Why not me?

 It's that time of year... March Madness has arrived.  Watching these games has got me thinking.  You can never count the underdog out.  This year's bracket has plenty of examples that back me up.  In the first round North Texas beat Purdue, Abilene Christian beat University of Texas, and best of all Oral Roberts University beat Ohio State.

I say best of all because I have an old teammate on the Oral Roberts basketball team.  I was so tempted to pick Oral Roberts in my bracket just because of him.  I didn't do it and of course, now I regret it.  I guess I should have listened to my own gut instinct.  I guess I didn't have enough faith.  

This experience has taught me some lessons that I can carry with me throughout my life.  I won't let others tell me what I am capable of, I'll decide that for myself.   When someone says that I can't, I'll say I can.  I will always remember what Russell Wilson said when he was talking about making it to the Super Bowl... "why not me".  So yeah, 

WHY NOT ME.  

It's almost time for me to apply to colleges.  I have a few schools on my list that may be a reach.  I know I have good test scores and I've taken a strong enough schedule, but I also have a few B's.  The craziness that Covid-19 caused and the chaos that my younger brother's adoption created (3 different international trips etc) both had an impact on my grades.  I'm not making excuses, it was still my fault.  I should have powered through.

Here's the thing, those mistakes may cost me my dream school.  They may not think I can make the grade, but I KNOW I CAN.  Hopefully they don't make the same mistake I did.  Hopefully they won't overlook me.  Maybe they'll have faith and go ahead and select the underdog.

Twas the kid we hosted at Christmas

 A few years ago my parents discovered there was this thing called "Orphan Hosting".  Basically it is exactly what it sounds like; you host an orphan for a few weeks, usually over Christmas or during the summer.  My parents thought it would be a good experience for us kids and that it would be a good way to do a "good deed" for a kid in need.  To be honest, I thought it sounded pretty weird to have a kid you've never met  to come and stay with you for 5 weeks.  My parents told me to think of it as a distant cousin from Eastern Europe coming to stay with us for Christmas.  It still sounded weird to me.

When "N" arrived (I'll just call him N) , he was completely overwhelmed.  I suppose I would have been too if I was only 10 years old and traveled from Latvia to spend Christmas with complete strangers.  Oh and SURPRISE, he didn't speak English.  Thank God for google translate.   Funny enough, he wasn't overwhelmed by the flight, the language barrier, or even the fact that we were strangers.  He was on emotional overload because he had his own room, with a big bed, and a drawer filled with clothes just for him.

Those few weeks weren't awkward like I had assumed they would be. "N" fit right in.  It was fun to watch him enjoy and appreciate the things that I take for granted everyday.  You could see he loved just being part of a family.  The more comfortable he became with us, the more he shared about his story and his past, and the more I realized how lucky I am.

I am blessed enough to belong to a complete and solid family unit.  My parents are still married. Both sets of my grandparents are still married.  I have three siblings, I have aunts and uncles and cousins, all who love and support me.  Our hosting experience helped me realize how fortunate I am to have a loving family.  We've hosted two more times since that first Christmas.  Having "G" and "D" come and stay with us was just as rewarding as the first hosting with "N".

If Orphan Hosting sounds like something your family would be interested in.  I highly recommend it.  But beware, you may end up falling for your host child.  We did.  After a year long international adoption experience, "N" is now my little brother.

For more information on Orphan Hosting, check out this website:   www.p143.org

Goodbye Snow Days

I'm at home today.  There is no school for me. Days off are the best, but what is even better is an unexpected day off.  This, and the fact that we just had a crazy winter storm, has got me thinking,  I don't believe future students will ever know the joy of a real "SNOW DAY".  

Thanks to this pandemic (another topic for another day), we all have access to virtual learning.  Inclement weather days off are now going to be virtual learning days.  We will be sitting inside our homes on our laptops and looking at the snow outside our windows.  What torture.

Dear future generations, here is what you are going to miss.

1- Checking the news over and over again to see if your school district has been closed. (Preferably the night before, why wait to cancel in the morning)

2- Peeking out your window whenever you wake up in the middle of the night and thinking "please let there be snow, please let there be snow".

3- Waking up to your Mom trying to quietly turn off your alarm because SCHOOL WAS CANCELLED!

4- Playing in the snow from the minute you wake up until your hands and feet are so numb that you can't continue.

5- Coming in for a hot chocolate, throwing your socks and gloves into the dryer, thawing out, and then heading right back outside again to repeat the process over and over.

6- Of course there is always that agonizing defeat when the meteorologist got the forecast wrong.  You wake up to nothing.  They got you excited for nothing.  Now you're exhausted from all the anticipation and from waking up 10 times during the night... and YOU STILL HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL.

No, you kids will never know the thrill of a true snow day and for that I am sorry.  Enjoy virtual school in your pajamas and I hope you still have snow at 3pm when you finally get outside.

***After our most recent winter storm in Texas, food banks are running low on donations.  Consider volunteering or contributing to your local community food bank, or maybe this one:  North Texas Food Bank,  ntfb.org