The End of a Journey

The phone rings. Your husbnd is talking to someone.  You look at the clock; it is 4:28 a.m. The words being spoken on the other side of the bed are beginning to make sense.  A life journey has ended. Shock begins to invade the sleepy predawn hours.

A wonderul man left his life on earth suddenly today.  After 80 years of a full life, James Milton Jacobsen died early this morning.  After fighting a brave battle with cancer, and "winning the battle", as much as possible, his body gave up on him.

Jim was a bigger-than-life kind of man.  He was raised a farm boy in northern Iowa, a basketball star for Rock Valley High School, a graduate of  South Dakota State college, he went on to work for South Dakota DoT as an engineer.  Later, when I knew him, he worked in sales for 3M.  He loved, I mean really loved, golf.  Jim was very excited about the four, possibly five, hole-in-ones he achieved. His wife, Bev, and all of his children, as well as numerous grandchildren, shared his love of the sport. He was quite proud of the fact that he had played a round of golf BEFORE driving himself to the hospital with shortness of breath--the beginning of the battle with cancer, in June.

My father-in-law and his wife Bev raised four awesome kids: Joel, Brenda, Kay, and Keith.  All four grown children have very different careers and life plans, but get along famously, which is a tribute to how they were raised.  Family was extremely important to Jim. He was at the hospital moments after our first child, Jacoba was born, pacing the halls until he could see his first grandchild.  He was one of the first to visit each grandchild upon arrival into this world.

Nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren will miss Jim's laughter and interest in what they are doing as they grow and change.  Recently, my son Mark was visiting Arkansas for work, and he and Jim had the opportunity to really talk about Mark's carrer as an exhibit technician for a children's museum.  Jim and Bev actually visited the local children's museum Mark was working with that week, and Jim was so excited to "see what Mark does! Impressive." He took great joy in visiting with his grandchildren.

At big family events, when everyone else pulled out expensive cameras or cell phones to capture a moment, Jim had his disposable Kodack camera!  He kept a photo album of pictures he carfully selected, some even printed from emails.  If he felt a picture was "book worthy", it was placed with honor in his picture book.  I was flattered to find that he had included a picture of my daughter, my mom, and me on our recent trip to San Antonio!

Keith and I were so blessed to have just seen Jim two days ago, and we enjoyed a nice visit.  I ran down and got the mail, just junk mail, and we joked about the possibility of him wanting a free burrito at a local eatery.  I will miss the poilitical discussions we used to have, the arguments, friendly-ish, about religion and my strict discipline of his grandchildren.  He was an honest man who wanted what was best for his family.  He could be stubborn and a little abrupt, but I never saw him deliberately hurt anyone. When I suffered loss in my life, he was always a claming influence who would really listen.

The dedication he had for his wife will be one of Jim's strongest legacies for me and my children.  He never claimed to be perfect, but he did strive to do his best when it came to Bev's care.  Recently, Jim and Bev relocated to Jefferson City as he continued to fight his cancer, and it was wonderful to have the last month of visits with him.  Shortly, we will celebrate his life with a Mass in Bella Vista, Arkansas, where he and Bev lived for 20 plus years of their retirement.  He will be missed by his family, and his golfing buddies. His grandsons will miss days on the greens, as will all of his children.

Today a journey in life came to a close, but I firmly believe Jim started a much more glorious journey, and I wish him safe travels.

* Photo by Allie Jacobsen, August, 2019

A Journey in Question

This weekend sees many graduation celebrations!  This important right of passage, whether it is from junior high, high school, college, or higher achieved degrees, is an important marking of hard work and dedication.  We should celebrate!

We encourage members of the next generation to aspire for high expectations, ensuring a solid future for themselves, and for future generations to come.  This class of graduates will produce doctors, lawyers, businessmen, teachers, repairmen, plumbers, construction workers, farmers, ranchers...all which have to potential to change our world.  This could be the generation that cures cancer, creates an environmentally safe pesticide for wheat crops, creates water saving devices for our homes, builds beautiful monuments, serve in Congress and create wonderful democratic policies, the possibilities are endless!

Why should we encourage these young, dedicated, hard working people to aspire to make change? Many, if not most, are leaving college with a lot of debt.  They must now begin to reach for the goal of employment and making a difference.  I would normally say, "Go for it!  Good for you!"

Today, I say, "Be careful, be very careful.  You could be judged in the year 2220, and your legacy will be for nothing."  Why so negative?  Our American citizens have decided that only perfect people can be honored, remembered, and respected.  We have become a citizenship of censor and judgemental posturing.

I recognized this with the movement to remove Confederate monuments and statues.  I could understand the discomfort of seeing some of these monuments if it were 1920, but that doesn't seem to be the case.  Even with that discomfort, these men, Confederate leaders and soldiers, were welcomed back as true citizens on that fateful day at Appomatox Courthouse when Genral Grant stepped onto the frontporch after accepting Lees surrender. "...The Rebels are our countrymen again."

Now it seems we are going to censor our founding fathers.  These were brave, passionate men, quite like some in Congress today, who wanted just and prosperous opportunities for future American generations.  These men of 1776 were not perfect, nor did they claim to be.  In fact, until we won the Revolution, they were traitors!  Yes, they made life decisions we would never agree with today, but it was not today!  Life was different, norms were different.  This doesn't mean those norms were right or moral.  That also doesn't mean that some of those founding fathers didn't  reflect on and rethink their lives and their decisions.  I am confident is saying, like all men (or women), these courageous men had regrets as they looked back on their lives.

So, today, we have decided as a "moral" people that we now need to remove names, monuments, etc...that recognize these men.  When will we decide that the U.S. Constitution was written by these "immoral" men, so it should be dissolved? Will we go back and punish anyone who is tied to historical figures who offend us today?  How dare we!  This is 2019, not 1776, not 1863, we have no idea the actual life steps and emotions these men experienced.  We can imagine, we cannot know.

I usally avoid anything controversial or political on this blog for fear of offending someone, but not today! I am not trying to start an arguement. I am wondering who is on our "moral outrage" censorship in the future.  Is it one of the graduates of today?

Journey Beyond Hallowed Halls

This is graduation season!  Always a time of celebrating, nerves about grades, commencements, family parties, and anticipation about the next step in one's future. For 30 years as a Catholic School teacher, I have been involved at several different levels of eighth grade graduation preparation and celebration.  It is always a hectic and rewarding time of the school year.

Today was no exception.  We celebrated Mass; the Big Shots (7th/8th graders) and their Little Squirts (pre-k & K) serving in all the ministry roles. Then there was 8th grade recognition and blessings, followed by doughnuts!  Who doesn't enjoy doughnuts on a beautiful spring morning.  The 8th grade posed for more pictures.  We wrapped up the morning with a tree dedication and planting; 8th grade preparing the hole and planting the tree.  More pictures.  Now the Class of 2019 is enjoying their send off party, hosted by the 7th grade.  It has been a wonderful day for all.

For many years, I have given my eighth graders a small gift or letter as a memento of their time in elementary school.  These graduates "CAN'T WAIT" to get out of elementary school.  It is the theme from December onward, and it is very prominent by April.  It is amazing to me that many of the students who 'couldn't stand' Catholic School come back to visit teachers, principals, pastors, and the school cook.

This year, as in the last three or four years, I am giving the graduates a final religion lesson.

A Final Religion Lesson

You are walking through the door into a large, wonderful world. At times it will seem awe inspiring, breathtaking, and beautiful beyond compare.  At other times, it will appear to be heartless, cold, and maybe cruel. Do not despair. Do not fret. Do not worry. Christ is walking beside you.

If you should stumble and fall, get up, brush yourself off,  and move forward. Christ is walking beside you. Trust your knowledge, rely on your moral compass. Lean on Christ, he is right beside you. When everything is going well, and life is grand, pause, take a breath, enjoy the moment!  You have earned it. Then look beside you—-Christ is there. When you study, when you play a sport, when you figure the area of a circle, when you struggle with transitive verbs, when you argue with your parents, when you are embarrassed by your peers, when you are crying over your first love—-own it. Accept it. Respect it. Learn from it. Move beyond it. Be thankful for it. Then turn and give praise, for Christ is right beside you. You are never alone.  Christ will always be right beside you. As the St. Joseph Class of 2019, Martinsburg, prepares for graduation Mass this week, may they remember everyone who stood beside them as they walked through these hallowed halls for nine years. Most of all, I hope they pause and smile, enjoying priceless memories and lessons.

Journey of Appreciation

Last week was National Teacher Appreciation Week!  As a Catholic School teacher, I usually am unaware of this week, as we quite often celebrate a Teacher Appreciation Day during Catholic Schools Week in January.  This year I had to take notice.

Last fall I began a new teaching job with the St. Joseph Catholic School in Martinsburg, Missouri.  This is a small, rural, conservative community, supporting a school for Pre-K through eighth grade and an early learning center.  The campus is quite large, hosting a huge church, nice sized school, and house converted for the Early Learning Center (my guess is the house was probably the convent in years past), and a large rectory. The students enjoy a nice playground area within sight of the rest of this rural town. The train rumbles by, a block and a half away, several times a day, and you can smell the grain dust from the elevator two blocks away.  Literally it is small town America! Heaven!

As the school year progressed, I found myself enjoying the art of teaching again, and have truly enjoyed my year as the new kid on staff.  Christmas brought very generous gifts and lovely cards.  The Home and School Association is very generous with their support, and not just financially. Parent teacher conferences are productive and, for the most part, uplifting for all involved.  The staff in very relaxed and easy to work with, working hard to raise the bar and teach the students to excel.

The 40 minutes drive to and from has been a blessing.  Beautiful country, lovely sunrises, and time for me to gear up for the day or decompress before reaching home.  I know where to watch for deer, which roadways freeze more quickly than others, what time to watch for the school bus in the morning, and what fences tend to let the cattle free range graze along the road.  Again, heaven.

So as the school year is coming to a close and things get hectic, I was not paying attention to Teacher Appreciation Week. Then the celebration began!  A hot homemade breakfast was delivered to the school office for all teachers to enjoy on Monday.  Each day afterwards a new culinary delight was presented for lunch!  Students and parents arrived with gift baskets of goodies and gift bags filled with items to show appreciation for me being a teacher in their school.  I felt so blessed each and every day.  Friday was topped off with the Home and School Association delivering hanging flower baskets, the largest I have ever seen, for each staff member.  It truly was like Christmas in May.

In response to the generosity I experienced, I was feeling very appreciative of this small community I found by happenstance last spring. It was a week like I have never experienced.  Thank you, St. Joseph School families.