To All the Teachers I've Loved Before...

Dear Mrs. McWhorter,

I must apologize. I have been remiss in keeping in contact with you over the years, and now this is the only medium I have to express my thoughts regarding our time together in the early 1980's at Cedar Bluff High School.

I can only hope you would have remembered me as you were my only science teacher during my three-year tenure as a student there. I can still see you behind your lab table endeavoring to impart to us the building blocks of life and the fine art of combining chemical equations (which I still cannot do through no fault of yours).

I greatly admired you, Mrs. McWhorter. You were always so elegant and ladylike. You rarely got upset and when you did, it was more along the lines of "I'm very disappointed in you," rather than any real anger. Even when, after being hit with a softball, I threw up on your beautiful, suede, high-heeled shoes, you never lost your cool. I think I knew, even then, that I wanted to be just like you when I grew up.

I remember so many of your lessons, even though I was not the most stellar of science pupils. And I remember lessons that had nothing to do with science. I remember dissecting earthworms and grasshoppers. I remember freezing (and thawing) goldfish. I remember hatching maggots. I remember making protective viewers to watch a solar eclipse. I remember being the pilot class for marine biology. I remember being in a class of three and you trusting us to do labs on our own. I remember your story of blowing up a frog in the vent hood (and wanting to try it). I remember being the one lucky enough to get to clean the salt water tank (and learning that certain fish will eat sea urchins). I remember completely dissolving a scrub brush in pure bleach thinking I was simply disinfecting it. I remember the smell of formaldehyde. I remember missing out on anatomy and physiology because no one else wanted to take it. I remember melting glass rods trying to make little animals. But most of all, I remember being at home in your classroom.

That feeling, Mrs. McWhorter, is what I try to give my own students. A sense of belonging, of being somewhere safe with someone who shows them, not so much the mechanics of being an adult, but the art of it. What gentleness and kindness look like in action every day. How to be a lady, no matter what.

I miss you, Mrs. McWhorter. I wish I could sit with you and thank you for all that you gave to me and to the rest of your students. But...I waited too long, and this is all I have left. Hopefully, somehow, somewhere, you're aware of this letter, and know how much you were appreciated during your lifetime. Thank you.

Love,
Kimberly Oliver Edmondson (80-83)

My Bucket List

Has it really been that long since I have posted anything on this blog? I am ashamed. I know I've started a dozen different times to put something out there, but life kept calling me away, and somehow I just never got back to the writing. (The infamous) They always say that the new year will be better, and I truly hope so, because this year I've actually set some goals for myself (and for The Hubs though he doesn't know it yet).

I don't do resolutions. That word just has bad connotations. For those of you who do not know the meaning of that word, it means bad juju vibes. You start off with your new year's resolutions, but in the back of your mind, you know you will probably fail before January is halfway through. Then you do. Bad juju vibes.

Instead, I set goals. But isn't that the same thing? Nope. Resolutions tend to be big, honking things with no end in sight. I'm going to lose 50 pounds, or I'm going to tithe more. What do those things even mean? Goals have a purpose. I know what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, and how long it's going to take. And I have very few of them so that I don't get overwhelmed and do nothing.

First things first, I only set goals for one month. I figure I can do anything for January. I'm broke (thank you convoluted pay schedule) so I might as well work on things I can control. Admittedly, by the last week, I'm struggling but by then I've seen a little progress, so I can usually hang in there. Hey, it's only thirty days. (I don't count the first; I like my black-eyed peas a little too well for that.) If I can make it through January, well then, February is a short month, I can easily handle that. As long as the wind blows in March, I'm good (yep, that's weird, but it works for me), and April is the beginning of spring so it's like a whole new life has begun. Get where I'm going with this? Every month has it's own reason to stick with goals. Before you realize it, December has arrived, and, hey, you're not going to blow a winning streak are you?

Then, I only set goals I know I can do. For example, I'm going on a diet this month. I'm only going to eat certain foods and drink only water until January 31. And I'm giving myself two cheat days. Just a little something to look forward to.

So, other than the diet thing (partly me, and partly because the doctor said I needed to stop eating just because I get bored easily) here are some of the goals The Hubs and I have set for the next thirty days.

1. Exercise - Walk more. At least 2 days per week, rain or shine, warm or cold. Starting small, but I'm trying to work up to actually running eventually. I may need something to chase me for motivation, but...
2. Budget - To be more organized about it. It's not that we didn't budget before, it's just that we want to restart out envelope system. If you don't know what that is, google Dave Ramsey and sign up for a class.
3. House - Redo/finish one room. Then another in February. Then another in March. Then another in...
4. Double date night - This one actually starts in February, so clear your calendar, peeps, we might be calling you for a night out with the weird ones.

Which brings me to the last goal and the reason for all this writing in the first place. (And here's where The Hubs comes in though he is as yet unaware) This is my one big, hairy, audacious goal for the year. It's the only one that is open ended and will last all year long. It will take some doing, so if anyone would like to help, feel free to reach out with suggestions, resources, monetary gifts (kidding!) or whatever. I'm going to seriously work on my Bucket List.

Don't panic, I'm not planning on dying, I'm planning on living with a purpose this year. (And if you want to know what my bucket list consists of, click on the Random Plans portion of these blog pages.) I've lost too many people before they had a chance to do the things they wanted to do, and I've heard too many people say, "I really would like to___, but now I'm too old." And I call bull$#!&.

So I'm going to prove it. Therefore, Husband(and children)-O-Mine, if you are at a loss for gift ideas for all those holidays throughout the year, take a look at the Bucket List. There are plenty of things you can help out with on there. 

Will I finish the list? Of course not. I know that. I won't even get a quarter of the way through it. But I'll get a start on it, and that's the goal. So, internet world, my new year's challenge to you is, if you have a bucket list, get going on it, and if you don't have a bucket list, make one and get going on it. You won't regret it and in the end (I believe) you'll be the better person for it.

Happy 2019!