Back again.................

Wow, is it October almost November already? I can't even remember the last 5 months as they are nothing but a blur. I stumbled back onto this blog and thought, hmmmm, I should write something although I don't think anybody really reads it so I will just air my thoughts for the purpose of clearing my own cobwebs. Back to another school year that is going pretty well since I have decided to lay low for awhile and see what people do. Can they really figure it out on their own? Oh, I am still plenty visible and I never lose sight of making sure that I and my library are indispensable--tough economic times, you know. But, there are times when you have said all that can be said and you have done all that can be done and then the rest is up to the powers that be. May they choose wisely.
It's Red Ribbon week so we are wearing keys (Drug-free is the key) and sunglasses today (Too cool for drugs) and we get to wear our slippers tomorrow, I'm not sure why but who am I to argue wearing slippers? Especially since I am in a skirt and heels today.
Aren't the fall colors lovely? The cool air is a welcome respite from summer heat although it does mean winter is on the way, gloomy, icy, snowy, rainy, winter that I love for a while and coffee just is delightful on a winter morning and hot tea is lovely on a winter afternoon. 4 seasons are a blessing!! Off to lunch, I think I will pop over to the shoe store and check out their slipper collection for tomorrow.
Have a chocolate afternoon ;)

The end...............

And, so I am out of here. Until Monday at noon when I interview for a new position. Which could be interesting--should I go or should I stay? I love what I do but is it time to move on? Are their other opportunities and as things are minimized is this provision I didn't know I needed? On the other hand, 15 years in the same place can sometimes be tedious although my list of to-do's for next year is well begun. Not burned out but a willingness to (as a dear friend put it) lift my foot so that I may be planted. Summer looms with all its myriad possibilities--leisure, home projects, outdoor recreation, my parents' 50th with the whole family in attendance, and some days away, I hope. So here's to next year's coffee breaks wherever they may be..........................

Spring................

It has taken 3 months of winter blahs to come back but finally, the time has changed, the weather is trying to change and I have lightened my load by figuring out what I need to own and what doesn't belong to me I disown. So many times I get caught up on my soapbox and forget to leave it behind when I step down. Some things just are what they are and life is too short to choose minor battles. Ahhhhh, that feels better. And so, in these "troubled economic times" the uncertainty game could be played but I think I choose not to participate. My purpose is clear, the plans for me have been set in motion and I will choose that path. As we journey towards the end of the school year, I want to finish well and so be able to restart on a lighter note & with the wind of positive changes blowing. My new favorite middle school book? Peak by Roland Smith. A story of places & things foreign to the everyday & of selfless sacrifice and comtemplation of what is important in this mortal life. So refreshing. Thank you Mr. Smith. End of coffee-break (actually India Chai, yum. Did you see Slumdog Millionaire? Awesome.).......

December

It is that month when all should be merry & bright and I do have all that I need. But so many don't and it feels overwhelming as I cry over the news reports coming from Mumbai and Zimbabwe. I heard a commentator say that many in this country wonder if they have a reason to celebrate due to the receding economy and it broke my heart to think that we in America, the richest and most blessed nation in the world, could not find reasons to celebrate the very thing that this country was founded for and on. If I lose my job, I can go to the unemployment office and even tho I may not be able to buy the latest gadget to put under the Christmas tree the water will still probably run out of my faucet and clean water at that. If I can't find another job, there are a myriad of agencies I can apply to for help. If I or anyone I love is attacked by a devastating illness we have access to the best medical care albeit if we don't have insurance it will not be a pleasant experience and it could devastate us financially which sends me back to the agencies that are willing to help me survive. I have eaten my share of welfare cheese and drunk the powdered milk and shopped at the Goodwill when it wasn't in fashion but I have never lived on the streets and so am not an authority. I do have a job and health insurance although my grown children do not and it worries me until I remember where their security comes from. I am going home to my warm, modest home tonite and putting the wreath on my front door and the stockings on the mantle and some cute snowmen in the nooks and crannies. I will send pretty Christmas cards and bake delicious sugar cookies and watch all of the old Christmas movies and count myself one of the most blessed and richest people in the world. And how will I share my blessings and my wealth? Donating time and money, praying for those beyond my reach and praying for us all to share our resources. We all have something to give. A newsperson told Mother Teresa that all of her work in Kolkata was but a drop in an ocean of pain and sickness and she replied "yes, that is true but the ocean is made of drops" and I think if we all just address one drop it would make a tremendous difference. What does your drop look like and what will you do? Merry Christmas.

Thanksgiving

That word is a verb right? So, I am giving thanks for..........
A God who loves me
A husband who adores me
Children and their spouses that tolerate me
Grandchildren who delight me
Extended family that is a joy to me
Friends, church family and coworkers that support me
A home, a job, running water, heat, finances, food, clothes, sunshine, clouds, trees, flowers, sight, hearing, mobility, holidays, weekends, webcams to see my granddaughters, airline tickets to take me there, etc., etc., etc., etc.....................and the homemade chocolate chip cookie that I just ate with my coffee :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

twilight

I saw Edward the vampire on the Today show this morning. Hmmm........there were girls outside the studio with signs saying "Will you marry me?" I haven't read the books and don't intend to because vampires aren't really my thing. I sort of prefer men who get a little more sunlight and eat steak and potatoes. But, I wonder, can they separate fiction from reality and according to what I have heard, can they ever find a guy who can live up to the ideal of Edward? I guess I have forgotten what it is to be young and idealistic but the reality of our society is that divorce rates are up and it seems that if we marry the "vampire" and then he turns out to be a less than perfect mate we just dispose of that one and move on to the next. It has been a heartbreaking few years for me as I have watched the marriages of friends and family crumble around me and see the devastation it brings to people and their children. Are we teaching our kids to separate fiction and reality? What about the 8 year old in Arizona who killed his father? Did he grasp the reality of picking up a gun and firing it? Or did he think it was like a video game? Much to ponder as I pray for my own children to have wisdom as they raise their children in a techno driven society that seems to prefer the virtual world to the real one and where the lines between reality and fiction seem to be blurring more and more. Alas, break is over..................

cataloging today

I need a neverending cuppa as I keyboard myself into oblivion................................................