What's with the Grown Lady and her Baby Yoda?

I have loved stuffed animals as long as I can remember. Some of my favorites were Kerby the bear, Kermit the Frog, and a black Pound Puppy named Midnight. I've had fewer as I've gotten older, but I still think they're cute, and they make me smile. When my students invite me to their baby showers, there's a good chance that my gift is going to include a stuffed animal. I have stuffed animals they've given me for Valentine's Day, too, which are very special to me. 

As a bank teller and a teacher, I enjoyed having fun, seasonal figurines on my desk. Although I have never seen Star Wars, when I first laid eyes on "Baby Yoda," I knew I wanted all the "merch" I could get my hands on. I want to say that he made his online debut around Christmas of 2019 and was supposed to be available for purchase in Spring of 2020. The horrors of 2020 delayed that a bit. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed seeing YouTube clips from his show, "The Mandalorian," and his memes. 

One of my former students owns a collectibles store in Colorado, which is awesome! He posted some Baby Yoda merch on Facebook one day. I commented that I would like to be notified when the plush ones became available. Then, one glorious day in June, plush Baby Yoda Noble, Funko Pop Baby Yoda, and action figure Baby Yoda arrived at my house as a gift from him. I don't think I had been as happy since the day I bought my second Mustang. He is just the cutest thing, with his facial features and expressions and soft body. I love the way he scoots around in his basket in the clips and makes his sweet little sounds. 

He brings so much joy to me, and I want to share that joy with others, so I decided to have lots of fun with him. He goes to work with me, as well as lots of other places. He is the Easter egg in all of my car videos, so be on the lookout for him. I figured that would be fun for the regular viewers, as well as for the customers watching their personalized videos. Most of the people at work have fun with him, too. Grown men have asked to take selfies with him. Others want him to ride with them in Fast Lane Friday. I forgot to hide him yesterday while running an errand, and my dirty coworkers yoda-napped him and sent me a ransom text! He had been safely returned by the time I got back, though. 

People can't help but smile when they see him. I figure it's either because he's so cute or they think I'm slam crazy, but either way, they're smiling! I often get messages inviting him places and asking what he's doing. Others have offered to buy outfits for him. His original clothes are sewn on, so he's going to wear pins and accessories. He's slowly but surely making his rounds. Just like with the rocks I like to paint and hide, I like to do things I enjoy to make people smile. Some people make cookies, some people send cards, and my brother used to do random handyman tasks for people around their homes. Whatever it is that you can do, no matter how big or small, do what you can to brighten someone's day. You never know what kind of day they're having or what kind of situation they're going home to. 

The parts have been ordered for Baby Yoda Noble's custom booster seat for my car so people can see him during our daily commute. BOLO for him. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube page, Stephanie Noble Autos to see the Noble Picks of the Day, as well as all of my auto videos. He is Easter egging in all of them (since I've had him). Have fun and make someone's day, even if you have to be a little weird ;) As my late friend Jim Morrison said, "where's your will be to weird?" 

Mustang with Baby Yoda riding shotgun

Baby Yoda riding with the big boys

Respect Father’s Day

Head’s up! If the Father’s Day card you purchased or planned to purchase says “World’s Best Farter,” now is the time to buy something nicer or change your plans. This is not meant to be disrespectful to mothers, but most people would never think of giving their mom such foolishness for Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day seems to be regarded as a day to honor and respect one’s mother, whereas Father’s Day has become a joke making fun of deadbeat dads. I agree 100% that Mother’s Day is for honoring and respecting mothers, but Father’s Day should be for honoring and respecting fathers. Mothers are showered with flowers and gifts, but the Father’s Day gift aisle in many stores has looked like a Spencer’s for the last decade. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see a tasteful selection of gifts this year.

On Mother’s Day, you see sweet posts about moms on social media. On Father’s Day, you see posts about deadbeat dads, child support, and moms asking for Father’s Day wishes because they fulfill both roles. That may be true (about filling both roles), but you don’t see single dads acting that way. Maybe it’s just one of the many ways men and women are different. I know there are some deadbeat dads out there, but there are some not-so-stellar moms out there, too. Over-generalization is a pet peeve of mine. Don’t group all dads into being “great farters” just because one is.

The reason I feel so strongly about this is because of my dad. He is the best person that many people and I know, not to mention the absolute best dad. The remarkable thing about that is that he is the child of a single mother. His maternal grandfather was a great example to him and spent a lot of time with him, as did an uncle and other relatives, but he did not have a day in, day out father figure.

 

Don’t get me wrong, my mom is great and we love her, but this is about Father’s Day and the lack of respect it gets. My dad is the backbone of our family. He is our source of entertainment. Even if something is not fun, he makes it fun just by spending time with him. Growing up, Jared and I knew when he would be home for lunch because Scotch’s whistle blew at 11:30. We would wait for his truck to come across the bridge, and we would be so excited! In the evenings, we would play whatever sport was in season until dark. I still don’t know how he had the energy to do that after working in a sawmill all day.

On the weekends, we did so many fun things. We spent a lot of time taking care of our property and vehicles. We had fun doing it, though, and learned in the process. We went on many local hunting and fishing trips. We would buy groceries on Friday nights, and I would make sandwiches for us to take to the river the next morning. We had so much fun, even when we got stuck on the landing, lol.

On school nights, we did homework after we practiced our sports, then watched TV and went to bed. On the weekend nights, we watched TV as well. Some vivid memories I have are watching the TGIF series that featured “Family Matters,” “Step By Step,” and the show with “Cousin Larry Appleton.” That always cracked Daddy up. I remember eating cinnamon rolls and watching movies or “Walker Texas Ranger” on Saturday nights. Sundays, of course, were for church.

The only thing I would change about my childhood is being more well-behaved. We weren’t bad kids who went to the principal’s office, but my parents deserve better than to put up with a kid acting like a brat from time to time.

Anyway, back to my dad. I’ve never seen him fly an aircraft, but other than that, he can do most things. He can work on automobiles, small engines, do electrical work, he is a certified plumber, top level Ham radio operator, and he has carpentry skills, just to name a few. He may call the HVAC man or local appliance repair men if necessary, but he is usually able to fix everything himself. That is so impressive to me, especially since he didn’t have a dad to teach him those things. He taught my brother the same skills, with the exception of the Ham radio. I mainly just held the light, and I can write about my experiences watching them, haha. I’ll also add that none of these are his actual jobs. He worked at Scotch Lumber Company for decades, and has been at Scotch Plywood Company in maintenance for right at a decade. I asked one of his long-term coworkers what impressed him the most about my dad from a professional standpoint. He had the following to say: “His ability to understand computers and the marriage with PLCs for equipment performance. He could actually write the programs.”

Another of his long-term coworkers is a good friend of mine. Sometimes, he finishes my sentences and predicts my next moves. I asked him a few times how he knew. He said “I worked with your daddy for 30 something years and you’re just like him!” That’s probably the best compliment I could ever receive! It’s far fetched, though, because I fall short in many ways.

My dad and I are very close and have a great relationship. We talk multiple times a day, particularly about our day when I leave work, and we spend a lot of time together. My husband is convinced that I think my dad invented air, rofl. We love watching old TV shows, cooking/eating, talking, I like asking him for advice, “burning up gas” in his hot rods, shooting guns, and just sitting on the porch.

I thank the Lord every day for my parents and I pray that they will live long, healthy lives. I know that not everyone is as fortunate to have such a wonderful dad, but please don’t disrespect all dads just because of a few bad apples. There are so many special men in my life. To think of them being treated differently because they are men is sad to me.

Social media is not the only place they are disrespected, either. One of the deal-sealers in my decision to stop attending corporate church is because evening church was cancelled on Mother’s Day so people could spend time with their moms, but it was not on Father’s Day. A little shade was thrown my way insinuating that I just wanted to play hookie from church that night. That was not it at all, although it contributed to my playing permanent hookie. My reason behind it was this: The Bible says and preachers preach that the man is the head and spiritual leader of the household, yet we treat him as second class by not giving his family the same opportunity to spend time with him as we did mom on Mother’s Day. I did not agree with that, nor appreciate the way it was addressed. It was disappointing to me because that is where the example should have been set. Oh well, we will have an absolute Father’s Day celebration at my house this weekend!

This week, I encourage you to put some thought into making this Father’s Day special for the dads in your life. This can be any man in your life who is a father, but especially your father. If you know a man who has lost a child, reach out to him. If you know someone facing their first Father’s Day without their dad, reach out to them. Send cards to the dads in nursing homes and to your lonely neighbor down the street. I feel like dads are forgotten heroes. Just let them know that you are thinking about them. It will mean more to them than you will ever know, and you’ll be glad you did.

Signed,

One heck of a Daddy’s Girl

And a

Chip off the Ole Block

"Read to me."

Have you ever stopped to think how all the things you’ve read in your life have affected you? I hadn’t until recently when my husband and I were watching “The Last Dance” documentary about Michael Jordan. I was telling him that I knew way more about sports and athletes as a kid than I do now. As a kid, I loved watching pro football, basketball, and baseball. The WNBA started when I was a kid and young basketball player, so my friends and I were really excited about that. Michael Jordan was at the top of my list of favorites, along with most of the Dream Team, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, John Elway, Dave Justice, Terry Pendleton, the Braves pitchers, and Bo Jackson. I also liked female tennis player Monica Seles, although I never really got into tennis. I no longer like pro sports that much because of the politics, and I really only watch Alabama football. If pro sports were political back then, I was too young to notice.

So, what does that have to do with reading? I started wondering why I had such an interest in sports and athletes back then, but not as much now. I was able to pinpoint it to reading. My mom bought me a subscription to Sports Illustrated for Kids. It was a great magazine for young athletes and readers. I can’t remember all the details, but I was a fan of those athletes not just because of their performances, but also because of the cool things I read that they did off the field/court.

I don't remember it, but my parents say this was my early childhood favorite

As long as I can remember, my brother and I have had books, magazines, and other reading materials. My parents tell me that my favorite book was A Little Golden Book entitled Scuffy the Tugboat. I would take it to my parents and say “read to me.” My mom has always been and continues to be a huge influence on my literacy and on the literacy of my students. She was always subscribing to magazines she thought I would like and buying books for me. I remember the Highlights magazine well. She bought subscriptions to YM and Seventeen when I was a teenager. When she would run errands in Mobile, she would take me, and we would always go to the bookstore. She would always let me pick out at least one book. It seems like I usually left with a book of ghost stories.

Some of my autographed KTW books, treasured gifts from my parents

I think my love of ghost stories came from our long-time school librarian, who frequently read Kathryn Tucker Windham’s (KTW) ghost stories from Alabama and surrounding states. Suspense has been my favorite genre ever since, and I credit that to this sweet librarian. As I got older, my mom started buying signed copies of books by local authors for me for Christmas such as To Kill a Mockingbird and KTW’s books. She and my dad also bought me a beautiful print for my classroom, which featured KTW and some other local talent from the Blackbelt area. I would go on to read her stories to my classes every year on Halloween. It became a tradition that brought excitement to new students each year.

Me on Halloween during my all time favorite lesson

In college, I was blessed to have a professor who taught us how to teach literacy in our content areas. At first, I thought it was an elementary concept. Right from the start, it was evident that she was a caring person. I really enjoyed her class and respected her in all aspects. One of the reading assignments she required was The Read Aloud Handbook. It’s been a long time since I’ve read it, and I don’t want to misquote it, but it tells of the importance of reading aloud, even to the buns in the oven. I applied her teachings in my classroom, and most of the kids and I enjoyed it thoroughly. When we finished a lesson with a few minutes to spare, I would read to them. It may or may not have been related to what we were studying. At a book fair, I bought books called How They Choked and How They Croaked. They were about how famous people in history had made huge mistakes (choked) and how they had died (croaked). The writers were fantastic, as the stories were very entertaining. The kids who may not have cared about King Tut’s life story thought the part about having his brains removed through his nostrils was pretty cool and disgusting!

Read Across America Day as Dewey Readmorebooks and The Lorax

I can’t leave out my Mema when talking about reading. She didn’t just buy us books, but sets of books! One was a set of biographies of random people. I remember reading the ones about Terry Fox and Louis Pasteur the most. I didn’t realize how much she and I had in common until she was gone. She was a teacher, animal lover, and a lot like I am in terms of eating healthy and naturally. We always did cool stuff at her house, which usually stemmed from reading.

Presently, I’m very busy. I’m currently and very slowly reading Unbroken by Laura Hilldebrand. I enjoy reading health and fitness magazines, books about runners, my favorite musicians, and suspense novels. My favorite authors are Dean Koontz and Stephen King, but the best book I’ve ever read is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.

I love Jim Morrison and The Doors. When I wanted to know more about him (Jim), I read his biographies and his poetry. When I want to know more about health and fitness, I read. In the classroom, when I needed to know more about what I was teaching, I read. I may not officially be a teacher anymore, but I am still a lifelong learner. I want to learn more about cars and selling. I’m looking into reading material on Dale Carnegie and some of my favorite notables in the car industry such as Carroll Shelby and Jack Rousch.

Books are so versatile. They can be a learning tool, an escape from reality, and a way to know that know that you are not alone in your thoughts and feelings. A great friend and mentor told me about author Wayne Jacobsen. I could truly relate to the characters and teachings in his books and know that I was not alone. His teachings also gave me the knowledge and confidence to make some big decisions.

Whatever your reason for reading, you’re going to come away with a positive. Even if you don’t agree with the author, you now have more of a defense for your beliefs. I’m so thankful to my mom, who has been the greatest supporter of my literacy, as well as the others named who have also shaped it. Books are great gifts, so give them, share them, recommend them. The sky is the limit when you put a book in the hands of a reader.

My mom and me

In honor of Mama, Mrs. Wiggins, Dr. Berry, & Scott.

In memory of Mema.

From One Burned Out Teacher To The Others...

The first job I remember wanting to have is that of a scientist. My grandmother bought me a science experiment kit, and I turned my playhouse into a science lab. I wanted to be an architect after that, until I discovered how horribly terrible I am at math. Around that same time, I saw how much fun my history teacher appeared to have as she taught us. She is the reason I decided to become a history teacher, and was one for nearly 13 years.

I treasure my first ten years as a teacher. My first three years were spent at a prestigious Catholic high school. Everyone was wonderful. The only reason I left is because my husband accepted a promotion out of state, otherwise, I think I would still be teaching there. I consider that school a utopia of schools, since they aren’t required to do all of the bureaucratic foolishness that public schools have to do. Also, educators make the decisions, not politicians. Everyone is held to a higher standard. There is no tenure. You earn your position every year. I think tenure is good, to an extent, in a small, rural area like ours, though, where the “good ole boy” network is rampant. People there think of you as bettering yourself for the good of the unit, rather than taking it as you’re trying to outdo them or make them look bad as many do here (which is something I encounter on a regular basis).

            A sweet student left a note on my board

                               Current Events Poster

I spent my next 8 years at a wonderful public middle school back home. I taught hundreds of precious eighth grade students, and taught with a faculty that was like family. This particular school was on the forefront of technology. Every classroom was fully equipped to be a teacher’s technological dream! I loved thinking of new ways to make the lessons fun, memorable, and relevant to the students. I loved dressing out for lessons, pep rallies and homecoming week. Sure, there were issues as there are everywhere, but it was great for the most part. My last year there, an incompetent “administrator” was hired, who was intimidated by assertive women. Also during this time, my patience was running thin with the bureaucracy of public education, some of the parents, and a few bad kids. Not all of the parents and kids were bad, but it takes about 10 good parents/kids to balance one bad. Looking back, those kids weren’t even close to being bad when compared to others in the county. 

        Modeling ancient Egyptian extra credit items

           The Lorax on Read Across America Day

As a result of my bad experience with that principal, I moved to a different system. The principal there was one of the best I’ve had. She was a true power woman, and I have a lot of respect for her. She did a lot for me and looked out for me. The culture there was much different and not a good fit for me. I say that tactfully. There was not much interest in learning in the classes I taught. I felt defeated. After a year and a few months, I knew it was time for me to make a career change.

        8th Grade Team on Read Across America Day

     Our Christmas Tree one year, always decorated with ornaments from students

I do not make sudden decisions. I thought it through and had the support and encouragement of my husband, family, and therapist. On my last day, which was a random Thursday in November, I accepted an outside sales rep position. The timing let me know that this was part of God’s plan for me. I don’t know how to explain it, but I felt it and knew.

                                  Pep Rally Fun

I enjoyed most things about that job and met lots of awesome people. In doing so, I picked up a year of sales experience. As I’ve mentioned before, I love cars. A new dealership opened in the county and I went to work there. I immediately fell in love with the car business. People ask me if I miss teaching. I miss the way it used to be. I miss the pep rallies, fun lessons, and the sweet kids. I do not miss being interrogated by administrators and parents over kids breaking handbook rules. I do not miss the endless, pointless paperwork. I do not miss being under a microscope in public and on social media. If my co-workers talked to each other the way some students talk to school employees, they would be fired. School employees are walking targets and scapegoats. I do not miss that.

The point of this article is this. If you are a teacher who is burned out and ready to do something else, DO IT! If you are thinking of becoming a teacher, either DON’T DO IT, or minor in business or some other marketable field. As I said, l cherish my first ten years. However, if I had stayed, I would be in prison, the cemetery, or as Karl Childers called it, “the nervous hospital.” I’m the internet sales manager at a car dealership now, and it suits me well. I really enjoy this role. I write the monthly internet sales on my glass door. I’ve been told twice that I should’ve been a teacher because I can write on the door so well, lol. My co-workers probably roll their eyes at my teacher-isms, but it’s who I am. I still have sticky notes, colored pens, and make “hand out” reminders. I haven’t had any complaints from parents, so it’s all good, chuckle.

                                      Cars are fun

Teachers, you are professionals with endless skills. You are college educated. You sell lessons and ideas to people every day, most of whom are not interested. You are organizers. You are IT gurus. You are planners. You are negotiators. You are activities directors. You are so many wonderful things, and you deserve so much better than to be miserable. As I learned immediately after my brother died, life is too short. Do what makes you happy. You are an asset to your community. Do not be afraid to make that change if you know you are ready for something different. I have no regrets. There are companies out there that would love to have you. Best wishes. You can do it. You will succeed. You are a lifelong learner.