Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving 2008 dawned peacefully. Sarah, Sus and I gathered all our goodies and headed off to church where our adopted Thanksgiving was taking place. When we got there we dug right in and peeled potatoes, set up tables and chairs, helped with the turkeys, played board games and were generally having a terrific time.

A couple hours into the festivities I took a walk with a couple others to deliver some food to one of the regulars of the Tuesday homeless lunch. In the parking lot we ran into a man who asked if we were serving dinner. We answered no, said we were sorry an walked away. We assumed he left. A few minutes later The person I was with got a phone call from someone at the church, the man had been let in by someone who didn't know he wasn't supposed to be there and was refusing to leave. We hurried back to the church and sure enough found the man from the parking lot in the kitchen. He was told to leave or the police would be called, he said go ahead and call him, he said he wanted to tell them we wouldn't feed him.

One of the people there had to physically remove him, we called security and it was dealt with and after the fact I found out the kids had locked themselves in the other room, which was a good move on their part, they are smart kids :-)

It was sad but Sarah and the others offered to give him food from the Tuesday lunch cupboard and send him on his way. He wanted our food. He wanted to stay. We couldn't let him stay, it wasn't responsible. No one knew him or even recognized him and we had no way of knowing if he had a weapon of any kind.

Sarah had the most contact with him as she was mashing potatoes when he arrived and he kept telling her he was a "hungry tiger"

We all decided to put the incident behind us and have a good day which we did, more people came, 25 in all and they all brought food - lots of it!

It was fantastic gathering of people who otherwise wouldn't have been together, people who found a way to celebrate and share something special with friends, make new ones and be together giving thanks for another year.

Still a Tourist

I was reminded this week that I am still a tourist in this city. I was able to do some sightseeing this weekend when Susie was in town and saw some things I had seen before but also some things I hadn't. I took my first trip to Griffith Park, the largest Municipal Park in the country. We only saw a portion of it but I will definitely be going back for more.

One thing we saw was the observatory, what an incredible place! Not to mention FREE admission and parking! The building is beautiful and there is so much inside to learn about space and time. There are several telescopes that you can look at stars through on clear nights. We were their during the day but we are planning a night trip soon to get a look at the stars up close.

When the sun started to set we headed over to the part of the park that is hosting the annual light show. It is a 1.6 mile walk that takes you by incredible light displays of winter scenes and landmarks around Los Angeles.

City Walk

My best friend from Michigan came into town yesterday and we took off running, lunch in Larchmont with a celebrity sighting (Micheal Rappaport) and Pinkberry! Then we met up with Emily and headed to Universal City Walk for a night of fun, we took in all the sights and had a fun dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. I enjoyed a Rock-arita which I must say is a new favorite beverage :-) We came home and crashed pretty early as the time change is always difficult on those east coasters!

All I know

I don't know a lot but I know that I am a Christian. I accepted Jesus into my heart at church camp sitting in a chapel at an evening service. I remember it vividly. And since that day I have worked hard to follow Jesus. That is not an easy task. As a disciple of Christ I try very hard not to judge others. To love them the way I want to be loved and to show my faith instead of telling it. I am not good at putting my faith into words and many people are. I admire people who can articulate what they believe.

I believe in Jesus Christ, that he asked us not to judge others but to love them and that is something I don't think government can dictate. People say government is too big. I don't know. All I know is I haven't found the love of my life but when I do I want the make the decision to marry him. I am not a lesbian but I will not judge those who are. because I too am a sinner. I sin everyday. Just as I strive to walk like Jesus I ask for forgiveness and am granted it without question. Every time.

That is all I know. This issue and many others aren't political for me, but are biblical. Because the greatest commandment is love; to love Jesus and to love others.

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" (Matthew 22:36 NIV). Jesus replied, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:37-40 NIV).

I'm going to ride the subway

Yep, Saturday I'm going to ride the subway in L.A. for the first time, I didn't really even know that we had a subway. There is a rally about proposition 8 at city hall and our a group is meeting at our church to attend the rally in support of those who have lost their basic right to marry the person they love.

I was not going to go. I was experiencing a little apathy and a little anxiety. There is bound to be a lot of people there and it's Saturday after all. But after watching Keith Olbermann's statement (check it out here) on the passing of proposition 8 I can't not go to the rally, I cannot be apathetic.

So I will ride the subway, another new thing!

I read a book yesterday. I have a habit of doing that, reading a book all in one day. But sometimes books are so good you can't put them down. Randy Pausch was an engineer among other things. He died last summer of cancer. Some of you may be familiar with his book called "The Last Lecture", if you haven't read it, I encourage you to and if you haven't see his actual last lecture it is available to watch free online. I learned a lot from listening to Randy. He was a very smart man. I don't know anymore about engineering than I did before I read his book but I know a little more about life. I like books like that. Books that make you think about yourself, where you have been, where you are and where you are going.
Randy credits his parents with much of his success, he says they encouraged him to be creative and didn't try to push him in one direction or another. I am not going to give away a lot here but but one anecdote that made me laugh out loud and reminded me of my mom was when he was having trouble in a class and she responded with "We know how you feel honey, when your father was your age he was fighting the Germans". Enough said! Tough but real, that's why this blog is not about Randy Pausch, it' about Tommy and Christina Knapp.

I have been through a lot in 28 years but let's face it, I wouldn't even be here if my parents hadn't met and decided to have me when the Dr.'s told them it was dangerous. It was dangerous all right. I was the kid who had to go to the emergency room repeatedly for things like planks in her feet from running on the hard wood floor and getting her head stuck in the upstairs railing, The one who broke her knee on the family vacation to sea world. The one who left her most prized possession (a stuffed Winnie the Pooh) in a hotel on the way to Disney World. The one who let the neighbor light matches in her bedroom. The one who colored on the brand new television with black marker. The one whose teachers always said, she's great but she talks a lot; to which they replied, "we know". I think you get the picture.

My parents have never been ones to punish. As a child I had a sit in a chair more than a few times for a time out. But since I don't remember it that well it couldn't have been that scarring. I was spanked when necessary and sent to my room once and only once. My parents taught my sister and I through example. We had a Christian home and through and through. There was a large amount of trust and if you violated that trust there were consequences but there was no grudge. Because at the risk of sounding like a cliche, that's what Jesus would have done.

I didn't realize it at the time. Sometimes it's hard to see the situation for what it is when you are in it but I see it clearly now. The expectation that dinner was on the table every night and everyone was there unless you had a very good excuse. Again, no punishment, no demanding. It was family time. It was the way my parents were raised and the way they were raising us. The expectation that homework was meant to be done and done right. My dad spent countless hours helping us with math at night because that was what he was supposed to do in his eyes.

My parents have worked hard their entire lives, they both graduated from college, my dad after they were married and he was working. They worked hard for our family, so that we could have a good life and a firm foundation. I have struggled the past few years and they have been there every step of the way. When I couldn't find a teaching job not once did anyone suggest I go get a job at Starbucks, they packed the boxes and took me to Arizona so I could start my career. They sacrificed. Again.

When I was in high school my parents were asked to teach a parenting class at our church. At the time I was indifferent about it. I liked my parents and all but did I think they should teach a class....Today I think everyone should take a page from their book. Their not perfect, yep they made mistakes, everyone does. But I know now why they were asked to teach that class and I am so proud of them.

Every time I am unsure, sick, happy, sad, angry, or anything the first phone call I make is to my parents. They have never tried to push their dreams on me only asked what my dreams are and how I am going to achieve them. I am forever grateful and I want them to know that now.

That's what I learned from "The Last Lecture" Say it now.

Germs!

It's official, I'm sick. sore throat, chest hurting, runny nose, headache, tired, hot, cold, slight fever sick. Yuck. This is run of the mill stuff for a teacher and I am thankful it is less than when I first started teaching but I still get sick a couple of times a year. It could also be the season change, I haven't had a "fall" in a couple of years.

Never the less, I got to have a night of nothing last night and conked out at 9, did a lot of nothing today. Sarah made me homemade turkey soup (yum!) and will probably stay in tomorrow too.

Anyway, enough whining, off to drink hot cider and get feeling better, stay healthy everyone!

New Experience #78

I'm not really keeping track but tonight we did our something new for week. After we got our church directory pictures taken we stopped for dinner at Pinks, the longest running hot dog stand. We have never stopped before because the line is always forever long but it was not bad tonight so we pulled up and took a chance.

The hot dogs and onion rings were great! Then we had pinkberry for dessert, I love Thursdays at the Knapp house!

A Whole New World

No, no magic carpet ride for you! Just a new President-Elect! Yep. I'm excited. Sarah had class last night and I was like, I'm not going to watch it. I turned off the television, went into the office and started to work but it was too quiet so I turned the TV in the living room on for some noise and then was texting with some people and then McCain succeeded and then I had to watch Obama's speech and then Sarah came home and I was like this happened and this was good and this was exciting.

And she was like, not going to watch huh? Yeah. I got excited. This is democracy in action. I am excited that m candidate won, however, I truly do support America. I never once turned my back on the troops serving our country or the people of this nation who are have a hard time because of the economy.

That was the message of McCain's speech last night and I want to say the people booing were indeed sore losers. It is fine to feel emotion, to be angry that your hard work was not fruitful or to be sad your candidate is not going to Pennsylvania Avenue but to out right show disrespect you your new commander in chief is wrong. That is the example they set last night. Not John McCain. He was gracious. He called Obama his President and I respect him for that.

Now the election is over and my life will go back to business as usual although you may occasionally get a blog or two about union stuff as we are fighting with the school district.

Au Revoir!

Playing Catch Up

It has recently been brought to my attention that I have been trying to catch up on some lost time. When I moved to LA and had some of my medicine changed around I have been feeling better than I have in years. That has lots of up sides and some down sides.

I started committing to a lot of activities and keeping very busy. To the point of being a bit compulsive. The Dr.s have assured me that this is the normal course of action I have to take in order to separate myself from the medication and find the reasonable person in between. I am not sure about all of this. It is a bit unsettling.

Some other obsessive habits have come out in the past weeks and adjusting has been difficult. But on the upside I we have a very clean house and I have a very organized classroom. As some of you know this is not always a good thing and there are bad behaviors and feelings that come with all this. I go back to the Dr. tomorrow for more injections in my shoulder so hopefully I will get some more insight into what kind of medication is an option for me.

It makes me wonder. Is this the real me, because it doesn't feel very good. Or is the medicated me the real me. Who am I supposed to be. It is a common issue with mood disorders. And since decision making is difficult in people with mood disorders is doubly difficult!

I will keep you posted on my progress!