Grabbing a Minute or Two

The girls. Just five. They desperately want to come out to roam the yard and eat bugs and snails, but there is a fox lurking in the shadows who is also hungry.

Planning a pumpkin patch at home, but this time it will have actual pumpkins instead of the usual punkins I love so much. I'll just tend to that kind at work. Work has been busy, filled with smiling (and sometimes crying) children. I like it. I really do.

Not much time left over for blogging. It's a little sad, but I still love all of you.

The Barn Collective

I'm still here, just busier than I used to be.

On my way to and from work I drive down country roads past fields and farms and think about The Barn Collective. Sometimes I have my camera along, but most days I don't. I haven't stopped much along the way and don't have any new, old barns to post, just an new photo of one I posted in the past. It's a favorite and not long for this world, so here it is again.

For more barns, visit Tom's Barn Collective.

Subtraction

We started the week with eight chickens. Now we have seven. Eight minus one equals seven. --- I let the chickens out every morning. This morning, as I rounded the corner of the barn, I caught sight of a fox running off into the orchard. I decided to feed the chickens and keep them inside.

I cross a set of railroad tracks on my way to and from work. On my way home I had to stop for a train going west. It was going along at a decent clip. I'd waited about two minutes when the end of the line came into sight, but before it could pass a train heading east came along. The second train was moving rather slow. It was another six minutes before the crossing gates lifted and the red lights stopped flashing. I wasn't in a hurry. Good thing. I ate my apples while the train ambled by.

It was baby day at work. I spent the day with the babies. I do like babies, but I missed my 2 year old friends.

Little Ones, and a Little One Too

I didn't feel ready to go back to work this morning. Pulling myself out from under the covers was almost painful but I managed in spite of myself. I drank my coffee on the way and still felt sleepy on arrival, but the smiling faces of my small friends made the effort worthwhile. I'm learning the ropes, and though I was tired after the day was over, I wasn't nearly as tired as I thought I might be. Maybe I'll survive this after all.

Taking pictures at work is surely forbidden so there are no photos of the sweet faces I see each day. Instead I give you another small child, one I am making a slow but sure attempt to love and understand. I haven't always treated her kindly or done my best for her. Learning to do better is a long process. I hope she can be patient with me.

Bits and Pieces and an Apple Blossom Parade

* I received a Mother's Day card in the mail yesterday. I'm pretty sure it was mailed on time since my boy and his family have been in Hawaii all week. It was wrapped in postal plastic with a note from the mailman about its condition.

* I am suffering from severe fatigue, a combination of restructuring my schedule and seasonal allergies.

* Yesterday was the Apple Blossom Parade. We watched from my son's driveway and had a completely new perspective on the entire spectacle. They lined up on the road directly across the street and turned down Main Street right in front of us. It made for some interesting pictures. (Please forgive the rash of photos...)

 * And finally, on our way to church this morning the Cabinet Maker discovered a package on our doorstep. A new coffee mug from my favorite daughter in law! Isn't she just the best?

Apple Blossoms

Went for an orchard walk last night and took my camera along. The trees only blossom for such a short time. Even though I take pictures every year, I can't resist taking more.

It's Apple Blossom weekend and this time I might actually get to watch the parade! I don't have to work. How cool is that?

My son is having an "Apple Blossom Smokeout" after the parade. Sounds yummy. I wonder what he's cookin' up? Maybe I'd better plan a very long walk to go along with the feast and festivities...

The black flies are biting. I have proof on the backs of both arms  as well as my neck. They are nasty little creatures! If they stuck around all summer I'd certainly hate those all but micro- scopic pests even more than mosquitoes. They're practically invisible.

Nassa likes walks in the orchard with or without black flies.

Mother's Day

So it was Mother's Day. I wasn't forgotten and that is always nice.

We had pulled pork sandwiches, salt potatoes, and pasta salad. The kids played and drew silly pictures. They laughed and The Grandfather was dismayed when I sang the "Gopher Guts" song. All is quiet now. Tomorrow will be noisy, full of small children, and runny noses. :0)

Just Some Stuff

Two weeks ago, while walking around the loop at North Ponds Park, I found a baby painted turtle. He was crossing the paved trail that winds around the park. I almost didn't see him as his shell blended in with the dark colored pavement, but ever since I was a little girl I've had a habit of watching the ground as I walk, and I did a double take as I caught sight of the little guy. My eyes said it was a turtle, but my mind wasn't sure, so I bent over and picked him up. He was the size of a quarter. After showing him to two little girls on the path behind me, I set him in the dirt on the other side of the path and hoped that the Canada geese occupying the park didn't like baby turtles for snacks.

This morning, on our way out the back door of the daycare on our way to the playground, a little gray tree frog decided to go to school. He was lucky enough to avoid being trampled by the children and teacher who made it out the door ahead of me, but hopped right inside when I bent down to catch him. We called the little ones back to see him and then I stuck him on the wall outside the building. He was up high enough to be safe from little hands, and looked like a living sticker against the gray siding. When we returned an hour later, we found he'd decided to move on.

It was a good day. I wiped noses and dirty bottoms, looked at books and colored pictures, and held little hands. I pushed swings, put on little socks and shoes, kissed boo boos, and became a human jungle gym. I like this job.

(I didn't have my camera along on either of my creature occasions... nor for day I found a dead mouse on the sidewalk by Target... so you'll just have to use your imaginations and settle for these old pictures. Sorry the tree frog here is green instead of gray, but he's still cute, in a frog sort of way.)

And That's That

* It was my last day of sitting with G. Staff at the facility is asking if I am going to be replaced. I don't have an answer. I think they're worried. The day was uneventful. I didn't talk to her about me leaving. I'm afraid it would only confuse her and send her into another outburst. Perhaps she'll miss me, but more than likely she won't. And that's okay. I'm not doing a happy dance over being finished, but I'm not sad either.

* Spring is in full bloom. The apple orchards and lilacs are blooming and everything is fresh and new. Too bad I don't have time to traipse about the countryside with my camera. I do, however, have a few minutes to catch some of the miracle in my own backyard. Those apple blossoms never get old. They are beautiful each and every year.

* When Friday afternoon arrives I will have worked 11 days in a row. I think I'll be ready for the weekend, although it's sure to be busy. Rachel and I will be visiting Tim on weekends now and since Sunday is Mother's Day, that means Saturday is the day this time around. Maybe Priscilla will be free to go with us.

* Life is full of changes and one of the things I'm working on is learning to love myself. I haven't always treated myself kindly so I'm trying to do better. I recently started logging my food intake and counting calories. I'm trying to keep up with walking, I walked over 10,000 steps 9 days in a row, but this past week and a half has left me lacking in the step department. I grabbed the opportunity this morning to take a last Wednesday morning walk with my sister. We'll have to walk evenings or weekends now.

* My new work schedule will require me to rearrange all my usual daytime activities and rethink my evening ones. I will need to find a new prayer group or a prayer partner, and I think I'd like to take another ceramic class, maybe hand building instead of the wheel. But first I have to get through this next weekend, take a deep breath, and exhale.

Getting Down to Eye Level

Years back I posted this little drawing. It's about perspective.

Drawn by my then four year old friend Troy and brought to me with a smile. I glanced at his drawing, not entirely sure what I was actually supposed to see. Looking again, I saw big googly eyes and smiles. I commented to my little friend on the faces he'd drawn. He looked at the paper and smiled himself. But this little boy hadn't been drawing smiling faces at all.

When I turned the paper around the drawing's initial intent came into focus. I suddenly saw, quite clearly, what fascinates many little boys, mine included. He'd been drawing cars. Cars with wheels and windows. It was all so obvious that I laughed at myself.

The classroom at my new job is full of small children, children who desperately need a few adults willing to take a moment to turn "the paper" around and look at life from the perspective of a child. Theses little ones are barely out of babyhood, most still in diapers, and struggling to make their words heard and understood. Not all the adults are willing to get down on their knees, eye level with a child, and look at the world from his point of view. You might think daycare centers are full of people like that, but it isn't necessarily true. Some big people expect an awful lot from those little people.

Say "Cheese!"

The Cabinet Maker said my new job looks good on me. Apparently I was smiling when I came in (late) from work yesterday... and then there is today.

I stopped at Barnes and Nobel on my way in to sit with my friend. I bought some books (surprise!) for a few of my favorite kiddos. Perhaps I should squirrel them away until Christmas but that means practically 8 months of not enjoying them and that just won't do. Besides, these are board books and perfect for a few little hands that can't quite manage regular books.

G. is wound up again. Lots of loud singing, angry outbursts, and attempted manipulation. I'm trying to be patient, but it's hard to be pleasant when my own heart is hurting. Thankfully she is cleaned up, tucked into bed, and quiet for the moment. She is far from asleep; eyes wide open, "looking" around the room... It's going to be a long day of patience working.

Of course, that is not the hurt of my heart. This hurt comes from personal relationship issues. We all have them and we all struggle to work through them. They challenge us over and over on a regular basis. Sometimes I react in the right way, and sometimes I respond poorly. And there are those times when no matter how hard I try to think things through, no matter how prepared I think I am, the situation still manages to catch me off-guard. That was today. I'm tired enough and stretched thin enough and likely hormonal enough to want to crawl into a closet and have a good cry, except I have to be at work for the next seven days (including this one).

So, maybe say a prayer for me. Not a prayer that someone else will see things from my perspective, because that isn't really the problem, but that I will know how to respond properly when I find myself in these situations. My life is full of people (friends, family, and strangers) and I must strive to respond properly even if it is painful to that person or myself.

And because we need something to smile about at the end of this post, a cousin picture of my two youngest grandsons. :0)

Tired

Grabbing a very tired moment to sneak in a post. What a wonderful classroom full of little people. Thankfully, I'm still pretty good at remembering names. There are 7-8 in our room and another 7-8 in the room next door. An entire garden!

Loving small children, in spite of stinky diapers and runny noses, is not the challenge, but you can keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I learn someone else's way of doing things. There is so much to learn and I'm not used to paperwork. I really just like interacting with the little people.

Tonight I spent some time with my very favorite (at this moment) two year old person. Spencer came to play (along with Daddy and baby brother) not long after I got home from work. We put all the cars down the carpet tube, did a couple of puzzles, read "Ten Little Ladybugs," closed up the chicken coop and brought in the eggs, and after supper we drew some pictures. Maybe me working in a daycare will be good for my grandchildren too.

Oh, yeah. I had a nice little snuggle with Number 10 as well. I like him. (Did I already tell you that?)

Transition Time

The big day has arrived. I did all my homework for the new job. Fingerprints. Money order for background check. TB test. Gathered paperwork. Filled out forms. This week and next I'll be working both places. A few here and a few there. Sorry to say, but you probably won't see me here much. But who knows? Sometimes I surprise myself. :0)

My friend has had a rough few days. Anxiety took over and she talked nonstop yesterday and I mean nonstop. There was no sleeping, just wide eyes and a mind that wouldn't rest. For most of the afternoon, and even on into the evening, she was planning her grandfather's funeral. As one of the nurses reminded me, he was the love of her life. Today she was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep. He waking moments were plagued with grogginess. Honestly, I am concerned.

In the morning I will head off for two days at my new place of employment. There is not the same amount of fear and trepidation with this one as there was with the last couple. Some of you will remember my "Flower Garden." This is a Flower Garden too, just not in my own home and I am looking forward to tending this one as much as I did my own.

(I won't be able to post photos of my new darlings, so you get to enjoy my grandchildren instead. Here are numbers 7 and 10.)

The Trio Comes to Play

We went out for breakfast after first service at church yesterday and returned after second to pick up The Trio for a few hours. We don't often have the grandkids these days so it was nice to spend a few hours with them.

I made them a kid lunch of mac and cheese and cinnamon applesauce, and The Grandfather spoiled them with M n M's and popcorn. They did puzzles, watched old Little Rascal movies, and played out in the yard. When their dad came they complained that they didn't want to go home.

The Grandfather cooked up some sausage and made a pot of spaghetti. That, along with the salad I'd put together on Saturday, made a good supper. We colored pictures until it was time to eat. After the meal The Grandfather spoiled them some more by offering up dishes of Banana Split ice cream.

It was a good day.