{"id":4848,"date":"2019-12-09T08:45:16","date_gmt":"2019-12-09T16:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insideout.abbotsfordchristian.com\/?p=4848"},"modified":"2019-12-09T08:45:16","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T16:45:16","slug":"decibels-and-dog-doo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/2019\/12\/09\/decibels-and-dog-doo\/","title":{"rendered":"WHEN DECIBELS AND DOG DOO HAVE YOU DOWN"},"content":{"rendered":"

Celebrate first. That\u2019s the motto to live by.<\/p>\n

But it goes against my nature to celebrate when the hand dryers are blasting 150dB of noise in 10-second spurts between explosions of chatter from the seemingly thousands of children who use those bathrooms and dryers right when I need to try and write a blog.<\/p>\n

Instead of celebrating, I close my door and begin drafting. Suddenly, I get a text from a colleague saying, \u201cThere\u2019s dog poo on the field, and Roy is in a meeting. Can you please clean it up?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Sigh. Celebrate first? More like grumble and complain about smells and sounds that shouldn\u2019t exist in a school\u2026. <\/strong><\/span> The decibels and dog doo have got me down.<\/p>\n

A Shovel Holding Revelation<\/h2>\n

I realize then, like most humans, I sound like the Israelites, grumbling and complaining, despite the fact that our respective freedom has been granted to us in astounding, awe-inspiring ways.<\/p>\n

My heart begins to soften.<\/p>\n

While trudging down the hallways with the infamous shovel, I stop in my tracks by the sheer beauty displayed on every wall in this building. Every class has created and carefully curated thought-provoking, stunning, celebration-first-worthy work!<\/p>\n

Instead of taking the direct route to the canine waste, I detour, taking the longer\u2014and much quieter\u2014route through all the hallways. Some of the beautiful works I saw on display in our art gallery were:<\/p>\n