Mr. Booz's reflections

2020-2021

Beginning this year, I will start reflecting myself so that you can see how I am am engaging in CAS.

Finally getting around to the next project

16 March 2021

LO: initiative and planning

LO bullet: "suggests creative ideas, proposals or solutions"

My goal is to plan and build a climbing wall so that the neighborhood kids stop climbing on the fences between our houses.

Action: The past fall, a new family moved in next door. There is now a 3rd grade boy and a 5th grade girl for William and Madeline to play with. Fortunately (?), the new boy is a bit of a daredevil and a monkey, climbing on rooves, sheds, fences, trees, etc. The neighbors' fence is not very sturdy, so I planned an A-frame climbing wall to add my our backyard makeover that we began in quarantine last spring (see below). I built a frame over Winter Break with the help of my father-in-law and then stalled as I researched face materials, climbing holds, etc. This past weekend, I spent a bit more than 9 hours procuring materials, painting, mapping and placing holds, and cleaning up.

Reflection: I often plan very well but have less follow-through. I have great initiative. I just don't always finish strong. I thought the idea of a climbing wall would be a great addition to the neighborhood as the kids love to climb on everything. As a stop-gap measure, I placed our A-frame ladder over the back fence so the kids could get to the area behind the fence line and explore, hike, play. The climbing wall was not difficult to finally build, and I employed almost all of the kids at my disposal, Huck Finn style. They painted the face walls and frames, helped to drill a few holes, and installed many of the holds. Then, they went to town. My solution was creative, but I feel like I promised and promised and promised but took quite a long time to finally complete the project. Heck, we still have to man handle the wall over the fence, so I guess my procrastination is still a problem. I realize that I am better at planning than execution. I have always had that problem. However, the work was fulfilling. My back is still killing me from all of the awkward positions I had to get into for some time to install t-nuts for the holds and lifting the heavier materials with little help, but pain is temporary. Watching my kids and their friends tackle the project made me incredibly happy. Madeline even installed a few more holds last night with me. The solution to the problem is creative. Heck, I am creative sometimes. I just need to improve my follow-through.

Outcome: Madeline and I have had our fair share of problems these past few years. She and I are both temperamental, stubborn, and quick to fly off the handle. She whines. I yell. She yells. I whine. This project gave us time to work as a team. She is naturally curious. She is decent at following directions. She drilled improperly a few times. So what? I can let that one go. She constantly dropped the allen wrench as she installed the holds. So what? She had to climb down to retrieve it. The solution to our problem allowed my family (Well, not Kelly, my wife. She was playing Supernatural inside.) to tackle the problem and the project. Job done. Family tighter. I like.

Conflictions about time

31 January 2021

LO: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

LO bullet: "recognizes ethical issues"

Goal: My goal is to determine what happens to the food that Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) offers to its parents and children and use what I pick up for my family.

ACTION:

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, ACPS offers a bag of food and a bag of milk products to every parent/guardian who has a child enrolled in the school system. I pick up this food for my two (2) kids roughly twice a week instead of the three offered. I try to create meals with the leftovers and/or distribute extra food to the area food boxes that have popped up since March 2020, when lockdown started. I have reached out to school board members and city officials to determine whether this food comes from a federal aid program or something from the Commonwealth of Virginia.

REFLECTION:

I make good money. My wife, my kids, and I want for little. I feel guilty waiting in lines to get a few bags of food for my kids. However, there are federal food programs that supply this food to area school systems. If I do not pick up this food, some of it may go to waste. I have not heard from city officials, so I will continue to ask questions so that I can find out where the money for these programs comes from. Regardless of my situation, though, someone, some entity is paying for this food. If I do not pick it up, some of it does go to waste. I am angered by that concept, that fact. I will not allow food to go to waste. So, my family has learned to make do with some food that we may not normally eat: ACPS cheeseburgers remind me of the burgers I ate at FCPS in the 1980s. Nostalgia is okay. Or, we can learn to make Bolognese sauce with them. I am learning to use what I have to make what I want. I know that I am not letting food go to waste. I have also started conversations with William, my 5 year-old; and Madeline, my 8 year-old about being grateful, about using what we have instead of wanting more or something different. My conversations are more like lectures, and I know that I have to move in a gradual direction toward a conversation, but I enjoy their move toward gratitude. I hope that move lasts.

OUTCOME:

I enjoy questioning all of my choices. I like to determine whether I am making the right decisions, the just decisions, the moral decisions. My quest to use what resources are available have made me rethink how much we need as a family: should I keep buying items online? Couldn't we start using the library more instead of purchasing books? Sure. This one experience has also made me think about how much time I spend talking to my kids instead of at them. One of my CAS experiences is raising my kids. I am reading more books about helping them understand gratitude. I know that I will fail more than I will succeed, but I am willing to try.

A reflection that is way too long: our backyard transformation

20 November 2020

LO: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

LO bullet: is able to see themselves as individuals with various abilities and skills, some more developed than others.

Goal: My goal is to take the advice of my wife and ask for help when I am unsure of my plan or my skills in some of the concrete and lumber work for the surround and the umbrella stands. An additional goal is to finish this project in its entirety instead of letting it drag on.

ACTION:

We had a quote for $1000 minimum to install the artificial turf from a local company but one that had no experience. So, we decided to do it ourselves. Just unloading the turf was a feat in and of itself. On one of the rainiest days of October, the delivery truck arrived and the delivery man asked where the forklift was. I didn’t rent a forklift. The driver then explained that he could not lift the 300-pound roll. Mind you, it was a hot fall day in pouring rain. He improvised by tying a strap to the roll while I used our Tahoe to drag the roll from the truck. We then spent 30 minutes trying to roll it to the curb. Over the next 2 weeks, we unfurled the 55 foot x 12 foot roll on the street in the middle of the day, cut it to partially fit, rerolled it, and had 6 neighbors help us take it to the backyard. I had spent about 10 hours weeding, removing rocks, grading, and tamping the backyard for drainage and a flat surface. We spent a few days letting the turf acclimate and stretch out and about 6 hours rolling it out, staking the corners, and creating a full surround.

REFLECTION:

I could never have completed this task without the help of my neighbors and my wife. The brute strength necessary to move the roll forced me to ask for help, but I did not have a great plan for cementing the white PVC poles for the umbrellas and creating a lumber surround and needed my friend with more experience. I was humbled by this project. I am normally a planner rather than a doer and overthink everything I do. I mean, have you read over the CAS descriptors? That is overthinking. I spent the better part of the summer planning this project and researching everything from turf styles to underlayment. I think I may know more facts about turf than anyone in Alexandria. The only thing I do not know how to do is lay it properly or well. There are still a few ripples, so I have delayed the final cuts, taping, and stakes. That failure to follow through has plagued me for years. I have a plan, but I do not execute. Why do today what I can put off until tomorrow? However, I am proud of the work I have completed. Last night, the kids were out in the cold until after 7 p.m. because the backyard is now completely lit. Additionally, we spent less than $20 on PVC pipes and concrete for the umbrella poles (which I have yet to paint) instead of spending $300 on a 100-pound umbrella stand. Even though I have tackled much of the project alone, I was able to take the advice of most of my neighbors if not always my wife and improve the plan I had created over 3-4 months. I am pushing to finish by the weekend so that I can enjoy a sense of accomplishment over Thanksgiving.

OUTCOME:

The obvious skill for me to apply to other areas of my life is to complete a few household projects: hanging a new shelf, installing some threshold in the bathroom, fixing a hole in the upstairs office wall, etc. I spend more time tackling new projects than completing the unfinished ones. I have now asked my wife to help me prioritize our household task list and complete one project every Monday. A more abstract connection is to help me prioritize all of my work: I have been reading The Autobiography of Ben Franklin. I am inspired by his nightly reflection where he asked What Good Have I Done? Then, he created a list of what tasks he needed to complete the next day. He spent the mornings reviewing his task list and then asked himself What Good Shall I Do Today? He capitalized at random. So, I am beginning to follow this plan and seeing that I am much more focused in the mornings before class and in prioritizing a morning card game or walk with the kids or a game of chess or checkers at night instead of dwelling on what I may need to do. I have gained time by focusing a few minutes on my to-do list instead of keeping it in me noggin. I now write down these tasks and cross them off more frequently.