Hello Friends! Happy Summer! When a person decides to become a teacher, they must take into account the stress, low wage, and overwhelming responsibilities that are attached to that profession. Having said that, June and July are the months that allow us to re-evaluate that decision and leads us back to the classroom in August. I am now accustomed to sleeping until 8:00, walking in the morning, and spending at least 2 afternoons a week in a pool floating around getting a tan! Ah, summer!
Last weekend, I went to a rodeo. Yes, a rodeo. I have been to one previously, when Andrew was young, but I found that I am really, really clueless about anything related to rodeos. It is accurate to say that I got a bit of an education! My friend John and his family invited me to go to the LaBelle rodeo and I was glad to get the opportunity. See, they love horses. John's brother and his family and John's parents have enjoyed rodeos and horse shows for years. We sat front and center, where I could see everything, and we all enjoyed it. The weather was pleasant, the company friendly, and the experience was very nice. As I sat and watched everything that was going on around me - there was quite a crowd - I noticed one thing. There were lots and lots of families that were attending this together. Mothers and fathers with children young and old. Grandmas and Grandpas, neighbors and school friends were all happily chattering away and having a fun time. One young family sitting next to us had the cutest little boy - probably 3 or 4 years old - who was wearing his cowboy hat, boots, and spurs. He was adorable! I smiled a lot that evening, and even though I am quite sure I will never be a rodeo aficionado, I truly enjoyed every minute of my time there.
It made me think about families. John's family shares a love of horses, the land they farm, and each other. My family had other passions. When I was in high school, I was "pushed" out onto the tennis court by my parents my freshman year. It's not that I didn't want to play tennis, I just hadn't ever played it before. At that point, my entire family became tennis players. We played several evenings a week, my parents drove us to tournaments in the summer, and my father and I even entered tourneys as a mixed doubles team. That became our "thing". By the time my sister and brother were older, they became swimmers as well. My family traveled many-a-mile to swim clubs all over Missouri and southern Illinois. I know families that do many different activities too. In fact, whether it is basketball, baseball, soccer, dance, pageants, music, racing, swimming, rodeos, bowling, church, basket collecting, or anything else, the common denominator is family. It doesn't matter WHAT you are doing, the key is that you are doing it TOGETHER! As a child, that often seemed a bit smothering. I know Andrew sometimes wishes he could do more things alone, independently, but these are the things that family memories are made of. I can't remember a lot of the things I did with friends when I was a teenager even though I had awesome friends. I do, however, remember the tennis I played with my father, the swim meets we attended together, the music recitals and concerts we participated in, or the Longaberger events I traveled to with my mother. I see a lot of students pass through my classroom door each year. There are many things that affect the success of a child, but the single most important variable is the relationship those students have with their family, and how that family spends their time together. Supportive loving family = Successful happy kids!
I am very fortunate to be blessed with a very supportive loving family and my most important objective in life is to provide that for Andrew as well. Every family is different, or course, but I do believe the saying is true - The family that plays together, stays together. Go out and PLAY with your family! :) Until later - Just Julie
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