4 Even to your old age I am HE,

even when you turn gray I will carry you.

I have made and I will bear;                                        🌄

I will carry and will save.

 - Isaiah 46:4

Right now, today, mid-pandemic... I'm reminded that GOD doesn't give up on me just because I'm old... weak... tired... immunocompromised... He carries me.  I don't weigh Him down... no matter what my Fitbit may say [and it says I've lost 5 pounds 🙌].

My goal this year is to understand my purpose.  What's my purpose?  At this point, GOD only knows... literally.  I'm doing my best to stay open and listening - and that my be my purpose for now.

Pandemic.

Pan-(Prefix)

A combining form meaning "all", used in the formation of compound words, particularly those that identify collections of all places in a region, cultures within a group, or religions.

demic(Adjective)

Of or pertaining to a distinct population of people 

So, "pandemic" means "all populations of people."   

Our president is plugging the idea that China intentionally exposed this virus to the rest of the world.  That would be a little like the medieval practice of throwing bodies infected with the bubonic plague over your enemy's city wall.  

Now that 45 is a lame duck president, I'm praying that "all populations of people" will see that the majority of voting Americans do not approve of his rhetoric.

Voting for "None of the Above?" Tried It Already.

Original Post 4/2011
Updated 9/26/12

"Who do you think you're going to vote for?', I asked Hubby the other day as we were riding along. 

"For what?"

"For President."

"Of what?"

"The United States!"  I'm getting a little annoyed at this point, until I realize that he's smiling.

"November, 2012 is too far away for me to start worrying about that now", he replied...or something of that nature.

Number 2 Son swears that he's voting for "none of the above" - His favorite go-to answer on multiple choice tests.  I tried that once.  It was called Perot.  I thought, "Hey, it's only four years.  Think of how much fun it'll be!"  But alas, cooler (or was it hotter) heads prevailed and we never did get to find out what was under our nation's hood.

Or remember Anderson?  I'd almost forgotten Anderson.  Had to look up which election he served as the "none of the above" vote.   Wikipedia Article on John B. Anderson  

Questions to be answered before the next presidential campaign:

1. Who will be the Republican nominee?  The way they're slugging it out, all of the present contenders are getting pounded pretty badly.  Will any of them want to get back in the ring with the opposing party?
2. Who will be the Democratic nominee?  Think Obama's a shew in?  Probably.  But the campaign doesn't really begin until next summer.  Plenty of time for a scandal to turn the tables.  Or remember LBJ?  How dumbfounded were we when he refused to run for a second term?  
3. Will we have the stomach to keep at this for another 12 months?  Maybe...If we take Hubby's advice and not worry about it for another 10 months or so.

9/26/12

Well...I see that we did live through those months and Obama is on the ticket.  Running against George Romney's kid?  Who'da thought?  

I just re-read the article on John Anderson.  Wow.  Times haven't changed much, but the parties certainly have.  

The gloves are off, and have been for some time here in Virginia, a battleground state, and I'm one of those "crazy swing voters", as my brother-in-law says, that the ads are trying to affect.  So far, the only effect they've had is nauseating.  The Dem ads appear to be a little less "mean", and that's appealing, but as far as substantive fact - not much there on either side.  

So, Mitt & Barrack, save your money.   We crazy swing voters have pretty much made our minds up anyway.  You could try paying off our mortgage...   Student loans?      Heck, just buying us some ice cream would probably be more effective than the ads.

No. I'm Not a Mormon

Recently I decided to let Google "monetize" my blog.  Monetize is apparently the newest term for advertise - Letting Google put itsy, bitsy ads in the margin of my blog.  I get to check a little box that says no adult material, so I felt fairly comfortable.  Besides, I could earn 2 or 3 dollars (literally).

Today I click on my page and see a picture of a lovely young woman with a heading that says, "Yes, I'm a Mormon"   Now, she didn't look anything like me, but the juxtaposition of the words beside my name was a little disconcerting.  I went to my page settings to see if there was a no religious material box.  There wasn't.

So, in the interest of full public disclosure, No.  I'm not a Mormon.

The Winter of My Discontent

Two blogs in one day?


Two blogs in one day?


In my post of January 29, I mentioned that I'd head a migraine for 3 weeks.  Well that sucker went on for 9 weeks before I figured out what was causing it - my neck.  My dang sternocleidomastoid  muscle, to be specific (Would you believe I had to add that word to my computer's dictionary?)  My good ol' doc can't exactly figure out what the link is - but there most definitely is a link.


Migraines and witty, sparkling repartee are, pretty much, mutually exclusive...hence the blought (blogging drought).  Getting things under control now (except for the vile, virulent virus).

It's Not Really the Flu

My dear, sweet Boudreaux had to go to Vegas last week for a business conference - and I DO mean had.  Poor thing really doesn't enjoy it very much.  He's the sort who'd like to actually learn something if he's going to a class.  A teacher's dream.

I collect snow globes and Boo generally brings me one when he has to travel the world without me.  This time, however, as he went through check-in at the airport, the TSA agent asked him about the container of liquid in his backpack.  It took Boo a minute to put two and two together, but pretty soon he realized it was the snow globe that was causing the fuss.  He had a decision to make.  He could get out of line, go back to the concourse, and mail the globe home OR he could toss it in the trash.  If this had been an antique globe that I'd been searching for all of my life, this may have required some thought.  A sparkley MGM Grand lion's head, however, can be replaced.

Not long after Boo got home, it became apparent that he'd brought something else home from Vegas...a virus.  A vile, virulent virus - nausea, diarrhea, headache, stomach cramps, chills, fever.  He seemed to bounce back pretty quickly, but I'm working on day 5.  Bummer.  My head hurt so bad that I went through a bottle of last year's cough syrup w/ codeine.

I miss sick days.  Not days when I'm actually sick, but days when I can get sick and still get paid.  That's not the case when one is in the "self-employed" category.  No worky - No money.  This is definitely a down side to life in the retirement lane.

Nuthin' to Blog About

Well, well, well.  Here it is - the end of January, and I've published nothing.  Nuh-theeeng.  Why?  Because nuh-thieeeng has been worth talking about.  I've had a migraine headache for three weeks.  That's right.  You heard me.  Thuh-reeeee weeeeeks.  At least it's gotten to the "off and on" stage.  Right now it's "on".

Sigh.

Weight Watchers & Christmas Dinner

I joined Weight Watchers last Wednesday.  That's right.  Three days before Christmas, I decide to get serious about losing weight.

I just got home from Christmas dinner with Hubby's family, so I went to WW's website and added up all of the "points" that I "spent" eating whatever I wanted to eat.  I have points left over!  Points that must be spent today or they will vanish, disappear, flee...

I, who said to Hubby (read with pitiful whining tone) "Please don't put any candy in my stocking.  I'm trying sooooo hard to lose weight" am looking longingly at my son's Christmas goodies.  Hmmmm...No one else is  here.  Will he notice if something's missing from his stocking?  Did he count all of those wee little packages?  Can I live with the guilt if he asks what happened to his delicious 4 chocolate Necco waffers?

To be continued.......

Big Salaries, Big Houses, Pitiful Christmas Lights

Hubby and I drove around this evening looking at Christmas lights.  We went through some mighty swanky neighborhoods with pit-tee-full Christmas lights.  Seems to me that, if you're wealthy enough to live in "Windsor-on-the-James" you should be required to fork out a little cash for holiday decorations.  Seriously.  Even if you're Jewish, Hanukkah is the "festival of light".  Correct?

We don't even have our tree up yet, so maybe I should give these folks another few days.  Perhaps they have been plagued by three weeks of viruses, colds and injuries as have we.   But...couldn't they have paid someone to light up their house?

I know, I know.  Why should I expect the wealthy to provide me with holiday entertainment.  I guess I was raised to believe that, at Christmas time, they should lean out of their window...ask what day it is... and send a little crippled guy to my house with the largest turkey in the butcher's window.

Stomach Flu

Well, well, well.  Hubby stayed home yesterday because of a little stomach upset.  I thought, mostly to myself, that I wouldn't let a little upset stomach keep me home from school.  


When will I learn?


Today, after eating 2 (yes, two) bowls of "Fiber Plus" cereal, I realized that I had caught that little stomach upset.    Now, 8 hours later, I'm feeling better and feeling a little embarrassed.  When?  Oh when, when, when will I stop judging other people in light of what I perceive to be my own perfection?


 - I'll never let myself get that fat.
 - I'd never think of retiring early.
 - I'll never let my child do that.
 - I'll never get divorced.


On and on the list could go.  I'd like to think that this latest episode will be the last... Not likely.  But I've only begun to see this in myself this year, so maybe there's hope..

Welcome to the mean streets of Stratford Hills, Mr. President

A lot of folks had a lot to say about President Obama's dropping by our rec center today.  Several were fairly unkind.

When I was in the first grade, I SOOO wanted Nixon to beat Kennedy.  My mom  (nice person) was a Republican.  My dad (a not-so-nice person) was a Democrat.  This was just one way of trying to annoy him.

When Nixon lost, I was distraught.. I mean crying bitterly distraught.   My mother took me aside and said, "Mr Kennedy is our president now.  We have to respect him."  That was that.  Once you're the President, the politics are over - or should be.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if folks, politicians and normal people, lived like this nowadays?  No political affiliation until the 6 weeks before the election would be nice.

I'd vote for that.

The Loss of a Life

I found out today that one of my former students, Joseph Roberts, lost his battle with cystic fibrosis.  He'd finally gotten a match for the lung transplant, but pneumonia followed and his body just gave out.

I know that he's not suffering anymore, but I grieve the loss of what would have been an amazing husband and father - determined, intelligent, funny... He made my life and the world a better place just by being in it.

So amazing was this young man, that it never occurred to me that he wouldn't beat cf.  I know that God knows what he's doing.  I know that when life doesn't seem fair, that there must be something I don't know.  This is one of those times.

Migraine & Myasthenia

"Many young women with myasthenia gravis also suffer from migraine headaches."  Knowing that I'm still considered young under some circumstances, makes my head hurt a little less.

As I'm typing this, I can't really see my computer screen.  So I'm off to close my eyes and let the pharmaceuticals do their job.

Retirement.

Retirement.


I never thought I'd be here this soon. "Rather wear out than rust out"  Life, however, has its interesting little twists and turns.  A middle-aged woman with myasthenia gravis (google it) just can't manage a classroom full of energetic high school freshmen.


So, officially, I'm on disability retirement.  It took 2 years to convince the Virginia Retirement Service that I was, in fact, too disabled to wrangle 9th graders.  Now VRS is making me file for Social Security disability so that they won't have to pay out as much.  More papers to file... More waiting.


So, in the midst of my first year of retirement, I have....

1. started re-tiling the bathroom...
2. started 3 books
3. started reorganizing the house
4. started (apparently) a blog

Notice that I've not finished anything... except today's blog

There are two kinds of people in the world...

I've always thought of myself as being open.. nonjudgmental...accepting of all...
Hogwash.
I realize now that I divide the world into two groups of people:  those who know the difference between your and you're, and those who do not.

I just sent an e-mail to a group of folks.  I re-read it, AFTER I'd sent it.

There it was.
In black and white
 "...you're brain is functioning"

I immediately sent out a retraction.  Surely people wouldn't put me in the "don't know" group, but I had to be positive.

My fear told the tale.  I didn't want to be one of them.  


Now I feel like I need to send apologies to all the other people whom I've put in the "don't know" group.  Maybe.... just maybe.... they, too, had made a mistake.

I think that this lesson may have long-reaching consequences.  We'll see.