Socializing

KAYSVILLE — After weeks of bitterly cold temperatures and falling snow, students and teachers at Burton Elementary took advantage of the warmer weather and sunshine Friday morning by turning their playground into a gallery of snow sculptures.

When they were finished, the school grounds were covered with mythical creatures, buildings, vehicles and animals — all made of snow.

“The kids are so tired of the snow, which we have no control over, we decided that when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade,” said Principal Denece Johnson. “This is a great time to rejoice and to work on our social skills.”

MINNEAPOLIS — We’ve all been there — cornered at a party, in the grocery store or while on a simple neighborhood stroll, ensnared in an interminable conversation, our Niceness stymieing the vehement desire to cut off the talker and cut out.

But not all of us have experienced “the Johnson goodbye.” Since Tom Stangl married into the Johnson family decades ago, he has learned to chuckle at the clan’s perennial penchant for an adieu ritual that is extremely kind and incredibly slow, bidding godspeed with no speed whatsoever.

“I’ve seen them introduce new subjects all the way to the curb. One time, one of them followed my son to his car and then got in the car with him and stayed 30 minutes. And my son actually had to go somewhere.”

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In my world, life’s greatest lessons have been learned through a competitive nature and the belief that if failure exists, it came from people who didn’t realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

To me, it is all about focus. If you plan to win, your dedication to the game plan and your desire to be the best you can be must be channeled so that they are not affected by distractions.