I love the end of October in kindergarten.

We start to get our groove on. They know the routines, letters are clicking, and there is something beautiful about them watching the leaves and the world outside our windows. They really notice the changing colors on the trees and the beauty.

That’s why even though I was nauseus all day and exhausted, I didn’t mind working.

After work I went to Danielle at the peaceful scorpion. Being nauseus all day kept me tense, but she has magical hands and was able to work out all of my cricks and kinks. I found an article on the benefit of massage therapy for chemo and it’s all true. I am a study of one.

I had enough energy to load the dishwasher and fold the laundry when I came home. The things you take for granted when you’re healthy is boundless. Perhaps today I’ll be able to put it away.

I watched the riverhead local live event with the people running for town council. It was so refreshing to see a clean, respectful discussion. It was sad to see commenters who just want wanted to zing the people who are putting themselves out there to help our town. I actually wished we could elect every one of them. They all displayed passion for the town and its people. They tackled the hard discussion of our school overcrowding and population growth in a civil and kind way. Kudos to the candidates.

(and kudos to Tim Hubbard for coming right out and saying we need the bond for the school. I may have missed anyone else saying that, but he caught my ear when he stated it bluntly and clearly.)

It can’t be easy being a public figure and these people all did a fantastic job. Tonight is the supervisor discussion debate, and I hope it’s as civil and respectful as the council people.

Rob got home around 7:00 pm with the girls. Morgan had chamber orchestra and madison had her county championships for cross country. I’ve been so lucky with the programs the district has offered. The music program has been top notch. The last fine arts director just left, and I’m really hoping the district hands the baton to someone who has proven himself for years as beyond capable and should have been hired for the job years ago. It was a huge mistake not to hire him back then. When you hire from within, you show people you value their worth. Our district is in charge of NYSSMA this year, and I know what an undertaking that entails. We also have many musicians who will be eligible for music competitions and scholarships for college. We can’t let our music kids slip through the cracks. Our town tends to go Gaga over sports. As a parent of musical kids, we need to support these kids just as much.

When madison walked through the door, I asked her how she did and she said her time. I was shocked as it was about five minutes slower than usual. She then told me she was running down the big hill at sunken meadow and heard screaming and crying. She ran over and it was one of her teammates. The thing with cross country is the runners are by themselves in the course that winds through the woods. Maddie didn’t even think. She stopped running the race and ran to the girl. Then? She started to carry her teammate. Another one of her friends, Shannon, one of the kindest kids you’ll ever meet, stopped running as well. She said they carried her out together through the woods and rainy mist to where there was a section where there were spectators. Their coach saw them and came running over, took over and told them they could finish if they wanted.

So she went back into the race, knowing she had no chance of getting any sort of good time.

We’ve been speaking of trying to get scholarships and perhaps running in college. We had just been at college night and discussed track and cross country in college. And the next night?

She made the choice to be a better human than a faster runner.

She was shocked that more kids didn’t stop and help, but I wasn’t. Finding the helpers is a rare thing. Everyone is out for themselves these days, and if there is something happening, odds are people will use their hands to take out their phones and make a nasty or snide comment or videotape it.

Let’s work on raising a new generation of helpers . People who want to make the world better and help others. The people running for town council. The kids helping others when they see people fall.

Service to others can be life changing.

Today, may we all see how we can make someone else’s life better, easier, full of more beauty.

In Jesus’s name, amen.

Xoxo

Keri