The San Saba County Child Welfare Board recently obtained some interesting insights from the San Saba freshman class, when English teacher Amber Kennedy agreed to allow her students to prepare themes on the topic: “My Home is Happiest When…” One page, type written themes were prepared during precious class time. Each of the papers was independently reviewed and what struck the CWB was this group’s superior command of language and writing skills. “Selecting a winning theme was difficult, as there were so many impressive styles,” said board member Louise Oswald, former elementary school principal. “This is a very bright bunch and we all can be proud of the education these students have received.”

Sonic gift cards for winners and Easter treats for all were delivered to the class as a small “thank you” for their efforts. The CWB would like to share anonymously the winning themes, so that the messages may “come home to roost” where appropriate:

FIRST PLACE FRESHMAN THEME:

My home is happiest when no one is inside of it. Every morning when my mom, my sister, and I go our separate ways, my home sighs in relief. When we are gone there’s no fighting, arguments, stomping, fits, tantrums, or yelling. All is quiet. All is still. The only sound in the house is the sound of a faucet dripping or maybe an engine in a machine humming. The quietness makes it happy. The stillness soothes it. There is no anger or frustration in my home at this point. My home likes that very much.

When we’re gone, my home throws open its windows and props open its doors. It just lets the fresh air rush inside and fill the home with its sweet tantalizing scent. It rocks back and forth in the wind, enjoying the quietness.

My home likes the fact that it’s alone when we’re not home. It’s free to do whatever it pleases. It hates loud noises, arguments, and fights. My family and I aren’t quiet people in the least bit and when we’re all together; we hardly get along. My sister and I taunt each other like every other family with kids. My mom has hard days at work and gets frustrated easily. So there’s usually constant yelling. My sister usually throws fits and cries. This frustrates my home. My home likes being alone.

At the end of each day before we all come back home, my home puts everything back that it’s moved. When we walk through the door and the arguments begin, our home isn’t happy anymore. The loud noises are back and a feeling of frustration and sadness falls over it. When my home is not home alone, it finds happiness in its sleep, dreaming of the next day when we will all go our separate ways once again and the fights and arguments that were started will cease. All will be quiet and still again. That’s the only time it will find a speck of happiness.

SECOND PLACE FRESHMAN THEME:

My house is happiest when we have a party. Usually my family throws parties for no reason. They just like to invite people over to eat, dance, and play games. Most of my family and friends come over.

Usually my mom and sister-in-law are the ones that cook the food. They make enchiladas, hamburgers, pizza, and all kinds of other things. I’m the one that makes the desserts. I love making pineapple upside down cakes and fruit salads. While we are all cooking in the kitchen we like to joke around and remember fun times.

My dad and my brothers fix up the tables outside and set up the drinks and the music. When everything is ready we all get dressed up and wait for our friends to arrive.

When people start arriving we greet them with a big hug and a thank you for coming. We start off by talking and then inviting them to eat. Everybody enjoys the food. I really like seeing our friends having a good time. I also like hearing the kids laughing, but most of all seeing my parents happy. I think my parents are really nice for inviting the family over and making food for them. I love them with all my heart.

When everybody is full we start playing bingo. It’s really fun because there are a lot of people playing. When we finish our game we turn up the music and start dancing. That’s the best part of the party! It’s really fun seeing people jumping around and some laughing at others, because some dance like maniacs; but it’s really fun.

The saddest part is saying our goodbyes. I wish the party could last for two days, but unfortunately it can’t. All of our friends help us clean up a little, then they leave to go back home. When everybody is gone our house becomes quiet and we are all saddened. But, when we think about all the fun we had, we go ahead and start planning our next party. That is when my house is the happiest.