Month: August 2016

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong.  Someday in your life, you will have been all of these.”  George Washington Carver

I graduated from UGA in the spring of 1972 with a BS in Education.  I felt fully prepared to teach any child with the expertise I had acquired.  I was so wrong!!

My first assignment was a fourth grade class at Terry Mill Elementary school in Decatur.  I quickly realized that my training had targeted the “average” child, and these children, through no fault of their own, were as far from average as it gets.

Most of the children came from broken homes.  Many had no parental presence most of the time.  They had witnessed gangs, drugs, robbery, abuse, and murder!  I was at a loss as to how to identify!  Nothing in my training had prepared me for this, and none of the strategies seemed to be working.  Nothing could win them over.  I felt like a total failure as a teacher and a person.

One morning as I was driving to school listening to the radio, I heard a familiar last name connected to a stabbing death that had taken place in the school area.  I knew immediately that it had to be a family member of one of my students.  I had no idea what to do – so I prayed for the answer.

As the class arrived that day, they  were markedly sad, quiet, but quickly confirmed that the victim was their classmate, Nancy’s, brother.  This was devastating to me, and I couldn’t imagine what they must be feeling.

I wasn’t expecting Nancy that day, and I was selfishly relieved,  but she came in late.  When she walked in with a tear stained face, I said nothing but only walked to her with my arms open wide.  She walked into my arms, and we cried together.  When I looked up, all the students were around us crying as well.  Compassion in the face of tragedy.  It bonded us as a class that year when nothing else would.  God answered my prayer in a most miraculous fashion!

“His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning.”  Lam. 3:22-23

“Sometimes we let life guide us, and other times we take life by the horns, but one thing is for sure; no matter how organized we are, or how well we plan, we can always expect the unexpected.”  Brandon Jenner

My mama always taught me that when it comes to cooking,  it’s better to cook too much food than not enough.  In the early months of marriage, I took that advice to the extreme and cooked way more food than the two of us could eat.  This lapse in judgment provided the guys downstairs with dinner almost every night. They were great guys, and they quickly became part of our family.

I was “showering” one evening when I heard two things in quick succession.  First, a loud bang on the bathroom door, followed by Randy yelling, “Diane, stay in there – do NOT come out.”  Next, there was the sound of many footsteps, pots and pans banging, and yelling.

Listening to the commotion, I could only surmise that I should peek out to see what was going on.  I threw on a robe and cracked the door.  At that exact moment, a rat scooted past me into the bathroom.  He was followed closely by Randy, who was carrying a broom,  and the guys from downstairs.

I screamed and jumped up on the toilet to escape.  The poor rat was so upset that he began to try to climb up after me which just made me scream louder (I think I added some dancing as well).  At this point, the guys were able to sequester him, and take him away.  I think he died of fright!

This incident presented Randy and me with a dilemma.  Do we get a cat to take care of this apparent problem?  An exterminator was never an option, and I am not sure why.  I think Randy might have had an ulterior motive? Long story short, we ended up with the first addition to our family, a German Shepherd puppy named Chief.  I’m not sure how we got from a cat to a dog, but it happened.

This incident prepared me for many things that were to come.  I learned to  always expect the unexpected!

“It’s not the destination but the journey”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s taken a long time for me to appreciate life’s journeys. In years past, I always thought the destination was the important part, and the journey was just the price you pay to get where you are going.   As Randy and I set out on our honeymoon, I learned that sometimes destinations are not even planned – no reservations, no time frame, no hurry – just a journey.

That particular journey took me to Tallahassee, Florida with a stay in the third Ramada Inn we tried.  Who needs reservations on their honeymoon? Next, a scenic trip to Weeki Watchee complete with mermaids, a stop in Tarpon Springs to watch a diver retrieve sponges, a night in St. Petersburg, and a never to be forgotten stop in the newly opened Walt Disney World!!  Very romantic!

Through it all, I kept asking, “Where are we going”?  Well, the truth is, there was no destination, just the excitement of the journey!  I’ve learned through the years that some things don’t change, and if Randy is in charge, there isn’t necessarily a destination, just memories along the way.

As I compare this experience to my life, I know my final destination, but I haven’t ever known and still don’t know what the journey will hold.  God’s always had surprises along the way,and I pray they don’t stop now!  It’s ironic that now I look forward to the journey, and it’s never boring!!

I Corinthians 13:13  “So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love”.

In order for Randy and me to get married, we needed a few things to happen.  We needed a job for me (so I could support Randy in the style to which he had become accustomed), an apartment, some furniture, and cash!  I secured a job with DeKalb County Schools, we found an apartment on the top floor of an older home, Randy picked up (literally) a sofa that was on the curb in married housing, and my grandfather gave us $300 in cash!!  Things have certainly changed in the last 44 years.

As the planning hurriedly progressed (I had to be ready for school in August), Daddy offered us cash to elope, but my mother would have none of it. To add to the confusion, the engine on Randy’s VW blew up two days before the wedding, so we had to use our cash to fix it!  The repairs totaled exactly $300!.

We married on July 29, 1972 at 3:30 in the afternoon with everyone dyingfrom the heat!  The reception was at my house with cake, punch, chicken salad bites, nuts, and mints.  My Daddy was beside himself with the cost.  I can’t even imagine what he would think of receptions these days!

As we exchanged gold bands that day, I took much comfort in the fact that engraved in each one was words from the scripture found in I Corinthians: ” The greatest of these is love”.  I remember thinking, “It’s a good thing we have love because we sure don’t have anything else”.

It’s interesting the way your perspective changes over the years.  Material things are no longer top priority although I am certainly grateful for those things I have.  Now my priorities are friendships, family, love, peace, joy, hope, smiles, hugs, freedom, faith, health, and so many more non materialistic blessings.  I am so blessed to have that reminder every day – the greatest of these truly is love.