God Bless Laurie

My sister called this evening to say their her youngest, my niece Laurie, was in a head-on crash this morning.  She is in surgery now to have her leg and ankle put back together, but is otherwise okay.  My sister reports that they are in a couple of inches of ice right now.  They were at the hospital virtually all day.  May God Bless my family!  Laurie Jean:  I pray for you.  Please, everyone who reads this, pray for Laurie and her family so that her family--children and grandchildren--may continue on successfully until she heals.  Thanks!

 

Where Did the Week Go?

It just occurred to me that I haven't posted here since the weekend.  No biggie.  I just haven't had all that much to say!  Nothing special going on at home and nothing special going on at school...

Yesterday, Megan dropped a bomb on me, that Nathan had just been notified that he was being laid off, as of today.  There are problems at the golf course where he works, but I thought everything was okay because he had been called by the actual owner and told that, no matter what happened, financially, he would still have a job.  (The place was being bought on contract, but was going to be foreclosed, going back to the owner from the buyer.  I'm not sure I understand it all...)  In any case, there are complications and this recent event isn't good news.  It makes me sick, actually...but I realize that I have no control over it and have to let the kids make their own decisions about whatever is to befall them.  I just hate it!

It has rained all day today.  I have missed the weather window to get the rest of the outside work done around here...back yard raked, gutters emptied, garage cleaned out.  The temperature has dropped 20 degrees today and is supposed to go down more, with a major winter storm headed this way (although I think Indy is supposed to miss all but an inch of snow).  Wind advisory for tomorrow.  I just look forward to staying snug in my little bungalow tonight!

 

 

Apple Butter Time

Yesterday, Meg informed me that she and her friend wanted to can apple butter...and did I want to help?  All of the canning supplies are here, so I thought I would just deliver them to Muncie and come back home.  Well!  It turns out that **I** am somehow the canning expert, and **they** really needed me. 

Got to Muncie a little after 1:00 PM.  Meg's friend never showed, so the two of us did the canning.  We did 26 jars in two hours.  It would not have taken so long if I had used a larger pan to boil the jars.  In any case, I told Meg to write down the specifics so we will know, next year, approximately how many apples make enough butter to fill so many jars. 

The TV/DVD combo that I bought for little Ryan for his birthday needed to go back to Wal-Mart.  I bought the silly thing back in August in Plainfield for his November birthday.  It went home to Muncie two weeks ago, only to discover that it didn't work.  I asked the kids to bring it down over Thanksgiving, but their car space was too limited....so when I was up in Muncie today, we decided to take it back to the Muncie Wal-Mart.  (I had the receipt.)  I missed the 90-day return policy by about 7 days, but the fellow at Customer Service allowed us to exchange it, anyway.  Hooray!  The new one seems to work, so Ryan is happy.  (He didn't want us to take his TV away.  I told him we were going to get him a new one.  He didn't WANT a new one.  He wanted THAT one.  So we told him that we were taking it to get it fixed.  He never knew the difference.)

I came home amid quite a bit of traffic.  Colts game.  Last day of Thanksgiving holiday.  Sunday home-commute.  Still, I got home in good time and safely.  The dog, who ate a big turkey drumstick behind my back today, was glad to see me.  (I turned my back on the drumstick for just a few minutes.  Silly me!)

Back to the humdrum tomorrow.  I had a very nice Thanksgiving holiday.  Hope everyone else did, too.

Thanksgiving

We came, we saw, we conquered the bird!  Megan and family arrived on Wednesday evening.  Nathan shampooed my kitchen carpet while I visited with the grandchildren and otherwise made preparations.  The children, both sick with colds and having napped in the car, were wound up...so when it became bedtime, we had to hog-tie little Ryan to get him to sleep.  The method is fairly simple:  take him to bed and hold him down, thrashing and crying, until he finally conks off.  Unfortunately, he was sleeping with his parents, so they took the brunt of that.  I think we were all probably asleep by midnight.

Thanksgiving Day was bright and sunny.  Robin and I were up early.  Eventually, she was responsible for getting the rest of her family up (her choice).  First, she let the dog in the bedroom and closed the door.  When that only resulted in someone letting the dog out because she was scratching on the door, Robbie got more aggressive by going in and telling them it was time to get up.  (It really was!)  We breakfasted, got the turkey in the oven, and went about preparing the side dishes and setting the table.  When the rest of the crew arrived at the prescribed time, the turkey wasn't done!  I turned up the oven...and continued to wait.  When we finally sat down to eat, it was at least an hour later than I had planned!  (Meg is convinced that my oven isn't hot enough, and she may be right.  I'm going to get an oven thermometer and check it out.)

The tardy food was good (and plentiful) so we didn't have to send out for pizza!  I sent as much leftover food home with everyone as I could.  (There is still way too much here.)  Full bellies retired to the living room for a little football and conversation while I started a load of dishes in the dishwasher.  This is when the children began to explore other areas of the house--and this is when the pre-school shenanigans began.  At one point, I found both Robin and Ryan in the half-bath.  She was filling little Dixie cups, making a waterfall out of them.  He was systematically putting a long string of toilet paper in the commode.  At one point, I found that Ryan had hooked my mother's REAL pearl necklace over the knob of my closet door and was tugging on them.  Ack!  The children LOVE to play with pillows and blankets, making forts and nests, and yesterday was no exception.  (All children like cozy little places!)  Still, they were playing together--not hitting or biting--so it was okay.  My task today will be to find everything and put it back where it belongs. 

My sister called shortly after the children left for Muncie--about 7:00.  She had everyone but her great-grandchildren and their parents.  They were playing Yahtzee and winding down for the evening. 

My only regret in all of this is that my house isn't big enough for much of a gathering.  I've never had what's left of my own birth family here for the holidays.  That is partly because my brother-in-law has major back problems and simply isn't comfortable in my furniture/guest bed--and partly because they have their own extended family to celebrate with.  It happens!

So, what is left to do today is to put the house back together, then relax a little.  Am expecting the plumber sometime today because the newly seated half-bath toilet is still leaking.  <sigh>

Hope everyone had a pleasant holiday.  It sure was a pretty day!

Turkey Day Prep

The bird is thawed.  It will go into the oven around 10:00 AM  tomorrow.  Once upon a time, I remember my mother getting up in the wee hours to get the turkey in the oven by 5:30 or 6:00.  That was usually a 25 pound bird in the days when we ate earlier in the day.  Our "boid" is only 18 pounds...

I found out this afternoon that my daughter and family will arrive tonight.  It will complicate things a bit, but it is a nice complication.  My desire to have everything perfect will give in to the bigger desire to have everyone happy.  These are memory-making times!

Meg put in a request for Mom's deviled eggs.  Just got them finished and in the fridge.  Twenty-four deviled eggs SHOULD be enough to fill eight people--yes?

I called my sister last night for her candied sweet potato recipe.  'Tis the one thing I haven't been able to replicate.  She is a good cook!

Tomorrow, the rest of the meal will be concocted.  Nathan's father is bringing pies.  His sister-in-law is bringing a couple of family favorites.  I am supplying the basics.  Hope we won't have to send out for pizza when we're done...

My mother, who was my best friend and confidante, died suddenly on the day after Thanksgiving in 1986.  It was a horrible time in my life, both before and after her passing, and I thought that the holiday would forever be ruined for me.  This season marks 20 years without her.  Interestingly, I no longer remember those dark days.  What I DO remember are the wonderful (and funny) Thanksgiving memories.

Thanksgiving always occurred at my grandparents' farmhouse outside of Streator, IL.  Because the meal was such a big deal, Mom didn't want to have to cook more than necessary, so it became a tradition that hors d'oeuvres were put out in the living room around noon.  Chips and California onion dip, pickled herring, raw oysters, shrimp and cocktail sauce, crackers and cheese.  We grazed.  It was enough to make Thanksgiving dinner unnecessary!  Along with the appetizers, there were martinis.  Mom made a snifter of dry martinis, and the parents and grandparents imbibed.  One before dinner would just about wipe out my grandmother.  Two would wipe out my grandfather.  Three would wipe out the cook--my mother.  One year, Mom had had her three (or so), and some of us weren't at all certain that dinner was going to make it to the table!  Another year, my grandfather had had his two or three, ate dinner, and went to the living room to nap.  When he awoke, he asked when the "boid" would be ready.  We informed him that he had already eaten the "boid".  He didn't remember it!

For a year or two after Mom died, the rest of us tried to take up the slack.  It was never the same, but we still had some good times.  At my sister's, we made the wine glasses sing by rubbing moist fingers around the rims and balanced spoons on our noses.  We ate too much, drank too much, smoked too much, and generally enjoyed ourselves.  The last time I ever was with my brother was at our sister's house in Springfield, IL, for Thanksgiving.  He had just acquired a curly-haired cat and was quite smitten with it.  That was many years ago.  My brother died last New Year's Eve. 

My little house isn't ready for the onslaught, but I am happy that the festivities will be here.  It gives me a little measure of control.  Didn't know I am a control freak, did you?!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends.  Christmas is just around the corner!

 

My Weekend

Friday, I asked another teacher to watch my 7th period non-class (long story) so I could leave for home during my prep period just one before that.  Packed and left for Muncie at about 2:00 or shortly thereafter.  When I got to my daughter's, no one was home, but their friend Daisy arrived with my grandchildren within five minutes.  Once everyone departed for the evening, I knew I would be trapped with the children, so I left for the grocery store to pick up a few things I noticed were absent from the house.  When I got back, Nathan was there.  He and Daisy left, and the grandchildren and I were left to our own devices.  (There is a story about where everyone went.  Suffice it to say that I expected them home, but very late.)

Robin and Ryan started talking the minute they hit the house and didn't stop for awhile.  We had soup and sandwiches and fruit for supper, then painted with watercolors.  We watched a video (Land Before Time)...and then it was pretty much time for bed.  When I go to their house, Robin calls it a "sleepover," and insists on sleeping with me on the living room futon.  When the parents aren't there, Ryan is usually invited to join us...but he has trouble settling down.  This time, I just escorted him to his room.  He cried for a minute or so...so I went in and rocked him.  He rested in my arms quietly the whole time, but those big blue eyes never closed.  Finally, I laid him in his bed and he was quiet.  I went out to join Robin on the futon.  We were going to watch a video to put us to sleep.  It wasn't long before a little blonde head kept peeking around the corner to see what was going on in the living room.  I ignored him (and so did his sister).  He sneaked onto the couch and sat silently watching the TV, but I don't think any of us made it past the opening credits.  When I woke a bit later, I got up and covered the sleeping Ryan on the couch, then went back to Slumberland, myself. 

In the morning, I was aware that the parents weren't home yet.  Hmmmm...  When the kids got up, I fixed breakfast for us...and Megan came straggling in about 10:00.  (Nathan didn't show up until much later.)    I went back to the store for more things, did some housework and laundry, bathed the children in preparation for their church's Harvest Feast, made a casserole to take...and finally, got myself ready.  Nathan's father came for that, too.  Very nice ceremony.  (And good food!)

Nate's dad, Phil, brought nectarines for the children.  Ryan, age 3, was calling them "neck-a-weens".  Robin, 4, correct him:  "It's not 'neck-a-weens', Wyan.  It's 'NECT-a-weens!'."  Too funny!

Last night, we all hoped to crash early.  Robin and Ryan had been wild and crazy after coming back from church.  They were showing off for Grandpa Phil by spinning in circles on the living room floor--out of control, but all in fun.  After he left, we all prepared for bed.  Ryan went to bed and right to sleep.  Meg and Nate hit the sack.  Robin and I turned in on the futon...but Robin couldn't settle down.  She thrashed around with pillows and stuffed animals and chair cushions.  I just stayed quiet and let her thrash while I dozed.  At one point, I opened my eyes to find all of the living room lights on.  When I asked Robbie why she turned on the lights, she said, "I couldn't see."  (Dumb question, Grandma!)  I turned them back off and admonished her to lie down and be quiet.  She thrashed some more.  She hit the window blinds a time or two with a pillow.  I admonished her again to stop playing with the blinds.  She told me, indignantly, that she WASN'T playing with the blinds, and whimpered a bit.  Finally, with chair cushions on top of her, she fell asleep.  It was probably midnight.

This morning, Sunday, I fixed breakfast and got the children ready for church.  (I didn't go.)  They came home bouncy!  We had a good dinner (which Robin corrected as "lunch") and then prepared to take the young'uns to get their portraits taken.  Grandma Judy supplied a couple of Christmasy outfits for the children.  The appointment at J.C. Penney's was for 4:15.  (Meg was chagrined.  That was when the Colts game started!  Never mind.  The Colts lost!)  The children were very good (although hard to get to smile for the camera!), and Grandma Peggy had promised ice cream at Baskin Robbins if they were...so we stopped for our treat before returning home, where Nathan had been cleaning.

By this time, it was around 6:00-something PM and past time for me to leave, but Meg reminded me that I had asked for her help with grades.  Oops!  (Our midterm grades are due by 9:00 AM tomorrow with only Friday as the end of the term.  Because this is a short week, we were asked to perform miracles!)  In short order, Meg made up a spreadsheet, and we were inputting the data in order to let the computer do the calculations.  It took a couple of hours...compared to at least four hours that it would have taken me to do it by hand.  Still, it put me on the road for home quite late.  I packed and launched in snow showers.  It was 7:50 PM.

The first third of the trip home...from Muncie through south of Anderson...was replete with nasty snow showers and slick roads.  After seeing two cars newly in the ditch, and only ONE salt truck (going the other way), I slowed down and decided I would get home when I got home.  Fortunately, south of Anderson was better, and south of Fishers, the roads were dry.  I got home about 10:30, amid snow just arriving in Plainfield.  I considered it good time, considering.

The ONLY thing this week has going for it is that it is a two-day workweek.  For the first time in my 35-year-plus teaching career, we get the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off.  I am having the dinner here for my family and part of Nathan's.  I look forward to having that extra day to prepare.

But now, it is time for bed.  I am finally ready.  I'm not sorry I missed the Fort Wayne Hamfest.  Just too much to do!

I think even the dog is happy to be back in her abode, sans kids.  She loves them, but they drive her nuts.  Heh heh. 

Nightie-night!

 

 

 

Grump! Grump!

When I got up this morning, there were new doggy piles to deal with.  Oh, joy!  Then, as I got ready to depart for school, I couldn't find my lanyard with house and school keys attached.  (I usually keep them in a central location for easy access.  Not so this time!)  On the way to school, something hit my car, hard, but it was still dark, so I couldn't look...and when I COULD look, it was raining.  I managed to find my way into the school sans keys, but had to prop doors open thereafter (a definite no-no).

Fortunately, my students were relatively well-behaved today.  I might have killed, otherwise!  I have picked up a sinus bug.  All I really want to do is stay home and meet my standards, but have to go to school and meet theirs!

The company that oversprayed polyurethan stuff on our cars at school has been at the district, working on vehicles.  The rain has apparently stopped the process because MY car hasn't been done yet.  I will have to replace my windshield wipers when they are done, but it is probably time to do that, anyway.

I've complained enought.  Good night!

It's Potty Time!

The last few days have been fraught with little surprises when I come home from school.  It seems that I live in Frodo's cesspool!  Somehow, her potty schedule is off, and I have been cleaning up messes.  It doesn't endear me to the dog!

In the meantime, the floor guys and plumber came this evening to pull the leaky toilet in my half-bath, install new vinyl flooring in there, and replace the potty on new wax seals.  The plumber also replaced the shut-off valve, which was drippy.  I am a happy camper!  I haven't been able to use that potty since it started leaking from the seals a year ago.  I had arranged for a friend to come and do it but had to cancel on THE day he was to come because of the death of my brother.  The project has been on the back burner ever since.  But now it is done (and nicely)--and when my grandchildren come, we will be able to accommodate wee ones who have to go RIGHT NOW, even when the main potty is occupied.  Small victories!

I looks as though I will be babysitting my grandchildren on Friday night in Muncie and going to the Fort Wayne Hamfest on Saturday, then to the Harvest Feast at Meg's church in the evening.  That will be several very busy weekends in a row.  Hope I hold up!

I could go on and on about the kids at school, but I won't bore my readers with details.  Suffice it to say that my patience is thin, and some of the things going on in their homes makes it a wonder that they even grow up at all.  Not good!  I have too much to do and not enough time to do it.  This Friday is the end of the midterm (again), so grades will be due.  I am going to have to spend some concentrated time getting papers graded if I hope to be ready for that!

Ever onward and upward.  Hump day tomorrow!

Pretty Nice Party for a Little Guy!

Ryan Eugene Heffelman is three!  (His real birthday is actually tomorrow, but as it happens, we decided to celebrate it today--which turned out to be a good thing because his great-grandmother's memorial/burial service will be tomorrow, which we didn't know was going to happen when we planned the party.)  We had a pretty nice celebration for our little guy!

Ryan's favorite person in the whole world is his Grandpa Heffelman.  Grandpa and Grandma H. got here before the kids did, but when they pulled in the drive, Ry saw Gwumpa's "big brue truck" and knew he was here.  Well!  When he came in the door, he dashed right past his other grandmother and me, straight to his buddy.  It was funny! 

There were twelve people to attend (in my little house)!  One couple and their 3-year-old daughter were later in coming, and that's the only thing that saved us.  We ate in two shifts.   I had a big pot of chili, corn meal muffins, hot dogs with fixings, chips, carrot and celery sticks, tater chips, olives, and apple slices with caramel dip.  Grandma Judy brought a yummy chocolate/peanut butter ice cream cake for the Birthday Boy.  All three of the children were good as gold.  People departed in shifts, too, so there was more space for the children to explore their new toys.  (Robin and Zoey each got something, too.)  I think everyone had a good time.  Ryan got a couple of things that he really liked.  One was a truck kit.  It comes in pieces, with a real power tool to put it together.  Wow!  He is REALLY into trucks...

All things considered, everything went well.  Friday evening was spent raking leaves.  Saturday, unfortunately, was somewhat lost to me because I developed what can be called the Green Apple Quick Step, and didn't feel good at all.  I did what I could but didn't stray far from the bathroom all day.  Today, all is back to normal, so I worked myself silly in order to get things presentable for the masses.  Whoever invented disposable dinnerware has my vote for President!

Back to the grind tomorrow...

Veteran's Day

Although Veteran's Day is actually tomorrow, our school district commemorated the occasion today with an assembly that included participation from all of our schools: elementary, middle, and high school.  It is the only assembly all year that is serious in nature and involves the students and members of the community--all in honor of those who have been in the armed services for our country.  The Cub Scouts brought forth (and retired) the Colors.  We said the Pledge of Allegiance.  We sang The National Anthem.  A student read a letter from the President.  The choirs sang, the band played, and a couple of select students read both original and published poems and essays.  The veterans on staff were all announced, as well as those community members in attendance.  The band played a particularly moving song Hymn to the Fallen.  (Shortly after our assembly, I was out on lunch break and heard that same song as the background to Greg Garrison's tribute to veterans on AM radio.)  Then there was a moment of silence, during which Taps was played.  It was in that moment that I silently told my father, who passed away in 1994, how much I was thinking of him at this time.  And, of course, I fought back the tears...  (WHY didn't I think to bring tissue??)

I have written tributes to my military family members before, but they don't do justice to how very proud I am of all of them.  My father, Commander Floyd D. Covill, USNR, was a member of Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation, and the older I get, the more I appreciate all that they went through just to survive and raise their families with dignity and values in trying times.  May God continue to bless and protect our fighting men!

I came home from school exhausted today.  The kids are loud, and the particular combination of a couple of "rotation" classes that I have this nine weeks gives me a few challenging students twice a day.  UGH!  I note, with interest, that I am not the ONLY one burned out by the end of the day.  Even the younger teachers are tearing their hair out, so I have company!  Anyway, when I got home, I tried to nap.  (Once again, it didn't work.  My nap gene seems to be broken!)  Okay...so nothing to do but go out and rake leaves while the temps were still good and I still had an hour of daylight.   I raked some yesterday (wet leaves), and got a small section of the yard done.  Considering how much of the yard was left, I was feeling quite discouraged.  I raked and raked...and then, out of nowhere, came a young man (a neighbor whom I had never met) with a rake, asking if I wanted a hand.  I said, "Sure," but what I really meant was "Hell, yeah!"  We raked until we couldn't see anymore, and between the two of us, we got ALL of the front and side yards done.  I am ecstatic!  The fellow wouldn't take any money, but I will see to it that he gets a little cash gift in his mailbox!

And now, for the REALLY great news:  Nathan's boss, a man who has purchased the golf course where Nate works on contract from the owner, told Nathan a couple of weeks ago that the course was probably going belly-up, and that if Nathan got another job offer, he should take it.  Well...THAT'S obviously not the good news.  The good news is that Nathan got a call tonight from the actual owner of the course, telling him that even if the course goes to foreclosure, he will still have a job.  Hallelujah!  What an enormous relief!!!!  Megan cried.  I should!  Nate and Meg moved to Muncie a year-and-a-half ago, with Nathan's acceptance of a nice job at a nice golf course.  Then, with almost no notice, the course was sold, and Nathan was out of a job.  Miraculously, another golf course had an opening, and he was hired, with almost no loss of time or pay.  A close call...followed so closely by this one.  They will still have financial problems, but at least they won't be out on the street with no income!  God is good!

 

My Christian Journey

With the passing of my son-in-law's grandmother, the father of several former students, and the father of a current student at our school...along with my brother's untimely death at the very end of 2005, my faith is challenged.  All of which causes me to wonder about my faith!

All of my life, I have gone to church alone.  As a primary school student in Danville, IL, I went to the Central Christian Church with my friend's family, and was baptized there in third or fourth grade.  Then we moved to Japan, and there was no church to go to there.  When my family finally settled in the western suburb of Chicago--Oak Park--I started attending the First Methodist Church there with another friend.  I sang in the youth choir at the 8:00 AM service, walking the distance from my house to there alone; I became president of our youth group in high school.  My family rarely attended.  My parents--mostly my mother--were Christian, but unchurched. 

When I was married the first time, it was in St. Stephen's Roman Catholic Church in Des Plaines, IL.  My husband's family was steeped in Catholicism, his grandparents coming from the Old Country (Belgium).  They were good people and good to me.  I took catechism and tried desperately to embrace Catholicism...but my husband was burned out on it, having been through 14 years of Catholic education.  In short order, he started attending Methodist services with me in Normal, IL--one each week, a particularly significant service to me. 

Then the bottom fell out of our marriage when he had an emotional breakdown (that had nothing to do with me).  Prior to this, I was religiously pure.  I prayed in my mind constantly.  Any impure thought would be banished from my mind, and everything I did was dedicated to God.  I dedicated my voice to singing God's praises and lived as I thought He wanted me to...

Then the challenges came.  Something immoral presented itself, and I didn't resist.  I was young and needy, and I thought what I had was ordained by God.  What fools we are when we are young!  I remarried and had a child (more than 9 months later!)...and it turned out that my husband had no desire to attend church with me...so once again, I went alone.  I sang in the choir and even was Youth Director for a year.  And then we moved to Indiana a mere two years after my mother's death.  It was ahorrible time.

Still, I felt that God was with us.  There were enormous challenges to overcome just to get here, but the road was smoothed ahead of us.  I established myself with the Cloverdale United Methodist Church.  Once again, I attended church alone.  My husband, principal of the local jr-sr high school couldn't be bothered, and Meg wasn't happy about going...so I just went by myself.  Before long, I was the choir director, just by nature of the fact that I was the only one who could read music!!

And then...my husband left our marriage for someone else.  He said I knew about it before it actually happened...but I expended an enormous amount of energy just trying to get him to talk about it.  I confided only in my pastor, but my husband thought I had blabbed to everyone.  In short order, I was being treated as if **he** were the offended party!  When it was time for me to leave Cloverdale due to the divorce, there were tears among my church friends and me.  I had no desire to go, but had no choice...

Meg and I moved to Plainfield, to a duplex right across the street from the Plainfield United Methodist Church.  I went to church alone...again...on a weekly basis.  I even joined the choir.  Seven months later, I bought a house (where I am now), but still maintained my status at the church.  Then my father became ill in IL.  I spent a lot of weekends there, so opted out of the choir...and my church attendance.  But I was still faithful.

Just prior to that, however, things happened to rob me of my faith that I have never been able to get back.  There was an attack on our school district by parents who didn't like OBE--Outcome Based Education--which is what has always been done, only without a label.  They were convinced that we were taking the New Age approach, against their Christian beliefs, and that we were brainwashing their children.  I was elected to a committee that met weekly from January to July, to help assuage the problems.  It was scary for awhile.  A local Baptist minister was behind the charge.  (He is now President of the Board of Education in our district.) 

During that time, I got a mailing meant for a previous owner of my house.  It was from the "Christian Coalition," requesting funds.  Their mission for the funds was to train people how to run for school boards.  Sound liberal. but bait and switch.  I was appalled!  Thereafter, I was ashamed to claim to be a Christian for fear I would be associated with that faction. 

I have never been able to get my unquestioning faith back.  I miss it, but I don't care about me anymore.  I just want it for my grandchildren--something for them to believe in.  Something greater than themselves so they can endure the hardships of life with some measure of assurance that they are taken care of by a power higher than themselves, no matter what. 

I am tentatively reaching out again.  Going back to church to look for what I need, with no promises. 

I am still a work in progress.  Praise God that He hasn't given up on me yet!                        

No time!

I know, I know....  I am sitting here writing a blog instead of cleaning house or doing schoolwork, and complaining that there isn't enough time to accomplish everything.  So sue me!  I'm old!  I'm tired! 

School wasn't too obnoxious today.  My classes were somewhat okay, largely because three of my "challenging" students were either in ISS (in-school suspension) or in OSS (out of school suspension).  Still, there are so many things to do that I get weird about everything.  My grandson's birthday approacheth (which will be held here); so does Thanksgiving (which will also be held here).  My son-in-law's grandmother died today, so I am looking at possible attendance there, depending on the day.

Busy, busy!  So why am I just sitting here?? 

Ha, ha!

I went to bed way early last night, which is a death sentence for sleeping in.  I was awake and thrashing by 3:45 AM, so figured I might as well get up.  I had to be out of the house on my way to Salvation Army Divisional Headquarters by 6:30, so I just sucked it up and went on.

The deal with TSA today was disaster training.  Didn't matter how much experience one had...just that TSA (along with every other disaster entity in the world) is requiring training and background checks.  Today's session had a lot of Fire Buffs.  SATERN wasn't in the foreground, but our involvement did come up, and I am extremely proud of my volunteers.  True to TSA events, we ate every two hours! 

When I got home, 4:30ish, I noticed that everyone in the neighborhood had been busy raking leaves...so I went out and gave it 30 minutes.  I hardly made a dent, but I do have a long line of leaves on the curb for the city to suck.  The city sucks!  Maybe I can do more tomorrow...

Next weekend will be my grandson's birthday party here.  My little guy will turn three.  Where does the time go??

Love to all!

Friday

My day began with a student telling me that turning on the lights in the boys' restroom also turned on the sink spigots.  He had to show me.  Sure enough!

Things went downhill from there. 

Every day, I go through an investigative situation with the dog...  Tonight, I found the case for the lunch meat on the floor, with the meat still on the counter.  Huh??

I'm tryiing to take care of business.  Help!

UGH!

The students were awful today!  I gave one kid a lunch detention for talking during silent reading (with fair warning), and he threw it in the trash.  So now he has an after school detention.  If he chooses not to serve that, I'll write the little turkey up for "failure to comply". 

Ya know, I'm probably the easiest teacher these kids will ever have.  I joke them out of their bad moods and try to accommodate periodic lapses of sanity...but I won't tolerate deliberate misbehavior...and that's what we were dealing with today.  (NOT just me!) 

When admonishing a student for talking, one of my "favorite" comments from him/her is:  "I wasn't the ONLY one talking."  That doesn't fly with me.  Another favorite, when I tell someone to stop a particular behavior, he/she says, "I was just doing blah, blah."  Huh?  I didn't ASK you what you were doing.  I told you to stop!  And my all time favorite from a student who has just thrown something on the floor and feels no responsibility for picking it up:  "That's what the janitors get paid for."  I ususally go off on that poor soul!

Yesterday, one of my students asked, "Ms McNary, do you get sick when you get drunk?"  I looked at the others in disbelief...and he followed with, "You look like a party girl!"  I asked if it was the weight, the wrinkles, or the gray hair that made him think so...

I really need to retire!

Blah

It occurs to me, from time to time, that I really don't have anything to post on here...and that posting anyway is a waste of cyberspace.  It's analogous to talking just to hear the sound of one's voice.  (I have students like that!)  I wonder if anyone could possibly want to read this...but I warned everyone.  After all, this blog IS called "Peggy's Ramblings"...

As I approach retirement--probably in two-to-four years--I realize that I don't have a plan.  At age 59, I am trying to invent myself.  I have spent so many years in survival mode that I have always had to be reactive rather than proactive.  And now, it all catches up as I try to figure out what will happen to me after I retire.  I guess it's not too late to come up with SOMETHING. 

Along with worry about me comes worry about my children and grandchildren.  Nathan's job is, once again, on the brink--yet another golf course that is probably going under.  I am just praying as hard as I can that there are answers.  Please join me!