Children

I recently read an essay by Lynda Barry titled “The Sanctuary of School”. While I was reading the first few paragraphs I was thinking to myself, “What is the purpose of the story she is telling.” Then right at the end of the essay I understood.

Barry was sharing a story from her childhood on how she would look forward to going to school every day. No one really cared or paid any attention to her when she was at home. She would even leave early in the morning to get to school because she knew there were people there who cared for her and she would be to express herself through art classes. It was quite saddening to be honest. She then went on to discuss the fact that art and music programs are being cut from schools more and more every year.

Everything that Barry said about the school system is exactly on point. I have always believed in art, music and sports programs and now they are slowly being removed from the school system as a whole. It’s quite disappointing to think about. As society we teach kids at a young age that they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up. But how does society expect them to discover their talents if we as a country don’t provide them the necessary resources to do so?

Every day that kids walk in and out of schools they possess hid treasures within themselves. A school could have the next Van Gough sitting within the walls but won’t ever know it because they don’t help to bring forth the talent. It seems that all the schools care about are the main courses like math, science, history, and English. If a child’s strengths aren’t in those courses then it isn’t fair. He won’t be able to show what he’s capable of because we’ve placed the value of education on only a few subjects. Each child has a gift and should be able to grow it and show it.

Until next time…
– Peanut

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to every one of you. May today be filled with kind words towards each other, and memories that will last a lifetime.

Birthday in Heaven

December 22, 2013, is an important date for two reasons. It would have been my dad’s 50th birthday and it marks 11 months since my dad died. This post is going to be special as I share a bit about my dad and the legacy he left.

Meet Kenny Krulish, or as I like to call him, my dad. At work he was known as Captain Kenny, or if you were one of his students you probably called him “Captain”. Yeah, my dad was a firefighter. He basically had done and seen it all while working for St. Johns County Fire Rescue for 24 years. My dad worked in the stations running calls (in fact that’s how he spent his last few years working) but a majority of his career was teaching the new hires. One of his specialties when it came to teaching was making training videos. I guess that’s where I got my love of photography, videoing and editing came from. Don’t worry though, my dad had a life outside of his job and was quite the family man.

Disney Cruise. November 2009

When he was at home he was always in family time mode. We would either be heading off to the beach, watching football, or planning our next family vacation. My dad strived to make sure my brother and I had a childhood we would cherish the rest of our lives. He loved to go on last minute adventures with us and stopped at nothing to make sure it was epic. When we lived in a big community, during the summer my dad would invite all the neighborhood kids to come swimming at our house. We would spend all day in the pool playing games and he was right there having fun with us. Then we would all get on our golf cart and go to the park. Yeah, he was the dad with all the cool toys.

What would be our last family vacation. New York City August 2012

All of those things were great, but who was he to me? I mean a dad is supposed to be the most important person in a girl’s life, right? Well for me, he was and still is. Unfortunately I didn’t realize it till after he died, but now I recognize the value I placed on him and how much I needed him. My dad and I were like the same person; we shared so many traits and qualities. I could understand what he was thinking without him having to say anything, and he was the same with me. He always treated me like a daddy’s girl and now I know how much of one I was and still am.

Snowboarding with my dad. January 2010

As you have probably figured it out on your own, my dad was a one of kind. Today he would have been 50 years old, and I can only imagine all the jokes I would have teased him with for being so old. So I would like to dedicate this post to you Dad. Hope I am making you proud. Happy 50th birthday in Heaven.

-Love your Kare-Bear.

Quiet Time

Today was a quiet day. The only adventure I had was running errands with my grandpa and watching the amazing Michael Bublé’s Christmas Special (insert fangirl squeal). I really love the holidays. Of course this year will be harder than all the previous ones because this is the first one without my dad (I will explain what happened in a later post). I’m still trying to make the most of it though and look at all the positives. I have my grandparents and my aunt who I will be spending these next few weeks with, and not many people are fortunate enough to have such relationships with their family members. I even got to see my aunt and uncle briefly this past Sunday before they left town. If you are visiting family for Christmas this year, treasure every second of it. These are the memories we look back on later in life.

The picture below is one I took of my nativity scene that I decorated back home in Florida.