About Me

Can I Put Me in a Nutshell? Doubtful, but I’ll try:

Lifelong Alabama citizen, 2^nd of 4 children, multi-decade career as teacher, instructional coach, and/or administrator, wife to 1 awesome man (but don’t tell him; his head inflates immediately!) Mom to three, Nana to 2, church flautist, crafter wannabe, secret craft supply addict, beast of a Bejeweled Blitz player, organizer at heart, at work, but not at home, dreamer of house remodels, realist. Oh! And I think I single-handedly keep Diet Pepsi in demand.

Fears:

      1.     Frogs

Current Challenges

This section is “current” challenges, because we all have challenges all the time. Here is what I’ve been dealing with the past couple of years or so:

      1.     Son and wife soon to be divorced, grandchildren living across the country.

      2.     Second child/Daughter away at college pushing herself to the limit to get excellent grades.

      3.     Third child/Daughter enjoying hiphop dance classes, learning to play trumpet, and deciding to  

            pursue voice lessons.

      4.     Menopause.

      5.     Stepping into administrative role at school, little by little, and proving to myself I can do it.

These are the biggies that come to mind. There are plenty of day-to-day challenges that pop up, and it helps me to remember I’m certainly not the first person to face these issues. This is very comforting...it really is, because not only do I have support from family and friends who have dealt with things like this I know I will eventually emerge as a stronger, wiser, more compassionate person who can support others. One scripture I draw on when days get too AAAAGH! is 1 Cor 10:13,

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

And the other is Phil 4:6-7,

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

One or both of these will come to mind quickly in situations of extreme stress to help me control my attitudes, speech, and fears. It doesn’t always work, unfortunately, because my Type A personality and my mouth get ahead of the Holy Spirit.

Southern Born and Southern Bred

There’s nothing like it. Born in Birmingham, my earliest memory is of waking up in the car outside our Warrior home. I fell asleep—as I often still do—while riding in the car. This particular trip was to the grocery store. (Don’t worry! I don’t fall asleep on short trips anymore. I have to be riding for at least 30 minutes before I doze off.) Mama left me in the car while she unloaded groceries. (C’mon! It was the 60s! AND it wasn’t hot outside, AND the windows were down.) I couldn’t have been in there long because when I woke up I got out of the car—I was so smart! I was only 2!—and came in the back door right as Mama dropped a jar of mayonnaise. I can almost remember the words that came out of her mouth! That’s it. First memory.

      I have always enjoyed living in the South, aside from the humid heat in the summer. I am proud to be Southern. Now, being proud of being Southern does NOT equate with being proud of its history. Right here I must give a huge shoutout to my parents. They grew up in the ‘40s and ‘50s and by the time the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 they had been married 9 years and had two children. Their childhood had been different than what mine would be. My parents were astute enough to realize my siblings and I could not be exposed to the same biases and discriminatory practices they had known as normal life, and they worked diligently to keep their learned behaviors and attitudes to themselves. I’ll be honest and say they didn’t always succeed, but they kept trying and eventually their efforts helped them change their own thinking. I think sometimes people like me who didn’t live through the angst, trauma, and tribulation of that time don’t consider the effort it took parents to change their ways so their children wouldn’t grow up with the same twisted opinions. I’m not only thankful for my parents’ diligence, I am also thankful they have been able to see how they influenced my children, who choose their friends based on personal characteristics, not skin color.

Love of My Life
I have been known as Mrs. Tinker for 29 years now, since I married my wonderful husband. He has been very gracious to stay with me all these years, enduring the countless rants I threw at him at the end of frustrating days! ;) The rants weren't directed at him; I just needed to vent to someone I knew I could trust to listen (or at least stay in the room) and not repeat my immediate reactionary comments to anyone and thus, get me fired!

Bruce and I were introduced to each other through Skip, the guy I dated in the spring of 1982. He and Bruce had gone to high school together and now we were all at the same college. Skip wanted to introduce me to him—and maybe show me off. Yeah, I know that sounds vain, but it’s not something I ever realized myself. Someone told me that’s what Skip was doing.

Fast forward to fall semester: Skip and I were “just friends.” Other than that, college life was normal.  The “Cinematic Arts Council” brought a different movie to the campus each Thursday for the bargain price of $1 per person. I don’t remember the movie…I didn’t usually go but it must have been something interesting. As I entered there was a guy at the door who spoke to me, and the conversation went something like this (Oh, who am I kidding? I remember EXACTLY how it went):  

He—“Hi Rhonda.”

Me—“Uh…hi? How do you know my name?” (Desperately seeking to figure the answer quickly, I looked down at my jacket, which conveniently had my name embroidered on it, and…) “Oh! You read my name on my jacket!”

He—looking shocked and saddened, “That hurts! That cuts to the heart. You don’t remember me??”

Me—You should have seen the look on my face! I was astounded, embarrassed, and confounded all at the same time (thank Goodness there was no such thing as “selfies” then!)… and, BOOM! “Bruce!!” He was not impressed. “Bruce, oh! I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you!” And I kept apologizing to him!! It had only been about 4 months since that cursory introduction. Why did I think I should apologize at all?!? But I did, and he finally accepted and went his way. This, believe it or not, was the beginning. It might seem logical that I pursued him after that night, but this is not true. I went on my way, too…and he started stepping into it.

We were married in 1985…Skip was one of our groomsmen. Oh! And Bruce is the one who told me what Skip was doing.

Through my career and my marriage I (we) have managed to raise three absolutely beautiful--in mind, body, and spirit--children. And now we have two grandchildren, one of which is the spitting image of my son with the only exception being no red hair. These people are the most dear to my heart, next to Jesus Christ my Savior. I would like to tell you they are my life (as most people would define this statement) but sadly, I cannot. Because my "life" has been my career. There: I said it. I admit it. I have lived for the challenge and satisfaction I get from teaching, preparing to teach, and yes! ranting about teaching.

Gee, I hope my family never comes across this blog, or specifically this page!!