Thinks By Me

 Once upon a time, someone got offended by something I posted in jest, and I stopped blogging. I tried again once or twice, but the joy just wasn't in it. Thirteen years later, life has evolved, and although it's vaguely familiar, our kids are grown, and we are empty nesters besides the menagerie of animals we've adopted in order to cope with our incessant need to hover over some living being. In one short week, our Emergency Room RN daughter (who can no longer be called Little Chic) will be flying home to stand up at her brother's wedding (who still rightfully could be called Brainy Boy), to a girl who we would have picked ourselves if the choice had been ours. These days, I'm working full time in a school district and spending my free time divided between trying to be helpful to others and also trying not to get old. Looking back, my life these days is not at all what I imagined when I was in a 20-something newlywed. But I don't think you ever predict a clear

Life has moved along as it always does, and lately it's been dragging me along behind it.  This spring, with Senior years of high school and then college looming, I decided to make a job change. I got lucky and found my dream job at a local hospital, as the coordinator for their large volunteer department.  I've always fancied myself talented in the realm of concierge, and that's kind of my role--matching people up with their skills to fit needs within hospital departments.  I could also describe myself as a guidance counselor, but believe me, it brings on a whole new meaning when you are dealing with "Seniors" in the literal sense of the word.  In addition to the hospital gig, and at about the same timeframe, I found a second part-time job at a local attorney's office, right around the corner from the hospital.  Initially, I anticipated taking one job or the other, but as it turns out, my poor judgement took over and I accepted both.  Truthfully, I like e

“It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” Mother Theresa Pictured above is a car that a co-worker of mine has offered to our friends that had the car accident on their way to our house on Thanksgiving afternoon. You can read details in the post below, but they were coming to our house to bring us a pie for Thanksgiving ::sob:: It has been gratifying to see how our family, friends and  neighbors have stepped forward to help us raise the money to provide them with a new car.  We are collecting money to pay for a  few repairs, purchase new tires and get the vehicle inspected and on the road.  Since Friday evening, we have already raised approximately $650 of the $1000 that we need, through the generosity of those who felt impressed to give.   Every gift has value and we are so humbled by the willingness of everyone who has given what they can. We visited our friends Sunday afternoon so that John could check on their wounds from the accident and make su

Thursday afternoon about 2pm, just as we were putting the finishing touches on our Thanksgiving dinner, my sister glanced up and saw a car coming down the road in front of my house. It slid, flipped twice and landed on its roof. Thankfully my hubby is a medic and my mother is an RN and they rushed out and began helping the family. We quickly realized that the victims were friends; my son wrestles with one of the boys in the car.  Dad, and three of their five sons (including a 2-year-old toddler) were coming to bring a pie to our family for Thanksgiving to thank us for driving their son back and forth to wrestling practice with our son. Their family is about as different from mine as can be--we are Christian; they are Muslim.  They are a family of 5 boys and 2 parents; I have one son, one daughter.  They are a Kurdish family who fled Iraq about a dozen years ago during the war with Saddam Hussein; I have lived in in the US my whole life.  But we also have much in common.  We live

1)  I took my Chickadee and a friend to the Carousel mall today to spend some of her hard-earned babysitting money.  One good thing about her wanting to shop alone with her buddy was that she didn't ask me to buy her one.single.thing!  Well, except lunch--that was only because I told her she was paying for her own if we didn't eat together ;) 2)  I skipped running for the 2nd day in row - partly because of time constraints (the mall was out of town) and partly because I am still nursing a stiff neck/back since my 5-miler.  Tomorrow I'm running regardless, so hopefully it will work itself out before then. 3)  "You have been entrusted with an incredible pain"...MaryBeth Chapman in Choosing to See .   I sat in Borders book store for about an hour and read several chapters of this book while Chickadee was shopping with her pal. I was embarrassed when I started laughing out loud and then had to hunker down when I started to bawl...definitely one of the best books I

Although it's been a while since I've posted, believe me, life has continued to move in a forward direction! 1) My girlie and I volunteered on Saturday to work at the first annual ALS Walk to Defeat Lou Gehrig's disease.  It was awesome to have my daughter work alongside me and along with some other good friends. 2) I ran my first 5-miler since my half marathon back in April.  I have really slacked off this summer and confirmed to myself that need goals and a plan in order to stay consistent.  I did 3 5Ks this summer, but I didn't run much more than a 3-mile training run once a week until this week when I resumed a more regular schedule.  I was happy to cross a 5-miler off my list--it was a mental hurdle I had been avoiding.  I have a 10K scheduled for Oct 2.  This will be the first 10K race I've run--it's going to be a challenge because it's a very hilly course.