. Those writings are among the gifts she has left behind for us. They will lift you up, make you cry, and appreciate the little things in life that we far too often take for granted.
The outpouring of the emotions since her death is best seen on the facebook page created by Daniel Stidham in honor of Mrs. Rich. In less than 48 hours more than 1200 people have joined, many of whom have left reflections on the wall. The facebook page has grown into a powerful testimony to her influence on our lives. Charlene Johnson’s posting was moving. She wrote: Mrs. Rich was a lady. From her flipped out hair to her tights she had to wear, she was a lady. She never waivered- the woman you met in the morning was the same one that left in the afternoon. She pushed and shoved, but it was only to straighten and strengthen us - we were "her kids". She knew every one of us - even years later - by name, and never hesitated to stop and hug and catch up whenever we happened upon each other. She was someone you wanted to please, someone you wanted proud of you. And she was proud of each and every one of us because she loved us for who we were. We were "her kids".
Charlene, if you are here, well stated. I believe all Mrs. Rich’s kids agree.
Before I say my final words, I pray Mrs. Rich’s forgiveness for crossing the Atlantic Ocean and quoting the writings of the American author E.B. White.
E.B. White wrote the story of another lady named Charlotte (Cavatica) who spun in her webs the words that saved Wilbur’s life. At the end of Charlotte’s Web, Charlotte is speaking to Wilbur after completing her sac of eggs. She explains to him: You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that.
Wilbur asks Charlotte what’s in the sac laying to her side that looked somewhat like a deflated balloon. She replied,
This is my egg sac, my magnum opus, my great work, the finest thing I have ever made.
We are Mrs. Rich’s Magnum Opus, her great work. We, her son, her friends, family and hundreds upon hundreds of her kids who sat in her classroom are her greatest work. Through us and in us, Charlotte Rich will live on through the years. So as we leave here today, let us continue to share. Let us never forget our memories. Let us allow her passion and spirit to live, in our walk, in our talk, in our every action. We are her Magnum Opus and through us Charlotte Rich shall live.
I conclude by quoting from what our faith regards as the greatest book ever written—the Bible. The last two verses of Proverbs 31 read: 30 Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her works praise her in the gates.
Let there be praise in the gates for Charlotte Rich. That is our prayer.Amen.