Monday, December 31, 2012
When I began the Christmas series, “Light,” I promised to carry that theme into the New Year. This column is the opportunity to do just that.
It's been said that as parents, it is our job to work ourselves out of a job. Or to see our children to that place of adulthood where our job description is significantly and irreversibly altered. We do that by shining our parenting light into our adult world (as an example) and into our children's world (as a nurturer). I want to encourage you to continue to shine in the humble servant’s position that is parenthood. It is a job in which you may not get a lot of accolades, but shine anyway. Two years ago, I began writing for Patch. Though I had hundreds of publication credits to my name, this was something new: the discipline of weekly deadlines. Writing “The Growth Chart” grew me in completely unexpected ways. And it was good. It was …
Monday, December 24, 2012
I love it when the snow comes – it always magnifies Light.
This Christmas season has been unique for me. Though I’m not one to get caught up in the shopping frenzy, preferring instead the charm of homespun gifts and simple conveyances (like giving a goat!), this year, more than ever, I’ve stayed out of the stores. I did take a young friend shopping (she helped me choose for my kids; I helped her choose for her mom) and it was a night filled with the wonder of the giving-spirit of Christmas. An experience everyone should have. There is nothing wrong with having fun shopping. Yet as I shop, I’m almost always aware that if I spend too lavishly I will have less to share with others who are truly in need. This year, the concerns have been keenly present, as visible to me as the lights that have …
Monday, December 17, 2012
A Different Kind of Christmas Giving...
I walked up to the table expecting to look over the photographs there, to pray and be open to what I felt God wanted. And there she was. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Hers was the first picture I saw; there may as well have been no others. There she was: arms extending from her orange-striped, Hello-Kitty shirt, thumbs stretching over her jean-clad thighs. Pink-bobbled pigtails framed her sweet, curious face. Her eyes drilled straight into my heart. Emile. How could I go home without her? The answer, of course, is that I could not. Later, I told a friend: “Don’t you think she looks like me?” My words were met with a raised eyebrow. “Sure, her skin’s a different color,” I said. “But look at her long arms and legs and slender build. I…
Monday, December 10, 2012
"It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…"
The wreaths, holly, pine trees — both real and representational — are everywhere. And, of course, the lights. My street has taken on a whole new, colorful nighttime persona. I love it. A few months ago, a friend invited me to sit in on a planning session for her church’s Christmas Eve service. The creative team kept revisiting the subject of Light. That conversation stuck with me and shaped how I have thought about Christmas this year. When the First Christmas Light shone, it came to a dark world. People were oppressed, under a harsh government to which they had to report. A young pregnant woman faced a terrible situation. Her fiancé considered leaving her. She was looked at as “sinful.” Yet together the couple faced a journey that would …
Monday, December 3, 2012
Teen's voice tells the story of an 'overcomer' ...
“Trinity” had been receiving unwelcomed “sext” messages. Her story has been difficult for me to write; I felt the “telling” carried an incredible weight. Certain details — the specific words that were said to her and the fact that she had experimented with cutting as a result, weighed on me. I didn’t know what to tell, what to leave out. I wondered: did I save Trinity’s story as the last in this series for a purpose, or did I somehow put it off, because it was difficult to deal with? I now see that the best way to cap off this series about Kids (and Adults) and Social Media is to hear from a teen, and a parent, in their own VOICES. The Interview: “The Growth Chart”: I’ve never understood the “cutting” thing. What makes someone do it? …
Monday, November 26, 2012
Who wants her number posted on the boys' room wall? Jenny probably didn't. Trinity definitely didn't. Truly, there's nothing new under the sun...
“For a good time, call: 867-5309…” My name’s not “Jenny,” but I do know that back in the day, no respectable girl wanted her number on the bathroom stall. Today, the “stall” comes with its own keypad. God help the girl whose number gets "posted." You might as well put it in a song, for anyone to call, for all eternity. If you came of age in the eighties, you’re laughing with me. Sort of. But your stomach hurts, because now it’s our kids we are talking about. The song is theirs, and they-- God forbid—could be the victims of these “posts.” This final story of the “social media” series—it is the one I saved for last. Or is it the one I put off until last, because I knew it would gut me to write about it? When I began this series, a girl …
Monday, November 19, 2012
"Facebook is our escape. For a few hours, we can hide behind that Mac and be whoever we want to be."
Facebook. Some people believe that it’s “of the devil.” I’m serious. I’ve actually heard those words come from their lips. And I think: Hello?!! Facebook is nothing more than an electronic medium. A neutral entity. A tool. Tools can be used for productivity or as weapons. This has always been true. It’s not Facebook that gets us in trouble; it’s our humanity. Just this week, I vented and posted. Within the hour, my words came back to bite me, in the form of a text. “Friends” aren’t necessarily our friends (don’t expect confidence!) and those whom we’ve "removed" miraculously are able to decode even the most encrypted messages. Some things are better left unsaid. Yet, I still believe in self-expression, “To thine own self be true,” and all …
Monday, November 12, 2012
What was once a (comparatively benign) comment on the bathroom wall is now atwitter for all to see. How do today’s teens deal with the exponential nature of such harassment? Many stand strong by using their voices for good.
In this cyber-age, meanness and bullying have been propelled to a whole new level. So how do today’s teens deal with the exponential nature of such harassment? Many stand strong by using their voices for good. Recently, two young women shared their stories with me. I’ve chosen to use pseudonyms, in part to protect these women from further harassment, but also because their stories represent those of countless others. As an eighth grader, Laurel was sitting in art class when a girl said, “Hey, Laurel! I’m not sure if you know but someone made a ‘MySpace’ about you ...” At home, Laurel typed in the link the girl gave her: “Laureleatstoomuch.” What she saw broke her heart and is with her even now, in her college years. "It scarred me to …
Monday, November 5, 2012
All of us have a "Life in the Middle" story to tell. Today those stories can be spread exponentially through social media. And I say, let the Voices be heard.
This week, I listened as some young teachers reflected on some of the names they’ve been called lately. Though their conversation was lighthearted, I know from experience that no matter how many times we shake the dust from our sandals and walk on, we still limp just a little from the words that have been hurled our way. Instantly, I remembered the words a student wrote in his journal about me some 20 years earlier, when I was a 22-year-old high school teacher: “Mrs. Noble is a skinny, flat-chested b****…” Though I didn’t share that specific memory in the staff lunchroom, I did say to my young counterparts: “Unfortunately, you will probably remember some of those comments 20 years from now. But try to forget what you can. The words don’t…
Monday, October 29, 2012
As a "Word Person," I can't help but wonder if SSEWBA. If so, will I still be able to talk to my kids?
The Conversation U up? Yep. <3 Texting ALAP. TYVM. :) HUD? Good. HBU? M$UlkeCraZ. Want 121, F2F. Not 2nite 4sure. L?^L8R? 2moro? COBRAS? Lol. Not sure. LHOS. Now. IYD! Yep. DISTO? JK. Sort of. FOGC? RMMA. BTWITIAILWY. ? CUWTA. LOL. Looked it up. Aww…that’s sweet. ;) Still, IDK… AUNT—u can trust me. TBH, B4U I never would've…but 1432. It will b ok. FTFOI? I will delete right after. KPC. WDYT? WRU? IDK…In my room… J Send me a Pic? Plz? GNOC? GOI. UR cra-cra. GNSD. No. Let’s GOWI. IPN. Sending u a pic now. NVNG…SHMILY? The Grade Patch Parents, if this were a test, would you make the grade? How much of this conversation did you get? Take <3, B4 2day, my answer would have been: “Not much.” If u2 would earn an “F” in text-reading, you’d …
Donna J. Noble
2:42 pm on Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Thank you, Morgan. Keep up the good work! Your work means a great deal to our community. What did we ever do before Morgan Day and Patch? :) Let's do lunch soon. more ›