So here we are, hopefully after a restful and recharging break from school, ready to get after this whole education thing once more! As I enter year two at the Bar-S-East Noble Ranch, I’m looking forward to seeing lots of smiling (and some not-smiling) faces of our students and staff back, and also to welcoming the new students to what is sure to be a very influential portion of their lives!
My advice to all students and staff here: Get involved. Immerse yourself in the entire process of education; not just working as students and teachers for 70 minute blocks of time. I’d love all of you to find the time to come out and see our extra-curricular activities in action; you will be proud of our students and our school! Faculty, remember that you get in free to events with your ID’s, and students, please take note that the price of student All Sports Passes has been reduced to $30!!! Come on out and support our Knights in whatever endeavors they are doing!!!
On a personal note, it has been a very eventful summer for the Gilg’s; on July 27th, we welcomed the newest member of the family, Oliver Nicholas, into the fold. The name Oliver is one that we just liked, and the Nicholas is for his mother, who was supposed to be a Nicholas until she came out a Nichole. His due date wasn’t until this Thursday the 15th, but as babies have since the beginning of human kind, he ultimately decided when he was going to be born!
Henry turned 4 on July 25th, and promptly informed us that 4-year-olds don’t wear clothes. I’m not sure where he got this information, but it led to some double takes as you saw a flash of nude running through the house. Becoming a big brother apparently convinced him that clothing is ok; he’s not in love with wearing clothes, but he is tolerant of it, at least for now. He has always been very susceptible to becoming obsessed with things, and this summer has been no exception: He has gone through a shark phase, a planet phase, a germ phase, a penguin phase, an Al Roker phase (Yes, you read that right) and is currently locked in on all things Spiderman. He has enjoyed his baby brother, only asking that we “put him back” on two different occasions, but he is disappointed that he doesn’t play more.
Nichole is doing her typical fantastic job in adjusting from being a mother of one to a mother of two; on the day the baby was born, she had contractions at 9:30 in the morning, so I dropped Henry off at a friend’s house; when I came home, the contractions had stopped. My wife, being my wife, decided that it was time to have the baby, and resolved to walk the baby out. We walked all day, circling a two mile loop in our neighborhood six times throughout the day. When the nurses asked her if she had been able to move at all during the day, they seemed a bit shocked when told that she had walked 12 miles. We checked into the hospital at 8:30, and baby was born a little after 10.
Watching birth is an incredible experience; granted, I’ve never felt a contraction, but as an observer, both times I’ve watched it I’ve been surprised at how quiet the process is; all the sudden there is a little human lying on its mother. Sometimes the simplest things are the most beautiful.
On the other end of the spectrum, I was saddened in early July to hear that my high school basketball coach, Mr. Chvala, had died in his sleep at the age of 64. Some of you may remember how he once told me I’d played good defense after letting someone score 47 points on me. To all of you educators, you truly have no idea what profound impacts you make on the lives of the young people with whom you into contact with. I hadn’t spoken to Mr. Chvala in a good 10 years at least, and yet his death released a tidal wave of memories, emotion, and gratefulness about who he was and what he had done to improve my life. I texted all of our head coaches when this happened, and what struck me is when thinking about him, just how little basketball entered my mind. Extracurricular activities are quite simply a vehicle to teach and inspire people; that was made incredibly clear to me in the grieving process for someone who I wish I’d taken the time to call when I still had the opportunity.
The other thing I did this summer was watch our kids make themselves better at their various crafts. I used to think high school kids got summers off, but now I know better. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Those people who are always talking to me about lazy teenagers don’t watch the same ones I do.
And last of all, this summer I thought. The birth of a child, the death of someone very meaningful in your life, and the inspiration of watching young people better themselves all add together to give you some very serious mind fodder. I thought a great deal about what we all should be doing with our life; not what an advertiser or other entity with an agenda tells you, but what you really should be doing. What do I want my sons to remember about me? How can I make the world a better place for them?
We happened to be in South Carolina when Mr. Chvala died, and the beach really does provide a fantastic background for deep thought. Those waves have been washing up on shore long before I was ever around, and they will continue to do so long after any trace of me has left this world. And in the meantime, in these brief windows of time that chunked together you call your “life,” what have I done? If I’m hit by a bus tomorrow (admittedly unlikely, but possible) have I made this a better place than it was when I showed up?
So this summer provided me with a range of emotions, which I think is good. Jim Valvano said in his famous “Never give up” speech that any day in which you laugh, cry, and think is a good day. I laughed, I felt tremendous joy, and I cried, and I thought this summer. I guess it’s time to get back; welcome to the 2013/2014 school year!