He Can Write!

I have something to share in this blog that I am so elated about. My son who has low muscle tone, really hasn’t had legible handwriting, and hasn’t been good at putting his thoughts on paper actually just did a pretty good job at shattering those perceptions. In addition to that, he just proved that he has been listening and making some big life decisions that have made me a proud momma.

His literature class just finished reading “Of Mice and Men”.  The class was asked to do a letter to the editor or to someone in power.  My son actually did participate and he did his letter to the school superintendent.  I hope you will enjoy his writing below.  I know that I sure did.

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Dear Superintendent:

I read of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck at school in my literature class.  I think the book should be banned because it has bad words in it. I even think it should be banned because someone got killed. 

Bad words are wrong because Jesus does not like them.  Bad words don’t have good things with them or say good things.

Killing is bad because people shouldn’t kill others.  Killing is bad  because we do know it is against the law and God’s law.

Mr. Superintendent shouldn’t let the book be in school.  This is because student’s shouldn’t read bad words and the other reason is people got killed.  Students should read good books and say good words.

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My son at 16 not only has the innocence of a child but he also has a conscience it seems.  God is so good.

Addition of Lucy

Well, at this time I would like to announce that we have a new addition in our house. She arrived a little over 2 weeks ago and we’re growing quite fond of her,  though she wasn’t expected. She is bringing joy, satisfaction, and calming effects in our home.

Her name is Lucy and she is a little over 1 year old I am told. She is solid black and so very soft and cuddly. Oh did I forget to mention that Lucy is a cat? Well she is a cat that we have adopted and now resides in our home with us.

I hadn’t even thought of having another cat really until a co-worker was talking so fondly of her cat that was sick and then spoke of adopting two new cats. I just made mention that I would like to have a cat again.  We had one after my husband and I first got married . We had Scaredy for 14 to 15 years until she passed due to old age ailments.

Because my co-worker loves cats and saw the interest that I had, she was on the lookout I guess you would say, for me. Well it just so happens that a friend of hers knew about the loss of my co-workers cat and passed along an email from her current workplace about a cat needing a home.  My co-worker already had her 2 new cats but thought of me and forwarded the email to me.  We went the following weekend to meet Lucy.

Lucy’s story is kind of sad. For you see, Lucy has been alone in a house, or only had one other cat with her. She was in a house since September. Other than, she had a human visitor who made sure she was fed and had water every couple of days. Lucy’s owner had suffered a stroke and had to go away to another state for treatment. The hope had been that she would be able to return to live in her home with her cats but her health was not going to allow that. The owner would have to get an apartment in another state close to family members and she was only being allowed to bring one cat. The other cat was older than Lucy so it was felt by the owner that it should be the choice and Lucy needed to find a new home.

For the first week Lucy was with us she was severely frightened. The smallest noise and the slightest of movement would send her scurrying when and if she did come out from hiding. Hiding was pretty much the rule for that first week. However, after one week we have a totally different cat. She comes when called, she snuggles up with you, she loves to be petted on neck, back, and even her tummy.  She is definitely at home now and we are proud to have her. I am sure I will have stories to share about our newest member.

Here We Come 2012!

Well the turkey, dressing, ham, cakes and pies are all consumed. The presents have all been opened. In some cases the tree has been took down and either sent to the chipper, or packaged up in its box all nice and tidy. Now it is time to look to a new year.

This is a time for all of us to take stock of our lives. I know for me 2011 definitely was not a good year and I hope, above all hope, that 2012 will be a better year. I must trust God to give me guidance and strength to face whatever lies ahead. 

Regardless of what your situation or what gets you down, resolve for this year to be a good year. Whether it’s a few pounds or a lot of pounds you need to shed, make a plan and stick to it. If quitting smoking is your goal, then see about getting the patch or enrolling in a smoking cessation class.  Something I have found over the past year that is and was a tremendous help to me; is to find a buddy or someone who is in the same boat as you to work toward that goal you have.

Don’t let one bad day or even one bad week get you down. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and just keep on keeping on. The best advice I ever heard was to live each moment as if it is your last, because you never know when it very well may be. So to everyone I wish a wonderful 2012 and may it be a great year for us all.

Christmas Vacation

My family and I just returned from taking a little trip over the weekend to enjoy the Christmas lights of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.  It was so nice to get away, if only for a short time, from the hustle and bustle of the holidays.  This was a wonderful experience for all of us. We left behind the responsibilities of jobs, homework, shopping, and wrapping to simply be able to enjoy some family time together.

I often feel so guilty that I do not get to spend quality time with my son due to work responsibilities, house responsibilities, and having to spend weekday evenings and even weekends working on his homework or class work that hasn’t been completed at school. I think that schools need to put a little more thought into what they require of the children, near the holidays especially. They say to let the child enjoy their childhood but how can they and how can the parent if they are spending almost all their time working on class work in order for them to keep good grades?  I dread my son returning to school after the summer and after his breaks due to the stress of trying to make sure all his homework is completed accurately and on time.

Come on Christmas Break.  I need to de-stress as you can see; if it is only from my son having a break from school and me having a break from doing homework. 

Merry Christmas everyone and May God bless you all.

Giving Thanks

It’s that time of the year that we all should count our blessings. Maybe it has not been the best year for you, maybe your finances aren’t as good this year as last year, and maybe your health isn’t the best, but we still need to count our blessings. There is always someone who has not been as blessed as you have been this year.

My marriage, as I have spoken of earlier, has been on the rocks this year. I have several friends who not only had their marriage on the rocks but they went through a divorce this year. Financially, with the economy bringing higher prices and the wages not increasing, the credit card became more of a friend. But there are people who have no credit and went into foreclosure on their homes.  My father does have dementia but thanks be to God it does not seem that his memory has deteriorated at this point. But I have a friend who lost her mom to dementia and other health complications this year.

I am extremely thankful for some very good friends and supportive family that have helped me make it through this year. I look forward to spending this blessed season with each one of them.