-
Dear Walmart Greeter
Dear Walmart Greeter: I don’t know why folks—myself included—grumble and complain about stopping for you to check their bags as they leave Walmart. It’s store policy and you have a job to do. When I remind a student to take their hat off for class, put their cell phone away for the fifth time, and turn their camera on for our remote meeting, I understood what you face every day. We’re halfway through the school year and these students still don’t follow the rules. I guess we must seem like rebellious teenagers to you too. I mean, how do you even do it when seven people come at you with…
-
Dearest Daughter, You Are Enough
Her body trembled as she pressed against me. I could feel the weakness and uncertainty she felt seep from her skin into my body as I absorbed the waves of emotion. She was hurting because of the cruel words of another. The icy dread and anger crept quietly into my soul although I spoke softly and comforted her with my words. This gentle, fragile girl I cradled was my daughter. A part of my very soul. The soft essence of her was an extension of myself. The cry of her heart matched the tones of my own in perfect harmony. She wept. Tears slowly drifting down her pale cheeks while…
-
Opposites Attract (It’s True!)
I could see my husband was beaming with pride over his innovation of finding a way to stop the vertical blinds hanging in our bedroom from clapping together when the air conditioner came on at night. I cringed and had to cup a hand over my mouth to incarcerate the flood of words ready to pour out. Lined across the bottom of the blinds, like a rigid sentry on serious duty, was a…(give me second, here)…POOL NOODLE! A six-foot, bright royal blue, with a slight kink in the middle…pool noodle! The ceiling fan was on in the bedroom and–as my husband confidently demonstrated–the blinds were pressed snuggly against the window,…
-
“And When…” (Facing Your Enemies With Faith)
The Syrian enemy was closing in to destroy Judah. The people were petrified. Nowhere to turn, their destruction was imminent. Judah’s king, Jehoshaphat, set his heart to seek God and proclaimed a fast throughout all the land. Standing in the court of Solomon’s Temple, Jehoshaphat summoned the people to prayer. Echoing the words of King Solomon when he dedicated the temple, he prayed these words: “If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.” (2 Chronicles…
-
A Day in the Life of a Sign Language Interpreter: Social Distancing
Never had to know how to use Zoom or Google Hangouts before? Virtual conferencing and video meetings with multiple participants a new thing for you? Well, you have two days to figure it out! Welcome to “Quarantine Interpreting” in the midst of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. I’m Regina and I’ll be your presenter for this session. (Go learn what that meaneth…) Our team of sign language interpreters met yesterday morning via Google Hangouts (a video conferencing program through G Suite) to practice using the platform. After a series of “So-and-so, could you please mute yourself? The kids hollering in the background is distracting” and “Why can’t I see myself? Where…