Flashbacks

Two weeks ago my cousin and I went to visit my great-uncle. We spent an entire Sunday afternoon listening to him tell stories and going through old pictures of my grandma and her siblings. We got to video-tape it as well. It was absolutely amazing! I can't believe so many of her brothers and sisters are gone, and none of their stories are recorded. John let me take home any pictures I wanted, which I couldn't believe. I tried not to be too greedy, but here are a couple of them:

My grandma & her sister--Aug. 29, 1954

This is so out of character for the Grandma I knew--makes me wish I'd had a chance to learn more about her life directly from her.

 And this...is my dad when he was in 8th grade. Looked ornery even back then!

It was such a good day, and I really feel like I need at least a month off to just visit with all of the older people in my family and get all their stories and pictures immortalized. Someone make that happen, please?

Busy busy bee

Next semester is gonna get ca-razy in this place! Working full-time, school full-time, tutoring, and volunteering...while still trying to squeeze in sleep and a bit of a social life. I'll be taking American Lit, British Lit, Developmental Psych, and Intro to Theatre Arts (thank you degree change!), so 12 hours total. I'll tutor two days a week; volunteer at the Safehouse about once every week or two; work five days a week; take nine hours of online classes; and have one class on Thursday nights in Andover. I don't anticipate a heck of a lot of free time. But as much as I sound displeased, I'm actually really excited about it! I love to be busy. It defines me. And I want this school business finished. Like yesterday. So busy will become my middle name, and I can't wait!

I started a new job about a month ago and therefore have gotten ridiculously behind here. I've been out at Mom and Dad's a lot, and have very little internet access there, which makes updating more difficult.

On Nov. 1st I started as a para at Skelly in El Dorado. It's the same place I went to elementary school, so there are lots of memories in the building. I had a tough time adjusting at first to the fact that I was now a "teacher" and no longer a student! Long story short, I am absolutely loving my job for the first time I can ever remember! Granted they wear me out, try my patience like none other, and the pay isn't great, but I seriously LOVE going to work! That's a first for me. For my first two weeks there, all I could do after school was go home, maybe have some dinner, and fall into bed. I was -so- exhausted! I've since gotten used to the schedule and am able to function on a somewhat normal level (most of the time!). :-)

I've completely fallen in love with (most of) these children! We had five days off for Thanksgiving, and by the fourth day I was missing the little munchkins and was ready to get back to school. I never thought I would EVER say that about a job.

So all of that to say...while I was not prepared for some of the big changes that took place in September, I think they were the best possible thing for my life. Next semester will be insane (more on that later), but I'm really looking forward to where my life seems to be heading.