The Christmas season carries lots of fond childhood memories for me and once in a while I find it fun to think back and let the warm fuzzies take over.
One of the main things I love about December is that it is also egg nog season, and I love me some egg nog. I know very few other people who actually like it too, but to me egg nog always reminds me of my grandma's house as a kid. She had this black side by side door refrigerator and she always had egg nog during the holiday season. That and polish pudding but unfortunately my love of that has die out with age.
Something else that has died with age is getting up before dawn to open gifts. I can't believe how early I was up some years. I didn't even have siblings to encourage the excitement. Of course that also meant that every year I got lots of gifts from Santa and was totally spoiled, which is really a great benefit of being an only child.
One of my classic memories that I frequently think of still to this day was when mom, dad, and I were out (I think) getting our tree and I had my arms inside of my coat. Mom always told me not to do this and not to run because I'd slip and not be able to catch myself. Well little Jessica apparently didn't heed those warnings because on that fateful day I wiped out on the pavement and only had my face to break my fall. I learned the hard way, but it was a lesson well learned because I don't think I've ever made the same mistake since.
Another thing I liked to do during holidays growing up was decorate my room. Thinking back to amount of effort I would put into it I have to say, I was a pretty creative youngster. I remember one year I made a fireplace out of construction paper and put it on my bedroom wall. It seems like it must have taken quite a bit of time to do, but I guess time is not really a factor in a child's mind.
I'm grateful to have had a loving, easy childhood because now that I'm older it's nice to look back on. I know that not everyone is so lucky, and I find that so unfair because every kid deserves to live a happy, care-free life. Christmas can be such an exciting time when there's no school, Santa, treats, and presents to look forward to. I wish I could make sure that more kids out there would get to have the same fortune that I did/do.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Oh the difference a couple of years can make...
So this past week I've been doing contract work for the Women's Centre. I've been going to different schools/grades around the county holding focus groups with young women to try to figure out what programs they feel they would most like to see in Pictou County. So far I've done three out of six focus groups: one with grade 6's, one with grade 8's, and one with grade 11's.
I basically asked all the girls four basic questions after bribing them all by giving everyone a lifesaver sucker:
1) Where do you hang out outside of school?
2) What do you do when you're not in school?
3) What do you think is going on with girls these days?
4) What programs would you like to see for girls in Pictou County?
The first day was the grade 6's. I was a bit nervous because I had no idea what to expect or how it would turn out. I was pleasently surprised at how fun it was sitting around talking to grade 6 girls, plus they gave up some great general info and some specific ideas. They also seemed to really enjoy the session and asked me if I'd be back... great kids, very friendly.
The next day was the grade 8 girls. Oh. My. God. That age group is such a pain in the ass. The principal told us that the group we were going to be talking to was pretty vocal so it should be okay. Yeah, right. I felt like I was some evil dentist trying to yank teeth out of these girls. They would barely even tell me where they like to hang out or what they usually do when they're not in school. Good god. These are not trick questions, kids. We got some info by the end of it, but I felt that it was no where near as successful as the first focus group. All I really found out was that they mainly like to eat, sleep, and text. Not joking, that is actually what they said to me.
So yesterday was the grade 11 focus group, and I have to say that it might have been my favorite so far. Maybe it's just because the girls are older and have more of a concept of what is going on with girls these days, I don't really know. The group I talked to was just very open and willing to tell us what's up. We probably could have stayed for even longer than our allotted hour if the girls didn't have another class to go to. Another interesting tidbit that came from the grade 11's was that they mentioned trends among young women that they have noticed, such as high pregnancy rates and hyper sexuality at younger ages, which matches quite well with the stats that we have at the Women's Centre from a professional point of view. Lots of great stuff from that group, and it boosted my morale after the grade 8 zombies.
Next week I have three more groups to do, and I'm interested in seeing the response from the same age groups in different schools. I'll keep you posted :)
I basically asked all the girls four basic questions after bribing them all by giving everyone a lifesaver sucker:
1) Where do you hang out outside of school?
2) What do you do when you're not in school?
3) What do you think is going on with girls these days?
4) What programs would you like to see for girls in Pictou County?
The first day was the grade 6's. I was a bit nervous because I had no idea what to expect or how it would turn out. I was pleasently surprised at how fun it was sitting around talking to grade 6 girls, plus they gave up some great general info and some specific ideas. They also seemed to really enjoy the session and asked me if I'd be back... great kids, very friendly.
The next day was the grade 8 girls. Oh. My. God. That age group is such a pain in the ass. The principal told us that the group we were going to be talking to was pretty vocal so it should be okay. Yeah, right. I felt like I was some evil dentist trying to yank teeth out of these girls. They would barely even tell me where they like to hang out or what they usually do when they're not in school. Good god. These are not trick questions, kids. We got some info by the end of it, but I felt that it was no where near as successful as the first focus group. All I really found out was that they mainly like to eat, sleep, and text. Not joking, that is actually what they said to me.
So yesterday was the grade 11 focus group, and I have to say that it might have been my favorite so far. Maybe it's just because the girls are older and have more of a concept of what is going on with girls these days, I don't really know. The group I talked to was just very open and willing to tell us what's up. We probably could have stayed for even longer than our allotted hour if the girls didn't have another class to go to. Another interesting tidbit that came from the grade 11's was that they mentioned trends among young women that they have noticed, such as high pregnancy rates and hyper sexuality at younger ages, which matches quite well with the stats that we have at the Women's Centre from a professional point of view. Lots of great stuff from that group, and it boosted my morale after the grade 8 zombies.
Next week I have three more groups to do, and I'm interested in seeing the response from the same age groups in different schools. I'll keep you posted :)
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