Cardboard Nostalgia

Like most people, I need a way to disconnect and give my brain and emotions some rest from my work.  Collecting cards again has become a form of therapy for me.  As a Gen Xer, I prefer the "old" stuff called Junk Wax.  It's not worth anything; it's very cheap, but the walk down memory lane is quite soothing.  I kept a large part of my childhood collection and have been adding to it with the cards I never had, which has become a lot of fun.

As I have reconnected with cards, I have been consuming social media groups and content to find some community with others like me.  Once I found it, I started posting shorts on YouTube.  A YouTube channel is a way to share this and be a part of the community.  Posting pack opening videos has been a lot of fun and a place where I do not see the ugliness from other parts of the internet.

Some creators do very well with engagement on these videos.  Personally, if I get 1,000 views per video, I'm pretty happy about it.  That tells me people are enjoying the same getaway that I am, with cards they are familiar with.  It's very rewarding.

A few months ago, I came across a pack of 1988 Donruss with Mark McGwire visible on the front of it.  I really wanted to keep it as a fun souvenir, but I also really wanted to open it. I polled the collectors of the internet, and they said to go ahead and open it because it is worthless.  😒 I held it for a while, but I eventually caved in and made a video of opening the pack.

1988 Donruss is a wildly unvaluable card set.  Some actually think the card design is ugly (it kinda is), and despite a few good cards, it is forgotten about until you post a video bringing it to life.  This one became one of my more popular videos because we all remember being kids and racing to a card shop or store to get a pack of cards for 40 cents.  Hoping desperately to find our favorite players inside.  This was how I connected with baseball when there was no internet.  You had the stats on the back of the card and the box score in the paper.

I think older people like old junk.  It reminds them of simpler times, good friends, and a time when the responsibility of adulthood was far from their minds.  Nostalgia can definitely be found on some cardboard.  Take some time to get your fix however you like.

You can see this video and many others at my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@cassripspacks/shorts

A Lesson in Gratitude

I found myself caught off guard with a staff member recently, and I feel I need to explain myself.

At a training for my staff, our participants were asked to cross the room and ask someone what they are grateful for.  Showing gratitude has proven to be very good for your emotional health, and while this may make people uncomfortable, it is a worthwhile task.  I was visited by a teacher despite my being a facilitator.  I guess she didn't want me to feel left out.

She asked what I was grateful for.  This was an easy one.  I am thankful for my children.  Both are ending stages of their lives and starting new ones.  We feel fortunate to be blessed with our kids, even if they drive us nuts sometimes.  She followed up with what I was grateful for when it came to work.  This is where I faltered, and I could not answer confidently.

It's not as if I cannot find anything about my job or coworkers that I am not thankful for.  I have great students, accomplished teachers, and a cooperative school board, and we are pursuing goals that the district has not been able to reach in several years.  By all accounts, we are in great shape.  What I tried to explain in the 30 seconds the presenter gave us was that this line of work is difficult to stand back and admire your work and blessings.  Why?

The work of school is what Simon Sinek calls an infinite game.  A finite game has a defined start and end, like a football game or other contest.  When it is done, there is a winner and a loser, and the events of the game can be broken down and analyzed.  Infinite games are those that do not end, and the goal is to stay in the game as long as possible, building on every success.  People who work in schools understand that there are no finish lines, and even if you do well with a class, another one is waiting for you in the fall.  There will always be children to teach.  The goals of school districts and buildings are the same.  If you are doing the work well, you finish one project to feed the next, and so on.  Just as there are always kids to teach, they have to have facilities to come to.

I couldn't identify what I was grateful for immediately because that required being done and being able to reflect on how I got there.  When you are never finished, you can't do that.  I felt a bit of shame in my response to the teacher because I came off as unappreciative.  This is far from the case.  Agency is in the greatness of others, and all that our little school has accomplished is thanks to the work and patience of those who help me.

I think the lesson for me is that even if I never feel finished, I can appreciate all the steps along the way.  Lesson learned.  Showing gratitude can help me celebrate what is happening right now.  I feel that I need to make amends with my teacher by giving her a real answer.

I'm grateful for:

• Every high five, hug, or "good morning" my staff gives each kid when they walk in.
• All the training and professional growth my staff experiences every year.
• Every pair of shoes that we give to kids that either don't have any or have broken ones.
• "No questions asked" meals for kids who have nothing in their lunch boxes.
• All the behaviors we teach instead of punishing.
• All the sick days staff donate to other staff in need.
• Every time a teacher is moved to tears by a student's progress.

I hope this small list is a good start, and I will do better at recognizing my blessings.