The Windsor Times Thursday, December 2, 2010 • A3

‘Tis the SeasonI love this time of year. The lights, the music, the lists…I’m fortunate enough to have a job in the schools, where

breaks are built in to keep adults sane(ish). Each long week-end, week, or two week break is heaven-sent, a delightful car-rot to dangle in front of myself as a promise: TIME. The ideaof not having a schedule is so tempting, so wondrous, so invit-ing, I almost always ruin it by coming up with a List. Youknow, of all the things I’ll get to in my “spare” time, the stuffthat seems to pile up on the fringes of our lives while we’rebusy toting kids to orthodontists, Girl Scout meetings andchoir events.

My typical lists of Things to Get Done While on Breakrange from the ridiculous to the sublime. I have “clear out 223unopened junk emails”next to “put away fold-ed clothes” next to“reorganize the officecloset” next to “watchthe Netflix moviewe’ve had for 3 weeks.”If I put estimates oftime next to thesethings I’ve used uproughly three weeks ofdays, sunup to sun-down, with no bath-room breaks or stop-ping for food – toaccomplish in the real-life three hours of “free time” I’ve got in any given vacation.

Matt is even worse than I am – or should I say better? Hedoesn’t have the luxury of frequent vacation breaks (for whichhe’s only a little bitter when he sighs and says, “Well, I’m offto WORK,” while we lounge, pajama’ed, on our days off) buthe attacks regular weekends the way I do two-week timeslots. He makes lists full of stuff like “drain the water heaterand clean out the trash and recycling cans.” (And no, I’m notmaking that up to be funny. Actual list item, written downand accomplished by my amazingly dedicated husband.) Healways has an extra long list ready for long weekends, andeach night he busily crosses two or three or four items off:“Took kids to the regional park for a hike – check. Cleaned allthe windows, inside and out – check. Costco, Trader Joe’s,BevMo – check. Gym – check.” (I usually pretend I’m sleepingright about here so I don’t have to chime in my accomplish-ments, since “folded pages in catalogs for gift ideas” soundskind of paltry next to cleaning windows. Fake snoring isoverkill, but kind of satisfying.)

It’s not that I don’t get stuff done – I DO, honest! – theproblem is most of the things I get done aren’t on the list. If Ihave “clear off the kitchen counter,” but instead I reorganizethe already-purchased Christmas gifts, I spent time doingstuff that was valuable – just not on the list. I know thatsounded like whining, but when you’ve been busy all day andthe list is mocking you it’s hard not to want to pout.

I thought back to all I DID accomplish over this mostrecent break and was pleasantly surprised to see that I did,indeed, get some things done. I organized a year’s worth ofphotos and uploaded a calendar’s worth to CostCo’s photodepartment, securing eight of the Christmas gifts we give outeach year. I selected, ordered, and picked up our Christmascard photo order. I volunteered at Thomas’s school’sThanksgiving Feast, and got a long-overdue haircut. I tookcare of several of Santa’s jobs – stockings and presents – andloaded up on library books. I watched a couple of Netflixmovies and planned a few kid-friendly ones to arrive when wehave babysitters lined up. I made the season’s first batch offudge (only nine or ten more to go) and exchanged the first setof gifts with an out-of-town friend. I read to the kids, washedapproximately twelve loads of laundry, vacuumed the housethree times, and hit the Dollar Store with my Girl Scouts tostock up on some holiday items. I took five naps – all glorious– and helped the kids set up the Christmas tree and all theindoor decorations.

Things written down – check! Things crossed off – check! Ahh, lists! Check!

Juliana LeRoy gathers ideas from her daily life inWindsor, where she is busy bringing up two delightful chil-dren, co-leading a busy Junior Girl Scout troop, and walk-ing the blacktop at Mattie Washburn as the Joke Lady YardDuty. She can be reached at mleroy@sonic.net, or via herblog at http://mamabear.pnn.com.

SOMEDAY WE’LL LAUGHABOUT THIS ... RIGHT?by Juliana LeRoy

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December 14, 7pm

Our search is for those moments and situations when we are most alive.

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V.I.P.Boarding

Windsor resident willwork on several

longterm projects

On Friday, November 12,Steve Delsuc of Windsor wasinducted into the NationalCivilian Community Corps(NCCC), an AmeriCorps pro-gram. He will begin work onhis first of four long-term ser-vice projects the week ofNovember 15.

Founded in 1994,AmeriCorps NCCC is a resi-dential national service pro-gram that supports disasterrelief, the environment,infrastructure improvement,energy conservation, andurban and rural development.

Delsuc arrived at NCCC’sSouthwest Region Campus inDenver and began training onWednesday, October 13, for10 months of full-time servicewith AmeriCorps NCCC.This training emphasizedteamwork, leadership devel-opment, communication, ser-vice learning, and certifica-tion by the American RedCross.

As a Corps Member,Delsuc will be responsible forcompleting a series of six- toeight-week-long service pro-jects as part of a 10- to 12-per-son team. His first serviceproject will end on December17, at which time his teamwill break for the winter holi-days and begin a new projectin a new location in January.

Twenty-eight teams com-posed of over 300 CorpsMembers and Team Leadersbegin service projects thisweek. Twenty-one of the 28teams deployed from Denveron Saturday, November 13 toprojects throughout the GulfCoast and southwesternUnited States, including anature reserve in Missouri, achildren’s hospital inArkansas, and long-term hur-

ricane recovery in Louisiana,among others. The sevenremaining teams are workingon projects in Colorado.

There are four other NCCCcampuses located in PerryPoint, Md., Vinton, Iowa,Vicksburg, Miss., andSacramento, Calif., each ofwhich is a hub for its respec-tive area of the country,though teams will travel toother regions for disasterrelief projects.

Before joining the NCCC,Delsuc graduated fromWindsor High School in June2007 and attended SantaRosa Junior College for threeyears studying welding, CAD,computer animation, ceram-ics, and woodshop. Delsucsaid, “After hearing aboutAmeriCorps programs frommy aunt, the NCCC sounded

to be the best fit for me forproviding service to ournation.” Steve is the son ofSteve and Grace Delsuc.

AmeriCorps NCCC mem-bers, all 18 to 24 years old,complete at least 1,700 hoursof service during the 10-month program. In exchangefor their service, they receive$5,550 to help pay for college.Other benefits include a smallliving stipend, room andboard, leadership develop-ment, team building skills,and the knowledge that,through active citizenship,they can indeed make a differ-ence. AmeriCorps NCCC isadministered by theCorporation for National andCommunity Service. For moreinformation visit the websiteat www.americorps.gov/nccc.

Local student serves in AmeriCorps

Photo provided

VOLUNTEER — SteveDelsuc joined the NationalCivilian Community Corps.