Category: Summer

Things That Make Me Smile

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

smiley-face-symbols-detlev-van-ravenswaayI’ve got a goofy smile. One eye squints almost shut and my mouth is crooked. I resemble a gnome when I’m happy but but I still love any occasion that turns up the corners of my mouth. This month I’ve had a number of such times and all of them have involved people. The truth is that no amount of money nor fame is better than knowing that there are people who really care about me and that I in turn love. I’ve been lucky enough to see many of them of late and all of them make me beam with unadulterated joy.

I try to get together with a group of friends from my last job as often as possible. Most of them are still working so it’s not easy to find a date when we are all free but luckily we did so not long ago. We met up at Ninfa’s on Navigation which, on a side note, I highly recommend. As is always the case we laughed and chattered and felt so very relaxed with one another. A plus was the fact that the food was also great. Someone remarked that most of us were English majors in college. I don’t know if that has anything to do with how well we get along but it’s amazing how in sync we always seem to be. We’ve agreed to meet again before school starts so that we might compare stories about the trips that each of us will be taking during these warm months. I have no doubt that we will once again talk and grin until we get dirty looks from the waiters hoping that we get the hint and move on.

A certain graduation brought a huge smile to my face recently. It was for a young man whom I had tutored for three years. He had worked quite hard to earn his diploma and I knew as well as anyone how much the occasion meant to him. I felt as though I was floating through the air when he walked across the stage. It was as grand a day as I have experienced in a long time. My face must have shown my elation as the corners of my mouth almost touched my ears.

My grandson is home from college for the summer. I only got to see him a couple of times during the school year. He attends Purdue University and has a schedule as busy as the President of the United States. It was so good to finally meet up with him at Bob’s Taco Station if only for an hour or so. I marveled at how much he has matured in only one short year. He is definitely a man now. Not a shred of boyishness seems to remain in his demeanor. A smile of pride and of course lots of love lit up my face the whole time that we were together.

I had the privilege of serving as a chaperone for my godson and his brother while their mother attended a conference a couple of weeks ago. We all flew together to Boston and while she worked, we played. Boy was it fun! I suspect that I was even smiling in my sleep. We saw so many wondrous things but best of all we got to know each other even better. It was a very special time in which we laughed and told silly stories and just felt as comfortable as can be. I can’t wait until I am needed for another trip one day. We built some important memories together which will no doubt always bring brightness to my face whenever I recall them.

My second oldest grandson is going to be a senior in high school next year. He is in the process of visiting colleges and so Mike and I took him to Texas A&M University a week ago. We had a grand time touring the recreation center, the dorms and many of the engineering buildings. I have a particular love for the Aggies because my father was one. Every time I visit the campus I feel his spirit. I know that he will be quite proud if his great grandson decides to get his education there. I smiled quite a bit at the thought of having another Aggie in the family, especially the one who just happens to be named after my dad. When my grandson admitted that he would be quite excited to go there I suspect that my grin was so big that I resembled a Cheshire cat. It was fun to be able to share this important moment with him.

Last Saturday I invited several of my former students to a party at my house. I wanted to celebrate their graduations from college. It was rewarding to hear how wonderfully they are all doing. I want to believe that I may have had at least a tiny bit of influence on them. I know that they bring me incalculable happiness. Knowing that they have already accomplished so much makes my teaching years seem all the more fruitful. I smiled and smiled and smiled as they spoke of their successes and their dreams. I hope that my expression told them how much I love them.

On Father’s Day I made dinner for Mike and his dad. We had an incredible time just as we always do. They are the two most important men in my life. Both of them watch over me and would probably walk through fire for me. Just being with them is reason enough to smile. We have a long history of sharing happiness and sorrow. I burst into a visage of elation when I think of how lucky I have been to be with the two of them. They make me feel so beautiful and important that I fairly beam.

I just spent the past week in a trailer built for two with my daughter and her three children. Stuffing the six of us inside reminded me of a circus act when dozens of clowns go inside a tiny car. For a time the refrigerator didn’t work and all of us were almost eaten alive by chiggers but somehow we muddled through. Nothing could have kept me from beaming from ear to ear. Just being together was all that I needed to feel elated. We went to see movies on a workday afternoon and ate delicious hamburgers and fries from Hopdoddy. We walked through museums filled with scientific wonders and history. In the evenings I watched the children swim at McKInney Falls. They were so delighted as they jumped into the cooling waters. Our time together was a blast and we hardly noticed that we were stuffed inside our home on wheels like sardines.

While we were camping in Austin one of my cousins invited us to visit with her and her family. They treated us to a gourmet dinner that included a taste test of seven different yummy desserts. The kids had great fun playing with Legos and making music while we adults enjoyed sharing stories about our ancestors. There were happy faces all around.

These are the things that make me smile. Right now I’m feeling quite content as I gaze on the flowers in my yard and watch the birds playing in the trees. It’s summertime and the whole world is seems to be alive. Best of all my adventures have only just begun. We’ll be celebrating my mother’s birthday on Monday and in about a week we will head for California. There are so many reasons to be elated that I suspect I am wearing a smile even now.

The Heat of Summer

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

pc7rKeqXisunThe political scene has heated up with Hillary attacking Trump and Trump attacking Hillary. The Supreme Court seems to be handing down one split decision after another in the wake of Justice Scalia’s death. Members of the House of Representatives are staging a sit-in to force a vote on gun control measures. As a country we seem to be as divided as ever even though the vast majority of us are stuck right in the middle. In the past I might have commented on all of these very important and pressing issues, presenting my ideas for solving them, but I have grown weary of the political battles and now all I want is for each question to be settled in the ballot box in November. I have every confidence in the citizenry. We will ultimately decide the outcome just as we have for more than two hundred years. What appears to be the most terrible time in our country is actually a situation that has repeated itself over and over again just as those our brilliant forefathers thought it might be.

Our Founding Fathers were rebelling against an authoritarian government led by a king who wielded absolute power. They wanted to be certain that no one person or single group would ever be able to force their beliefs on the nation and so they purposely set up a system that would almost insure gridlock from time to time. They believed that changes would be inevitable but that they should occur incrementally so that we never throw the baby out with the bath water so to speak. Right now their ingenious plan is working as it should but slow progress and infighting can be quite discomforting to some among us. I actually find the situation to be a sign that our government is working the way it was intended. I take comfort in the belief that at some point in the future we will work out compromises that will fix things but not create a revolution. It’s what we do in the United States of America and in spite of flaws along the way it continues to work. Some will be satisfied with the results and others will be angry but the point is that our votes are ultimately heard and then determine the course of our history.

I’ve noticed that we Americans tend to get hot headed in the summer months when the heat fries our brains and we just can’t take it anymore, whatever it may be. There are catalysts that spur us into action. We push our representatives to present our differing points of view. In the end one or the other side will win or if there is no clear consensus  it is a draw and nothing is done for the time being until we can rethink the options.

The biggest issues right now involve guns, abortion, sexual preferences and immigration. I actually think that with regard to each of the arguments both sides have valid points of view and both sides are erroneous in some ways. In other words there are good and bad ideas all the way around. If we were willing to consider the interests of both proponents of opposition we would come up with plans that might be deemed satisfactory to the largest number of citizens.

Lyndon Baines Johnson was masterful at creating cooperation among lawmakers from differing sides. Some historians believe that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 might never have passed without his political acumen. Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan both had great talents in those areas as well. Perhaps that is why we tend to see the eras of their governing as great times for our country. They knew how to bring the differing sides together and make everyone feel as though they had been heard. It’s difficult to imagine our current leaders or those now running for office having the ability to create majorities using members of both parties. We seem to be in the phase of “my way or the highway” politics. When we citizens have had enough we will vote for more moderate individuals who will agree to work together. Until then we’ll just have to sit back and watch the battles.

I have to laugh a bit because the men and women of Congress who are staging the sit-in and creating filibusters are being heralded by the media as great heroes and I tend to agree that that is so. Nonetheless, I seem to recall that when Ted Cruz convinced a cohort to do something similar he were accused of a being treasonous traitor. I guess it all depends on which side of the political fence one sits on but I believe that we need to be fair.

Insofar as most of the issues that arrive on Capitol Hill, I believe that everyone is a little bit right and a little bit wrong. Any thinking person has to admit that there are never quick and tidy fixes for anything. As an administrator I always found it wise to listen to the naysayers before producing school policy. They often saw problems that I had missed. Including them in the discussions and respecting their ideas generally led to buy-in from a greater number of people and a more positive state of morale. It is when managers not only ignore but also demonize their opponents that a kind of civil war ensues.

We have too many people right now craving power, legacies, history-making status. We seem to want what we want when we want it. The world generally has never worked that way. We have to think things through. I see the Middle East as a great example of what happens when a group of people overthrow the power structure without thinking of what to put in its place. Chaos reigns and nobody is happy.

It’s doubtful that we are going to witness a change in the political environment anytime soon. I’ll be patiently waiting for that to happen as I am sure that it will. We have some great men and women on both sides of the aisle and it is only when the majority of us are able to understand that compromise is the answer to our problems that we will once again enter a more serene phase of history. We humans can only take so much excitement before we demand peace.

In the meantime, I’m going to visit the holy grail of Texas politicians today, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library. He was a President who was loved and loathed but he sure managed to accomplish much of his agenda. I suspect that had he not been saddled with the War in Vietnam he might have gone down in history as one of the greatest of our presidents. Sadly he chose the wrong pathway in handling that conflict which no doubt would have been the fate of anyone tasked with that onerous duty.

It’s going to be a hot summer for sure and the heat will continue all the way into November. God only knows what the outcome will be but each of us should remember that we do indeed have a voice. It might also behoove us to begin the process of healing wounds by respecting the fact that every man and woman has a valid right to his or her opinion. That is the greatness of this country and we need to be certain that we never let it go away. No one should ever be silenced. The most dangerous situation that we might encounter is a government in which we must all agree all of the time and where those in power punish those who dissent. We may want serenity now but we should place more value on rational discussions and efforts to compromise. That is the way our founders intended our government to be.

On the Road Again

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

2016-KZ-RV-Vision-Travel-Trailer-ExteriorI have a friend who spends most of his time on the road, God bless him. I can’t imagine constantly being on the move. Whether waiting in lines at an airport and staying in posh hotels or road tripping in a car with a trailer on the back, it’s just not the same as being at home. It’s fun for a time but I soon grows weary of the surprises that inevitably come from continuous travel. I suspect that I am just not adventurous enough for such a lifestyle.

I’m sitting in my comfy, cozy trailer right now and worrying about dual problems that have developed. The park doesn’t have sewer services so I have to be very careful about how much water I put down the drain. I’ve done that before and it isn’t so bad but the second difficulty is more concerning. For some reason the refrigerator is barely working. Nothing is turning to ice in the freezer and the food in the lower compartment is sitting at a steady fifty eight degrees. Instead of doing the town, Mike and I have been trouble shooting all morning long and watching videos to see if we might perhaps discover a way to alleviate the problem. I have confidence in his abilities but in the meantime it is putting a crimp in our plans to have some fun.

This week’s camping experience was supposed to be rather uneventful since we are only three hours from home. Now I find myself worrying about another vacation that we have planned for next month. We are leaving on July 5, for a marathon trip through the southwest with Los Angeles and San Diego as our ultimate destinations. I suppose that it is best to find out before that excursion if anything is not working properly but it’s still a bummer. We have learned that owning a travel trailer is wrought with continuous repairs. The jiggling loosens parts and makes all of the appliances less effective from time to time. Think of what your home would be like if it were subjected to an earthquake every single day. Before long you would most certainly fall behind in the process of keeping everything operating properly. The last thing that we need on our future adventure is to spend time fixing things.

I’m also a bit concerned that the entire route that we have planned to travel appears to be on fire at the moment. I can honestly say that I am not a fan of one hundred plus degree temperatures. I find myself thinking that perhaps a change in plans that includes a journey to Maine might be preferable. Of course, there is the possibility that Mike and I will bring rain just as we always seem to do and thereby make things more pleasant for ourselves and the good folks of New Mexico, Arizona and California. I’m just a bit concerned because we are presently in Austin and the sun is burning without any sign of precipitation. I worry that our mojo may be gone. I made the mistake of wishing that the recent floods in Houston would go away and I eventually got what I wanted but I fear that the price I paid is that I am no longer a rainmaker.

I have to wonder why anyone travels in the south in the summer. I just spent several days in Boston where the weather was picture perfect. The days were moderate and at night all I needed was a light weight jacket. We spent our time outdoors along with everyone else who was taking advantage of the beautiful season. We didn’t mind waiting in lines to see the U.S.S. Constitution or to ride the swan boats in the park. The baseball game at Fenway Park was way better than watching the boys of summer in an air conditioned building. Somehow it all felt just exactly the way it should. Of course, the tour guide who drove the trolley that we rode through the town reminded us that winters can sometimes be brutal. I suppose that just as the Bible says there is a time and a season for everything.

Mike seems to have solved the mystery of the barely working refrigerator and it’s not so bad inside our air conditioned home away from home. At least the view is lovely and we know that at dusk it will be bearable down by McKinney Falls. Last night the area was filled with families enjoying the cool water of one of the best swimming holes in the country. Big signs warn of the dangers of jumping or diving into the water but that didn’t seem to deter anyone. I suppose that such admonitions don’t work until someone gets hurt but my grandchildren are a bit angry with me because I have told them that we will follow the rules. I’ve seen a few too many accidents with gorillas and alligators of late to ignore clearly posted warnings.

We’ll be off in a bit and as soon as we do something fun I’m certain that I’ll forget about the cares and woes of traveling. It’s funny how much one will endure for a chance to view something amazing and there are so many wonderful sights around Austin. I’ll set my crotchety mood aside for a good adventure any day. Still I wonder how my friend stays sane when being continually on the road. I guess it becomes a way of life but for me it would be a terrible cross to bear. I have become way too spoiled by all of the modern conveniences that are at my fingertips at home. Living out of suitcases and continually moving is just not my cup of tea.

Mike is draining the sewer tank into our auxiliary container so I suppose that my fears of having the toilet back up are unwarranted. I’m feeling a bit better. At least I don’t have members of the new Confederacy camping next door as I have in the past. The neighbors are pleasant, the flies are few and the cicadas are singing a lovely summer song. I guess that all in all life is good even far from home.

Summertime Classrooms

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

kids-playing-for-the-summerSo Memorial Day weekend is coming and the schools are closing for the summer. Tomorrow will be the last day for teachers and students across the land…NOT! Shockingly, virtually every child still has an entire week of classes left and some even have two more weeks to go. What happened to the launch of summer fun on Memorial Day? Who decided that it was a great idea to keep the kids working until well into June? How did this happen without someone protesting? Is this really healthy or necessary for our youth?

I just left my daughter’s home and I worry that my grandchildren are majorly stressed out. They are only in the sixth grade but they have comprehensive final exams in every subject next week, Can you guess what they will be doing over the so called holiday weekend? They have intricate multi-page study guides with information that they must review before the big tests which begin on Tuesday. There will be no time for barbecues or swimming or a quick trip. Instead they will spend the three day weekend making certain that they remember everything that they have learned during the school year. There goes all of the fun for them and their parents!

I honestly don’t understand what anyone hopes to accomplish by extending the school year more and more. When I was young we were always finished in time for Memorial Day and we knew that we wouldn’t have to return until after Labor Day. We weren’t exactly an ignorant generation because of that schedule. In fact we actually learned quite a few bits of practical information and skills during our three month vacation. That was when a week spent with my grandparents on their farm taught me about birds, rocks, gardening, cooking and survival skills. It was the time when my mother taught me how to touch type without looking at the keys and how to sew. I went on a book reading binge each summer, checking out as many volumes as the library allowed and consuming them well before they were due to be returned. That was also when I got my first jobs and because they actually lasted for three months I earned a full four quarters of Social Security time before I had even graduated from high school. I also found out how to keep books in a medical clinic and what it takes to run an office. No amount of class time would have given me such fantastic experiences. I literally had an internship with life each and every summer.

I understand that there is a belief among many that children need more, not less time in classrooms. Still, our society has gone a bit overboard in demanding so much of a young person’s time. I have watched my grandchildren leave for school at seven in the morning and not return until after five in the evening. They have no time for independent play. After a quick dinner they have to hit the books because they have so many assignments and projects to complete. There is rarely a moment to spare. If they are very lucky they manage to get everything completed before bedtime but there are also nights when their work keeps them up far longer than they should be. They become grumpy and tired and mostly they just don’t get to be kids. At this moment in the school year they are hopelessly burned out and yet the demands continue unabated.

I realize that some children live in deplorable conditions and that school is the safest and most productive place that they might ever be. I certainly agree that we need to create programs for them but why pull the entire population of children into the same one size fits all schedule? We really don’t need to over-plan the lives of our youth. It is often in those moments when they have to rely on their own creativity that they learn the most.

I remember putting on shows for the neighborhood. It took rehearsals and imagination to produce a worthy program. I garnered more knowledge during those moments than I might have filling out worksheets and tests during an extra week of school.

On other occasions me and the other neighborhood kids created a local newspaper, complete with comic strips and editorials. Each of us contributed to the process and had to use our writing skills as well as our business expertise. It was great fun. I would later read that Truman Capote and Harper Lee did the same thing when they were children living next door to one another. They used an old typewriter and spent entire summers creating stories and using their fledgling writing abilities. Who knows how things might have turned out for them if they had been stuck in school instead.

I don’t want to underestimate the power of education and adult guidance but I also believe that there is much to be said for providing children with the freedom to innovate. It is in those moments that adults are not watching that we are often the most curious. When nobody is there to help us we use our minds to find solutions to our problems. We also learn how to work with others without the interference of well meaning parents. We navigate around the bully who lives down the street and negotiate with friends to distribute power. We learn teamwork from experience.

I don’t expect to see the powers that be changing our educational year anytime soon. I suspect that the pendulum is swinging in favor of ever more time spent in classrooms which actually makes me a bit sad. Children are flexible and they will adapt to whatever the adults tell them they must do but when I think about what they will be missing it makes me worry. I had a near perfect childhood and I would so love for all youngsters to have the adventures that I had. I had no father and very little money but each morning for three whole months I was the ruler of my day. I got to decide if it was going to be spent reading a new book from the library or playing a life or death game of Scrabble with my friends. I could ride my bicycle to the swimming pool at the junior high or walk to art lessons at Ripley House. It was my call and I loved it.

Perhaps we can find a way to compromise. Children today are certainly being exposed to ever more information and opportunities but they often have no idea how to entertain themselves. We need to help them to develop that skill along with the others that prepare them for life. Sometimes being stuck in the yard with only a water hose and a few friends is the perfect invitation to creativity. When faced with boredom, most children eventually discover how to have fun without spending money or attending a class. Sometimes the best classroom is the one that they have to run by themselves.