It has been 34 days since my wife and I got our license to foster little ones in need of placement from Child Protective Services. November 5th we got our license and our first placement in the same day. CPS placed two little boys with us and I loved them instantly. It was a truly magical experience. Nothing could have prepared me for how different life would be. Other than being overly tired, life seemed so much fuller than before. I spent all day looking forward to spending time with them.
We received word on Tuesday December 2nd that the boys would be moving to custody with a family member. It seems in many ways like a very fine placement. However, I was personally devastated. It's not everyday that miracles walk into your life. Thank the Lord Jesus that they don't walk out very often either. My parents came into town at the drop of a hat and helped us pack up and even more than that, supported us on that horribly difficult last night. The morning they got picked up, I cried all morning and all the way to work. I almost did not make it through the day. My wife somehow survived actually putting them in the car and watching them drive away. Even the thought, makes my legs weak.
I do not and never will regret having those boys in my home. My wife summed it up for me this way, "Those boys deserve someone to cry over them." I pray wholeheartedly and without reservation that those boys are perfectly taken care of and never want for anything. I trust God to watch over them.
A few days later our case worker called us and apologized. She had been out of town and no one updated her on the boys' new placement. She said that she would have come and helped with anything. She said the first time this happens is the hardest and to that I hope she is right.
Today, she called us with a new placement, a 10 day old preemie baby. As soon as the call came in she was putting us down for placement. Before CPS even had all of her paperwork filled out, she was on the phone with my wife asking us if we wanted to foster her. Of course she said yes.
We did not get to take her home tonight due to a paperwork snafu, but we will have her in our home tomorrow. I got to meet her tonight and change her little preemie hiney! That will probably be my favorite diaper change of all time. I know that dealing with CPS holds no promises, but while she is with us I will adore her and treasure every moment of every day.
If the boys had not moved to a new foster placement, our name would have been nowhere near the top of the list for this new precious baby. I strongly believe that fostering is our spiritual calling now and probably forever. God has slowly opened the way for us to undertake this opportunity and I cannot wait to see what the future holds.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Saturday, December 8, 2012
New Tech Head Coach
Wow. Just wow. Tommy Tuberville leaves Texas Tech. I'm not really surprised at that. I'm actually kind of glad the stiff is gone. He fit Texas Tech like high-heels on Shaquille O'neal. But where did he go??? Backwards that's where. Cincinnati is in the crumbling Big East Conference that is losing it's BCS bowl bid. From a career stand point it just does not seem like a smart move for him. I guess I would not have wanted him to leave if he made lots of smart moves though. I suppose it could be a stepping stone job where he hopes to do well there and then go back to a high profile school in the SEC or Big Ten. The last 2 coaches Cincy had went to Notre Dame and Tennessee respectively. So this of course leaves Tech in the position of having to fill his vacancy. Here are some candidates
George O'Leary
This name is interesting. He had huge success at Georgia Tech and then fell off the coaching map after a debacle at Notre Dame. He is now the Central Florida Head Coach and has made that program consistently near the top of Conference USA. CFU won the CUSA title again this year. He might be ready for the big time again.
Kliff Kingsberry
The phenomenal play of Johnny "Football" Manziel has people looking at Kingsberry as a potential candidate in the years to come. If Tech really wants him, this is their chance. He was Leach's first QB but also played for Spike Dykes and had some experience with Bill Belicheck in the NFL. He would bring the true Air Raid back to the Red Raiders and would generally please the fickle Red Raider fan base in the short term. He is still green for a head coach however.
Ruffin McNeal/Lincoln Riley-offensive coordinator
Ruffin and Riley have enjoyed success at East Carolina early and often. Ruffin and Riley led the Raiders to victory in the Alamo Bowl following the Leach debacle. He would be a sure bet to unite the fan base and heal some of the post-tuberville/leach blues.
David Cutcliffe
This hire would be dicey. Cutcliffe is not flashy or polished but he does consistently have good offenses. He has had success at Duke. Duke which is widely considered the toughest football job in the BCS conference system. If he can win there then he can win in Lubbock. He also was made famous for working out with his protege Payton Manning prior to his return to the NFL this season.
Todd Berry
I will make no secret that I strongly believe this is the best fit for Texas Tech at the moment. Berry got his Louisiana Monroe Warhawks to upset Arkansas and nearly beat Baylor and Auburn. He is a gunslinger in the truest sense of the word.
June Jones
Jones builds up programs. He did it at Hawaii and SMU. Neither of these had nearly the resources of Texas Tech. He can recruit young talent to play in his system and score points. His defenses are usually suspect but that could be said for many of the coaches on this list.
Chris Petersen
Hands down the best candidate. The question is; would he leave Boise State? Many have sought him. If Tech was to get him, he would begin with higher expectations than any coach in Tech history. With Boise State moving to the Big East and losing its chance at the BCS, maybe this is the time.
I wish Mike Stoops and Sonny Dykes had not already taken jobs. Dykes would have been an outstanding fit and Stoops would have brought a defensive presence that few in college football can match.
Guns up and hope for the best!
George O'Leary
This name is interesting. He had huge success at Georgia Tech and then fell off the coaching map after a debacle at Notre Dame. He is now the Central Florida Head Coach and has made that program consistently near the top of Conference USA. CFU won the CUSA title again this year. He might be ready for the big time again.
Kliff Kingsberry
The phenomenal play of Johnny "Football" Manziel has people looking at Kingsberry as a potential candidate in the years to come. If Tech really wants him, this is their chance. He was Leach's first QB but also played for Spike Dykes and had some experience with Bill Belicheck in the NFL. He would bring the true Air Raid back to the Red Raiders and would generally please the fickle Red Raider fan base in the short term. He is still green for a head coach however.
Ruffin McNeal/Lincoln Riley-offensive coordinator
Ruffin and Riley have enjoyed success at East Carolina early and often. Ruffin and Riley led the Raiders to victory in the Alamo Bowl following the Leach debacle. He would be a sure bet to unite the fan base and heal some of the post-tuberville/leach blues.
David Cutcliffe
This hire would be dicey. Cutcliffe is not flashy or polished but he does consistently have good offenses. He has had success at Duke. Duke which is widely considered the toughest football job in the BCS conference system. If he can win there then he can win in Lubbock. He also was made famous for working out with his protege Payton Manning prior to his return to the NFL this season.
Todd Berry
I will make no secret that I strongly believe this is the best fit for Texas Tech at the moment. Berry got his Louisiana Monroe Warhawks to upset Arkansas and nearly beat Baylor and Auburn. He is a gunslinger in the truest sense of the word.
June Jones
Jones builds up programs. He did it at Hawaii and SMU. Neither of these had nearly the resources of Texas Tech. He can recruit young talent to play in his system and score points. His defenses are usually suspect but that could be said for many of the coaches on this list.
Chris Petersen
Hands down the best candidate. The question is; would he leave Boise State? Many have sought him. If Tech was to get him, he would begin with higher expectations than any coach in Tech history. With Boise State moving to the Big East and losing its chance at the BCS, maybe this is the time.
I wish Mike Stoops and Sonny Dykes had not already taken jobs. Dykes would have been an outstanding fit and Stoops would have brought a defensive presence that few in college football can match.
Guns up and hope for the best!
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Rebirth of a Rivalry
Big Texas Tech game today. Triple overtime thriller vs TCU. It was one of the best games I've seen Tech in, in years. Sure we pummeled West Virginia last week, but it is much more fun and exciting to win a closely contested road contest. Now the very last South West Conference game for Tech was also vs TCU when I was still a pre teen. Tech lost in a very hotly contested game.
People in Lubbock have been wondering who would be Tech's new biggest rival. Of course we have Texas, and Oklahoma but we can be neither of those teams' biggest rival. TCU is our new biggest rival because both programs are fighting for the same space. Both schools look out from the shadow cast by the big 2 and say, "We can take them!" A&M was Tech's biggest rival, but one thing always irked me about them. They knew they were a big rival of ours but when asked most Aggie fans would say, "Our only rival is Texas." As if we were beneath them. Well to TCU fans I say, "Welcome back to the rivalry!"
People in Lubbock have been wondering who would be Tech's new biggest rival. Of course we have Texas, and Oklahoma but we can be neither of those teams' biggest rival. TCU is our new biggest rival because both programs are fighting for the same space. Both schools look out from the shadow cast by the big 2 and say, "We can take them!" A&M was Tech's biggest rival, but one thing always irked me about them. They knew they were a big rival of ours but when asked most Aggie fans would say, "Our only rival is Texas." As if we were beneath them. Well to TCU fans I say, "Welcome back to the rivalry!"
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Making a Difference
One of the biggest reasons I tell people that I became a teacher was that I wanted to make a difference. That gets lost in piles of paperwork and drudgery. Tonight I stayed at work until 8:00 to finish yet another teacher project and was reminded that teachers do make a difference. One of my students from last year was leaving our school. I was saddened because I felt that this particular student had made a lot of progress, in spite of a regrettable situation in her home life.
When I heard that much of the struggle in her home life was being alleviated by the move, I felt better. I was totally unprepared for what her father had told our administration as he checked his children out of school. He said that he didn't know what he would have done without the teachers and staff at my school. He said that every time he was about to give up, the school offered to go more out of its way to help. A whole lot of people helped this family, but I was one of them. I was reminded that some of this hard work pays off. Making the world a better place is much more difficult, much more time consuming and has much less immediate pay off than I imagined. It is however, more than worth it.
When I heard that much of the struggle in her home life was being alleviated by the move, I felt better. I was totally unprepared for what her father had told our administration as he checked his children out of school. He said that he didn't know what he would have done without the teachers and staff at my school. He said that every time he was about to give up, the school offered to go more out of its way to help. A whole lot of people helped this family, but I was one of them. I was reminded that some of this hard work pays off. Making the world a better place is much more difficult, much more time consuming and has much less immediate pay off than I imagined. It is however, more than worth it.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
And now for some angry prose...
People are not numbers. They're not. The number on my check stub doesn't tell the story of my life or yours. Yet we are conditioned to judge success by that number.
A child that lives in a shattered home and doesn't even have her own room to hide in is not her test score. She's not. Tell that to her teachers or the President himself. See how far it gets you. It still doesn't change the fact that she's a walking, talking human being. Not a number.
Statistics are not the problem. Making statistics the equivilent of absolute gospel is the problem.
A child that lives in a shattered home and doesn't even have her own room to hide in is not her test score. She's not. Tell that to her teachers or the President himself. See how far it gets you. It still doesn't change the fact that she's a walking, talking human being. Not a number.
Statistics are not the problem. Making statistics the equivilent of absolute gospel is the problem.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Sleeptalking
When I was growing up I had to share my room with my brother. Eric is two years older than me and for the majority of my life, was always bigger. I'm taller now though. Anyway, Eric and I had bunk beds in our bedroom and I always slept on top and he got the bottom bunk. So one night I'm sleeping and I heard this nearly desperate "Ethan, Ethan!" coming from the below me. I sat up straight and in a near panic asked "What?" In an off hand voice my dear brother queried, "Do you like hockey?" I leaned over the edge of my bed and hung off the side so that I could see him and asked, "What are you talking about?" My only answer was a chorus of snoring. I thought he was faking sleep so I yelled at him to leave me alone and to go to sleep.
The next morning, I told my mom what had happened and Eric, who just can't help but laugh whenever he had pulled a prank, was speechless. Neither Mom or I believed him and he got a good tongue lashing from her about how sleep is important and not to be playing games after bedtime. I was satisfied until the next time, several months later. He didn't ask me a question, just said something unintelligible. I asked him what he said and was only greeted with soft snoozes. I listened to his breathing to try and catch him being funny but his breathing pattern never changed. My brother was a certified sleeptalker.
He rarely ever said anything that I could hear and he never addressed me personally again, but he did completely fall off his bunk bed once and have a whole conversation with my mom about it. He woke up in the morning and was completely surprised that he was on the floor.
I asked his girlfriend recently if she had ever heard him talk in his sleep. She said "No but he mumbles and moans a lot and he even laughs in his sleep."
The next morning, I told my mom what had happened and Eric, who just can't help but laugh whenever he had pulled a prank, was speechless. Neither Mom or I believed him and he got a good tongue lashing from her about how sleep is important and not to be playing games after bedtime. I was satisfied until the next time, several months later. He didn't ask me a question, just said something unintelligible. I asked him what he said and was only greeted with soft snoozes. I listened to his breathing to try and catch him being funny but his breathing pattern never changed. My brother was a certified sleeptalker.
He rarely ever said anything that I could hear and he never addressed me personally again, but he did completely fall off his bunk bed once and have a whole conversation with my mom about it. He woke up in the morning and was completely surprised that he was on the floor.
I asked his girlfriend recently if she had ever heard him talk in his sleep. She said "No but he mumbles and moans a lot and he even laughs in his sleep."
Thursday, January 13, 2011
This quote sums up my approach to teaching.Yes as a teacher I have to know what I'm going to say when I get up in front of my students, or at least have some general idea. I also have to know what I'm doing the next day, what I'm putting on Friday's test, what I'm going to do with those that pass that test, and what I'm going to re-do with those that fail that test.Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater. ~Gail Godwin
But all of that pales in comparison to what a teacher really has to do...he/she has to sell information to students, who for the most part, don't want it. It doesn't matter if they information is interesting or boring. It doesn't matter if it's math, science, social studies or language arts. All that matters is that they have little interest in it, because it is not yet part of their understanding of the world. So everyday is an act, a farce, or even an outrght con to get those students to open up their heads for precious seconds so that I can pour something in.
Does it sound like I like my job? Well I do. Love it in fact because there are never two days the same and I, for the most part, love spending time with children.
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