The Ultimate Compliment!

So many of the events that have happened since I have moved to Douglas in my new position, are not things that I can write about on my blog.  I think that may be one of the reasons that I haven't written a whole lot over the past few months.  Living here in Douglas with Teresa and learning a new job and reconnecting with people has been quite an experience.  I haven't had a whole lot of time for other "things" in my life.

Although I know many people here, it has taken me several months to make connections and to reconnect.  I have mentioned in previous entries that it has been amazing to me how fast the trust has come for me in my new position.  I never in my wildest dreams thought that would happen so quickly.  

With education cuts happening all over the country, this is certainly a very trying time.  It seems that our country, and particularly Arizona, doesn't value the importance of public education and what it has meant to the U.S.
 

So the past many weeks has been spent trying to develop a budget that will have the least impact on our students and on our staff.  Our district is a large employer in the community and we have a lot of great support from the community.  The faculty and staff in our district are incredibly dedicated and I continue to be in awe of what is accomplished in this poor, border town.  Our kids are amazing, too.  It says so much about the sense of community that exists here.

Today our leadership team met with certified and classified representatives to discuss recommendations that are going to be made to the Governing Board next Tuesday.   We have been able to find a way to make cuts as painless as possible.   

I firmly believe that we have to involve all of the stakeholders in decision making.  So as I went through the good, the bad, and the ugly of what we will be proposing, one of the classified participants looked at me and said, "You are Margaret!"  This man served on the City Council and knew my mom.  He had told me one other time that I sounded like her, but when he said that today, I took it as the ultimate compliment that anyone could give to me!!  And I truly believe that is exactly how he meant it....

I have thought all evening how to put this into words.  I don't know if I can express the depth of emotion that those three words brought to me.    I can only hope that I can be half of the kind of person that Margaret Shannon was.  I have always been proud to be her daughter, but to have those words uttered today..........all I can say is WOW!!

  

Alice Walker says "My Mother handed down respect for possibilities--and the will to grasp them."  Those words have a powerful meaning to me.  I hope I will continue to have "the will to grasp those possibilities."  

There is not a week that goes by that someone doesn't say something to me about my mom.  It continues to happen.  I know that she would be proud that I am here now.  But more important than that, I am proud to be in this wonderful community.  Hopefully, I can give something back to this community.  I am grateful for the opportunity to be here!!!

Timely Message

At the Arizona School Board Association conference in December, there were two of the most inspiration speakers I have ever heard. Dr. Kent Keith was one of them. He wrote this when he was 19 years old. His words have been used by many influential people over the years. I truly believe in what he says and this has been tested recently. My last post was very timely with some events that happened this past week. I just want to share them as I believe they are very powerful. The other speaker was incredible also. She is probably "the most inspirational speaker I have ever heard!" I will post more about her later. In the meantime, these words are what I believe we all need to live by. I am keeping the wonderful song by Rascal Flatts on this post. Please listen to the words of this song!!!

The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith


People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001

A Very Important Gift

For some reason, I haven't been keeping up with my blog writing like I have in the past. I think I may have a bit of a "writer's block." However, this has even carried over into my love of reading. I haven't read for awhile until this afternoon. Although I am busy, I don't think that is the reason. Maybe the quiet afternoon today without having to go to the valley, Tucson, or any place else and the time I spent actually reading a new book, will help to unlock whatever has kept me from this blog. I hope so, because I miss reading and I miss writing.

I have actually been thinking about writing about this gift for some time now. Maybe trying to make sure that I impart what I want to say has been formulating in my mind and how I will be able to get it down into words...................

Just before Christmas, I went to lunch with our Governing Board President. He was instrumental in me being named the Superintendent of Schools down here. His term of office was up the first of January. He had been an invaluable support for my first six months on the job.

He had a gift bag to give me with some words of wisdom behind the gift. He told me that it was not an expensive gift, but it came with a lot of meaning. So I opened it and found a hunter's compass. Mr. H. is a hunter and he told me that he believes that not only does one need a compass when out in the wilderness, but also in our daily lives.

He said that he has always found that you need to know what direction you are going in and then forge ahead in that direction without deviating. He wanted me to have this gift to help me when times are tough and decisions have to be made.

I was very touched with this gift for many reasons. I know that people in a position of leadership must have a sense of what direction they need to be headed in. John Maxwell said that "A Leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." I absolutely agree with that quote. I also believe that includes the courage to especially "go" the way.

I have thought of this gift over the last few months, but more importantly, I have thought about the words that went along with it.

There have already been many, many decisions that have had to be made--some minor, but many of them have been major. Although I have had to make decisions in my life and career in the past, none have had the potential to impact so many people like they do know.

I have also thought about his words about seeing the direction where you are headed and not deviating from that direction. While I agree with him on this, I also feel that sometimes a detour must be taken in order to get to the final destination. That detour might take me off course for a time, but I also think it provides me time to "see other sights" along the way.

I will always cherish the gift of this compass and the words that went along with the gift. I hope that I will always have the wisdom to know that I am headed in the right direction and the courage to make sure that I follow that path--even with a detour here and there!!

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference."

Passage of Time and Wonderful Memories

I think that one of the hardest parts of growing older, is the fact that all of the people I looked up to growing up and through the years, are no longer here among us. Growing up in a small town, I was so fortunate to have so many people of my mom's generation who have meant so much to me. Coming back to Douglas after all of these years has really brought that home. Going from place to place and seeing homes that I spent a lot of time in over the years but now belong to someone else brings such a feeling of nostalgia. The memories I have are something that I will always cherish!!

A week doesn't seem to go by that I don't hear about the passing of one of these in what Tom Brokaw calls "The Greatest Generation."

On February 6, a great lady left this life after 95 1/2 years--Marge Littrell. Marge is the mother of my dear friends, Elise and Ann. I can't remember ever not knowing Marge. The Littrells lived down the street from us when we were all young. I remember playing "Cowboys and Indians" in the front yard with them. I remember playing in their second back yard which was so cool when we were kids.

When we were in high school, Elise and I teased her mom by calling her Phyllis for Phyllis Diller. My mom's middle name was Olive so we used to always say, "here comes Phyllis and Olive!" They never said a word to us about that and if you knew my mom, you would find that hard to believe.

Marge was very good friends with my mom and Teresa. They were bridge players together for many years. Because of this and the fact that "us kids" were friends, meant that we spent a lot of time together over the years. Last July, I took Teresa to Tucson to celebrate Marge's 95th birthday. She was as sharp as a tack and just as witty as ever!!

Last Saturday, we went to Tucson for a party to celebrate Marge's life. She didn't want a funeral, but wanted everyone to have fun. I love that philosophy. And she would have been thrilled to see everyone there to celebrate her life, just as they were there last July to celebrate her 95th birthday.

Pictures of the Littrell family were all around, along with a lot of "momisms" that Elise and Ann posted. They had a very nice booklet put together with a story of her life.

It concluded with Marge's favorite ditty that she even entertained the nurses at the CCU with. Here it is and I can still hear it being said in Marge's voice:

THE GOLDEN YEARS

I CANNOT SEE, I CANNOT PEE,
I CANNOT CHEW, I CANNOT SCREW,
MY MEMORY SHRINKS, MY HEARING STINKS.
NO SENSE OF SMELL, I LOOK LIKE HELL.
THE GOLDEN YEARS HAVE COME AT LAST,
THE GOLDEN YEARS CAN KISS MY ASS!!

And the final two lines, "Marge will be sorely missed by the many people who loved her. Que vaya bien, Marge!"

I feel so fortunate to have had people like Marge as part of my formative years and then into adulthood. I will miss her!

There is a Chinese Proverb that says, "One generation plants the trees, and another gets the shade."

I am so thankful for the "shade" in my life provided by the elders like Marge Littrell!!

BRRRRRR............................It's Been Rather Cold Outside!!

The weather all over the country has been very cold, but it seems to be the norm in places other than Arizona. Winters in Douglas are always much colder than in Gilbert. I had forgotten how cold it can get here. Daytime temperatures are usually great, but once the sun goes down, it can get rather chilly!

Earlier this week, the weather forecast was calling for extremely low temperatures all over Arizona. And was this forecast ever accurate!!

Thursday morning when my alarm went off at 5:00, I could tell it was very cold. I am so glad to have my electric blanket and the new gas heater upstairs. But even with the heater, it was still cold.

I got up to get ready for work and went to take a shower--NO HOT WATER! Not only was there no hot water, there was no water coming out of the faucet when I turned it to hot. There was plenty of cold water, but with the temperature around 14 degrees, I wasn't quite ready for a COLD SHOWER! So I brought everything downstairs hoping that the downstairs bathroom would have hot water. Too much to hope for I guess..............

So as I was trying to figure out how to wash my hair or at least wet it down enough so that it wasn't sticking straight up all over, I got a call from Edna at the district. Power was out in different parts of Douglas and water pipes were frozen. She didn't have any water either. So I told her I would be at the office in about 10 minutes so we could figure out what to do.

I got to the office about 6:00 a.m. and it was bitter cold. Edna and Bonnie came soon after. Bonnie brought her curling iron with her. At least there was some hope for her!!!

After talking to our maintenance and transportation guys, I made the decision to call off school for the day. We actually have two "snow" days so we were okay with our mandatory days. We then started the process to notify everyone--calling the principals, sending an email to parents, putting it on the website and calling the Governing Board Members. I called the three Tucson television stations and asked them to announce it. When I called Channel 9, the young lady who answered is from Douglas and is a graduate of DHS.

Everything went smoothly considering that we had over 4,000 students and their families to notify. Five of our buses wouldn't start because the batteries were frozen. There was no water in the cafeteria at the high school so no meals could be prepared or served, and various other issues at the other schools.

After listening to the news and all of the power, gas and water outages and the forecast that it wouldn't even be above freezing on Thursday, we made the decision to cancel classes on Friday also. The concern was for when it did go above freezing and what might happen with pipes at our schools. All of our school buildings for the most part are old buildings.

As the day wore on, I was glad to hear that many other districts in southeastern Arizona and in Tucson were also canceling school. This is a big decision that impacts so many people and it came down to me being the one to make that call......

Around 11:30, I got an email from a reporter from Channel 9. She was heading down to Bisbee and Douglas to do a story on our school closures and the weather. She wanted me to be available to be interviewed. I told her that I would love to be interviewed (lie-lie), but I had not had the "opportunity" to take a shower that morning and didn't feel that I should be a representative for Douglas Unified School District under those conditions. She laughed and asked if I could get someone else. In the meantime, I tried to figure out how I could be "presentable." I even tried to call my hair dresser to see if I could get a shampoo, etc. No one answered. I can only assume that they had no hot water either!! So I called our Assistant Superintendent, Bonnie, and told her that she "had to take one for the district." She did an awesome job when it was shown on the 6 o'clock news!!!!

This morning it was a whopping ONE DEGREE!!! I do not think that I have ever been anywhere when it was this cold!!! Right now it is a very warm 48 degrees outside and it actually feels like a heat wave!! It is suppose to get down to 12 or 13 overnight, but the forecast after this looks much better.

The sad thing is that there are broken pipes all over our district. As the day warmed up, the water in many of the pipes broke. It would have been a disaster if we had students at our schools today. Our maintenance guys will be working all weekend and probably longer to fix things. I am hoping that insurance will help as I imagine it is going to be costly.

As for me, still no hot water; still now shower; I actually have been heating water on the stove for various reasons. I am hoping that I will be able to wash some clothes for work next week, but the thing I am most worried about is NO SHOWER!

As I have said before, moving to Douglas has been quite the adventure!!!

"WISHING" THE BEST FOR THE NEW YEAR!

It is 24 days into the new year and I haven't written much in a long time, and much has happened. I have thought about some things to write on my blog, but just haven't taken the time to sit down and write. Writing is usually an outlet for me in so many ways, but I haven't really felt the need lately. Lots of things have gone on in January. Teresa and I had a visit from a wonderful cousin /nephew who we haven't seen in many years. It was so great to catch up with him. He stayed for a week and did all kinds of things around the house. Then a visit from my wonderful (ex) administrator friends from Gilbert with a night in Bisbee and dinner at Cafe Roka and then Douglas and carne asada on Saturday. And this past week, another visit from my cousins from Alabama, Kathy and Lynn. On Saturday, I had a visit from Lorie and Art. Lorie is a wonderful kindergarten teacher at my former school. She and Art were here for a funeral. I am so glad they stopped by. It has been an eventful month!!

On Wednesday I have to go back up to the valley for a budget meeting and a conference on Thursday followed by a new superintendent seminar on Friday. I had hoped to be able to see some of the wonderful friends that I truly miss. I don't ever want to overstep my bounds and interfere with anything that is happening at my old school. It is an incredible place for children, families and staff and I don't ever want to get in the way of anything there.

I am so glad to be here in Douglas. However, I never was able to bring any closure to the 20 years I spent at Gilbert El. The move down here happened so quickly, that there just wasn't a time to make that happen. I love my job in so many ways. The only part of it that I truly miss is the interaction I had with the students (and families). Every time I go anywhere with our assistant superintendent, I am constantly reminded of that. Bonnie was the high school principal and she has wonderful connections with the students she worked with. They absolutely love her!! To me, that is what it is all about and I miss that so much!!

Today, one of my former teachers sent me a story that one of her students wrote. It brought tears to my eyes.... My only regret is not having had the opportunity to say good-bye. These children impacted my life in so many positive ways through the years and I will always have a special place in my heart for them.
I do believe that things happen for a reason...... I just wish I had the opportunity to say good-bye...

I always try to find a song to go along with a post and what I feel. I love this one by Rascal Flatts! The words sum up my feelings for the people who were such an important part of my life for so many years.............

"ARRESTING" Developments May "WARRANT" Concern!

Several years ago before Kerri finished her degree and became a teacher, she worked for a computer/advertising company. It was a very good job and she did very well. The particular product that they were trying to market just didn't quite make it. As a result, she got laid off from that job.

I still remember the day that she came to tell me about it. Because education has always been very important to me, I told her that if she had a degree, this probably would not have happened! Was I ever wrong given how things are today. I now that she wasn't thrilled to hear my "speech" and she was getting ready to leave school. And guess what happened????? Yes, we had a lock down that lasted for two hours and she was stuck with her preacher mom during that time.

She decided to go back to school and was able to get medical insurance through ASU. Cameron needed insurance and in order for me to put him on the district insurance, I had to become his guardian. So we went through the legal process so that he could be covered.

Over the years, I think we had forgotten about this and nothing ever happened. Then in September (according to Maricopa County) I received a letter telling me that I had to fill out paperwork and either stay his guardian or not. With the move down to Douglas, it was lost in the shuffle.

In November, I received a notice saying that I was to appear in court on December 14th along with Kerri and Cameron about whether or not the guardianship would continue.

I have had to go up to the valley way too many times over the last few months between the state committee I still am on and different meetings, etc. I knew that this particular date would not be good as I have another conference in Phoenix on Thursday and Friday. Plus I thought it was the date for my state committee.

After several phone calls and emails, I downloaded what I thought was the appropriate paperwork to file. I filled it out and followed the directions very carefully--or so I thought!! I was told that it needed to be at the Superior Court by December 1st in order for the date to be changed.

I was in the valley earlier this week for meetings and when I got home last night, I saw the envelope that I had sent. Because it was late, I didn't open it until this morning. There was a checklist form telling me that I had not sent it to the correct place and that NOTHING I had sent was any good. I sent it to the Juvenile Court when it is actually a Probate Court case. The problem is that everything on the website said it was Juvenile.

So I very "politely" called and had to leave a message. At least I was able to leave a message because earlier it was busy all of the time. I explained what had happened and waited to hear something. When I hadn't heard anything by late afternoon, I tried email. I got a response quickly and the lady "suggested" that I call her and explain what had happened.

So I called her and very nicely went through everything that had happened since September. I very nicely told her that I knew she probably wouldn't remember having a conversation with me, but that we had talked and she had told me how to proceed. I continued to "very nicely" explain that I was no longer living in the valley and that date was a very bad time for me. She informed me that I could possibly get the paperwork done and to them in order to get a later court date, but I wasn't sure I wanted to take that chance again. I again "very nicely" asked if there was anyway it could be postponed until later that week or the following week. She "not so very nicely" told me that it couldn't because they were very busy and then informed me if I didn't show up on Tuesday, there would be a WARRANT OUT FOR MY ARREST!!!!!!!

I CAN SEE THE HEADLINES NOW!!!!!

Obviously, I have no choice in this matter unless I want to go to Tent City for awhile and wear PINK UNDERWEAR!! So I will once again drive up to the valley after work on Monday and take two vacation days so that I don't have to drive back on Tuesday and then back again on Wednesday for the conference with our new Board members on Thursday and Friday!!

I can tell you those words "warrant out for your arrest" scared the you know what out of me!! All I can think of is all of the awful things that go on and I am going to be arrested for being my grandson's guardian so that he can have health insurance and not filling out the proper paperwork even though I thought I had..........

I wonder how Sheriff Joe feels about PUGS??????