Four Years Apart

It is my hope that each human on this planet has one friend (at least) with whom they can enjoy to the fullest extent. A friend with whom no time apart appears to have passed when you're together. A friend who knows your insides and outs- the goods and the bads. A friend that inspires you to become the best version of yourself that you can be. (A friend that inspires you to wear jewelry, after a long-time aversion to it!)

My dear friend Jessica came to visit me in Flagstaff. She and her Army-soldier husband are being stationed in Germany this summer, and Jess wanted to re-visit her hometowns and west-coast friends. They currently live in Alabama (though she'll be the first to tell you how much she hates 'Bama!). The last time I'd seen Jess was at her Flagstaff bridal shower 4 years ago. I met her then-fiancee, Christian, there, and I cried when I got in my car to drive away. We've been friends since we were both 11 years old and her family moved to Flagstaff in our 6th grade year.

We wandered through the halls of our high school, reminiscing of old teachers, friends, and adventures.
She didn't even laugh at my black eye! I introduced her to Sayde and they were instant friends. We talked at long length about animal rescue organizations, and how thankful we are for the pets we have each rescued. I'm motivated to do a lot more volunteerwork with Paw Placement (Sayde's former group) this summer.
Having lunch at Black Bean Cafe downtown - the burritos there are HUGE!

Walking through downtown Flagstaff, pausing in front of the Monte Vista, a historic hotel & landmark.

We wanted pictures with the snowy San Francisco Peaks. A tourist took this picture for us.

We drove all around Flagstaff, re-visiting our old "haunts" and her old houses. This is the house I knew her in the most, just two blocks from where I grew up. I used to walk past her house in the mornings on my way to school (elementary) and pick her up to walk the rest of the way together. We had so many nights of movies and laughter, popcorn and junk food, in the basement. We sat for hours at her mom's kitchen table and enjoyed her family. She'd come over to my house and bake brownies, cookies, and spend the night. We shared an infatuation with Brad Pitt- when "Legends of the Fall" came out, and both despised Julia Ormond with teenage infatuation.

Jessica and I graduated from Flagstaff High School with the class of 2000. Our 10-year reunion is this summer (yikes!). As Jessica will be in the middle of an cross-continental transfer, she won't be able to attend. We arranged a drinks-and-conversation meeting at a wine bar downtown with two of our high school girlfriends.

I had so much fun during your visit, Jessica. I'd gladly take even more days off from work next time you're able to visit. I promise not to laugh at your high-heeled boots during snowy weather. At least not for very long.... :)

I miss you already, dear friend. Thank you so much for visiting. I love you!

Walking, Talking Science Experiment

Before school this morning (while I waited for my car to un-freeze)...

Turning maroon, purple, yellow, and even green in some areas!

Starting to feel like a walking, talking science experiment...

The kids keep asking me if I got into a fight. I tell them that I saved an old lady.

Then, being the lover of truth that I am,

we laugh and I explain that my eye wasn't the result of anything cool -

just that I collided with my dog in the middle of the night.

(I still -secretly- hope they think it's cool that I have a "shiner!")

It does definitely feel like a bruise, all the way down to my eye-socket bone. I'm sure it looks worse than it is, really!

Flagstaff, my hometown, got over 5' of snow in January. The rooves (roofs?) of my favorite bookstore and the ice-skating rink collapsed underneath the weight of snow & rain.

I have probably 100+ pictures of those events - record-breaking in Flag news.

Yet I find time to post about my shiner..... and not real-life events. :)

School is good.

Figuring out the "weak" links of our SpEd Dept. chain,

and trying to create a plan of action to help them be stronger/competent.

Kids are doing great - they work hard.

Roaring through paperwork & meetings like it's no-one's business.

Coming up with as many stories about my eye as I can....... then not telling them. :)

The rest of this week (taking Thursday off) shall be spent with a dear friend visiting from Alabama! She's moving to Germany in April.

She and I did a lot of growing up together, and it's been about 4 years since I last saw her.

I'm really, really excited!
Maybe I'll post about that............ eventually. Ha!

You shoulda seen the other guy!!

SATURDAY

8:30 PM:

Snow starts falling. Weatherman predicted 8-10" of snow. Low visibility on drive home, made it home safely, etc...

SUNDAY

5:10 AM:

Sayde jumped into my bed with me, waking me up rather confusedly.
(She normally sleeps in her own bed at the foot of mine, quite happily and cozily.)
Realized the power had gone out- the clock at my table was flashing "12:00" on and off.
Cellphone told me that it was MUCH too early to be awake. Why's Sayde upset? Sayde is trembling & shaking uncontrollably.
Realized Sayde was freaked out by the high-pitched beeping of the electric/power system re-start that had to be painful to her ears. Its freaked her out in the past.
Many parts of owning a Rez Rescue dog are frustrating- we'll never know all the horrible things she's been through.
I was able to get Sayde back onto the floor next to my bed and laying down. She was still pretty freaked, though a bit calmer.
I fell back asleep...

5:25 AM:

Woken by a very painful collision of something sharp and rock-hard hitting what I thought was my forehead. All I knew was that it H.U.R.T.!
I yelped- loudly.
Realized that Sayde had leapt again onto my bed.
The "rock" I'd felt colliding with my head had been her skull hitting my skull, the "sharp" I'd felt had been her claw hitting my EYE.
Sayde's in my bed, in my arms, trying to get as close to me as she can. She is trembling and shaking.
Felt liquid running down my face- I thought it was tears.
Turned on the light, learned that the liquid was actually blood.
Grabbed kleenex and went downstairs (stumbling very sleepily down the stairs.)
Woke up my mom and told her that my eye was bleeding, she then helped me look at my eye.
Took 2 ibuprofen to help the rapidly-swelling skin, by then bleeding had stopped.
Mom made me a wet-cold compress to hold to my eye, I trudged back upstairs as I was still very sleepy.
Cold compress held against my eye by a pillow arrangement, I fell back asleep very quickly. Slept until 10:15...

11:00 AM:

My mom drove me to my eye doctor's clinic.

Dr. K. is a wonderful, wonderful man. He's helped me a LOT these past few months.
I've dealt with the onslaught of eye issue after eye issue, after eye issue - since April.
Pinkeye, then a burst blood vessel that turned my whole eye red (no white at all), then a scratched cornea, and a clogged tear-duct.
All the while battling a sudden allergy to the brand of contacts I'd worn for 3+ years.
Countless prescriptions and appointments (including some emergency visits on weekend days!)


We love Dr. K. Dr. K. examined my eye.
Sayde's claw scratched the sub-surface of my eye; the pink poofy stuff you see when you pull your lower eyelid down. Between the eyelashes and the white of the actual eye-ball.

Amazingly- Sayde's claw did NOT scratch my eye!

He checked my vision, which was just fine, we already knew. He wanted to just be sure. He gave me a free tube of medical eye-glue-stuff (again, free = we love Dr. K.)

The skin around my eye is very swollen - it looks like I have grapes under neath my skin (but feels like golf-balls). Another blood vessel has burst (caused by Sayde's head colliding with my eye), slowly turning my eye red once more. The bruising is becoming more and more purple... throbbing. I look like I tried to take on Mike Tyson and lost miserably.

I know she didn't hit me on purpose.

I know she didn't mean to hurt me.

She keeps trying to lick my cheek below the swelling, like she wants to make it better again. It's like she knows.

I still love my sweet puppy so very, very much...

...but OW.

Due to the constant eye issues I have dealt with, we have dubbed April 2009-?? ... "Year of the Eye." Believe me, I'm ready for this 'year' to END.

Not bad for a girl's first shiner, huh??

My sister told me I should use the line, "You shoulda see the other guy!" She also suggested I tell people I saved a baby from a runaway horse. Or was attacked by a swarm of rabid vampire bats. Or that I got into a fight and won! :)

My 7th graders are going to LOVE this when they see me tomorrow morning!! Oh great... Maybe I *will* tell them that I won the fight... I actually might be "cool" for once in my life! :)

From Kolkata (Calcutta), India to Flagstaff, AZ, US

I received a very pleasant surprise in the mail today!

I received a letter from Asmoni, the 7-year old little girl from India that I am sponsoring through Children International!!

Her letter was handwritten in pencil, written in Indian (Bengali?)- it has erase marks and delicately-formed symbols that represent her language. I couldn't begin to translate it myself, as it doesn't use the typical symbols that many languages use for letters.

Thankfully it has been translated into English!!

"Dear Ms. Epperson

I welcome you to the sponsorship programme. I go to school chatting and enjoying time with my friends. I hope you all are well . We are all fine. I study in grade 3 and I like to read Bengali books. I love my brother. I love to eat meat. I like to dance when I listen to songs. I love red colour. My mother tells me stories. I am very happy to know that you are my new sponsor friend. I thank you for it. I send you my love and regards.

Yours lovingly

Asmoni Khatun"

These two surveys were on the back-side of her letter:

I also received a (separate) heartfelt letter from the director of the local agency where Asmoni receives her benefit from. There are 24,000 children alone in the Sahay agency. Wow.

It absolutely amazes me how a piece of paper can carry with it so many happy dreams- and through such a distance! It tickles me "pink" to know that this very same piece of paper has been physically placed in her hands - and now is in mine. From Kolkata to Flagstaff. Amazing.

I know the human race has been exchanging written correspondance for centuries... I will say, though, this has been one of the most impacting letters I've ever received. It's hit me, or is starting to, that my monthly donations are truly REACHING someone. Someone who loves to dance and read. Someone who loves red. Someone who will now have access to better education, medicine, and a friend in America.

Most people would say how lucky she is -- Really, though, how lucky I am!

Holidays & "Holland"

Good night 2009... Good morning 2010!

Hopefully this year will see me become more diligent about posting! Ha! (don'tholdyourbreath!)

Christmas was good- Mainly enjoyed time spent with family & friends. We had some family stay with us for mini-vacations and we also hosted a cookie-decorating gathering. It was messy- and delightfully fun!

I spent precious time holding baby twins that are just a few weeks old. I got to play with an expensive, fancy camera as I tried my hand at taking holiday-card photos for my cousin & her family. I loooooved the feel of the heavy camera in my hand! I enjoyed seeing 3 films in theaters ("Invictus," "New Moon," and "It's Complicated.") I certainly enjoyed the greasy, butter-and-seasoning flavored popcorn even more than the films themselves! I enjoyed staying awake until 2 and then sleeping until 10...11:30... even 2! I enjoyed retiring my alarm clock for the past two weeks.

I enjoyed having a cup of coffee and conversation with a good friend as he returned from Peace Corps in China. My parents and I enjoyed a road-trip through Southern Arizona, through non-spectacular towns of Hayden, Winkleman, and Superior on our way to visit relatives in Oro Valley. My aunt & uncle just moved down there- it's a neat area. Enjoyed the amazing, freshly-made-still hot- tortillas from the best tortilla maker in the world! My relatives' new home is against the Catalina Mountains, which actually were very beautiful! It was a short-notice trip (we decided to go & left within 2 hours of deciding) but it was very enjoyable. I'm looking forwards to exploring the area further on future visits!! (Also visiting Mrs. Dawn, hopefully!) I enjoyed "ringing in the new year" with family & a family friend. Enjoyed time in the woods with a cousin & his girlfriend. Enjoyed reading beautiful holiday letters and cards from dear friends (and wondering why we can't get mail like that year-round?) There was a lot of Enjoyment to be had. So much to be thankful for- and I am. My life is pretty ordinary to me, but am lucky to know that it is so rich compared to some...

I didn't enjoy having to spend $100 on a new power-cord for my laptop, as my old one called it quits. I didn't enjoy becoming restless and truthfully, bored, as I laid around the house. Sure, I read delicious novels & watched entertaining films. But I missed the stimulation and conversation that working with 12-yr olds brings to my daily life. Needless to say, I was a very happy teacher this morning (after adjusting to the alarm waking me at 5am, of course)- happy to be back in my "teacher" shoes once again.

**********************************************************************************

While reading my daily blog rounds, I found story posted by Cayman's mama that I -yes- enjoyed. It's about perspective in relation to special needs children. I plan to type this out in a nice font or something, and put it up somewhere in my classroom. Probably on my happy-thoughts wall. :) (What? You don't have a happy-thoughts wall? I suggest that you get one!)

Welcome to Holland

by Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine, and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for awhile and you catch your breath, you look around... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills... and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts!


But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, very lovely things... about Holland.

Final thought (for today) from Lindsey:
I'm thankful that I GET to go to Holland every day. I'm thankful that I LIVE in Holland withinin my own everyday living. I'm thankful that I have a wonderful group "tour-mates" which are my family & friends. I'm grateful that I get to show my students how to find the beautiful things that are in Holland. -- Thank you, Holland!

I'm optimistic for 2010, even if I'm not positive how to pronounce it!
Is it "two thousand and ten," "two thousand ten," or "twenty-ten"???!

New holiday flavor! I had a hard time deciding which "flavor" I'd use, there are so many creative (and cute) layouts!! Best of all- they're free!

www.thecutestblogontheblock.com

Children's International

Meet Asmoni.

(I believe her name is pronounced "Osh-monee" - with the pronounciation help of a friend in India)

I fell in love, instantly, with her bright eyes and wide smile. What a gentle soul she appears to be!

Asmoni is 7 years old and lives in Calcutta, India - one of the poorest regions in the world. Over 4.5 million people live in the city of Calcutta.

Asmoni is sister to brothers Rohit (9 yrs old) and Rokhi (2 yrs old). Asmoni's father is a tailor, earning the family $43/month to live on. Over 60% of this income is spent solely on food. Asmoni's mother is a homemaker. The family lives in a one-room house with a wood burning stove and one wooden bed to sleep five people. The home is constructed of split cane walls, a tile roof, and mud floors. Asmoni's access to water is through a community pump and sanitary facility exists in an open field.

Asmoni is currently 3 feet 6 inches tall and weighs about 30 pounds. She does attend school and enjoys learning languages. Her favorite hobbies include playing with dolls, playing hide and seek, and drawing. She speaks Bengali.

I learned of this organization, Children's International, through research I did on the internet. Their funds support education and nutrition, primarily. While I'm not an ambassador or paid commercialist, I did want to share that I made the decision to sponsor Asmoni. I have so many more material and superficial items than she will ever see in a lifetime, and I can contribute to make one person's life better- even if only by a small fraction.

Because she is now sponsored, she has a team of doctors , teachers, and professionals who look out for her and look after her. She will receive healthcare and medicine, dental care, nutritional assistance, and educational support.

I can spare a small amount of money each month. I know that I have a comfortable bed, electricity, and food each day. I have a job that pays more than Asmoni's father ever will see. I KNOW that I am making a difference in her life, and her family's life.

I am putting together a holiday box to mail her, as well as a letter. I've already received a sponsorship kit and photograph of Asmoni (above) from the company. In a few weeks, I should receive a letter from Asmoni as well as a translated version. I look forwards to learning more about her culture and life. I look forwards to written correspondance over the years, and eventually watching her grow and develop. I look forwards to putting together special-occasion packages and mailing them to her in India. I had so much fun shopping for this little girl recently!

I am so encouraged at having this opportunity to give to someone else. To help and be a part of something positive, and that will benefit for a lifetime. Humbly, I would like to encourage you to also consider making this choice for yourself.

Truthfully? I am SO excited!!

Visit www.Children.org for more information. :)