I Love This Gym

Tonight we celebrated our basketball teams.  I love the Red and White Scrimmage.  I love seeing old friends, eating HUGE cinnamon rolls, slurping up chili topped with cheese and Fritos and sipping on sweet tea.  I love looking at all those bake sale yummys...and buying a few.  Some were snapped up before I got a chance to grab them.  But most of all....I love our gym.

Now wait a minute!  I know that several of you who read this will groan and shake their heads in disbelief.  " Jane", you will say, "are you out of your everlovin' mind?  How can you say this?"

I know.  I know.  This gym was not exactly brand new when I arrived here to teach in 1977.  But it was better than the gym I left in Winona!  But that is a story for another day..or maybe not.

Anyway.  Here are my reasons for loving the GHS gym.

It is a place where we all can gather and celebrate our young people.  I look around and see faces I have known for 42 wonderful years.  They were ball players then.  Running up and down that court.  Making baskets.  Guarding the forwards. Racking up the points.  Fouling out.  Coaches red in the face.  Encouraging.  Yelling. Full of vim and vigor and life.

Today I see their kids...and grandkids doing the same thing.  Jumping. Tearing down the floor.  Making that unbelievable three-pointer.  Grabbing a rebound and passing it back for another try at the basket.

My daughter played here.  I wasn't a calm and cool parent.  Everyone knows that I can yell with the best of them.  And sometimes I even yodel.

Our gym is not senior citizen friendly.  There is no place to park a wheelchair or walker.  And if you have sore knees and backs, those bleachers from heck are just that.  But....I manage to step-step up to the top row where I can lean against the wall...and step-step down at the end of the night.  It is painful.  But worth it.! 

Worth it!  How in the world can it be worth it?

Because I can sit there and smile and laugh and hug and talk with people who are so near and dear to me.  I can chuckle at the babies.  Meet new family members.  Catch up with what is going on in our small town.  And watch some amazing young people do things down there on that ball court that I would LOVE to do right now.  

I know that we need some changes in the gym.  I know that our community has difficulty raising the levy for school improvements.  And passing bonds is equally hard.  Our school board, citizens' committees, administrators have all done the best they can with what they have to work with.

But golly folks, let's smile once in a while and be grateful for what we have.  Hard work and years of careful management have kept things in pretty good shape.  

So it boils down to this.  I know that sports are not the be all and end all of life.  But they do one thing for a community such as ours.  It brings us together to celebrate something  we can all agree on.  Our life here in a part of the world where being a good neighbor means so much.  Seeing our kids grow strong and motivated to do better.  And reaping the rewards of a that good life.

And this is why I love this gym.

Freedom, Sweet Freedom

Yesterday, when I went out to sweep my porch, I heard the cry of an eagle overhead.  Rushing to look over the railing and up to the sky I could see three of them, soaring above me, riding a thermal, sun shining on their wings.  The blue above and the outline of these beautiful birds left me standing there for the longest time, mesmerized by their grace and beauty.

What a perfect symbol the bald eagle is for our country.  For our freedom.  We are so fortunate that they are frequent visitors to our area, especially during the times of year when we can appreciate them.  They often sit in the trees over the rivers and ponds, waiting to catch the fish that circle below. 

Long ago when I was in elementary school we often sang that wonderful song that begins "My country 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing..."  Seeing those eagles soaring above me made me think how very fortunate I am to live here.  And how very sweet freedom is.

Freedom to come and go as I please.  No one prevents me from walking or driving down my road.  

Freedom to gather and talk with my friends and neighbors without fear of being arrested.

Freedom to speak my mind.  Freedom to worship where I please.  Freedom to earn a living.  Freedom to own a little patch of ground that I can call my own for as long as I live.  Freedom to choose who will represent me and my needs for the the greater good.  Too often we take this blessing for granted.  We were born to be free. Many times we..myself included..take that freedom for granted.

Seeing those wonderful birds flying across the sky and down toward the valley...looking for a perch above the creek...reminded me just how sweet that freedom is.

Freedom...sweet freedom indeed. 

What About November?

We have just said good-bye to Halloween and all its wonderful celebrations.  Seems as if they start two weeks before the 31st and fill every

day and night until that spooky evening arrives, replete with princesses, armed aliens, and toothless zombies.  Stores are filled with items to buy.  Candy is bought by the car load.  And everyone hopes for good weather to go door to door with bags and little buckets to gather up those Halloween treats.  In my day we also had to do a trick to go with the treat...but that was long ago and in a different time and place.

And now we are ready for....December 25th.  Yes friends.  Let's just skip over dull November and hurry to the end of the year.  Already stores have all that Christmas stuff out...decorations, toys, food, new things to wish for, old things that bring to mind our own holiday memories.  And who doesn't love Christmas?  I do.  My dad was the original Mr. Christmas.  He would celebrate it all year long if it was allowed.  So I am not being a Scrooge here.  Just wanting a lovely month in its own right to get a little recognition.

November honors our military and all those who gave their lives so we could be free.  Think about that.  We used to call it Armistice Day.  Study your history books and you will get a good feeling for what that meant to our country and the world.  So...thank you veterans for all you have done and do for us.   November brings hunting season.  Now who in this area can forget that?  I love the stories and pictures in the paper of hunters old and young who pose with their deer.  Now I know that some who read this will wrinkle their noses and humph with disgust.  So be it.  We have deer and deer in abundance.  That is that.  And close behind deer season is Thanksgiving.  Not a new holiday.  But one that has come to mean several things to different people.  To some it means family and friends gathered around a table full of food.  To some it means serving a festive meal to those who might not have one on that special day.  To others it means driving long distances to celebrate with relatives we see only once a year.  And to others it means football games and cheering on their favorite team.  But Thanksgiving is an important day in and of itself.  Thanks.  Thanks for everything we enjoy in this beautiful country.

And so, please don't let November go unnoticed and forgotten.  It is a full thirty days to enjoy and revel in frosty mornings and brilliant nights full of stars and moonlight.  Time to work and get ready for the coming winter.  A time to reflect on our blessings.  And a time to enjoy just living here, in this corner of the world we call home.