Feeling Blessed - 2019 Was a Good Year!

It's Dec. 31, 2019, at 5:37 a.m. as I begin this.  I've punched in "the numbers", and I can now reflect on 2019 and perhaps glimpse at 2020.  What a year 2019 turned out to be.

• Perhaps most importantly, my family is growing and healthy.  Three new grandchildren have been added, and I've learned to thoroughly enjoy being "Jay".  That brings the total to four, and I'm okay with adding some more!  Also, my brother is engaged and will be married in May, so that's also a development that has occurred and will occur in the upcoming year.
• Speaking of family, the home and family that Amber and continue to grow is amazing.  We aren't wealthy, but we are blessed.  We have a beautiful home, have enough income to enjoy life a little, and we still laugh a lot.  She's beautiful, all be it occasionally feisty and intense, but our relationship fits both of us really well.
• I'm healthier.  This morning I weighed in at 218 lbs., and last year this time I was around 260 lbs.  At 218, I'm still not at my target weight of 200 lbs., but I'm feeling a heck of a lot better, especially getting up and down the court to officiate.  Healthier has been a combination of intermittent fasting since February, a series of treatments on my knee at Frontline, consistent light yoga stretching, some strength training 1-3 times a week, and recently adding 10-minute abs workout 4-7 times a week.  The only hiccup in the health category for me was that weird event with transient global amnesia; I'm still learning more about that one.
• Speaking of officiating, I worked post-season in basketball and softball last season, and the post-season is a lot of fun.  In that category, I also went to a USA National with my son Cole, which was exhausting but going with Cole was a memorable experience, as that was his first national event.
• Cole, Carmen, and Chase are on positive paths.  Their have been changes in their lives, but their trajectories are all positive and healthy.  They are such wonderful people with good hearts; I hope I'm around a lot longer to see more of their life stories.
• Financially, at the end of 2018 I had virtually nothing in neither my checking account nor savings, and I had a VISA balance that was ridiculous.  At the end of 2019, I'm not rolling in money, but the financial status of checking and savings isn't so grim, and I've cut the ridiculous VISA balance in half, which is still ridiculous but not as much.  2019 did see record setting snowfall, which cut into my income of officiating basketball, so I would appreciate 2020 being not so snowy, so I can keep the positive income arriving.
• Professionally, consideration of retirement has crept into my thinking.  I'm mulling it over more and more, and early retirement does seem to be something of interest.  I believe I'd like to be more available for my parents, in-laws, children, and grand-children.  I know I'll still have to work somehow - either by substituting or perhaps teaching at a local community college or jumping the river and teaching in Iowa.  And I know I'll still keep officiating and umpiring at least a few more years.  But early retirement may add some flexibility to my life that would not only be refreshing, but could also be invigorating.  Maybe I could consider trying some college officiating and/or umpiring; maybe I could try another career?  Teaching at Rockridge is still something I enjoy; I don't have as much fun as I have had in recent years, but I think that goes along with getting nearer and nearer retirement.  The negotiation process that occurred last spring really had an impact on me, and I don't think that's something I'm going to get over, even though I have set it aside from my day-to-day efforts.  I'm still a member of our association this year, but I'm considering an end to that involvement.
• Amber and I flew out to Laughlin, Nevada this past summer with Amber's parents and friends.  That was a great experience, but our gambling efforts didn't exactly work out.  This past summer also featured my first trip to Washington, D.C., by helping Amber out with her 8th grade field trip.  This trip is TRULY exhausting and features more time on a charter bus in a week than any one person deserves.  Yes, I'll be going back this summer, my butt and knees are already feeling the pain.  In all seriousness, though, I really enjoyed all the sightseeing and tour of the capital.  I learned a lot, saw a lot, and am eager to return.
• Let it snow?  While I mentioned it previously, last school year we had something like 12 snow days!  I've never seen anything like it.  The winter just kept dropping snow.  Our school day was extended, which was absolutely stupid.  I didn't get in a research paper to the students, which didn't kill them, but I felt bad about it.  And despite all the disruptions and weather crap, RHS was still an exemplary school, even though I'm still not sure how.
• My faith journey wasn't as strong this year as I would have liked.  Perhaps even just mentioning that topic here is an indication.  I have tried to figure out an answer to that, but I'm going to keep that to myself for now.  My faith journey is still present in my life and important, but it's behind other things that cuts down on the time and personal energy to be involved and grow.  

And on to 2020....

Honestly, I could take another year like last year - removing all the snow and canceled basketball and softball games.  This isn't a negotiation year, so I'm not going to stress over that.  A couple more grand-children would be okay.  Some divine intervention with the early retirement question would be appreciated.  And if I could get that dang VISA balance cleared out of my life, I might just do a dance in the street!  Oh, and if I could avoid another TGA event, that would be appreciated to.  I still haven't received all the medical bills for that little event.

That's A Wrap - Christmas 2019

We started Christmas last Saturday at the Massey's.  Jack and Rhonda served up a holiday supper and we spent some time with the Massey group, except for Aaron, but we hope to see him and his daughter sometime this week.

The next Christmas event was to watch Carmen's program at her church, and this is something I really enjoy.  Her church is Apostolic, which is scary to some folks.  And I'm not saying that I agree with everything, but I'm not sure I agree with everything any religion values, and that includes the Methodist church that I belong too.  The program is a cantata, and most of it consists of presenting Christmas songs, which is the part I like the best.  I had supper with the congregation afterwords, which was fun and enjoyable.  Carmen's church is full of wonderful people, and I enjoy seeing them each year around this time.  Plus, it's nice to see Carmen sing a couple of songs as well, even though I tell her each year to smile more.

Next up was Christmas with the Kiddoo-Bizarri kids at our house on Christmas Eve morning.  Amber has developed a tradition of wearing pajamas, which I'm admittedly not a big fan of, but I'm trying to let it grow on me.  My pajamas simulate a Santa suit, and it's red and in past years when I've been heavier, I felt awful - like a Santa that had a belly fully of jelly but no white beard to go along with it.  And I'm just not ready to be a jolly old fat Santa yet.  I'm not going to lie...being thinner this year helped.  Now I just looked like an skinnier "middle-aged" dude where Santa pajamas.  Unfortunately, Chase wasn't in attendance, which was a disappointment, but all the other Kiddoo and Bizarri children joined us - their spouses and children included. And extra special this year were the grandkids all in the fun - Ava, Tucker, Brooklyn, and Brinley had a nice time, and I can only imagine Christmas getting crazier and crazier as the little ones grow older.

In the evening, we packed up and headed to Grandma Cathy's house.  Chase was at this gathering, so at least we got to see him and give him his gifts.  We also got to see Kaylee and Peyton, and Greg joined us too.  More food, featuring oyster soup and ham sandwiches, and more gifts handed out as well, were the events of the evening.  Amber and I then headed home and crashed; I think we were sleeping by nine o'clock.

In between our family events today, Carmen and Cole and I watched Hallmark movies, which was fun.  Carmen and I (and Amber) are sold are the movies, but Cole is a bit of a skeptic.  We will keep working on him.

Christmas Day itself is pretty much like a "leftover" anymore.  All the kids are spread out to their "other side" families, so Amber and I had a relatively quiet day.  We went over to Kourtney's and then stopped by the casino on the way home...no luck there, though.  Surprisingly, there were more people there then I thought.  I wonder if that's a signal that other folks are like us...all Christmas complete.  I hope it's not because those folks just don't have a Christmas to attend.

Yesterday and today, Amber and I traveled to Dubuque to check out the Diamond Jo Casino and just have an overnight get-a-way.  We lost...again...but the buffet was really good last night, and we enjoyed seeing a different casino and playing games that we weren't familiar with.  I think my new favorite slot game was Farmville.  We went back again this morning, but that didn't go well either...dang it!

So today we returned home and put away Christmas '19.  It's a bit of a process to get all the boxes out from the storage closet in the basement, and pack back up all the decorations and ornaments and of course the tree.  After a couple of hours the recent remnants of Christmas were stored away; left only with the memories of the holiday.

And honestly, it was a wonderful holiday!  By working pretty hard at officiating in November and December, I was able to purchase gifts for all my close family and friends and stay in my budget.  Plus, I was able to take Amber on the quick overnight casino escape up to Dubuque; she took care of the hotel room, and I took care of our casino spending money.

Unfortunately, there was no white Christmas this year, which was a bummer.  On the other hand, taking down the outside lights today and driving around to families and events and Dubuque sure was a lot simpler without snow on the ground and roads.  We had three inches of snow on Halloweeen, and record setting high temps and no snow around Christmas...crazy.

So the Christmas break is over, and it's back to officiating tomorrow.  Then a Sunday off and back to another game on Monday.  It's a good thing I'm doing a little officiating...Santa's shopping and no luck at the Diamond Jo is leaving this guy a little light on the wallet.  Working a few games over the next couple of days perhaps can save me until my next paycheck arrived in mid-January.

Bring on the New Year!

My Report on Transient Global Amnesia

So last Monday, I had an interest event happen.  The quick summary is that I experienced an episode of transient global amnesia, which basically means my short term memory wasn't functioning normally for about a 6 hour period.  I've waited this long to post this particular message because I've been trying to figure it out enough to explain it and make some reasonable guesses as to what caused it.

Since the event I joined a Facebook group which honestly has had a bit of a calming effect.  My episode, it seems, really isn't that surprising even though prior to last Monday I hadn't even ever heard of TGA.  "Rookies" seem to join the group weekly, and their stories are always very similar to mine.  There seems to be a general unofficial consensus that hydration level and stress level are connected to having an event.  A low hydration level mixed with some type of mental, emotional, and/or physical stress occurrence seem to be a "winning" combination of factors.  And those things would have been factors in my episode.  I'm often dehydrated in the morning, especially after officiating a lot, even though I really try to stay hydrated.  And the intermittent fasting eating schedule I'm on seems to require drinking even more water, so my eating habits may have also contributed, even though I'm not stopping my IM eating schedule.

The basic summary of my event involved an early morning strength workout down at Turning Pointe in Andalusia with more weight than usual for me.  I wasn't "maxing out" or anything like that, but I felt good and wanted to increase the weight I had been using.  While I don't remember exactly how much water I drank before the workout, my guess is maybe a small glass of water along with the typical cup of coffee that I have in the morning.  And it's entirely possible that I only had a cup of coffee.

I remember looking up at the clock above the treadmills at Turning Pointe thinking that Amber's exercise class should be wrapping up - and I'm pretty sure that's when my TGA event started.  From that moment at about 6:00 a.m. until about noon, I'm only able to recall "flashes" of things that occurred.  The best way I can describe it is an awareness of "losing time", as that's how I was trying to describe it to Amber just before we called her mom who was a former nurse and then calling up 911 for some help. 

I remember a discussion about pajamas, sitting at the kitchen table telling Amber something wasn't right, the name pin on the deputy that responded to the 911 call, the new EMT entering the ambulance at the transition point, the garage at the hospital, the face of the doctor, the shaking hands of my ER nurse...in retrospect, it's almost like everything I was really concentrating hard on I can remember a flash of it, but my automatic gathering of memories that usually seems to naturally occur without effort wasn't functioning, like that switch of my brain was just turned off.

The switch seemed to be turned back on when I was completing the MRI at the hospital.  And along with the short term automatic memory returning, I was aware of a headache, like the feeling of a hangover from too much alcohol.  (A feeling I haven't had in quite some time because I really don't drink much anymore.)

All of the tests came back normal - blood work, EKG, CTscan, MRI - all normal.  The ER doctor sent me home, after my $150.00 debit card charge for my share of the ER experience.  She told me the even might happen again or it might not.  She told me to take it easy for the rest of the day but to return to normal activities and not be concerned...she said it just happens sometimes to folks - usually in their 50's or older after some type of stress situation to the body and/or brain.

So no aneurism, no stroke, no brain cancer...just a little episode of TGA.  I haven't had any episodes since, but I have tried to be more aware of hydration level, and amount of weight I'm using when/if I'm in the weight room.  I'll keep you posted.

There Is Room For It All

It's Christmas morning!  Merry Christmas to all!

I was thinking recently about the differing perspectives on Christmas...the proverbial debate over the "true meaning" of Christmas.  I got to thinking...isn't there room for it all?  Yes, Christmas has become commercialized with Black Friday shopping now starting before Thanksgiving, and Christmas music on Mix 96 starting the day after Halloween, and Christmas store displays appearing even before that.  And, no, Christmas should be ALL about getting presents.

And yes, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ for Christians and is celebrated in different ways by different cultures and religions.  We indeed should observe that meaning of Christmas in the respective ways of our culture and/or religious backgrounds.

But isn't there room for all of it?  Can't it be okay to celebrate the seriousness of the birth of the Christ child with the whimsical fun of Santa with the hustle-and-bustle of Christmas shopping for a gift for a loved one or friend?  I think there indeed is room for all of it.

There is room for setting a budget and gift giving; there is room for church service and observance; there's room for Hallmark movies with family; there is room for ripping open gifts with children and grandchildren; there is room for spiced egg nog and Christmas carols.  ALL OF IT IS IMPORTANT, and as we age the birth of Christ can be enjoyed right along with The Polar Express.

So it's Christmas, and enjoy the day and the yearly experience for all of the reasons - the fun and the solemn - because it's all good and there is room for it all!

Cultural Competency Finale

So my final day of professional development training in what I now forever will call cultural competency was last Friday, and for me was the least meaningful of the three days.  For most of the day, the presenter helped the audience to see the steps to have systemic application of the concepts for a school wide or school district wide implementation - a school improvement effort if you will.

The problem is that in school districts the size of Rockridge, a sustained school improvement effort is virtually impossible.  The main issues as I see them is lack of funding and turnover.  Lack of funding is fairly obvious...not enough money is thrown at the effort to create a lasting implementation.  Turnover results in part to the frequent turnover of state mandates.  The mandate that comes from state leaders this year will be gone next year, only to be replaced by a different or "improved" mandate the next year.  Another turnover issue, though, also involves school boards, principals, and superintendents.  At a school district of our size, those folks just aren't around for too long.  Our principal is now is more of the abnormal than the norm.  Administrators and school board members are normally around 3-5 years, and then its a new set of philosophies that emerge that think the last school improvement needs changed to something better.

So between lack of funding and turnover, real sustained improvement really is in the hands of the classroom teachers that value a particular emphasis.  And when I retire, my replacement may have a completely different take on the value of cultural competency.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed this professional development series.  It confirmed some ideas for me and gave me some new ideas to mull over.  I had a chance to hear others speak and see an awesome presenter carefully turn a group of educators mostly unfamiliar with each other into folks who were willing to share views and feelings and ideas - often about very difficult topics.

If that's the last formal professional development I attend before I retire, it was a good one to end on.

December Random Thoughts

I weighed 213.4 lbs. this morning...a new low since starting intermittent fasting last February.  I'm feeling great on the basketball court; I don't have the aches and pains, I'm not as winded trying to keep up with the kids, and I just feel more positive and energetic.  I'm now actually concentrating on trying to get faster.  My basketball officiating schedule has been brutal to start December, and I'm surviving and very pleased.  The daily stretching routine and trying to get some strength training in 2-3 times a week is also contributing.

School improvement frustrates the hell out of me.  I've been in this profession most of my life, and I just don't understand what has to be so challenging.  It's a big, big project if its run poorly and too much is attempted to be tackled.  It's a very simple and rewarding project if it's just kept small and specific.  Our high school was labeled an exemplary school, but we are now going through school improvement - apparently in three areas - data decision making, school climate, and curriculum mapping.  We had a half day Wednesday, and it was a total waste of time - nothing was accomplished that hadn't been tried before.  Yes, data can be used to drive instruction, but the data has to be credible and reliable.  Yes, data can lead to discussions, but the data has to be credible and reliable.  Yes, teachers can use data to get to know their students better and more efficiently create groupings and generate differentiated remediation support, but THE DAMN DATA HAS TO BE CREDIBLE AND RELIABLE!  So step one is to determine the best way to make the data be as credible and reliable as possible and then figure out a way to assess how credible and reliable it might be.  And after that is completed, the other parts of the process can be started.  Did I mention the data has to be credible and reliable? 

Christmas isn't far away, and I'm fairly ready which is nice.  I've got a lot of shopping completed, the tree and the lights are up, and I'm enjoying the Christmas music of the season.  I might get some shopping in today.

I have my last day of professional development with cultural competency - at least that's what I'm calling it.  I've enjoyed it and grown from it.  Now, I hope I can just help my students more than I perhaps have done in the past.  I'll post a new blog entry when I'm through.

I haven't written much because I honestly try to avoid writing rants (sorry about the school improvement rant above).  I'd like these blog to be positive, and I'll keep trying.

Oh...I'd really appreciate the "extra" things in my life to not break - like Amber's car, the stove, the tire on the truck that seems to be leaking.  I can get it all done, but I'd really appreciate an opportunity to maybe get ahead of the game of life rather than just trying to struggle to keep up.  Maybe that's a Christmas wish!