Front Doors, Survivor, and School Violence

Hmmm, anyone feel like it outta be Friday already? The week has actually flown by, but it just feels like today should be Friday. We're close...

There hasn't been anything substantial to write about, so I'll just put up a few bullet points of potential interest:

• My dad came over yesterday to repaint our front doors. It's a double set of doors, so it's kind of a statement piece of our house. Last summer when we had the entire exterior painted we chose a burnt red for the doors that ended up being way too orange. It's great for the "Harvest season", but not at all for Christmas or Fourth of July. Dad agreed to redo them for us - and opted to give it a go this week before leaving for a two week project down in Coronado. It was a real toss up trying to once again nail the exact right red - not too blue-ish (resulting in more of a purply/rosy hue) - and of course, not too orange-y. With Dad's help and expertise, we now feel like they are perfect.....THANK YOU SO MUCH, Dad!

• Leona is on her way home from over a month of being gone - she does a lot of traveling to family and friends in the Great Lakes area - particularly Minnesota - home of her alma mater, Bemidgi State (where she was once the Beaver mascot!). =) We owe her a special Mothers' Day dinner!

• If you follow "Survivor", it's been an interesting season with the introduction of "Redemption Island". One of the contestants has spent all but a few days there - and, especially in the beginning, it was in isolation. He's a sold-out Christian and has repeatedly discussed in his "Confession Camera time" how he's felt so low, but is willing to do whatever it takes to seek and follow the Lord's will in him being there. As it turns out, there's been other contestants sent there that have also had faith (Mike) and a gal named Julie who was very interested and made a comment as she left (didn't win the necessary challenge) that instead of winning the game/money, she feels like she's won in discovering "faith". Well, yesterday, they had her on KLOVE and she detailed how she ended up going to Mike's church after the season was over, and has become a sold-out follower of Christ! How cool is that? No matter how this season ends regarding who is not eliminated and wins the million, there's no doubt about the prize that Julie, Mike and Matt can rejoice in receiving!

• I subbed again in the classroom where I've subbed in most - my fifth graders at Yolanda. It was a wonderful day with absolutely no behavior issues - in contrast to that day I was discouraged when I was in there last. It just goes to show that sometimes, a good, optimistic attitude can make a world of difference (and threatening another day of missing recess to write apology letters!)

• Finally, a situation that is potentially a bit unnerving - but we've opted to look at the positives. Last Friday, on his walk home from school, Brayden used his cell phone to announce he'd taken a punch to the jaw. My reply was, of course, "WHAT?!" He proceeded to explain that during lunch, while playing a particularly aggressive game of soccer, his buddy Tanner (Nancy's son) ended up running into a boy named Roy pretty hard. Roy (who apparently has some anger management issues) got very upset and Brayden immediately witnessed him pulling his arm back to send a hard hit to Tanner's back (as Tanner had his back to him at that point). Brayden yelled to Tanner to turn around, and when Tanner didn't, Brayden acted on instinct and stood between them - even when the kid told him to get out of the way (with some colorful language thrown in), pushed him and then sent a blow to his jaw. It wasn't especially painful for Brayden and you could spot a little yellowing (light bruising) only if you looked hard enough, but still.... Brayden, in reporting all of this, told us he was very proud of himself for staying on his feet instead of getting knocked down and potentially taking more hits. (He credits the recent football workouts!). After the initial hits, other kids got involved in just holding back Roy and the situation dissipated. (Yes, we later learned that everyone was appropriately questioned and reprimanded as needed in the office. Brayden wasn't required to go in, nor did he receive any punishment).

• So, on the positive end of this unexpected violence was recognizing how our son reacted. He never lost his cool. He didn't hit back (though if it had continued he would have done what was needed to protect himself). He didn't hesitate to step in as needed for a friend, even when pain was involved. He's tough - and though small, I think - actually, I know based on what Brayden's talked about, this earned him a lot of respect. Girls immediately stepped in to hug him after the occurrence (ha!) and guys thought what he did was really cool. While it may not have been the smartest move, it ended well - and we made it clear we were very proud of him having the courage to have handled it like he did. A mom never wants to hear that her son got hit, but if this is the extent that Brayden will have to face in his public school career...then I'm okay.