Winter Solstice

Today is nearing the end of the winter soltice, the shortest day of the year. It is an interesting day, the first day of winter and the beginning of hope for the lazy long days of summer to come once again.

Today is Sunday and it is another snowy day. The snow level is impressive.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Today is Sunday, and Thanksgiving is over. My Holiday could not have been better and as a bonus, I have staying with me, my grandson, Colton.

Night before Thanksgiving 2008

Tomorrow I will spend the day with family. Three of my four children will be there, and one is staying at home in Baltimore for this holiday. It is a day that we remeber what we are thankful for. Often after grace and before eating, we go around the table one by one and say one thing we are thankful for.

Today is Saturday and the weekend before Thanksgiving. As I sit here, I think of all the people that I am very thankful for in my life and the journey through which life has taken me.
This weekend also marks the end of one kind of employment. I was driving railroad crews or I think it is the end.
I liked this job because I like to drive and I am good at it. I also like it because I like the people I drove. They were kind and considerate and a lot of fun. I will miss them.
However, the downside of the job is the night driving, the expectation that I will drive before my shift begins and work long after it is supposed to be over. It was from six pm to six am, but often began before that or ended after, making for a long day and a rule of mine is not to drive when I am fatigued. I offered to work those hours if, IF, I could have days off to play, but that never happened. The loss of any personal life, having the grandchildren come to stay, outings with friends or attending Church, any personal life was not possible.
Another downside was the lack of respect and the calls to my home on my days off. This is why I emailed her to tell her that the keys were secured, the van emptied of all personal items, and the paperwork would be sent to her. So, I am left with feeling of relief. I have been catching up on sleep and really enjoying time to relax.
I will begin substitute teaching again and I am looking forward to that.
Meanwhile, my daughter, Jeanne, called. Her dream is to go back to school, get her Master degree in Teaching and endorsemensts in Speical Education for learning dissabilities, reading and teach math. She has been told that she would be 100% hirable. She has small children at home now, so working part-time sounds like her first choice. To be eligible for the program, she must pass her GRE, and acquire 60 volunteer hours in a special needs classroom. She will be contacting the school district nearest to her.
I have been asked to baby-sit the kids. If she gets into the program, she will start in January. She has so much to do. I hope they will let her volunteer while she is waiting for her fingerprints to be done and a background check.
I am so excited for her.

Weekend before Thanksgiving

I am beginning a new chapter or reclaiming an old one. I am going back to substitute teaching. There is an ideal job out there that I would love and I read a post about it this last week. A woman, a teacher, I know from another list, was hired to teach Native American youths, troubled youths. She states that another part of her dream is to, "start a school for kids that are homeless and in need of intervention, especially education." She wants to offer them hope and a future. However, right now, she begins this new job. Seattle is too far for me to commute, but I wonder, if with all the tribes here, if it is possible to find something similar. Working with teens is my favorite age to teach. I am looking forward to being back in the classroom again. I love teaching.

Meanwhile, I am no longer driving RR crews. I enjoyed this job because I like to drive and I am good at it. The crews loved me and it was a pleasure to work around them. However, there was a distinct lack of respect from my boss. It was my expectation that I would receive some praise for going the extra mile or hours, giving up any semblance of a personal life with friends and family. However, it would have been nice to recive some positive feedback, have days off, completely off, without a phone call on those days, and feel value. This job demanded all my time, not just the six to six, twelve hour shift, but agreeing to working earlier hours and working later hours, even when that was supposed to be my day off. So, I turned in the van keys, sent in all my paperwork and emailed that when she had time to listen to some issues that I felt needed to be discussed that I would not work. I stated that I was not quitting, but would wait for her to get in touch with me. It is my belief that she will not do this. She is not a good communicator, especially not a good listener, and needs learn some management skills.

So, this weekend, I am thankful for all that God has blessed me with, a new beginning, and a renewing of my old life teaching. I am thankful for friends and family and how much they support me, and most of all love me. If you are reading this, then this means you!

I am still learning this blogging thing. I want to post some photos of quilts. So I need to play around to figure things out. Ah I found a way to post a photo of a quilt that my grandson helped to make. He is seven years old. I took him to my Featherweight Club. On this day, we were making blocks for our American Heros wounded in the service of their country and one of the blocks in this quilt is one he did.

It is a good thing to teach our children to honor our military and I am so glad that he contributed to this quilt.

It is an easy quilt to make, just flip an sew. Cut the blocks to a uniform size, sash, sandwich, and quilt.

It is late at night. I have not been called out to work. I work as a driver driving railroad crews to and from their trains. I work nights. This is difficult and hard on my body. I listed myself as an educator, which I am, a teacher. I will probably go back to teaching and leave the driving to others. It is very stressful, long hours, and my boss and I do not communicate well.

Nov 17,2008

Today, I met a woman, 91 years old that is as vital in life today as she was when young. She drives, travels, and looks like 60, not 91. She was a pilot in WWII and tested aircraft for the Airforce at a base in Arizona. I was so impressed with her abilities at her age. I could have sat and listened to her for ever.

November 7, 2008

Today is the first day of blogging. I just set up the account. Now I need to find something worth saying. Well, maybe a bit about me, since this is my blog.

I am a mother of four wonderful children: Jeanne, Brian, Karin and Dan. Jeanne is married to Jason and they have three children: Colton, Hayden and Andrew.

I think beginning with who defines me, like my GK's, is the most important aspect of my blog and I am sure that future entries will be full of references and antidotes.

I am no longer married. I was married for thirty years, but no longer for the last ten years. So, my life underwent changes and is still evolving.

Next in importance are my friends of whom there are many and I am blessed to have them. Besides my family, friends are my most important Earthly companions.

Yes, there is a Heavenly companion too, but I a private about my faith and not much into organized religion.

Another Earthly companion is my GSD, Xenta. She is a red and black nearly five years old now. We are bound together in ways that astound me, her being very devoted and protective.

Currently, I work for a company that provides transport for train crews. I work nights and some nights are long and intense. I have worked as much as 85 hours in six days or as little as 35 in seven, with three nights in a row off. This week is one of the more intense. So, look for posts about my job.

Well, to find a photo of me to place here. I hope if you are visiting, you might leave a message or two.