Back Pack of Happiness

I stand here before you to confess that I have backpacks that I don’t know exactly what is at the bottom of.   I have a place in my storage area where my backpacks are neatly placed – and I refuse to get rid of any of them in the event that an occasion might call upon their use.  My backpack addiction is my children’s fault really.  In Sherry Duncan BC – Before Children - I was perfectly happy with my own version of a carrying device  ….. known as my back pocket.  I think that many men have it right.  They carry everything they need in their back pocket.  What they don’t have they don’t need or, they buy as they need it.  I liked that system until my 20’s.  It was my version of Cash and Carry.  In my 20’s I had kids and carried a back pack of sorts that had all the necessities of being a parent.  Diapers, spare clothes for the kids, bottles, little blankets and such were neatly folded in the sides.  I suppose this was a “mommy back pack”.  My kids spent a lot of time at the arena growing up.  It was so clever and truly ingenious (according to me) that I could have every thing a mom would need at the arena.  Extra mitts, a warm blanket, some extra money for French fries, chap stick – that bag got me through many an arena crisis and was always located in my trunk.  I don’t own these ones any more because by the end of the season it smelled like the inside of my son’s hockey gloves – if you have kids in hockey, I know you know that smell!

There are a number of life lessons that can be learned by examining the contents  of “said bag”.  I see the carrying device be it a purse/handbag/satchel/wallet/backpack  as a microcosm of the world of its owner.

You can tell a lot about a person by the size of their said carrying device. You can make all sorts of sweeping generalizations about a person based on the contents .  The objects that are chosen to tote around with her day after day will reveal (with the same 'eerie' reliability of a horoscope) the nature of who he or she really is.  

There tends to be two different types of carrying devices. First there is the small ones that hold the – the kind you need in a clutch – money, cards, pictures,  This type has all the little compartments. The carrying device has order, it has purpose, you look inside and everything has a place.  But there is always room for more! 

I asked my husband to get me his air miles card once in a while when my carrying device has been left at home.  He opens it up, and there it is: open the big part, then fold open the little part, then look 3 down on the right.  Exactly where it is supposed to be – in the Airmiles spot.  It never fails to amaze me.  Every time, the same place.  I tried once to mess with his mind and put it back in another spot – right there in the aisle of Safeway, I received a lesson that sound something like this: 

You put my card in the wrong spot

Oh, did I?

It has it’s own spot.

Oh, really?

When it is in it’s spot, I know where it is.

Well, you can still see it here, in this spot… Won’t this one do?

(sweat starting to form on his brow) No, it needs to go into it’s own spot

I’m sorry. 

I’m not sure what he thinks will happen if it goes into another spot – perhaps that it will inadvertently touch his master card and the two cards will book flights and hotel rooms using the air miles???

People with these types of carrying devices tend to get on my nerves.  They know exactly where everything is.    

My sister is one of these people.  She is so organized that there designated is a spot for the ticket from the parking lot dispenser. 

I find this particularly annoying because I am not an organized carrying device gal.   If you are not an “organized back pack” kind of person, then you may be more like me and the carrier of what I loving call the “comfy back pack bag”.  It sits in a lump.  You never know what treasures you might stumble upon next.  I love to clean it out at the Doctors office for 2 reasons: 1. I tend to have lots of time waiting and this is a legitimate way to pass time and 2. It’s really annoying to the “organized carrying device” person, who thinks that my back pack must carry the Flu virus, because everything else is in there….

Regardless of whether you carry an “organized receptacle” or a “slouch receptacle” a carrying device such as a back pack is a magical mystical place, a place which defies everything physicists have taught us about space and time.  A properly packed handbag can help you out in many situations. Occasionally, if you watch closely me during my lunch you may find me in search of the cell phone, you may see pause for a minute. If this is an “organized carry device”, then the phone is easily scooped out and answered by ring number 2.  That is because, when the phone rings, that person knows where to find it.  Because there is likely a “phone place”. 

I too have a phone pocket, but my phone is never in it.  I am not even sure why.  When I hear my phone ring I, almost never get to it.   This is what usually happens:

Slow motion:  a look of distress that crosses my face as I search for the “ring thing”  which is some place at the bottom of my bag .  By the time I find it, it has already gone to the answering machine.  I tend to get it just as it beeps at me.  I look at it and it says the same thing every time – missed call. (Have you ever wondered why electronics points out the obvious?  Just once, I would like my phone to blink at me and say – you look fabulous or enjoy the sun – no, it points out the obvious, missed call.)  I bet my sister doesn’t even know there is a little “missed call” light, because she never misses a call, because she is like the phone ninja when answering her phone.   I have missed the call and I know that in a few moments it will beep again letting me know that I now have a voicemail because by now the person is now listening to the voicemail message which says “I’m sorry, I missed your call, I have probably just found my phone at the bottom of my backpack and will call you back shortly, so please leave your phone number and I’ll get back to you…Oh and by the way, repeat your phone number at least twice, because by now I am searching for a pen and paper to write it on.   Thanks for calling…beeeep”.

Getting a deal on a backpack sends leads me to acting like an ADHD kid on Red Bull and a pound of chocolate. I like to look at them, feel them, hold them,  smell them -it’s really quite exhilarating.  I have many “make me feel good bags” rather than useful carry devices.  I have trouble throwing them out.  I have back packs for certain outfits and for certain moods. 

All my back packs have personality and purpose:– and I love to use this carrying device (Juicy Couture) when I am wearing jeans and going shopping with my daughters.  I feel young and hip and cool.  However, I have learned that you are immediately old when in a sentence you refer to yourself as “hip and cool”…  This carrying device makes me feel young – the end. This is my practically sized carrying device (Walmart Special) with a comfortable shoulder strap; it fits perfectly on the top of a travel suitcase with wheels or can easily be carried with my laptop inside.  It is both fashionable and practical.

I am going to share with you a few of the items that you will find in my carrying device and the 4 lessons that I think that anyone can take away working with children. Perhaps you can relate to your own work with children– be it a handbag, a purse, a back pack, a wallet, a diaper bag or even the coffee holders in your car.

I open this bag and we have a carrying device inside my carrying device.   How clever!

This brings me to Lesson #1 In the Back Pack of happiness:

The items: Family pictures, ID and Driver’s license.

Always remember what is most important. Never forget who you are or where you came from, or the lessons you have learned on your way that bring you to the place that you are today. The same can be said for the children with whom you work.  These children have someone in their family who loves them, they have a grandparent who adores them, they have dreams and aspirations for when they grow up.  Sometimes by the time these children get to you, they have been let down by someone they love so many times that they don’t know that you really mean you will help pick them up – for real.  You won’t give up when others have.  Making a connection with the children with whom you work is so important. 

The message:  Prioritize –  Put first things first  - remember that your laptop doesn’t hug back.  Work will be there tomorrow, but the same cannot always be said for the people.  You will never regret spending a little more time with the people whose pictures you carry in your wallet. Make a connection with the children with whom you work.  Completing curriculum is important, but it’s not hard to make connections that will go farther than you can ever imagine – a child may forget what you helped them learn – but they will never forget how you made them feel. Take time to smile, say good morning, have a nice day – and mean it.  It’s true, a smile goes a long long way.

Stay tuned for Lessons 2, 3 &4 in the coming days