The Christianville Spirit: People's Perception of Normal

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Knows Love

September 25th, 2019- TCS # 655

What Do You see as “Normal”, My Readers?! Wow! A Question within a Greeting! Crazy, right?! So, I do need to address something before I continue onto My Newsletter. You may have noticed that I took a Week off Last Week. I do have a Reason Why, but I did not make it too Public, only on Facebook. You See, as You Know or Are About to Find Out, We had to put our Oldest Dog, Zoe down Last Wednesday. For Reference, We had 3 Dogs being Zoe (We referred to Her as The Sophie Incarnate, Later to be Known as “The Guard Dog” or “The Referee”), Sadie Good-Lord (As in “Sadie! Good-Lord! What are You doing?!”), and then, Of Course, My Little-Not-So Little-Anymore Boy Dog, Paco (The First Boy Dog in Our Family). Zoe was, believe it or not, 12.8 Years Old (or 12 Years and 8 Months Old). A Shorter Life Expectancy than What I expected. Some Dogs have Different Life Expectancies, Some are Longer and Others are Shorter. Some can live to only 9 Years, Others upwards of 15 or 16 Years. Very Odd how that Happens! It depends on The Breed of The Dog, I am told. Anyway, She was a Great Dog! The Greatest We have had, My Mom says. Good Traveller and Protector, like to The Point of When My Mom and Brother (or I) would Hug My Mom, She would bark and growl a little bit. So, Long Story, Short. She is much better now in “Doggy Heaven” as My Mom says. No Longer in Pain (She was in a lot of Pain) , She can Run and Spin around all She wants (She used to Literally spin in a Circle with Such Speed!), No More Thunderstorms, or Noises that sounded like a Fire Detector (She Hated That!). Anyway, We will Miss You, Zoe. The Guard Dog or as Young People would refer to as The OG Dog 2.0 because She looked like Sophie, The OG Dog! Anyway, on to This Week’s Newsletter! So, The Question I asked as The Greeting, What do You think is “Normal”? My Mom and I had This Discussion a Couple Weeks Ago about The Same Time as The School Funding Talk, Refer to The Newsletter before This One to get the Context of It. Now, What People Think is Normal, or More on The Lines of, What People Perceive as “Normal”, is actually a Very Fascinating Topic. Sometimes, Acting a Certain Way and Believing in Certain Things is what People perceive as “Normal” and That is Okay. Some People, believe it or not, think that Swearing to Each other in a Joking Way in a Family is Normal. Some People think that Thinking one way about Other People is Normal; This can apply to Disliking Someone, Judging Someone, and Yes, even Liking or Loving Someone could be Perceived as Normal. The Most Fascinating of This Topic is more on The Lines of what We as Americans see happening around The World and The Behaviours or Lifestyles that We may be fascinated with and Wonder Why They think that is Normal. I like to point out that Places that I have been where They have Lifestyles that I think are Fascinating but, They think is Normal. For Example, In Spain, They believe that taking a Nap in The Middle of The Day, Commonly known as a “Siesta” as well as They do Everything Late, Most Commonly Lunch and Dinner is Normal. Lunch is at 2:00 in The Afternoon and Dinner, again, Believe it or not, People in Spain don’t Eat Dinner until 9:00 at Night. Yes, You read that correctly, 9 O’ Clock at Night to have Dinner! Here in The United States, We eat Dinner between 4 PM and 7 PM. Now, with The Perception of Normal also comes with a Reason. People in Spain don’t Eat Dinner until 9 because, They don’t have Air Conditioning and Therefore, It is better to wait until Later to Eat because otherwise It is going to be Hot inside The Restaurant! Another Example, One of My Favourites Actually, is that in One of My Favourite Countries, Sweden, They have What is called a “Fika” (Pronounced Fee-Kah) which is basically a Coffee Break among Family, Friends, or Co-Workers, Twice a Day at 10 and 3 Respectively. It is sort of a Rule that Whoever You are with and Where ever You are, You stop and have a Fika. Literally, a Business Meeting will stop suddenly to have a Fika. It actually happened at Our PTLS Conference On The Road where My Mom was talking and People started getting up and walking over to get their Fika. It dawned on both of Us that It was Fika Time! While We were Driving with PTLS Member, Josefine between Stockholm and Sundsvall, We saw a Couple Cars on The Side of The Road and We thought that They might be having Problems but, They were actually having Fika. Like I said, Perception of Normal is not just Behaviors. In Fact, According to Swedish Law, as Long as You are not on Private Property and Not Bothering Anyone, You can camp anywhere in Swedish Nature. That would be Very Weird to see happen in The United States. Of Course, Perception of Normal can be things that You wonder Why They do that. 

Of Course, I do have to Mention about Even The Perception of Something like Having PTLS. Now, People who are more on The Typical Side would think that a Person like Me having PTLS is a Big Deal and It really isn’t. I perceive it to be Normal that I have PTLS, I know that I am Unique in a lot of Ways; I may have Anxiety, See The Good in People, Always Needing a Routine and Predictability to help me Function, among Many Other Things but, That is seems Normal to Me because I have had PTLS My Whole Life, I don’t know anything different. That is actually The Perfect Way to Explain about the Big Deal about Having PTLS. People do perceive that Having PTLS is Easy, like “Oh! The Youth Gene! I want some of that!”. I am over here thinking, “Well, You can’t have JUST The Youth Gene in There! You would have to have All of The PTLS!”. Don’t Get me Wrong, I would not trade having PTLS for Anything. PTLS is Unique. Very Unique, If I might say so Myself! But, I will Say that PTLS is not Easy! The Things that Us PTLSers perceive as Normal is not Wrong, It sure is Different but, We PTLSers see you as Being Different! For Example, When We are Lining up Our Toys when We are Kids, To Us, We are thinking of Different Scenarios in Our Mind. There is a lot of Organization going on in Our Mind, People might think that We don’t understand what is happening. But, We perceive more than You Think! All in all, The Wrong Perception of Someone can make a cause a Big Mistake!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Take Time to Get to Know People or Situations before You pass Judgement.

The Christianville Spirit: The Four Segments of School Funding

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Knows Love

September 11th, 2019-TCS # 654

So, Before I write about This Week’s Newsletter, I want to wish Everyone a Happy Patriot’s Day (according to The Calendar in My Kitchen, it says, “Patriot’s Day.”) Never Forget What Happened that That Day, 18 Years Ago, Can You believe that?! 18 Years! and If You see a Fireman or Police Officer Today, Thank them for all their Service! Thank You Fire and Police for Your Service in America Today and on That Day from The Christianville Spirit! So, with that said, We move on to This Week’s Newsletter. So, My Mom and I often have The Best Conversations when We least expect it! Sometimes, It comes when We are having a Rough Time with Something and Other Times, It comes from Talking about One Thing that leads to Another, that leads Another. Among Them, We talked about What People Perceive as Normal and Funding of Segments of The School System. I probably write on that one later, but This Week, We are going to Talk about The School System, an Often Oh-So-Sensitive Politically Un-Necessary Conversations. But, I feel that It needs to be Addressed. Now, Baring in Mind, that People have Opinions about Which of These is more Priority and Honestly, in Some Ways, They are all Important. However, Schools only have so much Money from Regional Taxes and other means like Fund Raising, commonly referred to as The PTA. The Segments of Funding go as Sports (Football, Baseball, Soccer, and Basketball. Go Jags, Ravens, and Tigers!); The Next is The Most Important One, Academics (in Other Words, School itself. Math, Science, Social Studies, to Name a Few); Then There is The Fine Arts (Meaning Art of All Kinds and Music); and, finally, Special Ed (In other words, Those with Special Needs. of All Kinds!) So, Let’s Touch on all of Them.

So, Sports.. Sports is The Thing that is Argued that They should fund the Most in School outside of Academics and Truth be told, They do. It does make People move and It makes the Students proud of Their School besides Well, School. Personally though, It make sense to let Students move a bit while doing Academics because A lot of Students learn differently. Some like to Move and others like Silence, truth be told if all students were to move about in a Quiet and Mannered Way while the Teacher is Teaching, that would be Awesome. However, In My Humble Opinion, Sports should be Funded on It’s Own and A lot of Local Sports Teams have The Power to do so. I mean, The Cost of Tickets and Food at a Game is enough to Fund the Team. Plus, Everyone would love a Team fundraiser, right? The Prouder You are of The Team and The School, The More Money they get. And, Come to Think of It, It is quite The Economics lesson too!

Academics..In my Mind, That is just a Fancy Word for School. The Everyday, Having Tons of Homework, Learning Some (Keyword here Some) Useless Subjects. Subjects like Math, Reading, and Writing are The Core Subjects, in other words, The Most Important Ones! Now, Algebra and Higher, to the Average Student anyway, is not Useful in Life. Unless, You want to be a Scientist or a Profession that requires that. In Which, that is More College kind of Stuff.  Now, It would help to have Subjects in School, that like the Core Subjects, would be Useful in Life. Like How to budget your money, change a tire, How to Handle Emotional Challenges, and Community Involvement Skills (being a pert of the community and helping others). A Note, Please Make a Subject like History, a lot more Exciting. History is more than Just Dates, It is also Stories. History and Geography, and Yes, even Politics all mix together in a lot of Ways! Like I said before about The Students Moving, that would help a ton with Helping those who Learn in a Different Way. In Terms of Funding, You are Fine because You are The Parent, the Master, if You will of This Show. This Show can not survive without You!

And, Next is another Oh-So-Sensitive Opinion, The Fine Arts. Now, When I was in School, Yes, It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to Make or Create but, Looking Back on it, I really liked Art Class and Most Importantly My Brother loved Art Class. So, If You are like me, You would know that Art covers Everything from Ceramics, Sculpture, Painting, and Of Course, Music. I think that if Students could do Art and Let Their Creativity Fly, It really could help them in Their Emotional Output. Now, I could argue too that Yes, When It comes to becoming a Real Artist or a Musician, It is a Dog-Eat-Dog World out there! There are only so many Artists in The World and In Music, There are only So Many Keys on a Keyboard, eventually Music starts to Sound The Same and That is Where You could get into Trouble. But, Music, or actually Songs, are basically Poems with Music. In Case of Funding, I think that You should be Funded after Academics. Now, You can also Fundraise and Have Music Festivals where You can Showcase The Best Artist in All Kinds! Perfect Idea!

And Then Finally, Something I know personally.......

 Special Ed. So, A Thing that Most People do not understand about having Special Needs is really, What Type of Special Needs are We talking about. And, No I don’t mean Your Syndrome, that is just a Label. I feel that There are 3 Sub-Categories for Those with Special Needs and in Context of Where to put them and Most Importantly, How to not divide them too much that it blows the School Budget. Oh The Complication! So, The There are schools that like to Categorize kids with Special Needs. Some just put all into one room and not help them. Categories, There are Those that have Special Needs but are Very Smart, have some delays that they Struggle with, Considered High Functioning, and Intellectual Abilities in areas that are different (like me, Maps and Geography). Those who are Mild, I like to call us. Those of Us that have a Good Potential in Life, In Our own way, and Given a Chance to Learn. As a PTLSer, I Think, It is better to group us with These People and Give Us a chance. Then, We go into The Hardest Parts, The “Mids”. They are Very Smart but, have a Few Behaviors, or They have a More Behaviors and have some Challenges Intellectually. In My Humble Opinion, The Schools Focus too much on The Diagnosis and Thinking that The Child won’t be Successful to make it into Life, Get put Here, which again in My Humble Opinion, Is not Fair! Because They have a lot of Potential and If They mimic The Behavior of those that are More Intellectual Disabilities, You and They will have a Problem because the learning has to fit Each Child. and, Finally, We move into The Severe Category. The Ones who have A Lot of Behavior Issues, more severe Physical Difficulties, or Have Severe problems understanding. They Have more Struggles with Intellectual and in terms of Life Skills (which I saw in my own classrooms When I was in School), They will more than Likely be at Home a lot of Their Lives.  When I was in School, I was in these classes and It was Not Helping Me Learn Enough, until I was In a Class with Teachers who saw I could learn more. It really is a Harsh Reality and a Sad Reality, but It is Truth. Now, Some Schools do a Good Job in Separating the Kids. Milds here, Mids There, and Severe There. More often than Not, though The Milds are Here but, The Higher Intellectuals of The Mids go with them. and, The Lower Mids go with The Severe’s. Or God Help You, All of The Mid go with The Milds and Severe only with The Severe. The Segregation and the Lack of Integration can be Messed Up. It does not matter where You are in Your Ability to Learn, Funding is Needed in The Special Ed Classrooms, so Each Child can Reach Their Potential in Learning, We deserve a Chance to Learn! All in all, All Children can benefit from Fine Arts, All Children deserve to Learn in Their Own Way and All of This needs Funding! Maybe The School System should re-think in What Segments The Money goes.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Respect How People Learn!

The Christianville Spirit: School Days, Overwhelming Days Rerun

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Knows Love

September 4th, 2019-TCS # 653

Happy September, Everyone! This is The First Month of The Fall Foliage Season, so Get Yourself and Cameras Ready! I Love Fall (or Autumn) Foliage Season! It is so Pretty to look at Pictures of Nature’s Pure Beauty that is Fall Foliage! I wish to see it for Myself One Day! Also, for Those of You who are Obsessed with Pumpkin Spice, Go at It! Me, I don’t see it as a Big Deal! I Love Fall (Autumn) more because of The Fall Foliage! So, On to My Newsletter! So, It has been Many Years, 12 Years actually High School 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.