End of March, 2010

To our SBA High School Families –

            We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Certainly full of family and fun, but hopefully some focus on why we should do all that we do. That first Easter was mind-blowing in so many ways, if I can use a somewhat contemporary adjective. But perhaps the most incredible part – at least for me – is that He endured all He endured by choice. Just makes you want to be better, doesn’t it?

Here’s a quick look at the month ahead:
Wednesday, April 7 --- 1st Wednesday of the Month, 2:00 pm dismissal
Sunday, April 11 --- Senior Mother & Daughter Tea
            --- Library Fundraiser at Davis-Kidd Bookstore, 5-8 pm
Saturday, April 17 --- Junior / Senior Prom
Sunday, April 18 --- Senior Father & Son outing at the Redbirds
Thursday, April 22 --- Opening Night for “Singing in the Rain” (Thu-Sun)

Please note the annual Library Fundraiser at Davis-Kidd bookstore coming up this Sunday evening. We greatly appreciate their kindness and generosity as well as the work that has gone into organizing it. If you’re looking for a possible graduation or Mother’s Day gift or a really good meal, we hope you’ll come out to support us. Thank you!

It’s not uncommon for some students to use the Easter date as an internal body-clock signaling the time for them to begin to wind down for the year. Throw in some sunshine and I can’t blame them for being tempted. It reminds me of sitting in a college class or two when I began to close up my book and pack up my stuff when I saw the clock on the wall getting toward the end of class.
But since we still have seven weeks before exams, it would be like … well, it wouldn’t be good. We’re going to keep pushing, thank you for joining us in that very same effort.
* * * * *

            It seemed like any other day when I got out of bed.
           
My routine sure began the same – stumbling and showering, shampooing and shaving, dressing and then driving to school. No one will ever accuse me of having bright-eyed mornings, heck, I even struggle on Christmas. So when I manage to handle all those needs in that precise order, my day is starting well.
           
As you know, since we work at the same school, reporting at the same hour, Nancy and I obviously get ready each morning in more or less the same time window. Because she knows me, she allows me to graze through the house in silence, though we do have our one simple “good morning” routine.

I sputter out, “Let’s stay home and play hooky today.” She replies with “I will if you will.” And then we both get ready and head out the door.
           
I knew this would be a little different day though since a doctor’s appointment had been added to my mid-morning calendar. It was a return visit to my dermatologist, two in less than a week. They had diagnosed a basal cell something or other and they had plans to dig at it until I didn’t have it anymore. No fun, but apparently better than allowing it to sit and marinade.
           
Before I checked out of school for the appointment, I swung by Nancy’s desk more than a few times as I always do. Can you get this file for me? Can you find that kid for me? Call me if you need me. Nothing special, just like any other day.
           
When I arrived at the doctor’s office, they called me to the counter and handed me one of those dreaded clipboards with three or four very blank pages on them.
           
You know the ones. Turns out they were converting all their patients’ records to a new computer system and were using this opportunity to update all the same questions I had answered several years ago.
           
I don’t know what it says about my life but I answered every single question exactly as I did back then. Same house, same phone, same emergency contacts and same wife – though that last part was about to get dicey.
           
As is always the case, the last two things they require are a signature and the day’s date. Fill in the boxes, sign below. And that’s when I realized this was not any other day.
            G-e-o-r-g-e V-a-l-a-d-i-e …. M-a-r-c-h 1-8

            Picture one of those cartoon strip thought balloons: “Hmmm, you know, this seems like a date that should mean something? What is it?
            Did I have another appointment back at school that I’ve forgotten about? Nah, I don’t think so.
            March 18, what could that be? St. Patrick’s Day was yesterday, so that’s not it.
            I know tomorrow is the Feast of St. Joseph but I don’t think that’s what’s gnawing at me. What could it be?”

            Let me pause here to say that – other than the holy days of the Church - I can’t recall the date of any other saintly feast. I have no idea why his has stuck in my mind all these years. But from somewhere in the depths of who knows where, that factoid was rising to the surface when …
           
“Oh my God, it’s Nancy’s birthday!”
           
            I forgot my wife’s birthday.
           
I don’t know how that might play in other homes, but for me, panic set in. I began to formulate a much-needed plan. So while lying there, with time to plot, I began to imagine the excuses I might invent or the conversation that might likely result.
           
But I was guilty and there was no escaping it. Mature or not, I schemed as I did when I was ten and broke one of mom’s dishes. Rather than ‘fess up, I concocted a ploy to hide it at the bottom of the stack, convincing myself she would never find it. But then she did. And she called my name. And well, my name was about to be called once again.
           
Thankfully, Nancy was a princess. Rather than being eaten up with anger, she had spent the morning laughing to herself, knowing I’d remember her sooner or later. She knew I loved her. But she had definitely enjoyed the thought of my freaking out. She had even thought about calling our three daughters and unleashing them on me. That’s evil but I guess I would have deserved it.
           
Later, we enjoyed dinner together where she openly laughed about it. Gracious, loving and forgiving, she asked when I had actually remembered. Which was when I felt comfortable enough to tell her about the doctor and the date thing.

Oh why couldn’t I stop myself there? Oh no, apparently I felt the evening had been going well enough that I could now confess to her that I had actually recalled the feast of St. Joseph long before I ever thought about her birthday.

            And I had almost survived the day!

            Our lives are full of mess-ups – some serious, some not so much. We don’t parent our kids exactly right at times nor do we always treat our own parents as we should. Of course, that doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t try to get better. But I will say it’s easier when that someone is a forgiving soul. I need to be that person too.

            Best wishes for a wonderful Spring. And don’t forget – writing in your calendar isn’t always enough. You’ve got to read it after you write in it.

George Valadie
SBA

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