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Just Don’t Do It

I am utterly disgusted.

If you’ve seen TV or read social media in the past two days, this might look familiar:

I rarely post about political things, although you’d have to be pretty dense to not guess about my leanings towards various hot topics.

The above, though, makes me sick to my stomach.

I am appalled that a company like Nike would create this horrible advertisement.

The above person and the ‘movement” he started caused me to boycott NFL football.

That’s big.

I love football.  I spent much of my childhood holed up in my room on Sunday afternoons watching the Broncos duke it out with the 49’ers.

I just can’t anymore.

The words in the ad itself are so hypocritical that I can’t even read them without seeing red.

And white.

And blue.

As in the flag that REAL heroes sacrifice their lives for every single day.

An athlete does not do this.

Especially an athlete who refuses to pay homage to a symbol that represents said person’s freedom to play a sport that he may (or in this case isn’t) gifted with.

This advertisement offends me on so many levels.

First of all, I am a consumer of athletic apparel.  I may not be a professional, but I am an athlete nonetheless.  I live in workout shorts, tops, and other such things all of the summer and when I’m not working during the school year.

Of course, I did switch to Asics shoes after my physical therapist told me that Nike shoes were crap.  He didn’t know it then, but he was on to something.

Second, I am a naturalized American citizen.  I take this very seriously and consider it a great honor to live in this incredible country.  Is it perfect?  Heck no.  I despise politics and even turned off my answering machine because I deplore the messages being left on it by so-called “candidates.”  Despite that, I would never disrespect it by doing what the above-photoed person does when in the presence of such an iconic symbol.

Call me judgemental.  I don’t care.

Last, but most importantly, I am the proud mom of a service member.  He serves our country alongside thousands of others to secure the freedom we enjoy in this country and to promote peace around the world.

The above-photographed person knows NOTHING of sacrifice.

Nothing.

Leaving your family to play in an “away” game doesn’t count.

Those serving are away from their families for months and years.

Pulling a muscle or, dare I say, tearing a ligament – well, these are minor compared to the devastating injuries that our men and women in uniform suffer from.

Some people pay the ultimate price, but it’s certainly not a loss of playing time on AstroTurf.

Our brave men and women in uniform believe in something, alright.

It’s called country before self.

They give up everything.

That’s the real definition of sacrifice.

 

The Cure for Insomnia

If you suffer from insomnia, I have the cure.

It’s called teaching.

I promise you that you’ll be sleeping like a baby after Day 1.

I have always been a person who falls asleep easily; however, I started having problems this summer after I hurt my back and then, later, hit my head.

My woes ended the first day of school, though, because I hit the ground running and have hardly stopped.

I spent the first week and a half teaching my students my classroom procedures and setting expectations.

Buy-in is extremely important for my reading students, so I explained about testing options and the required concordant scores to test out.

My students are Juniors who have never taken the SAT or the ACT, so they had no idea what these score reports looked like.  I believe that it’s important to put kids in the drivers seats of their learning, so I showed them (and gave them copies).

I also had my students reflect on the spring test they took.  This is a form I created a few years ago.

Now, even though the first week was only three days long, this girl was beat!  I dressed down that Friday morning with the evening’s football game in mind.

Isn’t that shirt just the best?  I’d seen an ad for it during the summer and had ordered it right away.  I’d set it aside when it arrived in the mail, knowing that I’d wear it the first Friday of the school year.

The first game of the year was something special.  Our football stadium had been under construction for over a year, and we had the honor of hosting the first football match against a city rival.

I was a bit miffed that teachers were no longer allowed to stand on the track, close to our peeps, but my friend, Leanne, let me sit in the seats her hubby had paid for (teachers don’t pay, but these were reserved seats).  The view was incredible, as was the company.

This was the most moving part of the entire night.  I always think of my Rooster and his service to this country when the National Anthem is played.

My school beat the other school.  It was fun to hear the names of the football players making tackles or scoring touchdowns.  I still didn’t know their names by heart, so I sat with my class rosters pulled up on my phone, cross-checking names.  Ha!

I met friends for some post-game celebrating and then headed to home and to bed.

I think I’ll stop this post right here because y’all, it’s after 8pm on a Tuesday, and your girl is freakishly tired.

I still have so much to catch up on.  I’ll get there.  Eventually.  Just like always.

But seriously, if you need any help with your sleep, give me a ring.  There are lots of job vacancies in these here parts.  We’ll entice you with our beautiful beaches, great coworkers like Your’s Truly, and a never-ending stream of restful nights.

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