My Job Rocks!

Things I've Learned:

1) About 100 inches of snow has fallen in Utah during the month of February...amazing!

Wow, so my job rocks! My job is a lot of work, long hours, little pay and all worth it. Working at SPLORE is perhaps the hardest job I ever have (or ever will) love. There are so many reasons why I can explain that I love my job; so many experiences that I have been a part of and will always cherish. One such memory happened last week. I was taking a group of elementary kids (both with and without disabilities) indoor rockclimbing. These kids were amazing and they taught me so many lessons.

So often it's hard to find people without disabilities wanting to hang out with people with disabilities, let alone kids! However, this group all became friends and all shared each other's successes, creating great commaradie. If one kid was climbing, all of his peers would chant his name, cheering him on. Sometimes a kid would get scared to climb higher, or didn't think he could make it to the top, that was when his classmates would yell back, "you can do it, you can do it, keep going...THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CAN'T."

Wow, the insight of a 1st grader. I often wonder, "who gets the most out of a SPLORE trip? The participants or the staff and volunteers?"

Feed Burner

Things I've Learned:
1) White rhinos aren't actually white. Being lost in translation, "white" was originally "wide," describing the mouth of the rhinos. What was first called the wide rhino, got changed to white rhino.

OK, so for a quick update. I don't have much news, or a very long entry, but I wanted to all to know about a new update to this site. If you look to your right, you'll see a link to subscribe to this blog. All long as you have a Google account, you'll get updates of this site.

Woohoo! Now I just wonder if anyone still reads this and if you'll actually subscribe??? ;-)

In the meantime, I'll find something to write to entice you all to sign-up for this blog (did I mention it's free?). Also, stay tuned as I hope to add some more updates, content and update the look of this site.

Learning to be Small

So, I usually start off each post stating all of the new things that I've learned lately. This time, however, I don't have much to report along the lines of new facts I've learned (unless you want to learn that Alanis Morissette has a twin brother named Wade). I have learned a lot though since the last time I wrote, but instead of learning random facts, I've learned a lot about myself.

I took an amazing hike this weekend (the pictures above don't do the hike justice). Lately, I've been hearing a lot about a place in Utah called Donut Falls. Donut Falls is a waterfall that runs across the top of a slab of granite rock. The granite slab creates a cavern, which opens up and you can walk into a room. On top of the granite slab runs a creek and there is a hole on top of the slab that the water pours through. After hearing so much about this wonderful place, I decided to check it out myself.

At first, I was a little nervous about going on this hike by myself because I wasn't positive of the way. After guessing which paths to take and asking a few fellow wanders for some directions, I was on the right track. I finallly made it to the falls and realized that I had to scramble up (and thus also down) a few snow and ice-covered boulders.

Another group in snowshoes were also scrambling up the rocks at the same time. A lady turned to me and said, "You must be brave to do this by yourself." Joking back I told her that I was either brave or stupid. After the scramble, I reached the top and a state of gratitude and awe that I can't explain. The falls were beautiful and the scenery that I passed through behind me was powerful. I was so grateful that I made this journey and so grateful to witness such a great gift from God. I was also grateful that I went by myself; some time to pass through this wonder on my own, with solitude on the mind, refreshing my soul.

The hike back seemed shorter that the hike there (they always do). I was in a great mood and my mind was wandering from one joyful thought to the next. I started thinking about how I read earlier in a magazine that one of the readers' favorite things about the outdoors was the feeling of being small. At first I didn't understand what was so great about feeling small because sometimes that can be overwhelming. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, however, my attitude changed and I realized that I did like feeling small, feeling surrounded by beauty and wonder for miles around me. At that same moment, I looked to my right and saw this cute, little pine cone on the branch of a huge tree. This pine cone was so small compared to me (about the size of my thumb), and the tree on which it grew. It was at that moment, a sign, that no matter how small we are, we have a purpose and I'm where I'm supposed to be. Just that one realization made this an amazing hike, let alone all of the wonderful sights along the way.