Joe Day

Last night I get a text from my cousin, Megan. She asked if I had seen the article in The Reader's Digest on Pappaw. My Pappaw Joe is in the Dec 2010/Jan 2011 issue.

The main article is titled 'The Spirit of Giving', and his subheading is 'A Brilliant Display'.

I know I've written about Pappaw before, and about his lights. However, I'm doing it again.

As all of you know, my grandfather is battling cancer. In April of 2009 we found out that he had lung cancer. He went through several rounds of chemo and radiation, and was unable to put his lights display up. The community rallied together, and put the lights up for him AND payed his electricity bill while the lights were up. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but it's a huge deal. On December 13 of last year there was a ceremony for him. People from the community came and sang to him. Doug Rump presented a resolution from State Representative Cleo Duncan thanking him for "bringing joy to thousands over the years". AND he got to flip the switch to get the lights going.

It was the day before this that we found out the cancer was terminal. The doctors told him with treatment he had 3 months to a year.

Pappaw is a fighter.

When I was a kid, I thought it was just the coolest thing ever to be able to go out on hill and walk around, looking at the lights. Not everyone gets to do that, so it was like I was a VIP, and that was just mesmerizing to a 5 year old.

My whole life, when I've thought about Christmas, I've thought about Pappaw and his lights. I've never known a Christmas with out them or with out him.

My joy of Christmas comes from this man, and one day my children will know that same joy.

(One of the shops that Pappaw built, that is on display)

 

The article talks about his lights display and how it started, and his battle with lung cancer. I won't tell you anymore than that because I want you to go read it for yourself.

I don't know who Bill McDonald is, but I want to say thank you. On behalf of the Day family, thank you for doing this for my grandfather and for our family. Words can not express our gratitude for the kindness you have shown to our grandfather, father, and husband.

I also want to say thanks to Gary Sledge who wrote the article. Thank you for getting the word out about Pappaw. I would love for this to attract more people to his place to experience the joy that our family has been given.

I love you, Pappaw Joe!

Music of My Heart

Music makes my heart smile.

When I'm having a really crappy day, I like to watch either 1) a dance movie or 2) a musical. They just make me smile.

Watching Glee is like that for me. Once a week, I get to have my heart smile. It just really brings me joy.

I get to watch it with Melissa and sometimes Rebecca. It makes the Glee watching even more awesome when I get to watch it with them.

I get some crap from people about G5.1, but the fact of the matter is that its about more than just rapping. Music is bringing me and Seb closer. It's giving us the opportunity to spend time together. In a year, we will be in different places. I will be in Nashville, and he will be away at college elsewhere. This is about so much more than spitting rhymes.

Music is in my blood. I think I get that from the Day side of the family. Both my Grandma Opal and my Pappaw Joe were musicians. Pappaw has the Johnny Cash sound, and has lived a life similar to that of Johnny's. Grandma and her sisters, and I think her brother, were in a singing group when they were younger. I guess they sang on the radio and had an album. Grandma's music was mostly country. Pappaw's was bluegrass and Johnny. So where my love for hip hop came from, I have no idea.

My uncle has composed several classical pieces. I don't say that to brag on him. It's just fact.

My mother was the lead singer for a band when she was younger. I think it was mostly country. And my father was a DJ for a long time. So....I don't know where the love of hip hop came from.

I'm just saying.....Music is in my blood.

(Picture taken by Darci Roberts)

Little Treasures

Today on the way to class (which we were not told was cancelled till we got there), Sami and I were talking about Mrs. Ramey, who use to teach FACS in the Jr High. I brought up my 8th grade trip to Chicago, and talked about how Mrs. Ramey had fallen asleep in the Shed Aquarium. I'm sure there are several pictures out there floating around because we were all taking pictures of her asleep on the floor.

Thinking about the Chicago trip, made me think about Rachel Jones. Rachel stayed with me the night before the trip, as well as Melanie Lyon. Thing about Melanie was that we got her all jacked up on Mt. Dew that night, which meant none of us got much sleep. Haha.

Rachel and I were on different buses for the ride to and from Chicago because we had to be in alphabetical order, so I was on the bus with the S's. If I'm not mistaken, I sat with Jayme Smith.

Anyway, while in Chicago we ran around together, Rachel and I. We were both exhausted from the night before, so we didn't really do a lot looking around. We basically found benches to nap on in every museum we went in. And we kept singing this song that Megan Jenkins had sang as a solo at the choir concert. I don't remember exactly what the song was. I think it was something like 'Circle of Friends' by Michael W. Smith, but I'm not that is was actually that song. If that makes sense.

I've been thinking alot lately about some of the people I was close to in high school. I don't speak to any of them. That's false actually because I do speak to one, Emily Murphy. She's one of my best friends. All the same, people keep popping into my head. And to be honest, I'm not really sure what to do about that.

It's weird how little things that you remember can lead to remembering bigger things.

Today, I was looking through the Christmas Oriental Trading Company magazine, and came across this candy. They were suckers made of chocolate, which reminded me of this candy making kit that we use to have. Jennifer and I use to make candy when we were kids. So I'm sitting there looking at this, and I say something to Mom and Aunt Shawna about it, wondering if they remembered this stuff too. Mom knew what I was talking about.

Anyway, I kind of put it aside and we ate lunch, and I started talking about a cabinet in the kitchen that needed to be cleaned out. It hadn't been touched since we moved into this house 10 years ago. So after lunch I got in it and cleaned it out. Guess what I found. The molds for our candy making!!!

It's so cool. You can make the candy say different things or have different shapes. There is one of the blue things that have a dinosaur on it, so you can have a sucker with a dinosaur on it! Others say things like Merry Christmas, Happy Thanksgiving, etc. I'm super excited about it!

I also found some Christmas cookie cutters with all of it.

It was like Christmas morning!

It's the little things in life that bring me the most joy.

Stories of A Substitute Take #4

I forget that junior high boys tend to have poor hygiene.

Today I subbed for Hank Wintczak.

Band. Nough said.

I've subbed for band several times, and am finally learning to choose my battles with them. Junior high kids are super loud and super disrespectful.

I sent a kid to the office today. It was one of those things where he kept pushing and pushing me to do it. I usually try to not send those kids because something deeper is going on there. However, he made a rude comment to another student, and I had to give him the boot.

I will admit that this was the least stressful day of subbing for band that I've ever had. I didn't have the high school band. I didn't have to listen to the loud instruments. The 6th grade band was much more respectful then the past 6th grade bands I've had. And I got to have Moyra in class today.

I do have to say though, that I think kids might be getting weirder and weirder. Maybe its the age difference, but lots of just plan weird went down today.

All the same it was a fairly easy day. Don't get me wrong. I still had to do a lot of yelling, but I still have my voice, so that's promising.