Progress?

As you may know, the adoption of my granddaughter, Sveta, has been stalled for a quite a while now. We have been (not-so-patiently) waiting for the process to move forward. We got news recently that progress may be made during the upcoming week. The in-country contact, known as "V", lives 6 hours by train outside the city. She does nearly all the legwork by phone and e-mail. However, this week "V" will be in the city and will be visiting the judge in person. We are hopeful face to face meetings will be far more effective than the phone and e-mail. Of course there is no guarantee this will speed the process, but it seems better than the shoddy communication the court seems to have with "V". In addition, "V" has a young child that recently had surgery. I'm sure she was more concerned with her own child than with her work in Sveta's adoption. Rightfully so. I don't blame the woman at all. However, the bottom line is the adoption (currently at a standstill) may soon move forward. This is our solemn prayer.

Thanksgiving is wonderful, but...

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time. See my previous post for reasons. Aside from all that, I get a 5 day weekend. That can't be bad, right?

I really enjoy everything related to Thanksgiving, but it's what it leads to that bothers me. No, I'm not talking about weight gain and indigestion. I'm not talking about a turkey induced coma either. I'm referring to the dreaded "W" word. W-w-w---wi-wi---win-win-win---Winter. There. I said it. Winter. Other than Christmas (which will be a later post), there is absolutely nothing positive about winter. I don't like the cold, I can't stand the ice and snow. I despise shoveling my driveway. I dread the darkness at 4 in the afternoon. I shudder at the thought of being cooped up in the house for months on end. Snow days you say? Teachers love snow days, right? WRONG! It is nice to have a momentary break from the drudgery and grind of work. But the long-term implications of a snow day make them totally not worth it. The disruption the the schedule, the revamping of lesson plans and of course if you pile up enough snow days, you get to make them up in the summer time. No thank you.

Even though my retirement is a long way off, I still have plans and dreams. Just like my mom and Cliff, I plan on retreating to a warmer climate in the coldest, darkest days of winter. I'm not talking about buying a million dollar beach house. I'm talking about renting a simple little place off the coast, and soaking up some sun in mid January.

Winter is horrible and it only gets worse as I get older. The only snowballs I want to see are coconut covered snack cakes in the grocery aisle.

Tami's Favorite Holiday

Thanksgiving week is upon us. Tami loves the autumn season and especially loves Thanksgiving. We should always count our blessings, but Thanksgiving is the holiday that brings those blessings to the forefront our minds.

For many, Thanksgiving is about eating turkey dinners, family gatherings and watching football on TV. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy all those things and find nothing at all wrong with them. But I also want the holiday to be about what is most important... Thanking God for all he has provided and blessed my family with. We have everything we need and so much more. We want for nothing. We have good health. Michael's collapsed lung and subsequent surgery aside, we have no major health problems in the family. I have a decent paying job with benefits. I have the love of a wonderful wife, 3 terrific children, a Christian son-in-law who treats my daughter like a queen. I have a granddaughter who (God willing) will soon be arriving from Russia to start a new life in the United States. I have a church that teaches directly from the Bible and preaches the Gospel every week. I have a church family who loves my family unconditionally.

I ask you... what more could a man ask for? The answer is nothing. I have way more than I deserve. I haven't earned any of this. God has provided it through His mercy and grace. I have no cause to complain (even though I frequently do). I'm often stuck with too much week at the end of my paycheck. I often see what others have and find myself selfishly wishing I had the same. How completely and utterly greedy of me. How Dare I wish for more than I have? God showers me with riches and all I can do is wish I had more? I have enough. His blessings are sufficient.

I don't want this post to be cheesy or cliche'. But I guess being thankful on Thanksgiving is going be naturally cliche'. So be it.

Grammar Rant!

Call me a snob if you wish, but the complete slaughtering of the english language by the general public is enough to drive me batty. This is not about the cultural stuff (using ax for ask, saying you is nice instead of you are nice). No, that's a topic I want to leave alone. I'm talking about your every day Joe American having no earthly idea how to use our language.

Hey youse guys, I have an ideal. Youse guys? No, you have an idea, not an ideal.

The use of seen/saw. The word seen must be preceded by have, has or had. I saw you eat my cookies. I have seen you eat my cookies. The same for gone and went. Gone must be preceded by have, has or had. I have gone to Florida three times. You can't say I have went to Florida three times.

The word is versus. On Sunday, the best game will be the Bengals versus the Ravens. It's NOT the Bengals verse the Ravens.

I/Me. Abby and I went to a movie. Tami wanted to go to the movie with Abby and me.

Don't even get me started on there, their and they're. Or your and you're. Or to, too and two.

How about passed and past. I passed a slow moving car. I would like to forget some things from my past.

Loose/Lose. I dropped a few pounds and my pants are loose. I hope the Bengals don't lose on Sunday.

Please say "DEAL" not dill. A candy bar for a quarter? That's a good deal! It's not a good dill.

Please say GlenDALE. I have a friend from Glendale. I do not have a friend from Glendell.

There is no such word as irregardless. Just regardless.

Saying big, huge is redundant. I saw a big huge fish in the lake! Pick one.
Saying also, too is redundant. Again, just pick one.
Saying, "All y'all" is redundant. I'm going to the game with all y'all! No! I am going to the game with all of you.

Remember back when we were kids? Uh... what other way is there to remember? You can't remember FORWARD! Remember when we were kids?

It's toward... not towards! You are walking toward the pond. You are not walking towards the pond.

If you use the word neither, you must also use the word nor. Neither/Nor. Either/Or.

There are ten deer in my yard. No such thing as deers, my dears.

Hear/Here. Did you hear Michael can't be here? Hear contains the word "ear" indicating listening to sounds. "Here" is one letter short of "there" indicating location.

Please don't end a sentence with a preposition! Where's Michael at? No! Where's Michael?

Listen Folks. I'm not perfect and I slip into my casual register quite often. But when the chips are down, I can write and speak very well. Oh yeah, that reminds me... there is a definite difference between the use of good and well. The pie tasted really good. Tami cooks very well.

I'll be singing in no time!

It's day 15 of the laryngitis nightmare, but I think the end is in sight. My voice is slowly returning to normal. At least now I can use it in my classroom without sounding like a dying bird. I can't yet put the "authority" in my voice that is sometimes required in my line of work, but I'm getting there. I sometimes sing along with my car stereo (c'mon, admit it, you've done it too) I still can't do that, but I expect I'll be singing in no time.

An unwilling mute!

Day 13 and laryngitis still has a hold on me. My voice is not 100% gone, but it is also far from being back to normal. I guess the stage I'm in could be described as "it comes and goes". I have short stints of feeling like my voice is making its comeback only to be followed by more hoarseness. A few days of this was a nuisance, a week was a pain in the neck. Ten days was maddening and now almost two weeks is nothing short of ridiculous. As described before, my students were willing to give me a break for a while, but now they sense my growing frustration and are capitalizing on my weakness. This is about the worst I've ever had it. I wonder if it's my age or maybe this is just a particularly nasty virus. It feels like someone or something has a strangle hold on my vocal cords. The sensation feels as if something would just loosen a little I could speak. Kind of like a kink in a garden hose. I'd ask that you all pray for me and my voice to be restored to full capacity. It is my primary tool as a teacher and I'm virtually useless without it. and no... I didn't do any shouting at the state finals, even though I wanted to. Do you see the irony in all this? I describe myself as a quiet and sometimes even silent man and all I can do is pray for my voice to come back.

All The Marbles!

What a day! Mary and her Summit Country Day teammates won the state championship.

The day began with a two hour drive to the Columbus Crew stadium where we had a little tailgate party in the parking lot before the game. We settled into our seats shortly before kickoff and then the game was on. It didn't take long to realize that Summit totally outclassed Shaker Heights Laurel. Summit controlled the ball and the entire game. The score was 2-0 at halftime and quickly turned into a rout in the second half when Summit poured it on to take an insurmountable 5-0 lead. With about 10 minutes to play, the coach started pulling the starters and playing the second string. The second string gave up 2 garbage time goals and that's where it ended; Summit won 5-2.

This was a proud day for the Meyer Family. The first ever state championship. We are so proud of Mary. After all her practice and hard work, she finally got to bring home all the marbles. Actually it was a medal and a trophy, but you get the idea.

I think it's safe to say with Summit losing but one starter, they will be ranked #1 in the state next year and the odds on favorite to repeat as state champions.

Mary in the State Finals!

Well... our family soccer star, Mary Meyer won the state semi-final game tonight. Against the odds, Summit beat Middletown Bishop Fenwick 3-2 in overtime. Fenwick was a team loaded with 11 senior starters. Summit has one senior starter (the rest are underclassmen). What an incredibly exciting game! Summit led 2-0 early in the 2nd half, but Fenwick wasn't going down without a fight. They tied the game at 2-2 and it stayed that way until the end of regulation play. In the 15 minute overtime period, Summit pumped in the golden goal for the sudden death victory. The crowd went WILD! Mary's dad, Kerry was just a little bit excited. Most of you know Kerry is bit high strung. I don't remember the last time I saw him so happy. What a neat evening it was!

Mary's Summit Country Day Silver Knights play for the Ohio state championship on Saturday at noon. The game takes place in the Columbus Crew soccer stadium. The Columbus Crew is the professional soccer team in Ohio.

We'll be there cheering the team to its first ever state championship.

We are all very proud of you Mary!

Bungles Better Than Colts

It's hard to believe, but our beloved Bungles are 6-2. Most so called experts said the Bungles would go 0-16, 1-15 or 2-14 at best. At 6-2 they are currently the #1 seed in the AFC. I don't think this will last and frankly I'll be surprised if they even make the playoffs at all.

That being said, how about our NFL neighbors up I-74? None other than the Indianapolis Colts. A powerhouse for so many years. A juggernaut with countless division titles and even a Super Bowl Trophy. These guys are 0-9 and are the only team in the league without a victory. Who woulda thunk it? A total role reversal!

By the way, did you hear there's a tornado warning in Indianapolis? Everyone is being advised to take shelter in Lucas Oil Stadium. There's no chance of a "touchdown" there. Teehee!

Who-Dey! Go Bengals!

Silent, but not by choice

Every year at this time I get hit with a bout of laryngitis. It always happens in October or November. This year is no different. I have been battling a cold for about 3 weeks and the laryngitis showed up in the middle of last week. I feel great other than having not much of a voice. This is the 6th day of having very little or no voice. To everybody else, this may not seem like a big deal. But as a teacher, my voice is my most utilized and most important tool. With no voice, I have no way of exerting authority in my classroom or delivering my stimulating lessons. Most people are probably happy that I have been temporarily muted. Tami doesn't seem to mind and my students are enjoying not having to listen to me. Hopefully whatever has a death grip on my vocal cords will let go soon. This is getting very old.

Soccer Glory

My niece Mary Meyer is a junior at Summit Country Day school. She plays for the soccer team and they are currently making a run in the state tournament. Last week her team won their first district championship since 1998. Today they won the regional championship which puts them in the state semi-finals. Kerry reports this next game is going to be super tough and Mary's team is not favored to win. It may also be important to note that the best player on Mary's team went down with an ACL injury early in the season. Regardless, they have overcome the loss of their star player and have made it to the state of Ohio final 4.

We are planning on attending the game to support our Mary. Go Mary Go!

To my knowledge nobody in the family has ever been this close to a state title. It will be fun to see how this all unfolds.

Oh yeah, another interesting note. Summit Country Day was a big rival of my high school. It seems very weird rooting for them. Kind of like a Bengal fan who suddenly has a personal reason to root for the Steelers.

And you wonder why?

Here's another post about why my job of teaching is so difficult. This is not a whine or a rant. It's really just a sad example of what I face on a daily basis.

This morning I arrived at school at 7:05. As I approached the door, I saw two very small girls standing close by. I didn't immediately see them because it is very dark this time of morning. I greeted them with a smile and made a big joke of them being SO EARLY for school. I also asked what grade they were in. They were not shy about telling me they were in kindergarten and 1st grade. I was appalled! What parent in their right mind drops off a 5 and 6 year old 90 minutes early to stand in the cold and dark? Keep in mind the students' school day begins at 8:30... and this is 7:05. Can you imagine doing this with your own kids? These two girls are just babies. We're not supposed to let kids into the building until 8:10. But I couldn't in good conscience leave these two innocent children to stand in the dark and shiver for an hour... I allowed them to come inside and sit in the warmth of the lobby. What kind of home life do you think these girls have? I know it's jumping to conclusions, but I'd make an educated guess and say not very good.

Still think teaching is easy? It's more than pencils and books. We're feeding these children. In many cases giving them free dental and medical care, psychological services and counseling. Every day I act as a teacher, disciplinarian, nurse, mediator, father figure, friend, psychologist, detective, care giver, coach, advocate etc. The list really does go on and on. I don't believe this is what schools are supposed to be. Teachers are not supposed to be surrogate parents, but this is exactly what's happening. Many parents refuse to grow up and act as the parent they should be. They are content to remain like adolescents and let the school raise their kids. The problem is... my hands are tied as far as what I can do as this surrogate parent. It's a lot like trying to fight an inferno with a squirt gun.

Our Sympathies

Anyone who knows my family probably knows our dear friends Mike and Betsy Annis (and their two boys Jake and Elijah). Last night Betsy's father passed away. I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to them. This is a very difficult time for them. However, they can also rejoice in knowing that he will now spend eternity in perfect paradise. He is absent from the body, but present with the Lord.