The week before Homecoming...

And I started the week off in a haze of homecoming preparation, but what a joy!!!

It has been over a week since my previous post- and in many ways I feel like more time has lapsed...months? :) No, really my days are much more full than the first weeks here, yet I feel a sense of familiarity with a busy routine...and I am also feeling God's presence in the midst of the mayhem.

Last week was a random week of prep work- hard to say exactly "what" I do with my time. I was extremely productive creating workouts for my fabulous weights students...I know, if my muscles don't impress them, surely my intimate knowledge with repetitions and weight proportions will! Okay, joking- but it has been fun...and today, my 15 guys ALL lifted hard! Amazing. One guy named Billy says to me (several times a day)... hey, you're my weight lifting teacher!!! it's pretty endearing.

So last week we also had our first home football game, (I am not writing chronologically today, sorry).... and we won 46-0 against Pine Ridge HS.... whom Red Cloud hadn't beat in 10 years. It was quite the game- lovely weather, great front row standing in order to congratulate my lifting guys.... one interesting note- they play home games at 2 or 3pm...because they don't have lights for the field. It's a cool experience, I must say- and the weight lifting is clearly affecting their playing ability in a tremendous way. Okay, enough explicit references to the pride I take in my weight lifting class.

Student activities- are going well... I've had a few episodes this week (lasting only about 5 minutes- you know me)...where I questioned why I was volunteering in this capacity. For instance, when too many people are demanding too much of me for my level of expertise and time commitment- yet I get over myself quickly and am learning to take things in stride.

The student council is really good, I feel. Today we had a meeting to finalize our Homecoming theme- and also dress-up days, and scheduling. I then met w/ Nick and Russ (admin) to go over details for the week- which is promising, considering several others are asking for specifics which I cannot give them until everything goes through the proper channels of communication. Yes, that is a key word I may refer to often: communication is my job, basically- whether it be communicating between students and faculty, faculty and activities, administration and students, admin and faculty, and posters, memos, emails, letters. Yep. It's pretty invigorating when it all goes well...extremely frustrating when I am ignorant, thus creating communication difficulties (like- well, what's been done in the past? Someone forgot to send that memo!) :):)

Ah, so the volunteer community continues to thrive. We are becoming more acquainted with one another - and have had some interesting conversations regarding personal life- especially in regard to our experiences growing up within various sized families, and the joys and difficulties inherent in adolescence. I think being around so many high schoolers has really caused me to deliberately apply my "theories of adolescence" to various circumstances I am encountering. I would say one huge idea is this: when an adolescent says a rude remark or seemingly hurtful social gesture... one cannot take it personally, because most often it has NOTHING to do with the person with whom they are interacting, and EVERYTHING to do with the fact that they are too caught up in their own world to even acknowledge the affect their presence is having on someone. Yep- so, advice to myself: accept all adolescent remarks with two grains of salt, and life at Red Cloud will be much more pleasant.

I am not implying that students are overall rude, b/c they certainly are not, it just seems that the few negative moments are easy to remember, and beautiful moments tend to be forgotten more easily. I will try to remember the beautiful moments- and by sharing them with you, hopefully they shall have a greater affect than will anything negative.

One beautiful moment: Jesse is a transfer student who seemingly lives to consume the entire amount of candy in my jar that sits on my office desk ...oh, by mid-morning or so each day... and he is just so likable (along with the 4 or 5 others guys who do the same), it's hard to stop him from doing this. Today, as he was literally "passing through" my office to grab more candy...he waved at me and said, "Thanks Emily, you're my hero!" And although I seriously doubt that his comment has as much validity as does his desire to continue taking my candy- it was still a beautiful moment.

On that note, I don't want it to be spread that I am increasing their negative eating habits- because all of the previous week, I actually had only FRUIT for them to take- and gosh did they! We have a "free fruit" wellness policy here, and so I am able to obtain fruit for those who seem to be constantly consuming calories.

I have a rather sad story to share as well, but one which seems to possess hope as well. Jose is a sophomore on the student council, and he is also a frequent visitor to my office. I have learned recently (after he spent an evening at our cottage)...that his father abandoned his family for another woman, his mother is an alcoholic, and he (along with several siblings- of whom he is the oldest) lives with his grandmother in a sparse trailer w/out running water. yep- I don't know his entire situation- but I do know that I want to show him as much love as possible this year- even if that means bringing plenty of fruit and candy to work with me.

Well, that's about all for now. I am contemplating returning to school tonight to finish up some things- but perhaps I'll wait until morning. My time seems to fly by when I'm there- and I know Homecoming is creeping up quickly!

Today as I was driving back into Pine Ridge from my bus run, I had this sense of the familiar- as if I was returning to a place I knew well. I wouldn't say I actually do, but it is comforting, becoming familiar with this place and these people. It surely is.

Much love to you all, wherever you find yourselves. I long to relay my above thoughts in person- but I appreciate your willingness to accept my thoughts as they are- written.

Peace, joy, and in the presence of God,
Emily