Showing posts with label Experiences. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Experiences. Show all posts

Thursday, October 13, 2011

The Village Selfishly Lives.....on and on!!!!



I asked Andrew yesterday how his PSAT test was and his answer was "extremely easy". My response to him was "that scares me"! But now that I have had time to reflect on that, it really doesn't. He has spent his life being surrounded by some of the most positive children I know!

Allison, Courtney, Brandon, Ryan, Austin, Briana and Caleb never cease to amaze me. They continue to set the bar higher and higher for each other. They connect on so many levels and push each other so well, if I could mass produce what they have and sprinkle it on others, just imagine this world.

It was a formula concieved by eight "selfish" individuals over 27 years ago! We selfishly decided we wanted to improve our condition and our communities condition We selfishly decided that our word was bond and we would be there for each other regardless. We selfishly decided that it takes a"village" to raise each other and our children so we tapped into each others resources to deal with lifes challenges. We selfishly celebrate all successes that have come our way.

I believe the most selfish thing we do however is intentionally come together annually for the purpose of letting out children see what is possible for them. They can look at what milestones each of them cross every year and say to each other "I see you"!

So of course the PSAT was incredibly easy to Andrew. He was more than prepared. He had already taken the test seven previous times.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The Village Journey – What a Trip!

by Papa_Stan
I was thinking about some of our experiences together as a village and realized it has been quite a journey. I bet you don’t even remember the time we roasted Luke on his birthday at Stake and Ale. Do you realize that we have been together for over a quarter of a century? And if you count Tim and Pat’s days in the Vineyard and Dorri and Ced’s days at Friendship, the time really gets staggering. But the truth of the matter, I’ve enjoyed every step of the way (well maybe except for the New Orleans trip). Anyway, I was wondering what has been your most memorable or enjoyable or controversial moment along this journey? Some ideas that pop to mind for me:
1. The Washington, D.C. trip
2. The New Orleans Trip (by way of Arkansas)
3. Rita’s famous “Snicker Bars”
4. Lake of the Ozarks Condo One (we all stayed in one big condo)
5. Lake of the Ozarks Condos Two (no jet ski for Caleb)
6. Golf at the Lake (it was like 105 degrees)
7. Allen Field House
8. The golf challenge at the picnic (were we trying to hit balls in a bucket?)
9. The Speech (“Oh the Places You Will Go”)
10. Golf at Big Swope (OK. So we’re slow players.)
11. Golf at Little Swope (Nice golf bag Courtney)
12. Picnic (you pick one)
13. Christmas dinner/gift exchange (you pick one)
14. Heart-to-heart talks
15. College send-off speeches
16. Caleb’s baseball game