The Christianville Spirit: School Days, Overwhelming Days (Back to School Special!)

               

                    The Christianville Spirit 

        The Spirit that Encourages Magical Moments

August 5th, 2026 – TCS # 950

Happy August, My Readers! Yes, Folks! It is that time of Year! Not only is it My Birthday next week, My 39th actually. 

But, Something that comes with being an August Baby. 

It is Back to School Time! For Those in The US, 

We start a New Grade in August, where as in places like Australia, 

A New Grade starts in January or somewhere near that. 

Anyway, Funny Thing about being born in August, 

You learn that School always starts either

 before, on, or after My Birthday. 

I actually met My Best Friend, Karleen on The First Day of School, going into 10th Grade of High School on My Birthday in 2003. 

It will be 24 Years since I met Her This Year! 

So, To Those Who are Excited about Going Back to School, because I know that PTLSers Enjoy Routine, Therefore are Excited about going back to School, 

To You, I wish You a Happy August!

So, On to My Newsletter!

So, It has been Many Years, Actually, Believe it or not,

 Next Year of 2027 will be 20 Years since High School 

(and, By “High School”, In This Case & Context, 

It will be 20 Years since I graduated High School! 

I know! It’s Crazy Thinking about That!)

and I still from Time to Time have Dreams like I am still in School. 

Truth be Told, In Life after School, It is Hard to imagine being out in The Real World because School was All We Knew at The Time. Every Time I see Everyone’s Back to School Pictures, I am reminded how it felt to have a Routine going to School everyday and I know that for PTLSers, Routine is Very Important to Us! Because We are Very Routine oriented. So, Because It is Time for Your PTLSer to go back to School and get back into Their School Routine, I am re-running a Newsletter about going back to School and How Important Routine is.  Enjoy!

This Newsletter was originally written on 

August 23rd of 2017 (Refer to Newsletter 558)

 

Welcome Back to School, My Readers! Okay, actually, Your Children are probably have already been told that or will be told that! Yes, It is Back to School Time! The Time when Everyone, young and old go back to School. I guess You could consider This Newsletter, School. Because I teach you things that You may not even think about. How School is that?! Get It? Just figured that I would make a Joke for those actually Going to School, both Kids and Young Adults. Young Adults can go to School too via College. Anyway, on to This Week’s Newsletter! So, Speaking of School, Going back to School means at least for us, PTLSers, that We finally get into a Nice Routine. I remember I did. I obviously talk about The Importance of Routine in My Newsletters a lot. Routine is Very Important to us PTLSers. But, Here is something that I am not sure that I have talked about or have only mentioned in Brief. Usually, I mention it at The End of an Exciting Event in My Life that I tell you. Or It is in the Newsletter after. So, What Am I talking about? Well, Like I said Routine is Important but, being Human and having Out-of-Routine Events happen. That is a Given. Like a Vacation, A Family Road Trip, A Cruise, Someone coming to Visit, or Some Kind of Adjustment to Our Routine. The Thing that makes it easier if It is Predictable, but Again, that does not happen. I am reminded of a Question of One of The PTLS Member’s Boyfriend asked me at The Conference, Being that You need Routine, How do You come down from a Routine-Changing Event? Usually, It involves what I call a Recovery from Whatever Event. My Theory is that My Recovery comes from a lot of different factors like How Big is The Event? Lots of People or a Group of People; How Much of a Difference in Routine am I dealing with? For The PTLS Conference, It was 4 Days. For My Cruise, It was a Week but, with Somewhat of a Different Routine than My Own. and, Probably, The Biggest Factor, What is The Craziness Level in This? 10 being Lots of Activity and/or Distress (or Both) or 0 being I am going out to Dinner with Friends to a Familiar Restaurant. So, How do I recover from Something like a PTLS Conference? So, once The Event ends, I describe it as Driving Very Fast on a Highway and all of a sudden, There is Nothing pushing you, Nothing left to do except Slow Down and go back to Your Routine. To Me, that basically means, that I have to Literally Slam on My Brakes and that usually causes me to Need Time to Calm Down or What I call, “Coming Down” (In Kids, It would be called a Meltdown, only They cry, scream, and kick their legs) after all The Excitement. I have one after Every Big Event that I go to. What I mean is that I am Tired Physically and Mentally. I am Overwhelmed.

Sometimes, My Excitement gets to be Too Much for Me to Handle before My Big Event is over, There have been numerous times when that happens. Two Times that I really remember, Once while at Disney World when I was Kid and Another when We were driving to a PTLS Member’s House during The Stockholm and London Trip.  

After I have My “Coming Down” and Assess all of My Emotions, and Is It normal that I am having them. Then, I get into My Routine as much as I can but, Also It still takes a while to Digest, depending on The Size of The Event. PTLS Conferences (Refer to Any PTLS Conference Newsletter), Great Wolf Lodge (Refer to “Great Wolf Lodge” Newsletter), My Cruise with PTLS (Refer to “Cruise of a Lifetime” Newsletter), It took anywhere from a Week to Week and a Half to Recover. It does help to talk to My Mom about Everything, both exciting (which comes first) and then Emotional, It also helps to Listen to Soft Music (Back when The Great Wolf Lodge thing happened, I listened a Ukulele version of The New Zealand National Anthem. It is Beautiful, I recommend it!), I Take a Nap, or Watch a YouTuber driving on The Road and Listen to sounds of The Road and Bridges (I like Bridges more because They make a Better Sound). Just some Quiet Time with Little to No Activity is all I need. But, I know that all of Us PTLSers have the Same Needs like This, so I am not Alone. Only the Little Kids cannot express this well for a Parent to know what is going on, so The Parent complains of The Child’s Meltdown, not really understanding what is going on. This happened to Me when I was Little, but Good Thing, My Mom knew what to do and Still knows My Facial Expressions which She knows when I am Overwhelmed and Ready for a “Come Down”. When I was Younger, The Teachers could always tell when I had spent the Weekend with My Dad because of The Lack of Routine and Too Much Stimulation, I had My “Come Downs” Monday Mornings at School and They said, I could not focus. I would rock back and forth, hum, and Stim More intensely, and The Teachers had a Problem with getting me to re-focus. But, They knew that I would be Okay in a Day or Two and Back to My Old Self. All in all, Going back to School means a lot of Excitement both Good and Bad, We PTLSers love School, Love to watch The Kids, Just have respect for Our Need to withdraw to “Come Down”. 

 
Thanks For Reading The Christianville Spirit. Celebrate going Back to School, Balanced with Quiet Time.

The Christianville Spirit: My Fascination with Switzerland (CH) - (Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera) (CH) Confederation Day Special!

        

First Picture Saved: Switzerland Mtns. (2019)

Most Recent Picture Saved:

Swiss Ski Chalet (2026)

                  The Christianville Spirit

        The Spirit that Encourages Magical Moments

July 30th, 2026 – TCS # 949

Hallo, Ciao, and Bonjour, My Readers! 

While We are at it Happy August as well! 

So, Did You know that August 1st is actually 

The National Holiday of Switzerland (CH)! Switzerland’s National Holiday, Confederation Day is The Latest National Holiday of The Year that I celebrate and Observe. 

The Other National Holidays, Sweden (S); 

Italia (I); and Canada respectively seem to be more on 

The 1st Half of The Year. Except Canada,

 Of Course. Their National Holiday is 

Right on The Half-Year Line at July 1st. However, Switzerland (CH) is more into The 2nd Half of The Year.

 But, Anyway, Continuing on with The Greeting! 

Wow! I have not done a Triple Greeting in a while! These Greetings are, Believe it or not, Greetings in Three Different Languages that are in The Same Country! The Previous Country that I mentioned about Having Three Languages was Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

But This Country has 4 Official Languages in One Country! So, Where are We going to Talk about? Hint: The Greetings are German, Italian, and French. Now, How can One Country mix all these Languages, One Other Official Language? Well, This Country can! You can be Hired and Fired in Literally any of These Three (plus One more) Languages here! Give Up?

I Present to You...The Nation of Switzerland! 

(2026 Editor's Note: Now, I know that I have Written This Newsletter Before... 

Actually I have, Back in 2022! 

(Refer to Newsletter 779) However,

 I am Rerunning This Newsletter because 

This Saturday will be

 Switzerland (CH)’s National Holiday,

Confederation Day.

It’s Actually The 4th Year that I have been Celebrating It! 

Confederation Day, Switzerland (CH)! 

(Clearing Throat) As I was saying..

A Country that is a Mix of Everything, 

from Regions of Europe (Central, Western, and 

Southern Europe respectively); 

Four Official Languages 

(German, French, Italian, and Romansh); 

and, Even Different Landscapes 

(from Farm Land to Heavy Mountains!). 

You See, Over The Years, Besides Posting about Sweden and Norway, which are Awesome Countries in Their Own Right; I have posted A Lot about Switzerland! 

Believe Me, If You were to see Pictures of Switzerland, You would be Fascinated too!

So, I am sure that You are Asking, Why is Switzerland so Fascinating?! Well, I am about to Tell You!

Let’s Jump In!

Why Am I Fascinated with Switzerland?

Ahh Switzerland! What’s Not Like?! So, Let’s Start with a Geography Lesson! Where is Switzerland? 

Switzerland is a Medium-Sized Country that Smack in The Middle of Europe. 

Bordering with Germany (D) to The North , 

Austria (A) & Little Lichenstein to The East, 

France (F) to The West , and 

Italia (I) to The South. 

The Capitol, like it or not is Bern, 

Even though Most of Us would consider a City like Zurich to be The National Capitol (Cough-Cough, Hint Hint)

Finally, The Currency is The Swiss Franc

It is a Politically Neutral Country that is surrounded by EU Countries. That Brings Us The First Reason Why Switzerland is so Fascinating!

++ Oddly Switzerland is 

Part of Schengen, Not EU 

Meaning the Even though It is Not Part of The EU (The European Union), You can still Freely Travel from a Schengen / EU Country into Switzerland, like You would with Other EU “Member States”. Perhaps It is The Neutral-ness of Switzerland! I imagine that Switzerland is like that Friend that wants to be Friends with Everyone. And, Should Friends fight, Switzerland will be the One to break it up! Good for You, Switzerland! Outside of Politics, Comes Perhaps The Best Reasons of Why Switzerland is Fascinating!

++ Two Words...

Swiss Mountains and Nature! 

If There is One Thing that People Recognize about Switzerland is The Swiss Mountains and Nature! In Other Words, The Swiss Alps! The Most Iconic Mountain Chain in The World! (At Least in My Humble Opinion, Anyway!). This Reason alone, will make You Love in Fall with Switzerland, like seeing Your Crush walk by, either in School or Adult Life. Like Seeing The Love of Your Life In Their Favourite Dress, They Light up like a Christmas Tree. Believe Me, When I see Pictures of Switzerland’s Nature, It makes me do that too! Tons of Trees, Lakes (Both with Hills surrounding and Mountains Surrounding), and Of Course, The Mountains themselves, Above and The Before The Tree Line. 

Speaking of Mountains!

++ The Next Reason of Swiss Fascination, 

Views from Mountains! 

There are Many of Videos on YouTube about This Subject as well as “Please, Please Take Me Here!” Pictures on Facebook Pages. 

Whether You are Standing on a Mountain Top of Jungfraujoch (The Tallest Mountain in Europe!); 

Glacier 3000 (With A Bridge between Two Peaks!); Grindelwald First (A Bridge with a Lookout!); 

Of Course, The Matterhorn of Zermatt; 

or in a Pool, Overlooking The Town or Valley below. Honestly, When I think of Myself and My (Future) Forever Romantic Person in a Pool looking at 

The Swiss Mountain View sounds Very Romantic! 

Of Course, Like I said, There are a Ton of Ways to View The Mountains, from Mountain Top to Gondola or Cable Car! 

Speaking of Which, A Swiss Trademark of Many!

++ Swiss Gondolas & Cable Cars, 

In Switzerland, Gondolas and Cable Cars are Taken Very Seriously! Why? Because They go Quite Far on Just One Line. In This Case, I am showing to Show You a Video Example! It is a Video that starts on a Gondola and Ends with a Cable Car! It starts from Zermatt and Takes You up to The Top of Mountain next to The Matterhorn. 

On The Other Side of that Mountain is Another Country, Italia (I)! Here is The Video to Explain!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ersX-NM6FRA 

Honestly, It is Amazing to see The Views from The Gondolas and Cable Cars, whether going up in Elevation or Going Down in Elevation. It is Then, that You get to see Switzerland’s Notorious Mountain Views! It is Quite Aww-Inspiring! 

++ So, Then We move into The Next Swiss Trademark! 

Swiss Chalets! 

Now, This is Something that I have Dreamt of. Spending The Night in a Swiss Chalet that has The Most Awesome Swiss Mountain View! If There is Something that Switzerland is Best at, Among Other Things is The Swiss Chalets. If You are Much “Younger” that I am, You remember those Cooco Clocks that Your Grandma or Grandpa used to have. Those are based on Swiss Chalets. I know that A lot of People think that Chalets are Only for The Rich, but It isn’t. Or At Leats, It should not always be! Feeling of being in a Wood Cabin in The Mountains, It would feel Very Freeing, I would Imagine.

++ The Next Swiss Trademark and Fascination, has to do with 

Swiss Food (Fondue and Swiss Milk:

 Best Ever Allegedly). 

In Regards to Swiss Food, One would say to Try the Schnitzel or The Pretzels (They are Better than Auntie Annes, like A Long Shot!). And Yes, I will make sure to try them but, If There is One Thing in The Food Segment that Switzerland excels at, is Cheese and Milk. In Other Words, Swiss Fondue for The Cheese Section and Swiss Milk for The Milk Section. According to A YouTube Channel that I watched recently, Kenetic Kennons, A Couple who is from Texas and Lived in Mexico, say that Swiss Milk is The Best Milk that They have ever tasted! To Me, That is Saying Something! I have heard that Switzerland’s Cheese and Milk is so Good that They have Small Vending Boxes in The Middle of Towns and Trails! 

++ And, Finally, The Last Swiss Trademark and Fascination, 

One Mantra: 

Clean, Organized, and On Time. 

And, Boy, Do They Mean It! In Fact, It has a Name, “Swiss Clean”. Well, Okay, that is My Name for It, Anyway! In Switzerland, Everything is like well oiled Machine! From Restaurants, Train Stations, and House, Everything is Very Clean. Everything is also Very Organized. So Organized that It may not make sense to Those who don’t Live in Switzerland (Think: Perception of Normal). And, The Most Important Thing in, Everything is On Time. It sort of Reminds me of What My Grandma Honey say, “If You arrive at Said Place, On Time, You are Already Late” Well, In Switzerland, You can pretty sure expect a Train or Plane to be On Time. If It is Not, They’ll let you know. Perhaps, It is The Fact that There are Clock Towers all over Switzerland and Of Course, One Can’t Forget, The Famous Swiss Watches (Another Trademark!). So, If You Wonder what Time it is, just Look up at The Clock Tower, Listen for a Certain Number of Bells, or Ask Someone with a Swiss Watch. Either Way, You’ll know what Time It is!  

All in all, as You can see, Switzerland is Very Fascinating Country with Lots of Culture, Awesome People (Using of Their Four Languages will Help!), and Stunning Scenery!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Enjoy The Mountain Views from The Mountains of Life!