Well, we have gone to Jamaica and are back...already. :( Sometimes, time just goes by too quickly. Although our vacation was fantastic and we had awesome time with really great friends...I wish we were there longer. In a way, but in a way the amount of time we were there was perfect. Almost everyone has asked what we did on our vacation. My answer is absolutely nothing. It was perfect. We would wake up and meet for breakfast. Then we would go to the pool, or the beach. Maybe join in on some pool volleyball (okay we only did that once). Mostly we would have adult beverages, swim, and lounge either pool side or on the beach (I almost always fell asleep on the beach). It was the most relaxing vacation I think I have ever been on. At night we went to dinner, had some more adult beverages. We went to a couple shows...the steel drum band was awesome and the talent show was good too. We ate at a different restaurant every night, my favorite is a toss up between the Italian place and the Jamaican restaurant. We hung out at the Piano bar where there was a guy playing the piano every night and the crowd in the bar would sing. It was pretty cool. Every day there were two guys in between the pools. One guy had jerk chicken and the other had fresh pineapple and fresh coconuts that he was cutting up. We had the jerk chicken and coconuts several times. The coconuts were great! They would chop the tops off until there was a hole, then they stuck a straw in it and you would drink the coconut water. Yum. It was great to spend the time with our friends Jen and Josh too! :) J and I are ready to go again next year.
The first week back was tough though. Work was long and it felt like the week took forever. An interesting story came out the weekend we got back. The journalist is from the KC Star, and he wrote a story about sports and the rich and the poor. His idea I believe was a good idea. He was basically showing how athletics can help the poor have chances for something better. With college scholarships, or even just having a sense of belonging. He used Kirksville as a "poor" town for his example. While there are areas in Kirksville that are poorer areas, the area he chose as the poorest area in either the state of Kansas or Missouri was the campus of Truman State University. And he painted a poor picture of Kirksville. The way he went about it was just wrong. My hubby wrote a nice editorial in response to KC Star's article. However, what got me boiling the most were a lot of the comments I read. People saying that sports in our public education are way overrated. I believe strongly in our education system. I feel it is extremely important for all children to get a quality education. Academics are very important, and that should always be at the top of our education goals. However, I also believe strongly in extra curricular activities. I am a softball coach, and see first hand how athletics help children become productive members of society. Athletics can teach discipline, responsibility, a sense of belonging to something important, setting goals and problem solving to reach those goals...most importantly athletics teach teamwork and how important it is to work together toward a common goal. I also believe that students need something other than academics to make them a well rounded person. It doesn't have to be athletics, students need to find what they are good at. Whether it be the arts, volunteer programs (Key Club, Junior Achievement), or athletics. Students need more than just books and information to teach them, and all extra curricular activities help them become better members of our society.
