Tag Archives: #memories

Seriously Proud of These 2021 Grads!

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Seriously, we are so PROUD of these grads! To make it through what they have made it through…history makers for sure! You have taught us as much or more than we have taught you by your actions and persistence during this challenging year.

Now it is time to go make history again…go out and change the world one student, one classroom at a time. We have gifted our new grads with a Mustang journal to keep record of all the lives impacted by their teaching from this day forward. History is no doubt in the making with each step forward and each student positively impacted.

While waiting in line to take their turn to walk the stage and receive their diploma, these School of Education graduates were asked to share a favorite memory from their teacher preparation program here at SMSU. Some declined the question, however, a few were willing to share…

Payton B. – those people who came to Child Lit class and shared about Braille.

Rebecca M. – The Jeffers trainings in Dr. Kandy’s class.

McKenzie D. – When the bus broke down on the way to MEA in the cities.

Kara E. – Building relationships with local educators during field experiences.

Tessa C. – Working with the kids.

Alyssa L. – Meeting my best friend in ED 101.

Miranda M. – All of the great professors.

Avery L. – Oh, the clinicals.

Alyssa G. – My favorite memory was student teaching because I had the best mentor teacher in the best classroom.

Bobby H. – Frankie because she’s Frankie.

Cole M. & Payton H. – The swimming class with Frankie and with all my classmates.  

Lana W. ­– All the learning celebrations we had together.

Issac N. – I would say how helpful each of the SMSU staff were with any questions or help with any instruction.

Carry your memories in your pocket, graduates, then you can pull them out whenever you need to smile.

All of you have found your purpose – your calling – which is teaching. Seriously, we are so PROUD of you! You remind us why we do what we do each day. We excitedly anticipate your next adventure with you; the sky is the limit and SMSU is your springboard. We leave you with a quote by Kerry Washington: “Your life is your story and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential.”

Stay Calm & Best Wishes Always!
Profs Dr. Wendy & Dr. V. 

Now He Sings with the Angels

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Forty years ago today. That seems like forever ago! And, yet, some days it seems like just yesterday.  

It has been 40 years since my brother, Randy, died as the result of a car accident on November 7, 1980. I was 21 and he was 23. He was two weeks away from his 24th birthday. The picture above was the last picture taken of him.

I received the call from my dad at about 3 o’clock in the morning. I remember the L O N G drive back home to my parent’s house, which was five hours away. The whole way home I convinced myself it was a horrible mistake!  It was someone else who had been driving his car! My brother was going to be just fine.

I’m so thankful for many memories of Randy. These memories of my brother bring such joy to my heart! I’d like to share just a few… 

I remember when we were young in 1966 and walking home from the Orpheum Theater downtown Pipestone. As we walked by the old courthouse on Hiawatha Avenue in the early darkness of evening, a man popped out of the bushes, and this stranger started to chase us. Randy grabbed my hand and took off running like a deer that had been spooked. I felt like I was flying behind him.  He never let go of my hand. 

My brother protected me.

In October 1979, Randy was driving me back to Marshall, MN because it was an ice storm and he wanted to keep me safe.  When we got to the Holland hill, there was a car on the other side of the road having troubles getting up the hill because of the ice. Randy pulled his car over to the side and got out to go help ‘push’ the car up the hill.  He didn’t hesitate once to get behind that struggling vehicle. I thought if he could do it so could I, so on went my mittens, and I hopped out to go help him. Eventually, all of us pushing that car up that icy hill experienced victory.

My brother was always willing to serve others.    

Another memory I have is of Randy driving us to Minneapolis to visit my dad’s side of the family in 1974. It was just him and me in his gold Chevy, windows down, hair blowing, music blasting, and my 14-year old self was feeling pretty groovy at the time. The song Taking Care of Business by Bachman Turner Overdrive (BTO) was blaring from his cassette tape.  When this verse

Take good care

Of my business

When I’m away

Every day

boomed through the speakers, I glanced over at him and caught him looking at me while singing at the top of his lungs and grinning from ear to ear because he changed the lyrics to

Take good care

Of my sister

When I’m away

Every day

…almost as if he knew I’d need taking care of later in life.  

My brother loved me. 

Randy was an excellent singer and guitar player. That is the one thing I miss the most about him…his musical talent. I honestly believe if he were still alive today he would be a well-known country singer; even though he loved rock and roll (shh…don’t tell him I said that). 😉

Or, maybe, just maybe he would be a Christian singer. Do you know who Zach Williams is? The guy who sings Chain Breaker and There Was Jesus? Click on the links to give him a listen.

That is who my brother sounded like when he sang (kinda looked like him too). My brother would have made a fabulous Christian singer. 

Now…he sings with the angels in heaven. 

Losing a loved one is painful. A bible verse that brought some comfort to me after losing my brother was Isaiah 57:1. I know in my heart the Lord rescued Randy from something evil in this world, and for that I am thankful!

If you are struggling with grief right now, I pray you find a bible verse(s), possibly a book or two, and someone (God would be the perfect some One) who is a good listener to help you find healing. A book that may bring you comfort is No More Faking Fine: Ending the Pretending by Esther Fleece (2017). Esther wrote this book to “give you permission to grieve, to ask questions, to hurt—and to do so without apology” (p. 18). “All of us need lament. All of us long to be rescued from pain” (p. 19). My friend and colleague, Kandy Noles-Stevens, wrote a book called The Redbird Sings the Song of Hope which is a beautiful tender expression of what grieving people wish others knew. I highly recommend both books.

May I ask you a huge favor? Please love your siblings! If you are estranged with any, please find reconciliation and forgiveness in your hearts! Please love your family. Our days are numbered and we never know how long we will have our family around. No one is guaranteed tomorrow.

In joyful memory of my only sibling, Randy Lane Wussow, the lucky guy who got to give Jesus a real hug 40 years ago today. I can only imagine what that was like.

Love you, Bro!!! Keep strumming. Keep singing. I know I will see you again someday! Until then, I am thankful for my fond memories of you.

Stay Calm & Love Your Siblings!
Profs Dr. Wendy & Dr. V. 

Fleece, E. (2017). No more faking fine: Ending the pretending. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI.

Noles-Stevens, K. (2016). Redbird sings the song of hope. Westbow Press.

Making Memories and Telling Stories … Homecoming

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It is a quiet sound…the soft sound of a music box.  The one in my hands is not mine, but it brings me back to a time when I held my own music box as a little girl.  Imagine – a satin-lined, pastel pink box that could be held in the hands of a young girl.  Inside is a ballerina who spins to the music when gently opened.  Holding this music in my hands that is not mine brought me back to being in the middle of my yellow-accented bedroom more than 30 years ago.  This instant time travel was simply from the chime of a few beats of this quiet music. My mind picked up the memory, and started telling a story within seconds.

Amazing what a memory can do – it can tell our stories.  Recently this past week, author/speaker, Tracy Nelson Maurer, spoke on the campus of Southwest Minnesota State at the Southwest Minnesota Reading Council’s Fall Conference.  Tracy shared three keys to writing success: inspiration, information, and imagination.  She sparked our memories and helped us see our stories.  We all have stories to share.

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This past week was full of stories at SMSU sparked by memories as we celebrated Homecoming 2017.  It was not a standard week of Homecoming festivities at SMSU this year, however.  We are celebrating our 50th year as an institution, a community, a family.  This week allowed us a time to share memories, tell our stories, and make new memories to share in the future.

Here are a few highlights of the memory-sharing and memory-making week…
The 50th SMSU Charter Signing

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Door Decorating Contest — School of Education was awarded second place!

Guest Author/Speaker Tracy Nelson Maurer

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Gala

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School of Education Alumni Tent, Parade, and Football Game Festivities

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All-School Reunion


We all have a memory and a story to share.  Continue to share them – as we connect with the past and storytell in the future.  Let us inspire, inform, and imagine together. Listen to the soft music, and let it play.

Stay Calm & Make Memories!
Profs Dr. Wendy & Dr. V. 

Just a Different Kind of Christmas this Year

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BLOG Four Generations

I served coffee today out at Good Sam, the nursing home here in my home town. My parents both lived out there the past few years until they passed away—my dad in August of 2013 and my mom just this year in June 2014. I miss my parents. And, I miss the residents at Good Sam so this is how I stay in touch with them…I volunteer.

One of the residents asked me today how my mom was doing. It was a lady my mom always gave a bear hug to when we went to coffee hour. I had to tell this gal that my mom had gone home to heaven in June. When I reminded her of this, I couldn’t stop my tears. They started to flow like Niagara Falls. I had to dismiss myself for a few minutes to pull myself together.

This year will be my first Christmas without my mom. Her smile, her teasing, her jovial laughter…all will be missed. As Mark Schultz sings in his heartwarming song, it’s just a different kind of Christmas this year.

If you’ve lost a loved one and find yourself sad this Christmas, I pray you find comfort in Mark Schultz’s song. I also pray you find hope and encouragement in this poem that was sent to me by one of my church family members.

I’m spending Christmas with Jesus This Year

I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below.
With tiny lights, like heaven’s stars, reflecting on the snow.

 The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away that tear.
For I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

 I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear,
But the sounds of music can’t compare with the Christmas Choir up here.

 For I have no words to tell you, the joys their voices bring.
For it’s beyond description to hear an angel sing.

 I can’t tell of the splendor or the peace here in this place.
Can you imagine Christmas with Our Savior, face to face?

 I’ll ask Him to light your spirit, as I tell Him of your love.
So then pray for one another as you lift your eyes above.

 Please let your hearts be joyful and let your spirit sing.
For I’m spending Christmas in Heaven, and I’m walking with the King.

~Author Unknown

Hold your loved ones and their memories close to your heart. Fill your homes with love and laughter this Christmas and always. And, Mom…I love you and miss you! ~Wendy

BLOG Warren & GG 

Stay Calm & Lead On!
Profs Dr. C. & Dr. V.

What’s a Memory Anyway?

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BLOG memories

What’s a memory anyway?? In the charming children’s book Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox, Wilfrid discovers the answer to this question. Wilfrid is a small boy who lives next door to a nursing home. He becomes best friends with one of the residents there named Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper because she has four names too. Wilfrid overhears his parents saying ‘Poor Nancy, she has lost her memory.” So, Wilfrid sets out to learn from the elderly at the nursing home exactly what a memory is. He discovers that a memory is something warm, something from long ago, something that makes you cry, something that makes you laugh, and something as precious as gold.

A memory is something warm:

Wendy: A memory that warms my heart is remembering standing next to my dad in church and singing “Silent Night” by candlelight every Christmas Eve.

Sonya: I remember being at the lake with my family when I was young. The sunshine and smiles and Coopertone smell… all make me smile. We still go each summer, and it still makes me smile.

A memory is something from long ago:

Wendy: My dad was electrocuted around 8:30 a.m. on December 31, 1974. I was 15 at the time but remember it like it was yesterday. He took in 7200 volts and it blew out his arm, his fingers, his leg and his foot leaving him in the burn unit for four months. He was soldier fighting through that.

Sonya: Walking down the hallway at school as a teacher and hearing another teacher ask, “Did you hear about what is happening in New York?” on September 11, 2001… then rushing to the watch the horrific moments in time take place on the TV in the library. I remember trying to comprehend it and trying to help frightened students make sense of their world.

A memory is something that makes you cry:

Wendy: Memories of losing all of my family makes me sad. My dad, mom, and brother are all together in heaven, and I miss them.

Sonya: “It’s all right to cry. Crying gets the sad out of you. It’s all right to cry. It might make you feel better.” I can remember singing those lyrics (or something along those lines – per my memory) in elementary school. To this day, I sing my rendition of it. When family and friends hurt, I hurt with them.

A memory is something that makes you laugh:

Wendy: A memory of buying every exercise contraption available and hoping it would work its magic is a funny memory of mine. Like the aluminum foil pants that my mom and I wore when exercising…guaranteed to help you lose weight. All it did was make us look like Martians from outer space. 🙂

Sonya: It seems like every single day my own guys – kiddos – children provide me with a cherished memory that makes me laugh. I have so many I don’t know which one to share… I actually do record these for any time I need a good laugh – most of which just do not seem appropriate for a public blog for some reason. A fairly recent one that can be shared – my oldest son was in the middle of a football game, and walked to the sideline, dug an apple out of this bag, ate it, and then proceeded to go back into the game. (Keep in mind – I was not quite sure if there was a time out or what was going on at that point.) When asked what he was doing, he simply shrugged his giant padded shoulders and replied, “I was hungry” and then ran back into the game. The other parents looked at me, and I just smiled and shook my head. At least the kid was prepared with a healthy apple in his bag on the sidelines. 🙂

A memory is something that is as precious as gold:

Wendy: Grandchildren are as precious as gold, so when my first grandchild was born 6 ½ weeks early and was in the NICU…to finally get to hold him was so precious.

 BLOG Wendy & Warren

Sonya: Selecting one is so challenging …I clearly remember the first time I held the boys after they were born (but I don’t want to copy Dr. C. since she had her memory picked first 🙂 ) so I will go with my memory of my three boys at Christmas. They were sitting in their PJ pants and santa hats – all by their own choosing – and reading together while they impatiently waited to open gifts. I tried to burn that one to memory because I know they will be grown much too quickly, and I am fairly sure their future spouses may not know what to think of their boyhood tradition as grown men – hopefully they never stop.

Now that the holiday season is upon us, it is the perfect opportunity to build some fabulous memories. It is also a time to remember and share memories of those we love who are no longer with us. Share your memories that are warm, from long ago, that make you cry, that make you laugh, and that are as precious as gold.

Our wish for you this holiday season is to celebrate the reason for the season, and to enjoy family time. Build a lifetime of memories today and always. Make memories today – don’t wait until tomorrow.

What memories do you have that you could share with Wilfred?

Stay Calm & Lead On!
Profs Dr. C. & Dr. V.