Learning from Lacie…

Originally posted on Miss P’s Ponderings on May 5, 2012

   Well, since I haven’t written anything for a couple days, I thought I’d write down a few of the thoughts swimming through my mind today. As you can see from the title, they were inspired by Lacie who is my “Little Sister” through the Big Brothers & Big Sisters organization.

A little of the back-story…
   Lacie is my second “Little Sister”. My first “Little,” Courtney, moved away. I waited for about 9 months before being matched with Lacie in June 2010.  So, we call June 21st our “Match Anniversary”, and she’s already started talking about what we should do to celebrate our 2nd anniversary this year. 

Let’s see…

   Lacie and I have dinner, do homework, and go to DiscipleTown every Wednesday. When her homework isn’t a big time-consumer, she’ll either run school errands with me, or we’ll go to my house to put together puzzles or play games until it’s time to go to church.
   Also, I try to take her to church with me on Sunday mornings, and then she goes to lunch with me and “the girls”. (The ladies in my Sunday School class).
   Finally, occasionally on Saturdays, we’ll plan something “special”. Today was one of those special Saturdays. Mary, who teaches 3rd grade with me, has a cute little granddaughter named Aleigh. The two girls really enjoy spending time together, so we attempt to schedule an outing periodically for the four of us.

Here’s the play-by-play on our day…

   I texted Lacie’s family last night to remind them I’d be picking her up between 9:30 and 9:45 this morning. I also noted that I hoped to take some pics of the two girls for the BBBS Match scrapbook that Lacie and I attempt to maintain. [Good thing my mom is a super-scrapbooker…Lacie and I are “stick on a picture and add some stickers” scrapbookers.]

   After eating breakfast with my parents at Mike’s Grill, I went to pick her up. As I waited at the door, she came down wearing the Easter dress I bought her…ready for her pictures. Then, her grandma reminded her to brush her hair, and I reminded her to brush her teeth. She fastened on her sandals and off we went.

   However, we weren’t supposed to meet Aleigh and Mary at the library until 10, so she and I made a quick trip to one of my favorite stores…Dollar Tree! I needed to buy some things for school, and we picked up a package of gummies for her to take home to share with her brother, sister, and uncle. As we stood in line, Mary and Aleigh walked into Dollar Tree. Lacie was so excited! She thought it was just hilarious that they came to Dollar Tree too. Next stop was the library.

   Since we reached the library before Mary & Aleigh, we went to pick out my books. I told her I usually read the ones with the yellow cross stickers on them, so she went aisle by aisle pointing out all the yellow stickers. She even suggested I get a book about Jesus, and I reminded her the best book to read about Jesus is the Bible. After we picked out my three books, we headed downstairs to the children’s section.

   The two girls went to the computers. The station Lacie sat at didn’t have headphones at the time, but that didn’t stop her. Aleigh would show her where to go to hear “the best song” and Lacie would go…even though she couldn’t hear a thing. It made Aleigh happy that they were doing the “same thing”. Shortly thereafter, Sarah, a friend from church who works in the children’s library, came in and provided us with headphones. Lacie shared that they only worked in one ear, and we assured her that one ear was better than none. A little before eleven, the girls finished on the computers and began playing in the play area. At this point, Mary and I started being photographers. I would position the girls, they’d smile, and click….their pictures were taken.

   After a ten-minute photo shoot, we headed to Mary’s. Since Lacie came in a dress, we opted to have her change into one of the outfits I had at my house for her, so she could play at Playland after we ate at McDonald’s. She pointed out that she shouldn’t crawl around in there with a dress on. Having a lovely purple spring outfit on, we were off to McDonald’s.

   Let me break for a second to give a little shout out to our local McDonald’s.  They give a 50% discount to BBBS matches. This is great because it allows us to order bigger meals than we want, so she can take leftovers home to her siblings…who are always thrilled with whatever she takes home with her.

   The four of us sat down, and she asked who was going to pray. She then volunteered and offered the blessing. Upon completion of her snack wrap, a few fries, and half a cookie…the girls were off to Playland. Mary and I sat visiting and taking occasional pictures while the girls climbed, crawled, giggled, and slid. A few times during the excitement, Lacie came over for a drink and a rest. Aleigh would charge ahead, but Lacie needed to catch her breath and cool off. [I bet those tubes get really warm as temperatures rise?]

   Due to the storms last night, Mary and Aleigh opted out of putt-putt, so Lacie and I decided we’d save it until we could have “more friends” with us. So, our next stop….was a roadblock. Our church Relay for Life team was collecting money to fight against cancer, so we headed out to Hanover. Lacie wanted to give our money to Miss Roye Ann, her Sunday School teacher. After giving her directions on how to give the donation, we stopped by Roye Ann and gave her our $5. Then, Lacie saw Miss Robin at one of the other stations of the roadblock and wanted to tell her “hi” too. We drove around and went through Robin’s side and gave her another dollar, but we also saw my dad at a third section of the intersection. Yep…you guessed it…we turned right, turned around, and gave Dad another dollar. As we drove away, she was so pleased that everyone was so glad to see her. Plus, she thought it was great that our $7 could fight against cancer.

   Our final stop was the ice cream shop on Main Street. I ordered a scoop of Triple Caramel, and she opted for chocolate. We were greeted by Alex, who is a Miss P. former 3rd grader. Lacie remarked how my third graders are everywhere. So we sat and visited as we ate our ice cream. When mine was finished, I asked Alex for a bowl and spoon, so she could take the rest of hers with us.

   As we got in the car to head up the hill to her apartment, Lacie said,
“Thanks, Jodi, for such a great day. This was a big day.”

Are you tired from reading that? It was a fun morning/afternoon, but I was tired too.

Here’s the lessons we can learn from Lacie. 

 Everyone needs reminders.
Most likely ours isn’t about brushing our hair or our teeth, but we can all be reminded to do what needs to be done. So, here’s your reminder…start your day in prayer and ask Him to guide your steps and your words.

Remember your family.
We probably don’t need to take them leftover McD’s food or gummy candy from Dollar Tree, but we can do small gestures just the same. Sometimes it’s simply sending them an e-mail, thanking them for inviting you over for dinner, eating a meal with them each week to spend time with them, taking a day off if they need you to help them with something, or singing at their renewal of wedding vows’ ceremony. Do something to show them you love them, and they matter.

Be excited to see your friends. 
Even if you see them every day at work…don’t take it for granted. Let them know you appreciate their friendship.

Be happy with what you have. 
Even without the headphones, she loved her time on the computer. When her headphones didn’t work completely, it didn’t matter. As my friend Debra says, “It’s all good.”

Don’t forget you’re a lady… if you are one.
She knew that she shouldn’t crawl around Playland in her dress, so it made sense to change clothes. Be proud of the woman (or man) God made you to be…and be that man or woman.

Don’t be ashamed of your faith.
Since we started our match, I would pray when we would eat together.  This past year, she started praying when it was just the two of us.  Recently, she now volunteers to pray whether we’re with my family, “the girls”, and today…with Mary & Aleigh.  Grow in your faith…God’s got great plans for you.

Rest when you need to.
As a nap-lover, I really like this lesson.  I wanted to take a nap today.  However, it seems my new computer security isn’t a fan of Google Chrome…and Blogger isn’t a fan of Internet Explorer.  So this little writing has taken hours to get to the internet.  Oh well, my bedtime is soon, so rest will come.

Go out of your way for people who matter to you. 
Seeing Miss Roye Ann wasn’t enough…she wanted to say “hi” to her, Miss Robin, and Dad. It’s easy in this busy world we live in to get wrapped up and not spend time with people who you care about. Do it anyway. As Lacie learned, they’ll be so pleased to see you.

The final lessons…

 Enjoy an ice cream cone every once in a while and make every simple day feel like a “big big day” in your heart. It’s a gift from God…so make it count.  And take a hint from Lacie and suggest to those you meet that they ought to read a book about Jesus, I highly recommend the Bible.