Wednesday I went to work worrying about a son who has spent the last two years trying to recover from an on the job back injury, fighting through the California workman's comp system that seemed determined to get him hooked on pain pills rather then fix his back. I went to work worrying about a granddaughter who was sick, watching her struggle to breath. And those that know me, understand why watching a child struggling to breath is difficult and causes me concern. Poor child had a cold but hearing that sound takes me back to another child who struggled to breath.
So Wednesday I came to work with elephants on my back. And then had what I considered to be a breach of etiquette from my manager. I went home and fumed, and had a little pity party for myself and wrote a scathing email to my supervisor, which fortunately I decided to send to myself at work instead. When I went to work that morning I talked to my supervisor expressing me anger and told her I felt the need to go to HR after attending a preplanned training session.
About an hour into the training I had an epiphany moment. I went back to the early years I spent as a manager at Xerox to a moment when I talked to someone about some perceived failure of theirs to to do their job to my specifications. I spoke firmly but later was told I spoke harshly and out of turn. I remember my sense of frustration to this day. I don't remember why I was frustrated, but most of all I remember being told I spoke too harshly with no acceptable management skill.
After the training ended I met with my supervisor and my manager and we talked. funny how talking rather then bitching resolves the issue. Talking with my manager not about my manager is what a grown up person does to resolve problems. Gossiping to fellow coworkers compounds the problem and fosters negativity in the workplace.
What I am saying is being an employee is the easy job. You only have to worry about doing your job and satisfying your manager, one person. Your manager, on the other hand, has to find a way to manage each person in the department who comes to work with elephants on their back. Your manager has to keep each person on the path to reach department goals. Now keeping each person, who struggles with elephants on their back, on the path to the end zone is very difficult. As a manager you have to reach that goal because you have a manager to please.
When you are feeling sorry for yourself keep this in mind. Your manager is expected to make you successful because if you fail your manager is deemed to have failed to make you successful. You, as an employee only have to worry about two people...you and your manager. Your manager on the other hand has to worry about every single person who reports to them and who they report to.
Which job would you rather have?
As the worker bee, you can whine about what you perceive to be miscarriages of justice in the work place. Or you can stop expecting your manager to meet every single emotional need you have.
So today, I have decided to go to work with a positive attitude. Today I have decided to go to work and not blame me, my manager or the elephants on my back for the difficulties I find in my day.
And I won't expect my manager to be perfect. I will remember why I decided I didn't want to be a manager, because everyone expects you to be perfect and have all the answers.
And I will remember that I am not perfect.
Love to You and Yours,
NanaCarol
Friday, April 9, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Passing of People in Your Life
My cousin Barbara passed away a couple of weeks ago. She and my Aunt Orpha are the reason I am as normal as I am. I spent many of my weekends, holiday and summers at their ranch in Albany and it seemed I spent much of my time there snuggled up with one or the other. Barbara was 14 years older then me so she was like a big sister. Her room, which had huge french windows, faced the pasture where sheep grazed next to the woods of Knox Butte. Many summer nights we would lie in bed watching the twinkling stars and hear the occasional sounds of the sheep. Those nights we would talk about everything and always ended up toe wrestling.
When I wanted to go to church camp at Suttle Lake but was a little scared, my sister-cousin Barbara signed up as a camp counselor and spent several summers with 5 or 6 giggling girls. At the end of the week Aunt Orpha would pick us up and we would drive out to Eastern Oregon with no particular destination in mind for another few days. We would count jack rabbits and deer and stop for ice cream whenever we found somewhere in that remote area that had ice cream. We always stopped at Peterson's Rock Garden outside of Bend.
The time I spent with my Aunt Orpha and Barbara are the happiest memories of my childhood.
Barbara was diagnosed with Huntington's disease about 8 years ago. I went with her to hear her diagnoses and was stunned. Aunt Orpha was thought to have Huntington's too. This is a horrible disease. It is the slow deterioration of your body and mind but Barbara lived her last few years of life with grace and dignity.
I flew home for her funeral and was able to see friends and family that I dearly miss. Andy picked me up so I spent a few hours with him, then on to Stevie's home. He says he is my second daughter. Steve lost his long time partner David the month before. David was only 39 and his death was attributed to undiagnosed arteriosclerosis of the heart. It was sudden and shocking to everyone and oh so sad. That said, I enjoyed spending the night at Stevie's. We talked until I couldn't stay awake then slept with out waking once. Stevie has an airbed that is so comfortable.
My niece Debbie and I went to the funeral, and like all family weddings and funerals, there were lots of tear and lots of laughter. My Aunt Rachel has three boys (well they are grown) that are so funny. Only one came, Kerry, but he kept me laughing. In a perfect life I would live life surrounded by cousins Larry, Gary and Kerry. Now I wonder where they got their sense of humor. Aunt Rachel married Uncle Harry, then had Larry, Gary, and Kerry.
After the funeral I spent the next two days with Mary Etta and John. Seeing her so healthy reassured me after her huge scare with cancer. Her doctor made it sound so bad but her oncologist performed her surgery and she is now cancer free. No chemo. But I had to see her myself to make sure she is well and she is very well. We had dinner with her son and his wife, her other son and girl friend (who is a keeper) and grandchildren and I had the delight in teaching Ben, who is in third grade, the subtle game of last hit. Brook is in kindergarten and is all girl.
Mary Etta and I spent one day driving around Newberg and Dundee, visiting two cemeteries, her sister and brother and my daughter's resting places. And of course you can't go home without going to the Dairy Queen and having a foot-long hot dogs and hot fudge sundaes. Oh how I miss those. We parked in front of what was our high school if they hadn't torn it down, and reminised about our childhood. We really were lucky, we graduated a few years before drug era that complicated so many young lives. We just had fun. It was our most carefree time of life. I think that is why so many of us have remained good friends. We all have such good memories of growing up in Newberg.
And to conclude my losses, a male friend of mine whom I have been talking to on the phone for the last year, decided he didn't want to continue our friendship. And the way I know he didn't want to continue our friendship is he just stopped calling or returning my calls. He lives in South Carolina and we met on a web site and had spent a year getting to know each other with a lot of interest on his part. We were going to meet when he retired in a few months, or so I thought.
It still amazes me that there is no more maturity in a 61 year old man then in a 16 year old man. It is pretty dishearting to find he had so little regard for our friendship that he didn't feel the need to be a "grown up man" and let me know he was no longer interested.
At first when I didn't get any calls I was worried thinking maybe he was sick but then I thought to look on the web site where we met and there he was logged on, trolling for women. So he is alive and well. I am so glad I found out he has no integrity now, rather then wasting more time on the loser, because he is a loser. He just doesn't know what a great woman he lost. And as another great women once said, "As God as my witness, I will find a man worthy of me"
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
When I wanted to go to church camp at Suttle Lake but was a little scared, my sister-cousin Barbara signed up as a camp counselor and spent several summers with 5 or 6 giggling girls. At the end of the week Aunt Orpha would pick us up and we would drive out to Eastern Oregon with no particular destination in mind for another few days. We would count jack rabbits and deer and stop for ice cream whenever we found somewhere in that remote area that had ice cream. We always stopped at Peterson's Rock Garden outside of Bend.
The time I spent with my Aunt Orpha and Barbara are the happiest memories of my childhood.
Barbara was diagnosed with Huntington's disease about 8 years ago. I went with her to hear her diagnoses and was stunned. Aunt Orpha was thought to have Huntington's too. This is a horrible disease. It is the slow deterioration of your body and mind but Barbara lived her last few years of life with grace and dignity.
I flew home for her funeral and was able to see friends and family that I dearly miss. Andy picked me up so I spent a few hours with him, then on to Stevie's home. He says he is my second daughter. Steve lost his long time partner David the month before. David was only 39 and his death was attributed to undiagnosed arteriosclerosis of the heart. It was sudden and shocking to everyone and oh so sad. That said, I enjoyed spending the night at Stevie's. We talked until I couldn't stay awake then slept with out waking once. Stevie has an airbed that is so comfortable.
My niece Debbie and I went to the funeral, and like all family weddings and funerals, there were lots of tear and lots of laughter. My Aunt Rachel has three boys (well they are grown) that are so funny. Only one came, Kerry, but he kept me laughing. In a perfect life I would live life surrounded by cousins Larry, Gary and Kerry. Now I wonder where they got their sense of humor. Aunt Rachel married Uncle Harry, then had Larry, Gary, and Kerry.
After the funeral I spent the next two days with Mary Etta and John. Seeing her so healthy reassured me after her huge scare with cancer. Her doctor made it sound so bad but her oncologist performed her surgery and she is now cancer free. No chemo. But I had to see her myself to make sure she is well and she is very well. We had dinner with her son and his wife, her other son and girl friend (who is a keeper) and grandchildren and I had the delight in teaching Ben, who is in third grade, the subtle game of last hit. Brook is in kindergarten and is all girl.
Mary Etta and I spent one day driving around Newberg and Dundee, visiting two cemeteries, her sister and brother and my daughter's resting places. And of course you can't go home without going to the Dairy Queen and having a foot-long hot dogs and hot fudge sundaes. Oh how I miss those. We parked in front of what was our high school if they hadn't torn it down, and reminised about our childhood. We really were lucky, we graduated a few years before drug era that complicated so many young lives. We just had fun. It was our most carefree time of life. I think that is why so many of us have remained good friends. We all have such good memories of growing up in Newberg.
And to conclude my losses, a male friend of mine whom I have been talking to on the phone for the last year, decided he didn't want to continue our friendship. And the way I know he didn't want to continue our friendship is he just stopped calling or returning my calls. He lives in South Carolina and we met on a web site and had spent a year getting to know each other with a lot of interest on his part. We were going to meet when he retired in a few months, or so I thought.
It still amazes me that there is no more maturity in a 61 year old man then in a 16 year old man. It is pretty dishearting to find he had so little regard for our friendship that he didn't feel the need to be a "grown up man" and let me know he was no longer interested.
At first when I didn't get any calls I was worried thinking maybe he was sick but then I thought to look on the web site where we met and there he was logged on, trolling for women. So he is alive and well. I am so glad I found out he has no integrity now, rather then wasting more time on the loser, because he is a loser. He just doesn't know what a great woman he lost. And as another great women once said, "As God as my witness, I will find a man worthy of me"
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Monday, February 15, 2010
What's Wrong With The United States
I agree with Byahs. There is something wrong with the United States government? Is it the American public or the ego-maniac politicians we elect. We are so divided as a nation that our elected officials can't accomplish anything. We are spending resources just to point fingers of blame, until we have forgotten what our nation needs.
We have forgotten how to work together and they have forgotten how to work. Politicians need to stop working for their party, and start working for the American public.
I have the perfect solution. Eliminate both political parties, do away with congress and the legislature. Send them all home. I think the White House would make a wonderful woman's shelter. Fill the Pentagon with day care and senior citizen centers and the rest can be made into affordable housing.
When a decision needs to be made ask the American public what they want. Have an election and I don't mean electoral votes, every vote counts. Which ever issue gets the most votes wins. Pay an accounting firm to count the votes, a few soccer Moms(and no I don't mean Palin) to disseminate the information and we are good to go until the next need for an election.
It is the KISS premise, keep it simple stupid. This would work on a state level too. Get rid of the pork bellies. This would eliminate the ego-maniacal politicians, the insidious political driven emails from both my Republican and Democratic friends.
We don't need elected officials, we would save money, we wouldn't have to read about their adulteress affairs and they could all go back to their home states to run a muck on their own dime.
All those in favor cast their vote.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
We have forgotten how to work together and they have forgotten how to work. Politicians need to stop working for their party, and start working for the American public.
I have the perfect solution. Eliminate both political parties, do away with congress and the legislature. Send them all home. I think the White House would make a wonderful woman's shelter. Fill the Pentagon with day care and senior citizen centers and the rest can be made into affordable housing.
When a decision needs to be made ask the American public what they want. Have an election and I don't mean electoral votes, every vote counts. Which ever issue gets the most votes wins. Pay an accounting firm to count the votes, a few soccer Moms(and no I don't mean Palin) to disseminate the information and we are good to go until the next need for an election.
It is the KISS premise, keep it simple stupid. This would work on a state level too. Get rid of the pork bellies. This would eliminate the ego-maniacal politicians, the insidious political driven emails from both my Republican and Democratic friends.
We don't need elected officials, we would save money, we wouldn't have to read about their adulteress affairs and they could all go back to their home states to run a muck on their own dime.
All those in favor cast their vote.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
HOW TO FILL A DAY WITH NOTHINGNESS
There is nothing like having to be home all day with your leg propped up. I am beleaguered with a leg infection which takes forever to heal. Now you might say that having to sit around with nothing to do but watch TV is the dream of every working person and for a week it is fun. However extreme boredom does set in around day five.
The first three days I watched non-stop movies. Then I switched over to HGTV for a couple of days. I had to stop watching HGTV because I felt compelled to start a home decorating project which is very difficult to do while laying around with your leg up.
So I thought I would write about how my days are spent (that is how bored I am). Of course the brushing of teeth and the eating of breakfast is the real start of the day but I feel the "reel" start is when I have my coffee, the leg is elevated, and the remote is in my hand. This is the real start of my day. I go to the guide for movies and start my selection of which movies I want to watch. I select them then save them for viewing at my leisure which is pretty much all day.
The criteria for this selection varies day to day. I generally do not select movies that are not on cable channels as I hate commercials. Yes, I know I can fast forward through the commercials but by the time I have revived from the semi drugged euphoria of movie madness I spend too much time fast forward, rewinding then fast forwarding again to find the end of the commercials. Get the picture? It is much easier to avoid movies with commercials.
Since my day is so unproductive I have decided to write quick critiques of the movies I watch with recommendations for my readers so they won't waste time on a movie that is not worth watching. Nothing is more wasteful in a day filled with waste, to spend twenty to thirty minutes watching a movie and finding it incredibly awful.
This morning I watched a delightfully quirky movie and I generally only use the word quirky when I describe Joan Cusack. Now she is delightfully quirky. However there is no other word to describe this movie but quirky.
The Chumscrubber is quirky. Basically it is about a teen who lives among adults that are more screwed up then he is and we all know that most teenage boys are screwed up. It starts with a tragic event and ends out warm and fuzzy with craziness in the middle. It is a movie that you can enjoy then forget, which is my kind of movie. I highly recommend this movie.
Mancora, a foreign film, takes place in Peru my old stomping ground. Again it is based on a young man's angst after losing first his mother then years later his father. It's worth watching and left me with a deep desire to speak spanish and eat ceviche.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
The first three days I watched non-stop movies. Then I switched over to HGTV for a couple of days. I had to stop watching HGTV because I felt compelled to start a home decorating project which is very difficult to do while laying around with your leg up.
So I thought I would write about how my days are spent (that is how bored I am). Of course the brushing of teeth and the eating of breakfast is the real start of the day but I feel the "reel" start is when I have my coffee, the leg is elevated, and the remote is in my hand. This is the real start of my day. I go to the guide for movies and start my selection of which movies I want to watch. I select them then save them for viewing at my leisure which is pretty much all day.
The criteria for this selection varies day to day. I generally do not select movies that are not on cable channels as I hate commercials. Yes, I know I can fast forward through the commercials but by the time I have revived from the semi drugged euphoria of movie madness I spend too much time fast forward, rewinding then fast forwarding again to find the end of the commercials. Get the picture? It is much easier to avoid movies with commercials.
Since my day is so unproductive I have decided to write quick critiques of the movies I watch with recommendations for my readers so they won't waste time on a movie that is not worth watching. Nothing is more wasteful in a day filled with waste, to spend twenty to thirty minutes watching a movie and finding it incredibly awful.
This morning I watched a delightfully quirky movie and I generally only use the word quirky when I describe Joan Cusack. Now she is delightfully quirky. However there is no other word to describe this movie but quirky.
The Chumscrubber is quirky. Basically it is about a teen who lives among adults that are more screwed up then he is and we all know that most teenage boys are screwed up. It starts with a tragic event and ends out warm and fuzzy with craziness in the middle. It is a movie that you can enjoy then forget, which is my kind of movie. I highly recommend this movie.
Mancora, a foreign film, takes place in Peru my old stomping ground. Again it is based on a young man's angst after losing first his mother then years later his father. It's worth watching and left me with a deep desire to speak spanish and eat ceviche.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Sunday, January 31, 2010
FOR SALE, CHILDREN, TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER
Society has always treated children as a commodity. In Ireland, the Catholic Priests told young pregnant single women it was best if they "fostered" their children to British families. They were told they could get them back. These children were sent to Australia where they were abused by the Christian Brothers and told their parents were dead.
It goes on and on. Children sold to the highest bidder. We "say" the trafficking of children is illegal but yet we allow children to be adopted from foreign countries even while they have parents. Parents that are unable to support their children make the ultimate sacrifice by signing their children over to the highest bidders. Unscrupulous adoption agencies being the money makers. The children come to the United States, they lose their culture, their language, and sometimes their faith.
I can't help wondering if this isn't a form of slavery? The buying and selling of humans. You will say these children are brought here not to be slaves, but aren't they slaves to those parents who parade them around in society to make the parent appear as selfless pious Christians?
I am sure some of you feel they should be grateful for all the advantages we can offer them.....IPods and cell phones. And doesn't it make us look like wonderful Christians.....we are "saving" the under privileged "have nots".
Now in my Christian world the true "Christian" would help those parents become self-sufficient and able to raise their own children. Poverty shouldn't be a reason to give your children over to someone with better financial resources.
I do believe some children should be removed from their parents custody, in cases of child abuse.
If you want children and are unable to conceive, look at children in your "own back yard" instead of going to third world countries to steal/buy their children. If it takes too long to adopt children in the United States get the laws changed.
But somehow I don't believe the parents seeking children from poverty stricken countries have altruistic motives. I think if you looked in their souls you would find the need to appear like saviors. They want society to stoke and pet them to fulfill a need they have. I wonder what Jesus would say.
Understand I am not against adoption. I was adopted at four months of age from a women who didn't have the emotional where with all to raise a fourth child. I get that. And I do believe some children should be removed from their parents custody, in cases of child abuse.
My point is, while we campaign to shop locally, buy USA, shouldn't we also say adopt in the USA as well
Love to You and Yours,
NanaCarol
It goes on and on. Children sold to the highest bidder. We "say" the trafficking of children is illegal but yet we allow children to be adopted from foreign countries even while they have parents. Parents that are unable to support their children make the ultimate sacrifice by signing their children over to the highest bidders. Unscrupulous adoption agencies being the money makers. The children come to the United States, they lose their culture, their language, and sometimes their faith.
I can't help wondering if this isn't a form of slavery? The buying and selling of humans. You will say these children are brought here not to be slaves, but aren't they slaves to those parents who parade them around in society to make the parent appear as selfless pious Christians?
I am sure some of you feel they should be grateful for all the advantages we can offer them.....IPods and cell phones. And doesn't it make us look like wonderful Christians.....we are "saving" the under privileged "have nots".
Now in my Christian world the true "Christian" would help those parents become self-sufficient and able to raise their own children. Poverty shouldn't be a reason to give your children over to someone with better financial resources.
I do believe some children should be removed from their parents custody, in cases of child abuse.
If you want children and are unable to conceive, look at children in your "own back yard" instead of going to third world countries to steal/buy their children. If it takes too long to adopt children in the United States get the laws changed.
But somehow I don't believe the parents seeking children from poverty stricken countries have altruistic motives. I think if you looked in their souls you would find the need to appear like saviors. They want society to stoke and pet them to fulfill a need they have. I wonder what Jesus would say.
Understand I am not against adoption. I was adopted at four months of age from a women who didn't have the emotional where with all to raise a fourth child. I get that. And I do believe some children should be removed from their parents custody, in cases of child abuse.
My point is, while we campaign to shop locally, buy USA, shouldn't we also say adopt in the USA as well
Love to You and Yours,
NanaCarol
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Always Loving, Always Loved - Oct. 20th, 1966 - Dec. 26th, 1984
When she was born, I looked at her and thought she was the most beautiful baby in the world. In my twenty years I had never looked like anyone or had anyone look like me. Being adopted there are never familiar similarities to anyone in your family. But looking at her little face I saw bits and pieces of myself.
And when she died I lost more then bits and pieces of myself. More then bits and pieces that I never found again. Losing a child is indescribable, words can't speak to that kind of grief and pain.
An emmy award should be given to every parent who has ever lost a child and not turned to drugs or alcohol to anesthetize themselves against the pain. Because those of us that survive without drug or alcohol become award winning actors portraying the living.
You learn to smile and laugh. You fake happiness and mentally write suicide notes. You get really good at faking, until the time draws near to the anniversary of their death.
And then you can't hide it very well and those that know you best, that were there to share in the dreadful event know what you know. They know how hard each day, each minute is to your spirit.
Most of the year I can speak quite clinically about the daughter that once was then wasn't. But come the time between the anniversary of her birth and the anniversary of her death come the "dark" times when you mentally write those notes daily, sometimes hourly.
The times you can't tell if you are tired from lack of sleep or tired from the grief that wraps around your heart and squeezes.
Then when you are just about ready to grab that notepad, the date passes and the squeeze around your heart lessens and you breath a sigh and know that for a while you can go on. And you store away that notepad for another year.
At that time I remind myself how fortunate I was to have had a daughter so wonderful that the pain of losing her lasts a lifetime.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
And when she died I lost more then bits and pieces of myself. More then bits and pieces that I never found again. Losing a child is indescribable, words can't speak to that kind of grief and pain.
An emmy award should be given to every parent who has ever lost a child and not turned to drugs or alcohol to anesthetize themselves against the pain. Because those of us that survive without drug or alcohol become award winning actors portraying the living.
You learn to smile and laugh. You fake happiness and mentally write suicide notes. You get really good at faking, until the time draws near to the anniversary of their death.
And then you can't hide it very well and those that know you best, that were there to share in the dreadful event know what you know. They know how hard each day, each minute is to your spirit.
Most of the year I can speak quite clinically about the daughter that once was then wasn't. But come the time between the anniversary of her birth and the anniversary of her death come the "dark" times when you mentally write those notes daily, sometimes hourly.
The times you can't tell if you are tired from lack of sleep or tired from the grief that wraps around your heart and squeezes.
Then when you are just about ready to grab that notepad, the date passes and the squeeze around your heart lessens and you breath a sigh and know that for a while you can go on. And you store away that notepad for another year.
At that time I remind myself how fortunate I was to have had a daughter so wonderful that the pain of losing her lasts a lifetime.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Thursday, December 3, 2009
What Makes A Person A Parent
To me one of the great mysteries of the universe is how men can disassociate themselves from their children after a divorce. Is it guilt because they aren't there for the day to day routine of parenting? Or are they just totally irresponsible, heartless humans, or better said....inhumans.
During my marriage I never questioned the love my spouse felt for his children. When home, he was there, not mind wandering about life outside the home. Sure he worked long hours and much of the day to day parenting duties were my responsibility but that was not unusual for the times. He had a career and I only had a job, one I could call to tell them I had sick kids and wouldn't be in.
When the the big "D" happened and the kids and I returned to my hometown I felt although more difficult he would continue to see his children. Little did I imagine he wouldn't see his children for fourteen years.
He missed school plays, T-Ball, Football and countless wrestling matches. He wasn't there to see one son take first in district. He wasn't there to see the other son take second in state. He couldn't drive the 150 miles to see his son wrestle at Regionals. He couldn't drive 15 miles to watch football games where his sons were football heroes.
He wasn't there when his step daughter, who thought of him as her father, drew her last breath after a vigilante battle with cancer. He wasn't there when her casket was lowered into the ground while her brothers, tears streaming down their faces, said goodbye to their much loved sister.
He wasn't there in the months and years to follow as they struggled with their grief. He didn't call to console them. I don't think he even thought about their loss.
What kind of man was he? I don't know. I have thought and thought about what kind of man he is. He spent thirty years serving his country. He loves his sister, nieces and nephews and was a devoted son. But he couldn't put his children's needs in front of his own.
I consider myself to be a bright women but wonder how I could have been so stupid to think this man had the potential to be a father. It makes me question my ability to judge people. Maybe that is why I have never remarried.
What is even more amazing is that my story is not unique. I have heard so many sad stories from single Moms about the "lost" Dads. What causes this phenomenon? Is it a genetic flaw that only men carry? We know it is a character flaw, but could it be a genetic flaw?
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
During my marriage I never questioned the love my spouse felt for his children. When home, he was there, not mind wandering about life outside the home. Sure he worked long hours and much of the day to day parenting duties were my responsibility but that was not unusual for the times. He had a career and I only had a job, one I could call to tell them I had sick kids and wouldn't be in.
When the the big "D" happened and the kids and I returned to my hometown I felt although more difficult he would continue to see his children. Little did I imagine he wouldn't see his children for fourteen years.
He missed school plays, T-Ball, Football and countless wrestling matches. He wasn't there to see one son take first in district. He wasn't there to see the other son take second in state. He couldn't drive the 150 miles to see his son wrestle at Regionals. He couldn't drive 15 miles to watch football games where his sons were football heroes.
He wasn't there when his step daughter, who thought of him as her father, drew her last breath after a vigilante battle with cancer. He wasn't there when her casket was lowered into the ground while her brothers, tears streaming down their faces, said goodbye to their much loved sister.
He wasn't there in the months and years to follow as they struggled with their grief. He didn't call to console them. I don't think he even thought about their loss.
What kind of man was he? I don't know. I have thought and thought about what kind of man he is. He spent thirty years serving his country. He loves his sister, nieces and nephews and was a devoted son. But he couldn't put his children's needs in front of his own.
I consider myself to be a bright women but wonder how I could have been so stupid to think this man had the potential to be a father. It makes me question my ability to judge people. Maybe that is why I have never remarried.
What is even more amazing is that my story is not unique. I have heard so many sad stories from single Moms about the "lost" Dads. What causes this phenomenon? Is it a genetic flaw that only men carry? We know it is a character flaw, but could it be a genetic flaw?
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Saturday, November 28, 2009
It's Been A Long Time
It has been a long time since my last blog. Some of the fun of blogging came to an end when the blog I posted about the layoffs at my job, at a company that shall remain nameless, was found and read by someone then emailed all around my corporate office. I guess they had several meetings trying to decide what to do about the "corporate rebel". Of course no one told me. I could have explained that the only people that read my blog were my friends who didn't give a good God D*** about the company I worked for. They didn't know my readership was about 10 people a month. They finally asked me about it and seemed appeased by my limited readership. It was a pathetic waste of corporate time at a time when the company was losing money. It seems, as most of us know, there is little common sense in the corporate world today.
Oh well enough about that. We had a nice Thanksgiving. I longed for the days when I had all of my family together. As much as we want our children to grow up and become grown ups, we spend the rest of our lives missing them. What they should tell us when we are new parents is that we need to instill in our children that they can never live more then 50 miles from their parents.....ever.
The grandchildren are all fine. Abyah made the wrestling team. I think I am okay with that. I am not so sure that when I see her out on the mat I will be okay. I might run out on the mat to rescue her and pin her opponent. I am not so sure if she wrestle boys her Dad might not run to the mat to pin her opponent. I am sure I will have some good stories to tell about the exploits of her wrestling matches.
Jaclyn is doing well too. She has the funniest sense of humor. Between the mother and the Nana she is doomed to a quirky sense of humor. Fortunately she still thinks boys are stinky and is remaining a little girl for a little more. She is very very smart and does very well in school. Which makes me very happy.
Brooklyn is suppose to have a vocabulary of about 20 words at nearly two. She is about 16 months old and probably has at least a 200 + word vocabulary. She is in the infant class at her day care and we were very concerned when she started, afraid she would be picked on. However, it seems she is the class bully. There is a doll there that every child "knows" is Brooklyn's and they don't touch it. Until one day a little girl took the doll and Brooklyn "took care" of her. And just to prove her point she convinced the little girl to stand by the door that they weren't supposed to open. (It leads to the main lobby of the school) Brooklyn opened the door and shoved the little girl into the hallway, then closed the door and turned and smiled sweetly at the day care worker. They have decided she needs to be moved out of the infant class into the toddler class. They told Mike and Michelle, that Brookie is just too advanced and needs to be moved up. She is a sly one, that Brookie.
I am fine. But really miss Oregon. The class reunion has given me many moments of puzzlement. I have been married twice, recently tried to date and found my man picker is still off. I look at my classmates and the ones that are successful, retired and seem to be, not only content, but downright happy. Now I am a realist and know that they had to have had bumps along the way but somehow they worked through them. It sure makes a difference financially when two people spend their lifetime working together and at retirement they reap the benefits.
It seems there must be a secret in making a marriage work. I wonder if I asked each of my married classmates what their secret was, if I would get a different answer.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Oh well enough about that. We had a nice Thanksgiving. I longed for the days when I had all of my family together. As much as we want our children to grow up and become grown ups, we spend the rest of our lives missing them. What they should tell us when we are new parents is that we need to instill in our children that they can never live more then 50 miles from their parents.....ever.
The grandchildren are all fine. Abyah made the wrestling team. I think I am okay with that. I am not so sure that when I see her out on the mat I will be okay. I might run out on the mat to rescue her and pin her opponent. I am not so sure if she wrestle boys her Dad might not run to the mat to pin her opponent. I am sure I will have some good stories to tell about the exploits of her wrestling matches.
Jaclyn is doing well too. She has the funniest sense of humor. Between the mother and the Nana she is doomed to a quirky sense of humor. Fortunately she still thinks boys are stinky and is remaining a little girl for a little more. She is very very smart and does very well in school. Which makes me very happy.
Brooklyn is suppose to have a vocabulary of about 20 words at nearly two. She is about 16 months old and probably has at least a 200 + word vocabulary. She is in the infant class at her day care and we were very concerned when she started, afraid she would be picked on. However, it seems she is the class bully. There is a doll there that every child "knows" is Brooklyn's and they don't touch it. Until one day a little girl took the doll and Brooklyn "took care" of her. And just to prove her point she convinced the little girl to stand by the door that they weren't supposed to open. (It leads to the main lobby of the school) Brooklyn opened the door and shoved the little girl into the hallway, then closed the door and turned and smiled sweetly at the day care worker. They have decided she needs to be moved out of the infant class into the toddler class. They told Mike and Michelle, that Brookie is just too advanced and needs to be moved up. She is a sly one, that Brookie.
I am fine. But really miss Oregon. The class reunion has given me many moments of puzzlement. I have been married twice, recently tried to date and found my man picker is still off. I look at my classmates and the ones that are successful, retired and seem to be, not only content, but downright happy. Now I am a realist and know that they had to have had bumps along the way but somehow they worked through them. It sure makes a difference financially when two people spend their lifetime working together and at retirement they reap the benefits.
It seems there must be a secret in making a marriage work. I wonder if I asked each of my married classmates what their secret was, if I would get a different answer.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Lela Fields - March 31, 1910 - March 12, 2009
Mama Fields was an inspirational women. She was strong... strong work ethics ...strong faith ... a strong mother. When I married her son I didn't realize what an influence she would have on my life and the lasting love I would have for her.
She came from a simple background. She picked cotton, worked as a domestic and raised four children on her own. She was strong willed and she set an example on all who knew her. She buried two daughters and maintained her faith through out all of that. When Mary Etta died she gave me strength because I knew she had gone through the same thing and came out stronger. She always told me to trust in God and just do the best you can.
When her son and I were going through some very rough times just before our divorce she came and got the children and I to spend a week with her. She literally put me in her bed and held me and comforted me all night. I could feel her strength reaching my soul. For her I gave my marriage one last attempt but when it failed a few months later but I knew I had done the best I could just like Mama said, "just do the best you can, child".
We remained in contact for the next twenty six years. She sent her daughter, my sister in law, to visit over Christmas vacation when Mary Etta was diagnosed with cancer.
Mama lived to be 98, just a few days short of 99 birthday. At her funeral I watched four grandsons and a granddaughter weep. They will all miss her. She raised three of those grandchildren. One a major in the army, one a high school math teacher, all her grandchildren successful and well educated and well spoken. Her legacy.
I was so glad my son, daughter in law and granddaughter were able to get to South Carolina before she died. She hadn't seen Mikey since he was three. As he held her hand apologizing for not coming sooner she squeezed his hand. She had not talked for several days but I know she knew he was there. Mama's bond with her children was too great for her not to have known he was at her side.
Mikey met his cousins he hadn't seen since he was three. You could see the bond between them. Not only did they look so much alike but there was such a bond...Mama's bond. They are now calling each other every few days and plan on spending time together this summer.
And for me such a blessing. I had been gone from the family for 26 years but they still called me Aunt Carol. And wonders of wonders they are calling me every few days. These grown men calling me because they missed me too. Pretty amazing. And even now I weep with wonder.
When I saw how much my children had missed being a part of the family I was pretty angry at their Dad for not keeping them involved in their lives. But then I remembered how Michael held his grandmother's hand and I knew we were always a part of their lives. I thought about the Christmas decorations that hung on the tree each Christmas that held pictures of the cousins.
Mama passed on a legacy to her children, her grandchildren and to me. I knew if she could survive all the pain of living I could too. She was my rock and I will miss her but every time I look at my children and grandchildren I will see her strength. And every time I am challenged and want to give up I will remember her words, "just do the best you can, child". I will remember how she trusted in God for her strength and her salvation.
Mama welcomed me in to her family, this white girl from Dundee. But more importantly she welcomed my children from my previous marriage. She was their grandmother and she treated them just like she did her other grandchildren. And for that I will always be grateful. When we came back from Panama, Mama planted a cotton bush and a peanut plant in her garden so Mary Etta and Andy would see how cotton and peanuts were grown. Only someone who has tried to blend a family together will really understand what it meant to me for her to include my children in her love.
Well, Miz Lela, you rest in peace. You deserve it. You worked hard all your life and you created quite a family. I will always miss you but I have you in my heart and I will just do the best I can.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
She came from a simple background. She picked cotton, worked as a domestic and raised four children on her own. She was strong willed and she set an example on all who knew her. She buried two daughters and maintained her faith through out all of that. When Mary Etta died she gave me strength because I knew she had gone through the same thing and came out stronger. She always told me to trust in God and just do the best you can.
When her son and I were going through some very rough times just before our divorce she came and got the children and I to spend a week with her. She literally put me in her bed and held me and comforted me all night. I could feel her strength reaching my soul. For her I gave my marriage one last attempt but when it failed a few months later but I knew I had done the best I could just like Mama said, "just do the best you can, child".
We remained in contact for the next twenty six years. She sent her daughter, my sister in law, to visit over Christmas vacation when Mary Etta was diagnosed with cancer.
Mama lived to be 98, just a few days short of 99 birthday. At her funeral I watched four grandsons and a granddaughter weep. They will all miss her. She raised three of those grandchildren. One a major in the army, one a high school math teacher, all her grandchildren successful and well educated and well spoken. Her legacy.
I was so glad my son, daughter in law and granddaughter were able to get to South Carolina before she died. She hadn't seen Mikey since he was three. As he held her hand apologizing for not coming sooner she squeezed his hand. She had not talked for several days but I know she knew he was there. Mama's bond with her children was too great for her not to have known he was at her side.
Mikey met his cousins he hadn't seen since he was three. You could see the bond between them. Not only did they look so much alike but there was such a bond...Mama's bond. They are now calling each other every few days and plan on spending time together this summer.
And for me such a blessing. I had been gone from the family for 26 years but they still called me Aunt Carol. And wonders of wonders they are calling me every few days. These grown men calling me because they missed me too. Pretty amazing. And even now I weep with wonder.
When I saw how much my children had missed being a part of the family I was pretty angry at their Dad for not keeping them involved in their lives. But then I remembered how Michael held his grandmother's hand and I knew we were always a part of their lives. I thought about the Christmas decorations that hung on the tree each Christmas that held pictures of the cousins.
Mama passed on a legacy to her children, her grandchildren and to me. I knew if she could survive all the pain of living I could too. She was my rock and I will miss her but every time I look at my children and grandchildren I will see her strength. And every time I am challenged and want to give up I will remember her words, "just do the best you can, child". I will remember how she trusted in God for her strength and her salvation.
Mama welcomed me in to her family, this white girl from Dundee. But more importantly she welcomed my children from my previous marriage. She was their grandmother and she treated them just like she did her other grandchildren. And for that I will always be grateful. When we came back from Panama, Mama planted a cotton bush and a peanut plant in her garden so Mary Etta and Andy would see how cotton and peanuts were grown. Only someone who has tried to blend a family together will really understand what it meant to me for her to include my children in her love.
Well, Miz Lela, you rest in peace. You deserve it. You worked hard all your life and you created quite a family. I will always miss you but I have you in my heart and I will just do the best I can.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
LETTERBOXING
I went to Sacramento last weekend to see the girls and be there while Isaac had his back surgery. Which went well by the way. I recently visited a website that described "Letterboxing". People hide a "treasure" then leave clues on a website for people to follow then find the "treasure". Apparently "Letterboxing" it is quite widespread around the world. So in the spirit of adventure Jenny, the girls and I spent Sunday going on our first treasure hunt. Armed with the clues we spent the first hour and a half hiking through the woods and digging around trees and under rocks. Since we weren't getting any where we decided to go back to the car to reconnoiter. Re-reading the clues we realized we had not followed them. We found the start of the trail not the end where we had been searching and after about an hour Jac and Abyah found the buried treasure. It was a log book where you write your name and date then rebury. We had written a quick letter telling a little about ourselves which we added to the treasure. Actually it was a tupperware bowl sealed in several sealed plastic baggies. We had so much fun!!! This is a great activity for children and I highly recommend it. It would be a great activity for a birthday party or a grandparent-grandchild adventure. Jac and Bubba want to do their own treasure hunt so they are going to ask Grandpa Brisco (Jenny's Dad) to help them find a good location on public land to hide their own "treasure". Then Jac will write the clues and put them online at the website. Here is the website that describes letterboxing and where you find the "treasure hunts" in your area. We will do one each time I go to visit.
I am looking forward to our class reunion. It is hard to imagine we have been out of high school for 45 years. I don't feel that old. But it will be fun to get together with old friends.
Brooklyn gets cuter every day. Living in Mike and Michelles "backyard" I see Brookie everyday. After a day at work I love playing with her. She is so good natured and happy that the stresses of the day melt away.
Mike had a big shock Friday. The company he had worked for for 9 years, Empire Pacific Windows, fired him. Unfortunately I could see the writing on the wall a year ago when Mike had his boss over for dinner. I seldom use the "race card" but I told Michael then to watch himself because his boss was a serious racist and that no amount of selling windows would save his job. And unfortunately I was right. After being transferred to LA Mike has consistently built up a business with no help from his company. They refused to spend any marketing dollars to make their prominence known. Mike has sold almost a million dollars in windows in the past year and after developing business relationships with contractors and window vendors he was asked to turn over his territory to another sales rep well known for his sales of cocaine rather then windows. Mike was given a new territory.....Compton. He already has several job offers pending so he will be all right. The unethical business practices of companies for the past eight years must be turned around by our new president. Countless lives have been changed by the past eight years of malice against the American people brought about by criminals pretending to be elected officials. I thought the shame of the 60's, Vietnam, taught us to be less trusting of our government but nothing prepared us for the reign of terror the Bush family and his cronies, the oil companies and financial institutions inflicted on the American people. They had no responsibilities except to line their pockets with the souls of the American populace. I know we are looking to Obama to be our Savior but it will take many years to undo what the Bushite's reign of greed has done to America. I suppose there are still a few who may look at the Republican party with favor but they need only look at their 401K plan to see how much he cared for the people who wanted him elected.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Mother In Law Apt
Mike and Michelle found a house to rent that has a mother-in-law behind it. This is quite common here in California. So I will inhabit the mother-in-law apartment. Diane was quite upset but fortunately she found another renter right a way. I have spent today going through my stuff. It is amazing how much you accumulate in just a few months. I went through my closet and got rid of the clothes that no longer fit because I have lost weight. That feels good by the way. The weight loss is going slower but I am still losing. My goal is to be unrecognizable by the class reunion.
I have been in training for my new position at work. It is a lot of details to learn but having worked in conjunction with this position I have an advantage over a new hire.
This weekend passed with out a date. I kind of expected my friend from last weekend to call. But he didn't but he did send an email mentioning it had been 8 days since he saw me. I am not sure what he meant by that. This dating thing is so weird. I am not sure if I was supposed to call him to arrange a date. Does that mean I pay? The last time I dated was before marriage and the boy still paid. I guess I will wait and see. Maybe I should rename my blog Still Single in Burbank.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
I have been in training for my new position at work. It is a lot of details to learn but having worked in conjunction with this position I have an advantage over a new hire.
This weekend passed with out a date. I kind of expected my friend from last weekend to call. But he didn't but he did send an email mentioning it had been 8 days since he saw me. I am not sure what he meant by that. This dating thing is so weird. I am not sure if I was supposed to call him to arrange a date. Does that mean I pay? The last time I dated was before marriage and the boy still paid. I guess I will wait and see. Maybe I should rename my blog Still Single in Burbank.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Nigerian Dating Scams
As I noted in my last blog I experienced the Nigerian Dating Scam that has been featured on Oprah. After the "Irish" Nigerian who wanted me to send him 5K, another fellow and I exchanged emails. He said he was a 66 year single dad and lived in California. Again his emails seemed disjointed so after the first few I received I stopped emailing him back. A couple of days later I received a bouquet of 50 red roses and a teddy bear delivered to my job. The card threw me for a loop. The guy professed his undying love. I had told him in my first couple of emails where I worked. (not so smart). Suddenly I thought I had a crazy stalker and was real glad he didn't have my home address or phone number. I emailed him that evening and told him I wasn't impressed and he needed to stop. I actually was a little scared he might show up after work so I took several precautions. Mike, Michelle, Brooklyn, Maddie and I went to Sacramento for the holiday and that Friday when I returned to work I received another even bigger bouquet, a teddy bear and a box of chocolates.(Where is forrest Gump when you need him) When I got home that night I started thinking about Nigerian scams and googled it and found a website dedicated to Nigerian Dating Scams. It seems they go into dating sites, put pictures they have stolen off of the Internet and post profiles of people that seem quite genuine. When they don't have any luck "hooking" the man or women they are trying to scam they start sending flowers purchased with stolen credit cards. The person sending me the flowers was actually text book in how the scam works. Unfortunately he didn't realize he was dealing with someone who was neither desperate, lonely or stupid to send money or fall for their scam. I called the flower company and said I understood they could not tell me who sent the flowers but I told them I thought they were paid for with a stolen credit card. I "suggested" they check because I felt there would be a third order placed. She checked and said I was right it was done with a stolen credit cards.
From my research on the web I learned that in the last 90 days men and women from the US have sent over a million dollars to Nigerians whom they think they are in love with. I spent the better part of Sunday reading the saddest emails from people who have been scammed. It is hard to understand why someone would fall for the scams but they do. I followed the instructions on the website sending them the email address of this person, and blocked them from being able to communicate with me and reporting the incident on an FBI website for this particular problem. I also reported them to the dating web site so they pulled their profile and I pulled mine. I am not going to use this website again although I know what to look for.
I did meet a very nice man and we lunch this week and then dinner on Friday night. He is 72 years old and very involved in the Episcopalian Church. He is very nice and unfortunately we have something in common. He lost his only child to cancer ten years ago. When we had dinner he brought a poem he had written when his son died and it reminded me so much of the poem I wrote when Mary Etta died. He is very close to his daughter in law who has never re-married and his twin grandchildren so he isn't alone alone. But seeing the sad desperation in someones eyes who has lost a child makes you wish you didn't have this in common. No matter how long it has been you recognize the pain. I don't know if he will call me again but I enjoyed meeting him.
So I know there are good men out there I just need to hone my skills in reading their initial emails to weed out the scammers.
As I mentioned above we went to Sacramento for Thanksgiving and it was wonderful but too short. The highlight was seeing Brooklyn meet her Uncle Isaac. It was the most poignant moment. Brooklyn looked into his eyes like she was imprinting him on her soul and vice versus. You can see this moment on http://fieldsfamilywebsite.web.officelive.com/Brooklyn.aspx . I don't think I have ever seen this kind of a moment before and we all saw it. It was as if she knew him. It was a Kodak moment and thank goodness Michelle took a picture.
Another exciting bit of news. I was offered a promotion at work. And after careful consideration I accepted. It is more money and a lot more work but I think it is the first step to the position I want that will bring me back to Oregon in a few years. I work closely with this position that is located in our field offices and I don't think for the most part it is being done very well and I think I can not only do it but set a model for the rest of the field offices. In part from my experience at Xerox/Tektronix. I didn't think I was really interested in another career but apparently I was wrong. My competitive nature seems to take control. After I was offered the position I knew I couldn't reject it and see someone else get the position. Of course I felt honored being asked because I am truly the one with the least seniority but I think I have the best experience for the position and apparently my manager and the VP thought so too.
Well it is time to get on with my day,
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
From my research on the web I learned that in the last 90 days men and women from the US have sent over a million dollars to Nigerians whom they think they are in love with. I spent the better part of Sunday reading the saddest emails from people who have been scammed. It is hard to understand why someone would fall for the scams but they do. I followed the instructions on the website sending them the email address of this person, and blocked them from being able to communicate with me and reporting the incident on an FBI website for this particular problem. I also reported them to the dating web site so they pulled their profile and I pulled mine. I am not going to use this website again although I know what to look for.
I did meet a very nice man and we lunch this week and then dinner on Friday night. He is 72 years old and very involved in the Episcopalian Church. He is very nice and unfortunately we have something in common. He lost his only child to cancer ten years ago. When we had dinner he brought a poem he had written when his son died and it reminded me so much of the poem I wrote when Mary Etta died. He is very close to his daughter in law who has never re-married and his twin grandchildren so he isn't alone alone. But seeing the sad desperation in someones eyes who has lost a child makes you wish you didn't have this in common. No matter how long it has been you recognize the pain. I don't know if he will call me again but I enjoyed meeting him.
So I know there are good men out there I just need to hone my skills in reading their initial emails to weed out the scammers.
As I mentioned above we went to Sacramento for Thanksgiving and it was wonderful but too short. The highlight was seeing Brooklyn meet her Uncle Isaac. It was the most poignant moment. Brooklyn looked into his eyes like she was imprinting him on her soul and vice versus. You can see this moment on http://fieldsfamilywebsite.web.officelive.com/Brooklyn.aspx . I don't think I have ever seen this kind of a moment before and we all saw it. It was as if she knew him. It was a Kodak moment and thank goodness Michelle took a picture.
Another exciting bit of news. I was offered a promotion at work. And after careful consideration I accepted. It is more money and a lot more work but I think it is the first step to the position I want that will bring me back to Oregon in a few years. I work closely with this position that is located in our field offices and I don't think for the most part it is being done very well and I think I can not only do it but set a model for the rest of the field offices. In part from my experience at Xerox/Tektronix. I didn't think I was really interested in another career but apparently I was wrong. My competitive nature seems to take control. After I was offered the position I knew I couldn't reject it and see someone else get the position. Of course I felt honored being asked because I am truly the one with the least seniority but I think I have the best experience for the position and apparently my manager and the VP thought so too.
Well it is time to get on with my day,
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Dateless in Burbank
I spent this last week much as I did the week before. Nothing really new and the dating scene is pretty nonexistent. I did have a really strange experience. I have been emailing a gentleman from Georgia who said he was from Ireland and new to this country. His emails were a bit odd as he seemed to rattle on rather like he was copying from a relationship book. I even commented on it. It was like he didn't even read my emails. He told me a couple of weeks ago that he had to go back to the UK because he won a bid on building some sort of project. He continued to send rather strange emails and yesterday I got the clincher. He said there had been a piece of equipment stolen and could I loan him $5000 dollars to replace it. I didn't answer and then reported him to the dating web site as a scammer. They immediately pulled his ad. I got a little curious and spent Saturday night (because I have no dates and a lot of time on my hands)looking on some other dating web sites and found him on another under a different user name. He was ignorant enough to put a picture. I reported him and sent a copy of the email and they pulled his ad. I actually don't think it was an actual person. I think it was something like the Nigerian scam that occasionally turn up in your email. I find it hard to believe that anyone falls for that but I read about the women in Sweet Home that lost everything to a Nigerian scam. I decided that reporting him to the web sites wasn't enough so I emailed yahoo so they could monitor his email or something. They are investigating. I am sure there are a lot of guys out there like that but it is hard to imagine anyone being gullible enough to send anyone money or anything else for that matter.
I still feel meeting someone on line is safe if you use common sense. I email a couple of guys and have developed quite a friendship with one. Since he is across the US I will never meet him but it is fun to get acquainted that way.
I spent the day with Brooklyn, Mikey and Michelle. She is so much fun and so adorable. She is so advanced for her age. One of the new things is she gives kisses. Jaclyn called Saturday and told me she was student of the month and tried to sound so blase about it. Abyah turned 8 Saturday with a pizza party with friends. I have been asking her what she wants for her birthday since we will celebrate it when we go up for Thanksgiving and she finally decided she wants a game for the WII called WII Cheer. I looked it up and seems to be a great game, more exercise then game.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends,
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
I still feel meeting someone on line is safe if you use common sense. I email a couple of guys and have developed quite a friendship with one. Since he is across the US I will never meet him but it is fun to get acquainted that way.
I spent the day with Brooklyn, Mikey and Michelle. She is so much fun and so adorable. She is so advanced for her age. One of the new things is she gives kisses. Jaclyn called Saturday and told me she was student of the month and tried to sound so blase about it. Abyah turned 8 Saturday with a pizza party with friends. I have been asking her what she wants for her birthday since we will celebrate it when we go up for Thanksgiving and she finally decided she wants a game for the WII called WII Cheer. I looked it up and seems to be a great game, more exercise then game.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends,
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Sunday, November 16, 2008
SMOKIN!
Fortunately we are far enough from the fires that we are in no danger but the air quality is horrible. I have not been able to walk for two days now. I learned after the last fire that was at the studio where old film was burned that you have to stay inside and run the air conditioner to avoid smoke inhalation. If you all remember I ended out in the hospital over night getting inhalation therapy for my asthma.
Yesterday I was driving to my dentist and could see the smoke billowing over the hills. So many people have lost their home and apartments. Of course most people who had homes had insurance but most people don't have renters insurance and will out of luck. Landlords only replace the building not the renter's personal contents. If only California could get some good old Oregon rain.
We did have a week of cloudy rainy days and if you can believe it or not I missed the sunshine. Pray that I am not turning into a Californian. I guess I better get my Birkenstocks out and wear them for a few days to remind myself that I AM AN OREGONIAN!
I haven't done much for the past few weeks. I have spent quite a bit of time at Mike and Michelle's playing with Brooklyn who now LOVES her Nana. In fact I am going over for lunch in a bit. Brooklyn is just so adorable. Her latest is watching Maddie and giggling at her. It is the cutest. Because she is using her hands so much when Maddie reaches down Brooklyn pokes her in the eyes and pulls on the skin on her face and Maddie just licks her.
Mike, Michelle, Brooklyn and I are driving up the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to spend the day with Isaac and family. I hope that Andy is flying in too. We will have to drive back Thanksgiving evening but at least we will be together for Thanksgiving. Christmas Mike, Michelle and Brooklyn are flying home to Minnesota to spend a week with the her family and I know her family can hardly wait to see Brooklyn. I will have to work the day after Christmas so I will spend Christmas here with Diane's family. It will be a big Italian Christmas which will include singing around the piano. I think it will be a lot of fun.
Halloween at Aramark was an event. Most people dressed up and they put so much pressure on me to dress up the night before Halloween I scrambled to get a costume. I stopped at Rite-Aid and wandered around looking for inspiration when I spotted a package of the small individual packs of cereal and got inspired. I took the boxes and used tape and stuck them on a shirt with plastic knives sticking out of them and dripped red on a the shirt and said I was a cereal killer. I didn't win any prizes but got a lot of laughs. Of course being so close to Hollywood there were amazing costumes but hey anyone can dress as Moses. It was great fun and I have put on my think cap for next year. Any suggestions?
I am still trying to figure out Senior Dating. Last night I was IM one fellow, emailing another and texting yet another all at the same time. It was hilarious and I realized I didn't care if I met any of them. It was just great fun flirting with them. More on this subject later.
Have to run to rescue Brooklyn from her parents so we can have some fun.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Yesterday I was driving to my dentist and could see the smoke billowing over the hills. So many people have lost their home and apartments. Of course most people who had homes had insurance but most people don't have renters insurance and will out of luck. Landlords only replace the building not the renter's personal contents. If only California could get some good old Oregon rain.
We did have a week of cloudy rainy days and if you can believe it or not I missed the sunshine. Pray that I am not turning into a Californian. I guess I better get my Birkenstocks out and wear them for a few days to remind myself that I AM AN OREGONIAN!
I haven't done much for the past few weeks. I have spent quite a bit of time at Mike and Michelle's playing with Brooklyn who now LOVES her Nana. In fact I am going over for lunch in a bit. Brooklyn is just so adorable. Her latest is watching Maddie and giggling at her. It is the cutest. Because she is using her hands so much when Maddie reaches down Brooklyn pokes her in the eyes and pulls on the skin on her face and Maddie just licks her.
Mike, Michelle, Brooklyn and I are driving up the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to spend the day with Isaac and family. I hope that Andy is flying in too. We will have to drive back Thanksgiving evening but at least we will be together for Thanksgiving. Christmas Mike, Michelle and Brooklyn are flying home to Minnesota to spend a week with the her family and I know her family can hardly wait to see Brooklyn. I will have to work the day after Christmas so I will spend Christmas here with Diane's family. It will be a big Italian Christmas which will include singing around the piano. I think it will be a lot of fun.
Halloween at Aramark was an event. Most people dressed up and they put so much pressure on me to dress up the night before Halloween I scrambled to get a costume. I stopped at Rite-Aid and wandered around looking for inspiration when I spotted a package of the small individual packs of cereal and got inspired. I took the boxes and used tape and stuck them on a shirt with plastic knives sticking out of them and dripped red on a the shirt and said I was a cereal killer. I didn't win any prizes but got a lot of laughs. Of course being so close to Hollywood there were amazing costumes but hey anyone can dress as Moses. It was great fun and I have put on my think cap for next year. Any suggestions?
I am still trying to figure out Senior Dating. Last night I was IM one fellow, emailing another and texting yet another all at the same time. It was hilarious and I realized I didn't care if I met any of them. It was just great fun flirting with them. More on this subject later.
Have to run to rescue Brooklyn from her parents so we can have some fun.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Internet Dating
There has been absolutely nothing exciting happening in Burbank for the last couple of weeks. I house sat for Mike and Michelle and little Brooklyn when they went up to Oregon to visit their friends and introduce Brooklyn to her Uncle Andy. Who by the way has lost 100 pounds. Isn't that amazing. He looks great. So while they were gone I took care of their house and Maddie. Maddie went with me on my early morning walks and I tried to teach her to heel. I read up on it on the Internet and I think I would have been successful if her leash hadn't broken. I had to buy one from Rite-Aid so I could take her out at lunch and it was way too short. It worked in an emergency. She is such a smart dog. On one of the mornings I met this older gentleman on the bike path and I rained Maddie in so she wouldn't jump on him and lick him to death. He was carrying a golf club and raised it and said keep her away from him. I was so startled I didn't respond. She couldn't have reached him but I knew he was deathly afraid of dogs. I should have called the police but I told my roommate instead and she and all the dog people who are out when walks confronted him and told him the next time he walked with a weapon they would call the police. In fact she did call the police and they told her if he was out again with the golf club to immediately call 911. Well I guess he knows not to screw with Maddie and I again. All the dog people of Burbank are watching for him.
I am considering starting another blog. This one about the world of dating when you are a senior citizen. I haven't done much dating since my divorce in 1983. And for some odd reason I decided I want to date again. I must be a glutton for punishment or mentally deranged. So I actually had my first date. We had emailed and spoken on the phone for two or three weeks until I felt comfortable meeting him. It turned out he was so nice and we had the best time. We both acknowledged we felt very comfortable with each other like we had been friends for a long time. After our first date I heard from him a couple of times and then nothing. I have no idea what happened but apparently he didn't have as much fun as I thought. I was a bit disappointed but as the saying goes "one monkey doesn't stop the show".
Not to be discouraged I registered on a dating web site and that has been hilarious. You would think that men in their sixties would be different from boys in their teens. But they are not any different at 66 then they are at 16. They still bring up sex in their first emails. One guy from the Midwest wrote this long email without one single period and every other word was misspelled. And he was willing to re-locate. Lucky me.
Another fellow went so far as to leave me pathetically,what he considered to be erotic emails. I emailed him back that I thought that there might be 800 numbers he could call for that sort of thing.
Of course you have to be careful about this Internet dating but since I am basically untraceable and I use precautions I don't have serious concerns. You control how much they know about you. So we shall see where this takes me. Of course my first priority is taking care of myself so it will have to be a prince charming for me to give up my independence.
I will keep you all informed about my lovelife or lack there of.
Love to your and yours,
NanaCarol
I am considering starting another blog. This one about the world of dating when you are a senior citizen. I haven't done much dating since my divorce in 1983. And for some odd reason I decided I want to date again. I must be a glutton for punishment or mentally deranged. So I actually had my first date. We had emailed and spoken on the phone for two or three weeks until I felt comfortable meeting him. It turned out he was so nice and we had the best time. We both acknowledged we felt very comfortable with each other like we had been friends for a long time. After our first date I heard from him a couple of times and then nothing. I have no idea what happened but apparently he didn't have as much fun as I thought. I was a bit disappointed but as the saying goes "one monkey doesn't stop the show".
Not to be discouraged I registered on a dating web site and that has been hilarious. You would think that men in their sixties would be different from boys in their teens. But they are not any different at 66 then they are at 16. They still bring up sex in their first emails. One guy from the Midwest wrote this long email without one single period and every other word was misspelled. And he was willing to re-locate. Lucky me.
Another fellow went so far as to leave me pathetically,what he considered to be erotic emails. I emailed him back that I thought that there might be 800 numbers he could call for that sort of thing.
Of course you have to be careful about this Internet dating but since I am basically untraceable and I use precautions I don't have serious concerns. You control how much they know about you. So we shall see where this takes me. Of course my first priority is taking care of myself so it will have to be a prince charming for me to give up my independence.
I will keep you all informed about my lovelife or lack there of.
Love to your and yours,
NanaCarol
Saturday, October 4, 2008
SPEED RACER
Here are two of my little girls. Abyah is on the track team at her grade school and had her first competition. I wish I could have been there. She is so long and leggy and is a great runner. She reminds me of Sara Hill with her blond hair flipping as she runs like a gazelle. And Jaclyn is the encouraging big sister who met her at the finish line. I am so proud of both of them.
I have started walking this week. Since I don't seem to be able to sleep past 2:30 or 3:30 I decided rather then toss and turn I would get up, put on my walking shoes and hit the bike path that runs in front of our house. So there I am at 4 in the morning huffing and puffing but I am up to two miles and am quite proud of myself. I have lost 5 pounds doing it this week. Too bad I only have 95 more to go. My goal is to be able to walk to and from work. It is about 3 miles and during the winter weather once I have built up my stamina it should get me in shape. I had forgotten how good you feel when you exercise. And it shows. Everyone at work has noticed a change in me. They say I am glowing. Personally I think I have been exposed to some random chemical here in California, maybe radiation.
I went to the bank yesterday and the teller told me I looked so good in my beige blouse, that it was my color. Then I went to the bus stop and this old guy had his eye on me. I hugged my purse tighter but then he sat next to me on the bus and tried to strike up a conversation. I wasn't too worried because I knew I could "take him" as he was just a "spindly dude" as the boys used to say. To bad he was speaking Armenian and I didn't understand a word he was saying. I kept smiling and nodding and wondering if I was selling my first born for a goat. He didn't follow me off the bus but I had my eye on him. After years of experience of riding the buses in Peru and having to defend my body against groping hands I know how to deflect unwanted fingers!
This weekend is cloudy and it is suppose to rain, an Oregon day and I love it although I wanted to go to Griffin Observatory to star gaze on Saturday night. Maybe next weekend. My friend Stevie who grew up in LA but lives in Oregon told me about it and I goggled it and it looks really nice. So it is on my list of must see. In Oregon we seldom have clear days so star gazing hasn't been on my list.
Diane's son Danny came up from San Francisco for the week-end and spent the night here. Diane cooked lamb with prunes and apple sauce and spinach on a bed of pasta and it was divine. I went to bed and fell asleep to their laughing and talking and actually slept until 7:30 this morning. It is a wonderful thing when our children become adults and we can have grown up conversations with them.
I am hoping to go to Mike and Michelle's today to see little Brooklyn and watch the duck's game. I saw her once this week and wish I could see her every day. Babies change so quickly at this age. Mike and Michelle are so good with her. And boy does she love her Mom and Dad. She just watches them when I am holding her. She wants to make sure she doesn't get left with her evil Nana. I am totally going to enjoy teasing her about this when she is older. For those of you who don't have their web site here it is. Michelle keeps it updated with new pictures of "little Brooklyn like the Bridge".
http://fieldsfamilywebsite.web.officelive.com/default.aspx
http://fieldsfamilywebsite.web.officelive.com/default.aspx
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Sunday, September 28, 2008
TOURING LA
Yesterday I had a most pleasurable day. A friend took me down to Olivera Street in LA. It is reminiscent of the open markets in Central and South America. We went into an older Spanish Mission style church which was beautiful. We also toured the oldest adobe home where the furniture, linen and pottery was amazing. They had a couple of hand tooled saddles and I know Mary Etta would have been impressed with them. One of them was quite unusual and I asked my friend how you would ride it and the answer was very carefully. And that was the truth. It looked like it would have been quite awkward. The home took you to a past time of Los Angeles where the Spanish influence was very strong. We also went to the train station which was absolutely gorgeous. The architecture, tiling and wood was unbelievable. It had an open courtyard where you could sit and visit. After leaving the train station, where I might add I wasn't thrown in front of a train, we walked around China town and enjoyed all the sights.
I babysat little Brooklyn a couple of times this week and she still cried but not as much. I took a reinforcement this time. One of my co-workers is a Grandma and I wanted to see how Brooklyn reacted to her and of course she coo'd and smiled her little heart out. I have it figured out that she is playing me. I think little Brooklyn knows if all else fails I will try to buy her love with Barbie dolls. I think she has been talking to Jac and Bubba in that secret grandchild language and the two older girls have told her that all grandparents are big suckers. Right little Brooklyn?
She is absolutely the cutest little baby. I have been so lucky that all my grandchildren have been exceptionally cute. But I think all grandparents think the same thing about their g'children. Aren't we lucky?
Jenny called me Friday night from Jac's school carnival moaning about the fact that Jac didn't want her hanging around with her. She wanted to be with her friends. So it has started. I told Jenny to hang tough the bumpy ride of adolescents was starting. Part of me felt sorry for Isaac and Jenny but then having gone on that ride four times I almost felt a little glee. It is part of the payback Grandparents enjoy. The girls had fun as you can see from the pictures I am enclosing.
Mike and Michelle are going to Oregon next weekend and I will be house sitting and taking care of my granddog Maddie. I tried to get them to take Maddie and let me keep Brooklyn but they just looked at me like I was loco.... They want to show the baby off to their friends and to Uncle Andy who will be able to meet his new niece for the first time. So little Brooklyn will get her first airplane ride. Hopes she likes flying more then her Nana.
Well I am leaving to pick Diane up as she comes home from her Caribbean vacation today. She said she enjoyed it and is as brown as a baked potato. I envy her the ability to tan. Unlike my ability to burn.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Sunday, September 21, 2008
TOOTHLESS IN BURBANK
I think my Granddaughter Brooklyn hates her Nana. I went over to watch her and as soon as I picked her up she cried. She cried for about an hour. She cried so much Maddie was getting frantic running to the front door to check if Mike and Michelle were back. I think she figured Brooklyn would stop crying if they came back. Finally I rocked her in a dark room and sang the turalura song that worked for Jac and Bubba. After about a half an hour she finally went to sleep. Shortly after that Mike and Michelle came back with their friends and Mike woke her up so they could see her. And that little girl just coo'd and smiled all over the place. I want Jac and Bubba to call her to talk about being nice to Nana because of the "spoiling factor".
As if having a grandbaby that hates me isn't enough when I got home I had a piece of cold fried chicken and one of the teeth on my lower bridge broke and I ate it. Way to go! So I am going to have to go to work tomorrow and look like someone out of the Lil Abner cartoon. Does life get any better? Oh and I forgot to mention the cold sore on my nose. All in all not a pretty picture.
And all of this while my roommate is in St. Martins sunning herself. What do I get? I'm toothless in Burbank with a cold sore on my nose and babysitting three old dogs. I love my life!
I am sure you all heard about the terrible train accident a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately one of Aramark's employees was on the first train and died. It was such a shock. Shortly after the wreck Aramark personnel starting calling all the employees that purchase train tickets for that route through them and found unfortunately a young man with two children was on the train. Miraculously several people that normally take that train didn't. I received a call about 7 from a co-worker wondering if the "emergency man" rode that train. She is a transplant like I am so she is as geographically challenged as I am. I called another co-worker and found he rides another train. As much as I have poked fun at him it would have been devastating if he had been on that train.
I guess Aramark is not new to tragedy. The food service division lost employees who worked at the Top of the World Restaurant in the World Trade Center on 9/11. But when you think about it Aramark has about 240,000 thousand employees worldwide so I guess the odds are higher.
Hey how about those Ducks? To get beaten by Boise hurts. The game wasn't televised but I monitored it on CNN. Does anybody know a good quarterback? Especially one that doesn't get injured. Well it is a young team and they have a great coach.
Well I think I will go eat some ice cream. It has nuts so maybe I will break another tooth.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
As if having a grandbaby that hates me isn't enough when I got home I had a piece of cold fried chicken and one of the teeth on my lower bridge broke and I ate it. Way to go! So I am going to have to go to work tomorrow and look like someone out of the Lil Abner cartoon. Does life get any better? Oh and I forgot to mention the cold sore on my nose. All in all not a pretty picture.
And all of this while my roommate is in St. Martins sunning herself. What do I get? I'm toothless in Burbank with a cold sore on my nose and babysitting three old dogs. I love my life!
I am sure you all heard about the terrible train accident a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately one of Aramark's employees was on the first train and died. It was such a shock. Shortly after the wreck Aramark personnel starting calling all the employees that purchase train tickets for that route through them and found unfortunately a young man with two children was on the train. Miraculously several people that normally take that train didn't. I received a call about 7 from a co-worker wondering if the "emergency man" rode that train. She is a transplant like I am so she is as geographically challenged as I am. I called another co-worker and found he rides another train. As much as I have poked fun at him it would have been devastating if he had been on that train.
I guess Aramark is not new to tragedy. The food service division lost employees who worked at the Top of the World Restaurant in the World Trade Center on 9/11. But when you think about it Aramark has about 240,000 thousand employees worldwide so I guess the odds are higher.
Hey how about those Ducks? To get beaten by Boise hurts. The game wasn't televised but I monitored it on CNN. Does anybody know a good quarterback? Especially one that doesn't get injured. Well it is a young team and they have a great coach.
Well I think I will go eat some ice cream. It has nuts so maybe I will break another tooth.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Monday, September 1, 2008
GO DUCKS!!!
I had the best birthday if one can have a "best 62nd birthday". The first thing Mikey asked me was I going to start collecting social security. Way to bring the birthday spirit down. I knew I was eligible but I certainly didn't feel like collecting social security. That makes me seem way to old. I'm still working so no Mikey I am too "young" to collect social security.
I spent the day with Brooklyn, Michelle and Mikey. Mikey fixed a great breakfast and lunch and Michelle grilled great steaks. And I got to spend the day playing with "Kooky". She is just hilarious. Of course we watched the opening day of college football and she was engrossed in watching the TV all day. Mikey thinks she was into football. That's right, Mikey, a 10 week old football "phenom". They have a wide screen TV and with all the vivid colors and sounds she seemed engrossed in the game. She did get fussy during the commercial breaks and then calmed right down when the game was on. But I don't think she is a football phenom....or is she? Her Mom was holding her and her Dad walked by and I swear it sounded like she said Dada. I think it was gas. It was a great day and some great college ball. Go Ducks!
The other Fields Family in Sacramento got into the Duck Spirit as well. Abyah even had her face painted. Their house was totally Duck crazy as well as their car. Some poor child from Jaclyn's school asked Isaac why he wasn't rooting for a California team. Jenny said Isaac's eyes rolled back in his head and there was a slight tremor. At least the child apologized later.
I went over and babysat Brooklyn last night while Mike and Michelle went to a neighbor's BBQ and their little three year old Gabby came and visited with me a while. She is adorable with red hair and the personality to match. At one point she told me Mike Fields said "Don't touch my cell phone and I'm serious". She always says Mike Fields when she talks about him. She is just as cute as a button. And dearly loves Baby Brooklyn. And it is a reminder how kids love to repeat things. I am sure we have all been embarrassed at things our kids have repeated. I remember Mary Etta telling her first grade classmates during show and tell about an argument her Mom and Dad had the previous night. Her teacher thought it was funny and called me about it.
Well I am off to lunch with M&M and B.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Kokaroo Kokaroo
I had a wonderful time with Jaclyn and Abyah this weekend. I started my journey to Sacramento about 9:30 Friday morning. And of course I started my day with the usual “Carol experience”. To get on the freeway I had to drive by my work and who should be prancing down the sidewalk but "Mr. Emergency Man" wearing his yellow emergency vest. Apparently they had a fire drill and had to evacuate the building. Of course no one from my team was with him. As planned after our experience during the earthquake everyone left the building without his assistance. Anyway that was my last image before I got on the freeway….the yellow emergency vest. At least I think he had it on right this time instead of backwards.
Sacramento is 400 miles and after the “grapevine” it is smooth sailing. I really looked forward to the alone time and took several books on tape. The first one I listened to lasted all the way to and about an hour on the return trip. I highly recommend Pat Conroy’s Beach Music. His lyrical words kept me intrigued. The book is about a man and his life with 4 brothers growing up in South Carolina. So it brought back memories of my three years in the South. Books on tape are far more entertaining and relaxing then TV. You are being read a story and you use your imagination to picture it in your mind. It is the only way to travel. Surprisingly it doesn't distract you from driving either.
I arrived in Sacramento around five and of course the first thing we did was go out for pizza. And then I spent the rest of the evening snuggling with the girls and visiting with Jenny and Isaac. They moved to Cameron Park several months ago and it is a great improvement from Sacramento. Jenny's Mom lives just down the street and her sister is about a mile away. Saturday I woke up to the great smell of one of Isaac's delicious breakfasts. He is a wonderful cook. Then we went to a few garage sales before hitting the mall to school shop for the girls. It was so much fun being with them. After a shop til you drop day we went home and played video games. I was getting quite good when I was in Sacramento before and found I hadn't totally lost my skill. I won one game but I really think Jac let me win.
The next morning after a tearful goodbye I started back to Burbank. The land is quite hot and arid and when I stopped for gas (which you have to pump yourself --- yuk!) I saw it was 109 degrees. When I got back in the car I cranked up the air condition. That is way to hot for an Oregon gal! I arrived back in Burbank just in time to go to bed to get up in the morning and go to work. I plan on going back to spend a few days with the girls for Abyah's birthday in November.
And just when you think life can't get any better I spent last evening taking care of Brooklyn who gets cuter each time I see her. Her father has nicknamed her Kooky because she makes the cutest sounds. It is almost sounds like she is saying kokaroo kokaroo. Now when she starts to cry her bottom lip comes out and quivers and it is so cute. She is such a sweet disposition. I hope they have another one soon. You can never have enough grandchildren!
I miss you all and would love a visit.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
Sacramento is 400 miles and after the “grapevine” it is smooth sailing. I really looked forward to the alone time and took several books on tape. The first one I listened to lasted all the way to and about an hour on the return trip. I highly recommend Pat Conroy’s Beach Music. His lyrical words kept me intrigued. The book is about a man and his life with 4 brothers growing up in South Carolina. So it brought back memories of my three years in the South. Books on tape are far more entertaining and relaxing then TV. You are being read a story and you use your imagination to picture it in your mind. It is the only way to travel. Surprisingly it doesn't distract you from driving either.
I arrived in Sacramento around five and of course the first thing we did was go out for pizza. And then I spent the rest of the evening snuggling with the girls and visiting with Jenny and Isaac. They moved to Cameron Park several months ago and it is a great improvement from Sacramento. Jenny's Mom lives just down the street and her sister is about a mile away. Saturday I woke up to the great smell of one of Isaac's delicious breakfasts. He is a wonderful cook. Then we went to a few garage sales before hitting the mall to school shop for the girls. It was so much fun being with them. After a shop til you drop day we went home and played video games. I was getting quite good when I was in Sacramento before and found I hadn't totally lost my skill. I won one game but I really think Jac let me win.
The next morning after a tearful goodbye I started back to Burbank. The land is quite hot and arid and when I stopped for gas (which you have to pump yourself --- yuk!) I saw it was 109 degrees. When I got back in the car I cranked up the air condition. That is way to hot for an Oregon gal! I arrived back in Burbank just in time to go to bed to get up in the morning and go to work. I plan on going back to spend a few days with the girls for Abyah's birthday in November.
And just when you think life can't get any better I spent last evening taking care of Brooklyn who gets cuter each time I see her. Her father has nicknamed her Kooky because she makes the cutest sounds. It is almost sounds like she is saying kokaroo kokaroo. Now when she starts to cry her bottom lip comes out and quivers and it is so cute. She is such a sweet disposition. I hope they have another one soon. You can never have enough grandchildren!
I miss you all and would love a visit.
Love to you and yours,
NanaCarol
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