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Western Wyoming Community College's (Western's) wrestling team competed this past weekend in Council Bluffs, Iowa at the National Junior College Athletic Association's (NJCAA) National Men's Wrestling Champion (Championship). Defending their 2023 Championship Title, the Mustangs brought home another Championship, outscoring the second-placed team by 21.5 points. Returning to Rock Springs late Sunday evening, they received an escort to campus along with an impromptu welcome back from students,...
My cat and I are watching TV as I write this. She loves sitting on me or near me, she sleeps on my head and is forever coming up to me and asking me to pet her. Sweetest cat ever. The ironic part of this whole thing is that from the time I was born until about 6 years ago, I have been extremely allergic to cats. Because of this, I really didn’t like cats even though we grew up with one. Being allergic and having a cat in the house really wasn’t hard, as our cat was really my mom’s cat and she pretty much kept to herself. Additionally, for m...
“Kids Say the Darndest Things” was a great TV show back in the day. All of my children, as well as all children do, in fact, say some great things as they try to “act grownup,” or simply because they call it like they see it. My two youngest daughters came out of their room after playing Barbies, and they were both just sobbing. They weren’t fighting or arguing, they were so sad, and they were comforting each other. I asked them what was wrong. They said that while playing Barbies something had gone terribly wrong. I expected them to tell me t...
I recently read an article in the April/May 2018 edition of Coach and the AD titled “Becoming Defensive-Minded: Eight Concepts to Help Teams Dominate Their Opponents” by Coach Nathan Livesay, and as I read it, I quickly realized that these concepts could actually help me in my life, not just as a coach on the basketball court. The first concept the author spoke of was that in basketball, as obvious as this seems, you must take care of the basketball as you head towards the goal. You must take care of it because of its value. It is the “th...
If you ask my family, I like taking the stairs, even if we are staying in a hotel several floors up. I like taking the stairs up to the third floor at Western Wyoming Community College when working rather than the elevator. Thankfully I am able. My mother would not be physically able, but the purpose of this article is more about virtual stairs, elevators and escalators than the actual physical actions. Let me explain. In life, I like to think about each day as one in which there is potential for growth for me. I can reach higher achievements,...
My two youngest daughters came out of their room a while back after playing Barbies and they were both just sobbing. They weren’t fighting or arguing—they were so sad and they were comforting each other. I asked them what was wrong. They said that while playing Barbies something had gone terribly wrong. I expected them to tell me that “somehow” Barbie’s head or arm had broken off. Instead, Gracie replied, “Barbie lost her job and got in a car wreck.” I was so confused and I asked them, “Wait ladies, I don’t understand. When you play barbies...
During the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays my family and I watch Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies. It’s become quite a little tradition. They are all very similar in nature, but we never really look at them as “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all”, even though most of them go as follows: Boy meets girl, but they have other commitments or issues they are dealing with. Then boy and girl fall in love. Then something tears them apart. Then they find each other, usually on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day and live happily ever after. So...
I am back! Some of you might not have even noticed or missed me, but some of you may have noticed I haven’t written in a few months. In fact, I have been asked by some people why they hadn’t seen any new articles in the paper or on my website in a bit. The answer is simple. I was tired. I wasn’t sleepy tired, although there have been a few days. I wasn’t depressed tired. I wasn’t tired of writing. I was just busy, pulled in many directions, mostly at work, and I was giving everything I had left (which wasn’t much sometimes), to my family. But...
Much has changed in the past year and a half with COVID-19 and our abilities to be out and about as much. However, one thing that has NOT changed is the love shown to us by our pets. In fact, if you are like me, even though you have still been just as busy, you may have been at home a bit more and MY pets have enjoyed this immensely. The great thing about pets (or as I refer to them – furry people) is that they love you no matter what. They are there for you when you’ve had a hard day, they don’t care if you made some mistakes and they are p...
A while ago, my seven-year-old and I were watching ‘Elmo in Grouchland’. In the Elmo movie, Huxley, the villain, steals Elmo’s blanket. When Elmo asks for his blanket back, Huxley says, “If I touch it, I own it” then he touches a variety of objects he has taken from people and as he touches each item he says “BING, I own it.” I told Gracie that Mr. Patinkin, who plays the villain, is one of my favorite actors. ‘Well, he might be nice other times, but he’s not my favorite right now,” she said. She and I both had our own perspectives and at...
I have probably made the jog from my house to the work at the college and/or back home, legitimately 500 times over the last couple years. I have run Grant Street so many times, I might actually have every crack in the sidewalk memorized. However, every time I run up, or down, it’s not only different, but it’s always still hard. Some days when I run, the wind is blowing (as it does often in Rock Springs). Some days it’s cold. Some days there is snow and it is slick. In the summer, some days are pretty warm. Some days my body is feeling prett...
I am that person that always manages to “find” the shopping cart with the wonky wheel. I used to trade it out because it irritated me. The cart wobbled and sometimes made noise and it usually drove a little slower and pushed a little harder. However, in the last bit, I have stayed with whatever cart I get first. My reasoning is simple. Having this kind of cart is/has been teaching me a very important lesson: Just because SOMEONE is a little slower, or makes a little “noise” or is harder to deal with, doesn’t mean they don’t have value. We a...
As we are forced to air high-five and elbow bump instead of hug or shake hands right now, in the FACE of Covid, I think it’s important to note several other very important things we are FACING. The face is a very important tool we all have. We use it to show expressions and attitudes – it really is very communicative. We use many phrases involving the face such as “face paint”, “get your game face on”, “face the music”, “being two-faced” and “face the facts”. We can even remember many important social distancing requirements with the w...
I need to pay more attention to the messages in children’s books. I have read them to my kids for 23 plus years now, or they have then read them to me once they began reading on their own. We read a variety of stuff-chapter books, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, self-help, how to, inspirational-the list goes on. But as I said, I need to pay more attention to the MESSAGES in children’s books. Madi is 7 and she loves “Pete the Cat” books by Eric Litwin. If you haven’t read “Pete the Cat,” let me share Madi’s favorite. It is called, “Pete the Cat:...
During this time where I am working from home, I am trying to focus on a growth mindset for me personally. In addition to working from home, I am homeschooling my three littles and enjoying my three older children being at home, even though I wish it was under different circumstances. While everything we are ALL going through is absolutely not ideal, I refuse to let the situations at hand define me. I am still working out, working on professional development goals and trying to be a positive light for those I am around and have contact with....
I try to run to work ALMOST every day. I run in the hot weather and in the cold weather, the snow, the wind, the heat…I enjoy running although I don’t run all that fast. I would run every day but sometimes I need a car in the middle of the day, if I need to run an errand or if it’s my turn to pick up the little kiddos after school. On days where I don’t get to run to and or from home, I try to run during a break at work. I am fortunate to work at Western where I can utilize the Wellness Center or run outside on the Running/Walking Trail o...
My sixth and final child is in kindergarten this year. My older three were in elementary school quite some time ago. I was in kindergarten in the dark ages. Many things have changed throughout the years but one thing I has not and I hope it never does. For as long as I can remember, when an elementary student, especially a kindergartener or first-grader, brings home “done work” in their folders and backpacks, it is pretty much a guarantee that every paper will have either a smiley face, a gold star or celebration word sticker/comment (“Wow”, “G...
We’ve all heard the expression, “you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.” It’s so true, and kids are super impressionable. We need to be mindful every time we open ours mouths TO and AROUND our children. I know with my own children, they were/are always trying to copy the big people in their lives. My little ones are constantly saying things like, “I am wearing my hair just like Sister,” or “Mom, my shoes are just like yours.” We never know what they are going to remember and copy. My parents and grandparents woul...
I was reading an editorial by Tom Salvino in the Subaru Drive magazine of all places. (Yes, we have a Subaru as our home.) His article is titled, “The Best Kind of Teacher.” In it, Salvino talks about how growing up, his grandfather seemed to know everything from how to skip rocks to playing chess. His grandfather was his idol and he was always teaching. Salvano reminds us that we can always learn something new, even when we think we are already pretty good at something. Such is the case with what I call “gimmies” in basketball and of course,...
I recently read an article written by Emily Tipping, editorial director for the magazine Recreation Management, May 2019, about trying to keep work life and home life in balance on a consistent basis. Tipping said that we all have an idea of where we want to operate: when we are doing everything we need to do and as a result our mind, body and soul are good. Tipping said that even when we think we have it all figured out there will be days when nothings seems to go right. However, she said we just need to be mindful of this and stay positive...
The other day, my five and six-year-old daughters were singing the words to the song, “Nerves” by Terri Hendrix. My five year old sang, “You’re getting on my nurses.” (You should’ve seen me look at her and NOT react.) Then my six year old said, “no, Gracie, it’s supposed to be, “You’re getting on my nerds.” (Again, I am sure the look on my face was something else.) In an attempt to help them with the actual lyrics I then said, “Girls, you’re getting on my nerves.” Madi immediately said, “Oh sorry about that, Mom.” I almost felt like I wa...
It’s that time of year where schools all the way from pre-school through college, celebrate the accomplishments of students through graduation and commencement activities and ceremonies. This year, I am very excited as I actually have three graduates in my house. My 16 year old is graduating high school and heading into her sophomore year of college already. She is well on her way to becoming an amazing success at whatever she chooses to do. She has already accomplished so much and she is by no means “done.” Every time I stop for a minut...
I want to share a story. My oldest daughter Aly graduated a couple of years ago from Western. Then she worked at Western, while still taking a couple of classes after graduation. For her own reasons, she needed some time off before pursuing her bachelor’s degree. This January, she left Rock Springs for California and now lives 710 miles from me. This is hard because even though she is 22 years old, she will always be my little girl. This semester, Aly is taking a history class, two psychology classes and a math class as she pursues her psycholo...
I read a passage in a book recently, describing mood contagion. Mood contagion says that when a person walks in the room, we can automatically sense if they are sad, angry, anxious, or upset and unless we are very mindful, their negative mood can overtake ours. Similarly, if we are happy or joyful, we can project that to others. I agree completely. Many times I have heard myself say, “Oh man, it’s Monday,” or “the weather is awful,” when really I should be saying, “I get to go to work and support my family,” or “After work, the kids and I reall...
If you are like me, you worry a little about stretching the dollar during the holidays. Of course, as has always been the case no matter where I have worked in education, my December paycheck has arrived the last day before vacation in December. This is great, for Christmas shopping of course, but then the extra week on the other end seems like a small eternity until payday at the end of January. It is what is it though and over the years I am becoming much better at planning ahead for this. So let’s talk about the concept of pay for a bit i...
