Loosing one's sense of trust

In all honesty, for me the worst part about being robbed is loosing the trust that I cherished.  I highly value trusting my neighbors/neighborhood enough to leave doors unlocked or things unguarded.  For sure, I'll be locking my doors for a good while from now, but you know what?  It didn't really matter.  The thief (read ignoramus) was too stupid to use the completely unlocked back door.  Or the windows which don't lock.  No, he/she decided to use the front door.  Why not break into a small house on a busy street?  You'd think a smart thief would break in the back door anyway, just to keep from being seen.  So much for that.

I wonder if it was just someone who was mad at me.  If that was the case, I simply wish I could talk to them and set things right.  You'd have to be pretty upset with a guy to break into his house, wouldn't you?  Surely I'd know if someone was that upset.

And if it wasn't someone I know, then why did they look to the very back of the closets to take seemingly pitiful stuff, while leaving the printer, relatively expensive surge protectors, and lawnmower.  Heck, it was all boxed up for them; they could have just pretended they were moving and backed a truck up.

Some people say, why lock your doors, a thief will find a way in if he really wants to.  How true.  Only in this case, it didn't matter that I left the door unlocked.  Yeah, I'll be locking my doors for a good while now, even though it apparently doesn't matter.

I get the feeling it was someone who knows me, and knows what I had and where I kept stuff.  They probably just broke the front glass to make it look more like a random act of crime.  The stuff that was left wasn't ruined or sabotaged like you might expect, and only a few boxes were open or gone.  My major question is this: was it someone who was mad at me, or just someone who's broke and wanted my stuff?

Of course there's no way to really know if it was someone I know.  And in all honesty, they didn't take anything I need, just stuff I'd have rather kept.

But the thing I miss most is my sense of trust.

Merry Christmas [letter]

Dear Friends and Family: Merry Christmas!

Once again, in the ancient tradition of communicating with people you haven't heard from since last year (and some you speak to too often :-), I thought it was about time to write a Christmas letter to keep all of you informed.  All those interested may read below.  Those who aren't interested are asked to keep their Ba Humbugs to a minimum while they calmly delete this message.

New Job
Didn't I have a heading like that last year?  Oh right; I did.  This time I'm a middle school choir teacher at Lake Forest Elementary.  As I often say, it's a great job and I'm learning a lot.  One of the greatest parts of this job is having the opportunity to work with a partner teacher, Katie Wagner, for almost the whole day.  Katie is a great teacher with long-lasting patience; just what those whiley middle-schoolers need!  I hope to be leaving a [positive] lasting impression on my students, but I'm also looking forward to the coming year when I will be searching for a high school choral position.

Handel's Messiah
For those of you who haven't heard, I recently lead a community-wide production of Handel's Messiah (the Christmas portion).  Many people pitched in to help and it went of better than I could have ever hoped!  The community choir, dubbed the "Marion County Chamber Choir", came from more than 15 different churches and worked for three months and gave it their very best effort.  Over 200 packed the church for the first performance, and the second was almost as well attended as the first.  My brother, Greg, also chipped in and produced a high quality recording (both CD and DVD).  It was my first time to direct a choir for an entire concert, and it was Greg's first time to be in charge of recording one.  Many could be seen crying at the performance; personally, I cried when I saw the recording.  I've got a lot to improve in my conducting ability!  :-)

Lee University Songbook
A group of students at Lee and I are working together to produce and publish a songbook that accurately records Lee's Musical history and fosters new songs about Lee.  It's pretty exciting, and it's already underway.  It's going to be cloth-hardbound, and quite professionally done.  Actually, I'm just excited that something this cool is happening.  If you're interested, you can check out our website (which will soon change locations) at hiex.info.

Master's Degree
Due to the new job a Lake Forest Middle School, I'm putting school a little further down the totem pole.  I fully intend to finish, but I think it's going to happen mainly during the coming summers.

A Sentimental Note
I am thankful to God for His Love and Mercy.  As I look at this year, I'm surprised at what things God has placed before me and then brought me through.  It's crazy to think how much He puts up with and exactly how much He loves us.  I pray that our knowledge of God would grow more full and deep.

God Bless!  I hope your Christmas was Merry and your New Year is filled with great opportunity!

Yours,
Jason

PS- If you have a Facebook, Plaxo, or Twitter account, look me up!

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Jason Scott Vawter
Assistant Choral Director-Lake Forest MS
Choir Director-McKendree UMC
Cell 256.585.4257