Boston "T" Party

Just yesterday I was in Boston, Massachusetts, where the air was crisp and cool. By evening, my flight had landed and I walked into the humid 75 degree weather of Virginia. I was happy for home...

I bring back with me a Boston state of mind. While there my colleagues and I had the opportunity to meet with 40 middle schoolers who are in a summer Rites of Passage program under the directorship of two of my good friends. The students were absolutely precious. They value education and understand the importance of learning all you can to get somewhere in life. These are students making As & Bs, yet some of them will never go to college given their home situations. The belief in their homes for some is women need to stay home and take care of the family. For others, it means falling into the same roles as those in the family, which would be blue collar work. We had a powerful session with the students, focusing on the world beyond school emphasizing preparation, determination, and reputation.

In the downtime we had there with our Boston family, my colleagues/friends and I were also able to have thoughtful conversations (as we always do when we come together). From relationships to education, and religion to headliners, the discussions always provide insight and motivation to do and be better.

I bring back the desire to be more in my current roles here...on the job, in my personal life, and (most importantly) for God. Even today, my pastor has just returned from a missions trip in Africa. He reminded us of how much we have and waste--we do too little and are given so much. He asked, "Why, God, was I born here in America and them here in Africa?" With so little, those in Africa are humble, happy and utilize the resources around them. They do SO MUCH with so little. Meanwhile, we worry about the things not going right that are truly trivial.

So, tonight I am excited about my sobering TRIP to Boston. I appreciate the TERRIFIC time given to be with my wonderful friends up in Boston; they're all wonderful and doing great things. My Boston TEACHING Party made remember how much I love to teach, how good I am at what I do, and how much I love touching lives in education.

Here are a few pictures from the trip...

do i do

On this July 4th weekend, I decided to exercise my freedom by letting the hair have some freedom. It's been a minute since I've done the curly look. Anyone who knows me from back in the day will recall that I did the curls for my senior pictures. And, once in a while I'll pop up to work with the curly do...

My stylist was a bit questionable with where I was headed with the request; however, I think she was just elated and relieved that I wasn't bugging her about having my hair cut, which has been a topic of debate between us now for the past six months. As she pulled the rollers from the set out and began playing with my hair, she said, "oooooh kswann, i think i am feeling this sultry look." lol.

Anyway, this may be the summer look & then we'll work in the cut for a fresh look in the fall!

I'm super excited about the free time I have from work over this long weekend. And, I was diligent to get my hind parts up bright and early for corporate prayer at church. Once I retire from the day's blog, I'm going to get me in a little nap and get the day up and poppin'. I have a big week coming up: Boston, baby!!!

Happy July 4th -- have you appreciated your freedom today???



A little music for your listening pleasure as you read!!! ENJOY.

Remembering a Star

In my lifetime, I have heard dialogue about where people were when Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy were assassinated. People recall when Ronald Reagan was shot. Of course, we spring forward and there were the deaths of Princess Diana, Luther Vandross, Tupac and Notorious...I vividly remember being in my dorm room when news broke on the terrorist acts with the Twin Towers on 9-11...and, I still can see myself sitting on the steps at the age of six saying goodbye to my father and not realizing it would be the last time...

Death is never easy. Tragedies and crises shake us; life is interrupted. So, is it a shock that for the past week the television and radio stations have had a consistent flow of tributes to the late great King of Pop, Michael Jackson?

His death was tragic and came way too soon. News of the sudden heart attack quickly took the spotlights off of Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett...and even Billy Mays...No one was ready for this genius of an artist to expire. It hit like when Elvis died. Most thought it was fake or not so serious when the first reports came out.

Where was I? In my office finishing up work for the day. I had the t.v. on behind me as I worked with low volume. Oprah was finishing up and the 5 o'clock news popped on and gave the breaking news that Jackson was being rushed to the hospital for cardiac arrest. I paused, turned and looked...I then went back to my work; however, in moments my phone was sounding off with text messages about the news from friends. We joked and gave the "stop playing"/it's all good, comfort phrases. By the time I was packing up, I was then seeing reports that he had slipped into a coma. And, by the time I reached home L.A. Times confirmed his passing. Once in, CNN and other stations were on their jobs. Facebook was busy with posts. And, I prayed for that moment that maybe it was folks moving too fast and this was all just a huge mix up. That was not the case.

It is sad, and we Never Can--or Will--Say Goodbye. His impact on music culture is impossible to ignore. And, for the African American community, he paved the way in breaking down color barriers that exist. He is an icon, but his mysterious ways, terrible childhood, yet amazing hits, kept us glued.

Stop, Drop & Pray? Okay. Okay. I know that I should not put a "shameless" plug in there for getting our lives right. It's cliche-ish, old, played out? I wouldn't be me, though, if I didn't. I think that I want to take a different route and consider the type of impact Jackson had in the world. He could have focused on self, but this is someone who clearly allowed his talent to be used to its capacity in order to reach multitudes. Is there something in your life you've buried because you've given up on the possibility of it ever coming to be? Why not pray and allow God to fully be in control of getting you to that place? Faith. It's not as easy as it seems, but it is what separates the doers from the wishers.

Tonight I am praying peace for the Jackson family and those who have been greatly touched or saddened by this musician's death. I am also praying for a greater awakening to hit our world, which was something Jackson constantly sang about doing. Healing the World, remembering We are the World, knowing we can do because Who's Bad?, and Talking to the Man in Mirror...We all have a little Michael in us; we all have the power to live up to greatness.

Next paragraph...

"according to the psalmist (34:14b), we have to seek peace and pursue it...so i'm in pursuit of nothing but peace today [and everyday]." (THANKS, MO!)

So, I haven't had the opportunity to really take the time to blog. Life got hectic at work and my evenings consisted of me crashing on the bed, the couch, the floor...wherever I could rest my head. Finally, though, things are beginning to come back to normal and I need to re-establish my routine of taking the time to catalog the precious moments of life (haha).

Anyway, so much is going on and I hope that in the month of July I will really be able to remember and take the time to highlight some...

Today I am focusing on the next "paragraph" in this chapter of my life. Often people discuss reaching a new chapter. I wouldn't call where I am a new chapter: so much is the same. However, I suppose it is best captured in the description of finding one's self in a rut or the same routine. I often have this happen where I am just going through the motions without really taking too much time to experience change, fun, or anything meaningful.

In the past week, a lot has happened in the world and personally, so it was a comfort and awakening to see the words I led off with above as my friend's status when I logged in...If I am choosing to maintain where I am, I will have to choose peace. This will mean having to rid my life of clutter or those things taking up space. Her words have echoed all week in other ways, which only solidifies the words were meant for me.

The greatest blessing came in a deacon from my church last night being a blessing and coming directly to me. I've managed over the last six years to be a pew sitter. I attend church, tithe, worship and go home. I am quite supportive with my presence, but I've not given much of my time to volunteering or really finding a place. I was with the choir for a hot minute. I then worked with the athletic ministry, but just kept finding conflict with things, which made me not want to come out...My work schedule really helped me to not have to come for things, so I really was unable to hang. This deacon has been observing me for a while. She always makes it her business to greet me, offer a hello, etc. Her approach was casual yet planned/strategic. When I came in, I saw her and reached out to hug her. She said she wanted to see me and handed me a cute tote bag that quoted Proverbs 3:5. I THANKED her, and she said, "I'll be seeing you on Thursday at 7:30." LOL. She has recruited me for one of the ministries, and while I could be upset or feel like this was a set-up, I'm actually kind of thankful for the push. I've been fighting this for so long and think I'm ready to step out there and try again.

My ministry has always been important to me. And, while it is not dead, I feel I have kind of buried it in this heap of other priorities and excuses that keep me from having to address it. My hope is that this push forward will allow me in the remainder of this chapter to finish off the paragraphs that will move me into the next phase. I am excited!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Recently, we held honor assemblies for all the grade levels. This consisted of recognizing honor roll, attendance, independent reading, etc., etc. Each ceremony went very well, and the students were pretty well-behaved. It was great to have a moment where positive things were being discussed about our children. Too often we spend time disciplining and complaining about the things our children do not do. If I could show you all of the certificates we signed, you'd be amazed. I had hand cramps to prove how big that number was--pain worth enduring!

On one of the days, I took a moment to share a brief story with our students about Lou Gehrig. The story was about when he went to visit a little boy in the hospital who was sick with polio and had pretty much given up on life. When the little guy saw his hero come in his room for a visit, he promised Mr. Gehrig he'd try to walk again if he'd make a homerun in the game he'd be playing later that day. The deal was made. Of course, Gehrig was a bit of a mess and worried for the promise he had made. What if he could not meet his end of this bargain??? Fortunately, Gehrig knocked two homeruns that day! Years later when Gehrig was honored for his career and was in the final stages of his horrible muscular disease, the little boy he'd visited dropped his crutches, walked to him and hugged him. It was a powerful moment for Gehrig, and continues to be an inspirational story for those who come across it.

The questions posed to the audience at the ceremony were: Who's hit a homerun (at some time in your life) for you? And, are you striving for homeruns in your life daily? I reminded them that each day someone's hitting us a homerun (e.g., parents, spouses, friends, teachers, etc.). We often take these sacrifices for granted. At times, the homeruns do not directly impact us, but are still done to show us encouragement and to model proper behavior.

To transition a bit, I had to smile recently about a status post by one of my friends on a popular social site, which read: "When life throws you a curve ball, duck..." Having had some moments with this whole baseball theme for a few days now, I asked myself, "Lord, where's this theme taking me???" I think it was the comment one of my friend's friends later posted, which made me laugh hard, but put it all into perspective: "Don't 'duck.' Step back, swing and hit a f@ing homerun!!!"

It's baseball season, and I am in the game in so many ways personally, professionally and socially. Some curve balls have come my way more recently, and I was at a point of just wanting to duck. However, the adversary would want me to do just that: duck, give up, show out, protest...Hurt people hurt people.

I'm directly feeling the blows by an individual right now. While I could go the level of entertaining the slander, I will take the higher road, praying for the pain to cease and the healing process to begin. I must face up to the consequences that came through the (bad) choices I made from that season.

Call it a trade in teams, a time for reconditioning & training, or more listening to the coach and studying the plays...Whatever the case, I am working to hit homeruns with every ball thrown. As a result, God is blessing me and allowing the doors of opportunity to open wider and wider. It is a sweet season, and I hum the familiar tune, "Take me out to the ball game. Take me out with the crowd..."

God's provision continues to manifest itself and console me in several ways. I stop and remind myself of these deep words: "I have to change my definition of success to match what I know to be true about God...I am parking my mind on the truth." My bases are loaded; there is no time for ducking or drawing conclusions that would shut down my abilities or others. The goal's to be better for God, to be better for me, to be better for those I come in contact with--And, yes, I just ended that last statement with a preposition.