This morning is such a wonderful day!  It is the day that begins a new week and many new opportunities to be or do . . . new things!  Yesterday a very sweet lady friend of our family named Emily Dawes, volunteered to take our family’s picture . . . for free!  Yeah I know what an awesome gift!!  Well, it was that twenty minutes of her going out of her way that kinda sealed the deal for me so to speak.  So with that, let me back up a little bit and start at the beginning.  Several days ago, a lady popped into my life and propositioned me with a simple request . . . to tell her about my children.  Odd you might think, but a week or so prior to that, she and I had “bumped” into each other and in the short dialog that we had in the time it took to cross a street, I learned that she had four children and she learned that we have five.  Anyways, it was the second encounter with her that started my mind to thinking . . . she had mentioned that our children were “gifts.”  Now we have acknowledged for years that our children are blessings and that they are “gifts,” even to the point of naming our firstborn “Gift from God” otherwise known as Jonathan, but something about that brief conversation triggered a flurry (that’s a good winter word), a flurry of thoughts that I just had to write about today.

 This morning a song rang in my head, loud and . . . well, not so clear since I slept through my alarm.  I think my clogged sinuses and a poor night’s sleep are to blame for me either not hearing the 15^th alarm or not having the energy to get up.  I’m hoping I don’t have the flu.  But whatever reason may be, I remained undercover enjoying my stuporous state to long.  It did give way however to my extreme excitement for the new day as I pulled myself out of bed about 7:06 to ideally leave at 7:15.  Back to the song that rang ever so well within my head all the way down to my toes as I performed my daily ritual of doing the “stair climber.”  Yeah, it’s a good way to start any day, a good workout for me – one to two flights (no more) of stairs per day during the week brings me to my max exertion rate real quick like.  So . . . back to that song, actually, I’m stalling.  I’m waiting for my internet to come online since I can’t remember the name of the song, just the unrelenting refrain (Ooh that almost sounds like an oxymoron: “unrelenting refrain,” like totally cool!).  It is a classic song though, a song that even hit the radio waves, if I should call them that, of IHeartRadio’s Christmas song list.  It is from a special movie.  A movie that is a classic of classics that ranks right up there with most every logophile, like my self’s favorite, “My Fair Lady” and one of our family favorites “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”  The movie that I speak of is none other than the 1965 film directed by Robert Wise, with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, and Eleanor Parker . . . “The Sound of Music,” a classic in every rite.  So let me just write some of the lyrics that Julie Andrews warbled and I’m sure that before you know it, the tune will brighten your day as well.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,

bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,

brown paper packages tied up with strings,

these are a few of my favorite things.

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels,

door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles.

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings.

these are a few of my favorite things.

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes,

snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,

silver white winters that melt into springs,

these are a few of my favorite things.

When the dog bites, when the bee stings,

when I’m feeling sad,

I simply remember my favorite things,

and then I don’t feel so bad.

There is more to this song, but I think you get the gist.  I wasn’t feeling “bad” as one might have presumed from the last couple of lines of the song,  well other than physically, when this song came to mind, but that phrase “these are a few of my favorite things” stuck out to me.  So you might be saying “Now, what does this song . . . some encounter with a lady and . . . your children have to do with each other?”  Well, as I/we come upon the illustrious and overly westernized yet Christian season and holiday which celebrate the birth of Christ, called Christmas I wanted to point out a few of my favorite gifts that I’ve been given.  As I said previously, a fantastic photographic stylist captured a few things that I am so amazingly grateful for.  Yes, I am ever so grateful for Christ as he was hung on a tree and the undeserved “present” of salvation he provided through his resurrection, but this year, along with that, I am so appreciative and thankful for all of my favorite and yet so very undeserving things.

 I am so very undeserving of my spectacular and aphrodisiacal wife!  She is a dream come true in every sense of the word, a genuine gift from God.  I don’t think I could have ever found another wife so beautiful or sweet as I have found in Melissa.  She is all I could have ever hoped for or dreamed of.  A few years back, we thought we were “done” with our first four blessings; however the Lord saw fit to bless us with one more precious gift.  We’ve given him the name Andrew Seth.  A somewhat popular name ranked #35 as 1 in 186 male children in the US are named Andrew; however, it’s not the popularity that drew us to that name.  It is the meaning.  Andrew Seth means “a strong man who is appointed.”  God undeservingly gave us this precious bundle of cuteness, a treasure . . . for a purpose.  Our kiddos aren’t accidents, they’re gifts. 

 Wow . . . I love my family; I could go on and on but let’s see, what else could I reveal as some of my favorite things/gifts?  Well, let’s see, I work in a place that I really should still be applying at . . . a year after I started applying.  I personally know people who have been applying to work here for over a year!  I work at the University of North Dakota in the Student Success Center.  I love my job and the people I work with!  But the University  isn’t the only place I work, I also consider both of my other jobs, actually businesses, as gifts too.  Last summer my brother-in-law and I started American Brothers Contracting (ABC) Services.  It is something that we both enjoy . . . creatively employing the love of hard sweaty work to turn a profit; it’s very rewarding.  Another thing that Melissa and I have recently started is Pampered Chef!  Yeah!!  For those who know us, know that we love the kitchen!  Melissa loves baking and I love to cook, we’re a perfect match!  In fact as some may remember, Melissa used to sell dozens of loaves of bread per week not too long ago.  Well we have taken our love of cooking, our hobbies, and we have employed those loves for the sake of earning some money.  Pampered Chef has been so much fun!  It has given us a unified family hobby.  The kids have pitched in and they are so proud that we are “pampered chefs.”  Sometimes I think that they are our best form of advertising.  We have done pretty well at it, in less than a month . . . well, let’s just say that we have had some tremendous shows, four to be exact, and the fifth is a catalog show that we are in the process of doing as I type. (So here’s a little plug for the PC business.  If you need anything or want to host a show, January is an awesome host month!  50% MORE FREE PRODUCTS!) Ok, that was enough of a plug . . . for now, LOL.  Melissa is homeschooling the four oldest children.  Last year we tried to do the whole traditional school thing but the majority of the children asked to come back home and be homeschooled so that is what we are doing.  What a privilege/job Melissa has of that.  Having Andrew in July, starting the homeschooling of four in August, and then picking up a newspaper route in September . . . she was a busy busy lady.  I said “was a busy lady” erroneously, though she dropped the paper route, she is STILL a very occupied and engaged lady!  I don’t’ know how she manages her time!  My hat goes off to her as I applaud her time management skills. 

 I do have so many undeserved gifts to be mindful of this wonderful Christmas season.  We have five wonderful children/gifts, three great jobs when others are struggling to have one, a wife that loves me, and friends and family who stick with us.  I am a blessed man.  These things above I have done nothing to deserve.  I can’t say that because of MY anything I have five super kids.  I can’t even say that because of MY anything I have the job I have.  And my wife loves me why?  You got me; it’s nothing that I deserve.  Yes, I have invested intangible things into these areas making them even better . . . but what have I done to get them in the first place?  They were and are . . . gifts.  I have so many gifts that I really do not deserve.

 I hope you have a very merry Christmas season this year.  From one gift recipient to another . . . take time to know your gifts this year.

Until later . . .

P.S. Wanna see more of my fastidious and incisive enponderments? I invite you to join me on the vectored dance floor of life as I muse on my journey through the terpsichorean edifice called life. Enter here.

Jonathan Watson

December 14, 2009

12/16/09 This post has been altered per the encouragement of my spectacular and aphrodisiacal better half as she thought that its readability and its verbiage just didn’t flow.  After reading it again for myself, she is perfectly correct in her assertions.  It was in fact stilted and even a wee bit bombastic. So I took out some of the hifalutin words and convoluted explanations and just left my everyday written wranglings.

 (If the above doesn’t make sense, simply put, I rewrote it and unlike this last paragraph, I didn’t try to fit as many unusual words in it as I could squeeze.)

by Sarah Jacobsen, Alestle Reporter

SIUE’s new Student Success Center really is a conducive to student success.

The new student lounge provides an environment unlike any other on campus. The natural lighting from the wall of windows is a much-needed escape from classroom fluorescents. The area is generally pretty calm and quiet, but socializing is permissible.

In addition, the comfortable chairs and ample sockets for plugging in laptops make the lounge a place where I can spend hours doing homework. I no longer wander the campus or sit in the uncomfortable and noisy Goshen during my breaks. Now, I look forward to catching up on my reading in the cozy and relaxing lounge.

The area also acts as a fun place to meet a study group. There is plenty of room for everyone and Kaldi’s is right there, so everyone can grab a drink or a bite to eat as you work.

Overall, the Student Success Center is a much-needed addition to SIUE. Students now have an area dedicated to them and their achievement. I have found that the center truly does result in student success by creating a multi-purpose environment away from the bustle of activity in the MUC’s main areas. It is a place students want to go to because it is convenient and pleasant.

From my experience, spending more time on campus in such a place truly fosters responsibility, efficiency and diligence.

We’re pleased to introduce Kris Anacker.  She works closely with the Basic Studies’ department and the Testing Center staff.  She advises students as they finish the COMPASS test and also works with GED testers who need special accommodations. She works 10 – 7 Monday through Thursday and 8 – 5 on Friday.

Karma Forbes, the new Special Needs Counselor, is also working from the Student Success Center.  If you have a physical or learning challenge, make an appointment with her.  She works 9 – 6, Monday – Friday.

The Basic Studies’ department has partnered with the center in providing Jason LaFontaine.  Jason is available to work with students on Tuesdays starting at 1:15 and Thursdays starting at 11:30.  He is here for several hours each day and available to students who drop in needing help with a variety of content.

In addition to competent and caring staff who can help you with assistive technology, basic skills, learning challenges, tutoring, job applications, resume writing, and faxing job applications, you’ll also find workshops to help you with your scholarship applications.  The center is also busy planning for the annual Job Fair.  Employers from all different professions will be here to talk about Breaking Down Barriers to the Job You Want.  They will also have booths where you can learn about their company.  Some may even interview you at the fair.  There will also be a table where your resume can be reviewed and you can be offered tips on improving it.  So, mark your calendar for Wednesday, April 27^th, come dressed for an interview, and bring plenty of resumes.  It’s an event you won’t want to miss!