22 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 10 - Beautiful Days

Everyday from now until Thanksgiving I will be sharing things I am "thankful" for.

Day 10 of Thanksgiving:

I am thankful for beautiful days with gorgeous blue skies and gentle breezes. I love being outdoors and playing even now as an adult. And when the sun shines and the temperature is perfect, mid-70's, like it was today, I love playing in the theme-parks or going to an outdoor festival so I can enjoy the weather. This is the time of year I love living in Florida the most because the weather is so nice and I spend as much time as I can outside. I think I must've said, "If today was any more beautiful, I just don't think I could stand it!" to my friend Jeffrey about a dozen times yesterday and thankfully he agreed wholeheartedly or I think he would have slapped me because I would've driven him crazy sounding like a parrot! I am thankful for beautiful days.

Don't Be A Bull

In case you're not aware, October has been named national Anti-Bullying Month. It's almost impossible to escape national or local news these days without hearing a story about bullying.  

Most of the time, bullying involves kids or teenagers bullying other kids or teenagers, as in this recent story of Whitney Kropp, a Michigan high school student. She had been a victim of bullies for years when the bullies pulled a cruel "prank" by voting her onto the homecoming court.  Well, Whitney got the last laugh when the community rallied around her in support donating her homecoming dress, services to have her hair & makeup done, and t-shirts for her supporters to wear.  Even the opposing school made signs for the football game to display their support for Whitney!  Get Whitney's full story here.  

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/01/14168666-teen-picked-for-homecoming-court-as-prank-shines-at-ceremony

Another widely publicized story of bullying recently was when Karen Klein, a 68-year-old grandmother who was working as a school bus monitor, was bullied by middle school-aged kids.  Thankfully, this story also has a happy ending:  Karen got a nice little vacation thanks to good samaritans who wanted to show her their support and she is now using some of money that was donated to start an anti-bullying foundation.  If you’d like to read more about Karen's story click on these links: 

http://datelinenews.org/karen-klein-bus-monitor-in-greece-ny-gets-support-after-bullying-video/99839. 

http://www.people.com/people/tablet/article/0,,20636032,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines

Sadly, many victims of bullies don't come out so victorious.  There are countless stories of teens who commit suicide as the result of bullies.  And many others who are diagnosed clinically depressed because of the mental and physical torture they endure.  What's even more amazing to me is that bullying isn't isolated to "kids". I've been astounded at how often I hear instances of adults who are bullied.  

I must confess that one of my guilty pleasures is watching several of the Real Housewives shows on Bravo - Real Housewives of New Jersey and Real Housewives of Orange County are my favorites.  It's entertaining, mindless drama!  But there are numerous times when the women will "gang up" on one of the others in a bully-like way and those are moments when watching becomes very uncomfortable for me. 

I have a really good friend who was recently recounting his vacation trip story to me.  He was so excited to finally go to Key West.  After living in Florida for over ten years, it was something that had been on his bucket list for awhile and he was ecstatic to finally go!  However, while we sat at one of our favorite oyster bars as he told me the story of his "horrid experience" in Key West with the group of people he was with, it occurred to me that he had been bullied that whole weekend!  I got so angry hearing about the awful things these "mean guys" did, said, and how they treated my friend that I started to cry right there in the oyster bar.  They were so cruel to him and one of these guys had been a good friend!  All I know is those “mean guys” should be thankful I wasn't there, because I would NOT have let them treat my friend, or anyone else, like that!  My friend ended up booking an early flight out of Key West and got out of that situation... and is no longer friends with those people.  

I cannot understand why anyone would treat another human being so cruelly or disrespectfully.  In most cases, bullies pick on someone who is weaker or different because it makes them feel more powerful.  According to the Book of Donna, I believe helping someone, encouraging another or supporting them makes you feel so much more powerful!  It is much more rewarding to help another person when you have the ability and choose to do it!  And wouldn't this world be a much better place if we focused on lifting each other up, rather than knocking each other down? 

Don’t be a bull, knocking people over... choose to be their wings and help them fly.  ~The Book of Donna

For more information on bullying, check out this website.

http://www.aacap.org/cs/Bullying.ResourceCenter

About Me

Then

I was a December baby born in 1966 in Portsmouth, Virginia; a first-generation American of immigrant parents from the Philippines.  My dad served in the Navy and was granted his American citizenship for his service when he joined and my mom became a citizen sometime in the 1980’s.  I have one brother who is seven years younger than me and we were raised with a humble upbringing by my hard-working Filipino parents who wanted the “American Dream” for their kids.  I was never spoiled by my parents because they didn’t have the means to do that.  I didn’t get every toy I asked for... I never owned a Baby Alive doll or an Easy Bake Oven or some other toys I wanted, but I did have a Dancerina Doll who had a pretty pink ballerina outfit and could do pirouettes!  And I did own the Barbie Friend Ship airplane along with Barbie and Ken and I still have great memories when remembering about playing with those toys now.   I always knew I was loved, cared for and safe growing up because even though my parents did say it out loud all the time, they showed me in their actions. 

Growing up in Honolulu, Hawaii: late 1960's - early 1970's

This was THE doll to have in the early 70's and she was my favorite!

Barbie's Friend Ship Airplane - I was so excited to get this for Christmas!

My dad was in the Navy, but we didn’t move around as much as other families in other branches of the military.  We lived in Virginia Beach then moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, moved back to Virginia Beach, then finally Jacksonville, Florida where my dad eventually retired.  I went to school in Jacksonville from my middle school years through high school graduation then went to Florida State University where I graduated with a Bachelors degree, making my parents the proudest ever because graduating from college was something they never had the opportunity to do themselves.

With my brother in Virginia Beach, VA 1974.

Now

I currently live in Florida with my husband and two “furry children” - our English Springer Spaniels, Hershey and Zeke.  I have a stepdaughter and stepson, both from my husband’s first marriage and three beautiful granddaughters.  I currently work for a very well-known entertainment resort company where a mouse signs my paycheck, but I’ve done a wide array of things throughout my working career.  My degree is in Elementary Education and I worked as a fourth grade teacher for four years, but I’ve also worked in other sectors such as Technology, Banking, Supply Chain Logistics, and Hospitality/Tourism.  I’ve held positions in Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Human Resources, supervised people, served on boards, volunteer for non-profit organizations, and have worked as a temp doing administrative work (during my summers off when I was a teacher).  I’m fortunate to be in a situation right now where I can work “seasonally”, which means I work when the department I am assigned to needs me, so it’s not a regularly scheduled type of job and I have a lot of freedom and flexibility in my schedule.  I am so grateful for this flexibility because it allows me to travel with my husband and to be able to see all the kids, who live outside of Florida.

With husband Tom & furry kids: Zeke and Hershey.

Later

At the time of starting this blog, I’m not sure what direction this site will take.  I don’t have a set plan for it, but I think the old “teacher” in me feels like I have things that I can share about my experiences that will help others in some way.  I am someone who considers herself to be a lifelong learner and am always thirsty to learn new things through experiences, other people, and living life!  And if no one reads it, then it can serve as a personal journal that maybe one day my granddaughters will read and say, “We always knew she was pretty amazing as our Nonna, but WOW, was she ever cool!  We’d like to live our lives like her!”

With my husband and three precious granddaughters.  Photo by LA Photography, Mt. Olive, AL.