Author: Tim Gels

Figuratively speaking, the floor around me is littered with balled-up wads of paper as I’ve started this slice many more times than once.  I don’t think I have the words, and when I think I might have found them I’m afraid they’ll come out wrong.  I’m worried about privacy, I’m worried about coming across too maudlin, or I’m worried about how my writing could be misinterpreted, especially by someone who has experienced or is experiencing something similar.  This story is just too common throughout our nation, yet hidden at the same time.

So, I’ll dive in.

When you ask soon-to-be parents what they “want” concerning their new baby, some will state a preference: We want a boy or a little brother or a son to carry on the name.  Or, we want a girl, a strong little sister, a princess to call our own.  It’s not uncommon, though, to hear a third answer: It doesn’t matter, as long as he or she is healthy.  No one, it seems, wants or hopes otherwise.

But some do.

I recently traveled north, as I do during most longer school breaks, to visit “my side of the family.”  My wife goes many of the times, when work and other commitments allow, but not every time.  (Did you know there are people who don’t just get a week or two or ten off at a time?)  As we’ve made that trip so many times over the years, we’ve celebrated births and birthdays, deaths, holidays, graduations, and sometimes just the ability to get together for a shared meal on Sunday afternoon.  My siblings and I have watched our children grow into their twenties as we’ve grown into our 40s and 50s.

Now, though, as it’s just starting to get more difficult to crawl around on the floor, I have a niece and nephew, both under the age of three.  My sister and her wife, it seems, are in the process of adoption.       Full stop.  Wow.

Those two little kids are nothing short of precious.  Their young lives hold the potential of every new birth, and they’ve already grown to bring so much joy to the new family around them.  The oldest, a boy, has a mop of blonde hair and an impish look that never ceases to bring a smile to anyone who sees it.  The youngest, a girl who’s yet to see her first birthday, wears a grin most of the time and has the odd habit of rolling/scooting instead of crawling.  Her chunky little legs cry out to be gently pinched, and her dark brown hair is in a constant state of muss.

They’re kids.  They’re a son and a daughter to their new parents, a niece and a nephew to some of us, grandchildren to others, and new cousins to the rest.  Adopted into the family (well, almost, as the wheels of the system move slowly).

Choosing to adopt is an act of love and grace.  Adoption, in and of itself, is incredible.

“It doesn’t matter, as long as he or she is healthy…”

Adopting children who were born into opioid addiction? That takes things to a whole new level.

Some folks, it seems, want and hope otherwise.

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

It’s a cliche

some might say

An overworked image

commonplace, really

 

I don’t agree

Miracles are all around us.

Happening all the time

doesn’t diminish them

My wife and I oftentimes say that the best part of any trip is coming home.  There’s just something about walking through the door after a trip–we love it.

I did just that a few hours ago, wrapping up a trip to visit my parents in Ohio.  It was a tough trip, as I drove through rain more than half of the 450 miles.  Yuck.

Sometimes I think about the differences between coming and going.

On the trip up, the car is packed neatly and everything has a place.  On the trip home, everything is in the car…somewhere.  (Except for coming back home after Christmas.  Um, Mom, how am I going to get that in the car?)

On the trip up, I’m fresh and ready for a road trip.  On the trip home, I’m tired from all of the interaction (as good as it is!) and a strange bed.  Although, I have to admit, my folks’ guest bed is extremely comfortable.  Unfortunately, it’s a double bed and I’m 6’4″ tall.  I sleep diagonally.

On the trip up, conversation is usually plentiful.  On the trip home, there’s a lot of music and thinking time.

Our (it won’t be tax season, so my wife the tax preparer can go) next trip should be in the early summer, and I can’t wait to see everyone again.

Maybe we could fly home.

Nature, sometimes, confuses me.  I don’t understand, but I guess that’s okay.

During my spring break travel time here in Ohio, I went shopping with my mom.  As we were out and about, we found ourselves in a strip mall shopping area.  Asphalt and concrete as far as the eye could see (which, honestly, wasn’t that far given the density of the buildings).

Right there in the parking lot, settled beneath a tree in the middle of 24 square feet of dirt that was once covered with mulch, sat a nesting Canada goose, with the mate standing guard just a few feet away, its feet standing on the curb.

Nature, sometimes, confuses me.  I don’t understand, but I guess that’s okay.

As I’m getting older, it seems like the only time I find myself in a bar, I’m with my mom.

Honestly, I’m not sure how she’s going to handle reading that line.

Perhaps I should clarify.  I’m currently up from Alabama visiting my family in Ohio.  It’s a trip I try to make around three or four times a year–usually my trips coincide with a school break.  When I’m here, either by myself or with my wife, we usually make at least one trip out to dinner at a favorite place in the small town where I was raised, Union.

Union, a suburb of a suburb of Dayton, is getting bigger; when I lived there the town didn’t have a single stop light.  If I’m not mistaken, it’s now up to two.  When I lived there, it didn’t have the Toll House Tavern, either.

The Toll House, situated near the historical location of a toll station on State Route 48, is now a fixture in this small town.  The Toll House can be a lot of things, depending on what you’re looking for.  We enjoy it as a restaurant with locally-famous broasted chicken, but if you’re looking for trivia on Wednesday nights, a place to meet with friends, or just a great place to tip a cold one (whatever your pleasure), it’s great for that, too.

It’s got the juke box, the neon signs that seem to have been there forever, the pine lap-joint paneling, and, of course, a long classic bar with an array of taps and bottles on display.  A dart board, and at least one framed malt beverage poster with puppies.  Dark wood beams and a few stained-glass windows round out the decor.  Depending on the night, it’s quiet (like this evening, a Monday) or it’s loud and boisterous.  If you’re a regular, you know the other regulars, and if you’re not, you feel comfortable as well.  Indeed, it could be that place where everyone knows your name.

I’ll be back in a few months, and I’m already looking forward to dinner with the family.  Maybe, just maybe, we’ll be back tomorrow night.

Walking, duffle bag in hand, across the rain-soaked driveway in the pre-dawn darkness, looking up surprised to see stars instead of clouds.

Stopping 15 minutes down the road because I didn’t have to go at home.

Crossing the Tennessee State Line enveloped in fog, the windshield wipers clearing the accumulating mist.

Driving past the Shady Lawn Rest Center, confused about, well, the lack of trees on the grass in the front of the building.

Feeling better about my own drive as I pass the guy with the Wisconsin license plates.

Smiling as I around the curve and see the Nashville Skyline. Even though my daughters are now in their late twenties, I still think of the most prominent building as the Bat Tower.

Crossing the Kentucky State Line, singing along with the Allman Brothers. “Ramblin Man.” What a coincidence.

Rolling the dice and deciding not to take the bypass around Louisville.  Good call! That’s not always the case.

Crossing the last state line for the day as the Ohio River rolls on below the bridge.

Hugs to end the trip!

 

This morning I led an environmental education program for a group of adults with intellectual disabilities.  I’m going to write a longer post about it later, but I wanted to share the outline today:

• Start with introducing the Land Trust property where the event was held
• Conduct an audience-participation bird song activity
• Teach about the geography of Alabama and how it affects the biodiversity of the land
• Talk about the mammals, marsupials, birds, reptiles, and amphibians of the area
• Discuss the importance of the Oxford comma.  Not really, but the last bullet necessitated the inclusion of this bullet
• Finish with a raptor presentation starring Sassy the red-tailed hawk

In a word, it was a blast.  More to follow!

My dog took me for a walk today.

Normally, in keeping with comic strip conventions, when I read a sentence like that I imagine a huge hound dragging a small person.  My dog, however, is a relatively small dog (sort of a minpin/dachshund mix kind of mutt), and I’m a relatively large person.

Now, by Friday afternoon, I’m usually ready to get home, grab a book or tablet, and sit in a chair for the 14 seconds it takes me to put said book or tablet down and take a nap.  Hey, it’s Friday, and I’m a teacher.  Tomorrow, though, I’m part of a team leading an educational outing at one of the Land Trust properties in my area.  I knew I needed to walk the property to avoid any surprises tomorrow morning.

But it’s Friday.

“I know the property,” I told myself.

“What if vandals stole the picnic tables?” I answered myself (I’ve got a deep pessimistic streak, sometimes).  “What if the pavilion is covered in mud from the recent rains?”  “What if one of the garbage cans overflowed and there’s trash everywhere?”  “What if…”

But it’s Friday.

Then, though, my dog told me I needed to.  Furthermore, I needed to take her.  Those eyes, darn it…

The walk was nice, despite a gentle drizzle (I’m hoping for good weather tomorrow), and the property looked great.  The Land Trust of North Alabama has a fantastic Land Steward (Brandon and team, you rock!) and it was clear that things had been recently spruced up.

Thanks, Maggie, I appreciate the encouragement.

Whatever you do, please don’t tell my wife what I found out today.

I was talking to a co-worker about buying a book I’d recently heard of, and she wondered if they might not have it at the library.

Did you know you don’t actually have to buy books to read them?  It’s not necessary to have stacks of books lying around your house, waiting for you to build a new book shelf?  Who knew that you could read them without needing an Amazon account or taking a trip to Barnes and Noble!?  

There’s this place called a…   “Library.”  Whoa.

Now that I think about it, though, maybe it’s okay if my wife knows.  Her book habit is as bad as mine!

The line, “This is it, people…this is what we’ve been training for our whole lives” ran through my head earlier today.  That’s rarely a good sign.

I’ll admit, I experienced a bit of trepidation as I cinched the straps on my book bag just a little bit tighter and held my stack of iPads just a little bit closer.  

With one last deep breath, I walked through the door of the kindergarten classroom.  

Now, I’ve taught in a kindergarten classroom plenty of times before, and I’ve taught the programming aspects of computer science plenty of times before.  Just never at the same time.

But, you know what?  It went well. Scaffolding, modeling, baby steps: call it what you will…we took things one slow step at a time.  There was exploration, there was excitement, there was a steady chorus of “Oh, wow!”

Tomorrow, I get to do it again in a different school.  I can’t wait!