Happy New Year--No More Unemployment?

Now there's a headline to beat all! Unfortunately it's happening right now in my little corner of the universe. Our state's governor is calling for an internal audit of the state agency responsible for managing disbursement of unemployment benefits before he approves further funding for the unemployed of the state. The governor's take is that apparently this agency feels they're exempt from the budgetary cuts facing ALL state agencies (including the one that pays MY salary) & they should just allow the audit of their finances before he consents to give them any more money.

While I'm grateful not to be one of the unfortunate ones affected by this, I have mixed feelings. If there's nothing to hide, why not go ahead with the audit so the funding will continue beyond today? I've received those bennies in the past (& have NO desire to ever do so again), but it seems unfortunate that those who are making a sincere effort to find work & having no luck should be penalized by what appears to be a bickering match between agency heads & the governor's office.

I'm grateful that my husband & I HAVE jobs in the current economic climate!

Ruby Slippers Here, Please!

I often joke I live on Planet X, a reference to a Loony Tunes cartoon in which Duck Dodgers travels past an alphabetical series of unexplored planets. Such logic perhaps fits, as I live in the 40th state alphabetically speaking; after an 11 hour drive home, I've reinforced my belief that I live near the outer limits of the known universe! At any rate, living where I do makes me pay attention to anything "new" (to me) while visiting family up north. Among bumper stickers that caught my eye were two relatively old ones I've never seen down here: "Save the TaTas" with a pink ribbon (seen on US 301 in MD) & "Coexist" on a blue field (seen on the Jersey Turnpike).

The weather the night of our roughly 16 hour drive north (made longer by the snow north of NYC) had friends concerned for our safety. What can I say? It's December & snow/ice are seasonal risks! Thankfully the worst road conditions we encountered were not as severe as the worst we've ever driven in, though briefly considered checking in to see if we could crash at the home of a friend in our hometown. Those less than ideal conditions were at their worst at the southern end of I-684 in New York (before we encountered three plows we followed almost to I-84) & within a few miles of my brother's home in Connecticut. The final irony is all that snow MELTED by the time we headed to NYC on the 27th due to daytime highs in the 50s on 12/26!

It was refreshing to catch up with family & friends, including a few we encountered unexpectedly & most fortunately while on a walk with a friend in the town where we grew up. The girls got a kick out of seeing Times Square & Rockefeller Center, including all the Saks 5th Avenue window displays playing up the new Swarovski crystal star atop the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree & the snowflake sound & light show on the wall of Saks facing 30 Rock. As we were leaving Rockefeller Center a gentleman had the ice cleared in order to propose to his girlfriend, who accepted & was cheered by the throngs gathered to watch skaters & see the tree. It was fun to show the kids around NYC, including taking local buses & the Flushing line from what was my early childhood neighborhood in Queens into Manhattan. Unfortunately, our youngest was not feeling her best that night, still fighting a stomach bug even as we drove home yesterday & just now appears to feel more normal than she has since Christmas Eve. Still, she insisted she wasn't going to miss this rare opportunity to go into the city & see things she told her classmates she'd be photographed in front of!

Next trip I think I'll just borrow Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz--much faster!

Mental Health Break

Yes, it's been cold up north while we've been celebrating the holidays. And yes, the break from the sultry swamp in Dixie has been invigorating and mind-clearing. Seeing a few old friends has helped my spirit a great deal--I don't get to enjoy this often! Hubby and I took a brisk (as in WINDY!) walk with my parents' chocolate lab yesterday up Walnut Hill (abuts the back of my brother's property) to savor the chilly air, the view, and most of all the time away from our four kids & the extended family.

I find myself determined anew to mind the nutrition of myself, hubby, and the two children still at home (the older ones are away at college). I calculated this morning after hitting the YMCA with my eldest & found I could get down to my personal goal weight if I plan to lose 1.5 lbs per week between now & next Christmas. I've already told my youngest, who suffered through a stomach bug on Christmas Eve & yesterday, that portion control is going to be the name of the game from here on out in the interest of all our health. She's not happy, but I think she'll appreciate it when her swimming times start dropping because there's less of her to move through the water.

Keep me in your thoughts & zip me some encouragement when I flag in my dedication, as I know I will at times!

With Apologies to Clement Clark Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
(Which is good, because they're dirty!)
The stockings were removed from the chimney with care
And filled with goodies which might melt if left there.
The boys were at the cinema with their cousins,
The girls were relaxing after interstate traversing.
Papa was a-snooze, snoring on the sofa bed
Mama made brandied hard sauce, then blogged before bed.
When out in the vestibule a noise sounded,
From the 'puter I immediately bounded.
'Twas my parents returning from the midnight mass
But not yet the boys--how long did that movie last?
The house lights shone out on the melting snow
Giving the luster of morning to the fog on the blow.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But my nieces and sons, eyes all a-blear.
"It's foggy out there," they solemnly pronounced.
"I warned you," I reminded them, "it's a long ride 'twixt the houses!"
More slowly than snails the car traveled out
As my nieces set off toward their own house.
"Now this way, now that way, now go to the left.
Turn right next and go 'til you enter Route 8.
From the start of the ramp to the I-84
Now dash away, dash away, carefully toward home!"
As wild leaves before the hurricane fly
When they meet with an obstacle mount to the sky
So too did my nieces flee the foggy northwest
Of the state toward their home toward the southwest.

Too much work to do the rest of the poem! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Homecomings

It's been a busy week between packing & traveling from the sultry Southern swamp to the Great White North. No, we're not staying in the town where we grew up, but I feel heartily welcomed anyway. So far, people have been kind & cheery in every store I've been in & even at the YMCA this morning the staff was polite, though they couldn't get my 9 year old competitive swimmer any water time before we head back south. (So she gets a real vacation from EVERYTHING!)

We had to alter some plans due to weather considerations, but aside from that it looks like all's well & I hope it continues to be so. Hubby has immersed himself in a home improvement project my brother's progress has been stalled on. It's a bear to scrape up old wallpaper, but when you're also working numerous overtime hours plowing snow, it's well nigh impossible! My sister in law was thrilled that my 9 year old got her 2 year old cousin busy decorating cookies with her yesterday long enough for SIL to take a shower in peace. My parents' dog goes out with the kids every time they venture into the white stuff; he's a chocolate lab & loves to tunnel under it while the kids are riding a toboggan.

My youngest (the 9 year old), who last spent a Christmas up north when she was about 2, has received quite the firsthand education about dressing warmly, driving carefully, & why salt is spread everywhere on the roads. She also witnessed plows sparking against pavement while we drove farther north of NYC & closer to my brother's home, which worried her at first. She was elated to get out of the car at the Connecticut welcome center & wanted to make a snow angel right then & there, even though it was about midnight & I was sure it'd be snowed over by morning. (I convinced her to wait until we arrived at our destination in the northern part of the state.)

iFeliz Navidad!

Biding my Time

Two days down, two to go at work. Fortunately, I'm nearly caught up on my documentation & other paperwork, so it's just a matter of sitting down with the boss for a time Thursday to give her the last moment updates. :) I'm getting familiar with my newest client child, a very young autistic boy, and also learning much about how autism works. This'll be a learning experience for all of us; we've had very few children with similar diagnoses heretofore. And of course the condition varies from person to person, so even though I've worked with a teenager diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome before, she was vastly different from this child who also has developmental delays on top of the autism.

Meanwhile my mind is about 500 miles away with my eldest & my parents, all traversing the river & zooming through the woods to our Christmas holiday destination via the inland route instead of Interstate 95. By now they've nearly left Maryland behind for Pennsylvania, and thence they proceed to NJ, NY, & CT. White Christmas, here we come!

Important Milestone

If I were counting, this one would number somewhere in the billions, no doubt--as all parents will recognize & understand. My eldest is now an adult (age 21). Does that somehow free me from responsibility for him? Of course not--he's still my son & even when he's 50 he'll be my baby. ;) However, it's satisfying to know he's come through the toddler & school years more or less unscathed. He isn't far from completing his undergraduate studies (within 18 months, hopefully sooner depending on when required courses for his major are offered).

I've heard it before, but it bears repeating: Parenthood is the only job you work your way out of, at least ideally!

Happy birthday L!

Gluttony

This evening my teenaged daughter hosted a party for about a dozen (!) of her friends. The truly unusual piece of this is that when my older children have invited that many buddies over, we've been fortunate if HALF of the invitees showed up, so it was a shock to be invaded by THAT MANY eighth graders. (And I've already told her--NEVER AGAIN!)

As I write this, the birthday boy of tomorrow is lounging in the living room with about six of his friends and the entire group is decamping to another friend's home shortly. Meanwhile, the youngest is crying the blues about not being able to sleep due to the noise from the teenagers vs. the quiet conversation of the collegiate crowd.

I know, we have a larger number of children than many--hubby and I are both quite fond of youngsters, to the point that our careers as well as our personal lives revolve around youngsters. But I think the gang of 12 13 year olds qualifies us as gluttons for punishment. Who would challenge that?

Saturdays are for sleeping in...?

Does anyone else besides me remember doing this as a kid: you'd get up tired on school mornings, then bounding out of bed at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday to watch cartoons, & remaining vegged out there (except for eating breakfast) until, oh, 11:00 a.m or noon?

This morning found hubby and myself awake, alert, & energetic at the ungodly hour of 4:35 a.m. Rather than stay in bed, we got up to fuel up the woodstove, do the supper dishes our children never did last night, and basically have some Q-time with each other before he had to leave for work shortly after 7:00. It never occurred to me to check out the Saturday morning kids' TV extravaganzas because I can't stand half the children's programming that's on nowadays--give me some old Bullwinkle, Underdog, or Flintstones episodes instead of the standard fare that somehow HAS to include Miley Cyrus! :P (My personal opinion only--she's talented, but enough is as good as a feast.)

However, despite not sleeping late, I managed to score a major coup at JC Penney's--my 9 year old needed some pants & got them, plus a pair of rhinestone-studded jeans for the holidays, for (get this) UNDER $20.00 thanks to the $10.00 off coupon I had! Woo hoo!

Serenity Amidst Chaos

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I think I've come as close as possible to achieving it at work in advance of the Christmas holidays. A child who had to move did so today; another whose medications are in flux is being evaluated by her former psychiatrist again, & I've managed to see every one of the youngsters in my caseload at least once. :) Yay, me!

Now I just need to ensure that the outstanding issues (what few major ones there are at this point) are resolved or on their way to a satisfactory resolution by the time I go on my holiday break the end of next week. With any luck, I'll have them resolved by the end of THIS week so I can sort of skate along next week. ;)

Ah...if only the laundry & packing were this simple...

Taking a Breath

Everyone needs to do this any time of the year, but in December if you're either a parent or involved in any musical pursuits (worse yet, like me, BOTH!), it's an urgent matter for your sanity. So it is that tonight I'm vegging out to highlights from Handel's Messiah while I'm blogging after my children have headed to the showers.

It's nice to finally have an evening more or less to myself after spending Saturday at a lengthy swimming contest and an extra choral rehearsal. Sunday was icing on the busy cake with church in the morning (choral obligation #1), getting my youngest to the starting point of the local Christmas parade, watching same, finding her afterward, & getting us both to choral obligation #2, a festival of local choirs that culminated in most of the group taking part in the Hallelujah chorus. Since that's as close as I generally get to a live performance of Messiah these days, I enjoy it greatly. My grandmother & I used to attend it every December after I started driving, so I miss it. That annual chance to perform a piece of it also makes me miss her all over again (for only the fifth year--she was nearly 99 when she passed away in November 2003).

Looking forward to my potentially white Christmas in New England!

Long distance swimming or drying paint?

My regular readers are well aware that I am the parent of multiple children. Two of them participated in a swim meet today that was as much a test of endurance for me as for them as they participated in such longer-distance events as the 200 yard individual medley, 500 yard & 1000 yard freestyle, 100 yard butterfly, breaststroke, & backstroke--in other words, snooze while other people's kids are swimming, and mind you don't miss your own kids' races! It lasted SIX HOURS, most of which time I spent between working the concessions stand, visiting with other parents, and of course watching the girls swim.

A friend who was himself a competitive swimmer during school made the comment ahead of this meet that watching distance swimming is like watching paint dry. I was inclined to agree before attending today (the girls are the younger of my three piscine offspring). However, I do believe I saw a wall that someone painted this morning completely dry before we ever left the YMCA pool! ;) (JK)

Perceiving Terror

This morning en route home from the 9 year old's school, I heard part of a NPR story about a Russian woman who tries against all odds (including the macho culture of eastern Europe that most people don't realize exists--i.e. cops not believing women who allege their husbands physically abused them) to advocate for women's rights in the former Soviet Union--or at least one corner of it (the story was about half over when I tuned in after kiddo left the car). One particularly heartbreaking story was of another Russian lady, a married woman with a young daughter, who took a job in Syria that effectively turned out to be white slavery and enforced prostitution, refused to participate, and was raped and beaten until she escaped to return to her family in Russia. The worst part was the total lack of support or legal aid she’s gotten from Russian police or Interpol (or anyone else, for that matter, except for that advocate's attempts to prosecute).

After hearing that tale of woe, I really felt a lot more grateful to live where I do--even though I frequently disagree with the actions of our elected officials, I have the right TO disagree with them without fear of being harassed about it. The last time I felt so terrified I was NOT in New York or Washington, but had friends and extended family in the vicinity of both the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and was for once grateful not to be with them! And of course that wasn't targeting the fair sex like the victim in the NPR story experienced.

God bless America! Let's see if we can't spread some goodwill to our sisters around the globe.

Terror & my minimal experiences of same

What constitutes terror for women in the modern era...

A story I heard several years ago on National Public Radio (NPR) told of a Russian woman who accepted a job in Syria & was victimized by her employers in the form of rapes & beatings before she managed to escape back to Russia. When she reported her situation to the authorities, Madam X received less than zero support or legal aid from the Russian police or Interpol according to the story (or from anyone else, for that matter, save for a second woman's valiant efforts to prosecute--a woman who also mans the local domestic abuse hotline & has to battle Russian law enforcement officers who most often do NOT believe received reports of domestic violence toward Russian women by their spouses or partners).

I'm grateful to have never experienced such horrors, but I can certainly recall a few moments in my life when I was so low it was hard to believe the light at the end of the very long tunnel I was in wasn't an oncoming articulated lorry (that's a "tractor trailer" in US parlance) or locomotive! To wit:

Once upon many years ago, I accepted a position preparing reports for a financial adviser who, when my duties ended up concluding months sooner than he evidently originally anticipated, I was let off without so much as a gracious dismissal by this so-called "Southern Gentleman." I was left feeling like a piece of unworthy trash as a result of his callousness & lack of people skills--AND I've regarded that term with no small measure of scorn ever since.

More recently, during the first year I worked in my current career field, I was bitterly disappointed about not being offered an option to continue licensing foster homes (which I thoroughly enjoyed) & being "baptized by fire" into such matters as coordinating services for recalcitrant (at best--most were downright uncooperative) parents, giving testimony in court (which I STILL hate!), & worst of all, getting zero support from supervisory staff in squabbles created by demanding foster parents or obnoxious court appointees, nor any assistance with transporting numerous child clients, even in the advanced stage of my last pregnancy. All this was in addition to the overwhelming numbers of minute details I was required to see to in the line of duty or be zapped for on performance reviews. I even made repeated efforts to track down several deadbeat parents as I was taking my own children to & from school or daycare (or making them wait late hours for me at same) with NO apology ever even considered from my superiors. Small wonder I left there to work where I do now!