Sabbath, March 30, 2013

Here's one just to whet your appetite!  April 5, 1992

Twenty-one years ago today, I was fully pregnant with Baby Karissa.  Now you know what you have to look forward to next Sabbath!  A detailed post about HER....I mean, you know I could not do that for Natasha and NOT do it for Karissa!  So many wonderful memories...so many wonderful pictorial reminders.  You will get to see them, too!

It has been a horrendous week for me and a good, progressing week for John.  John drove straight to the fitness center when he got clearance to drive and went again later in the week.  Yesterday he went to Wal-Mart and survived the ordeal.  He is still at 148# which is hard to understand but he is feeling so much better with this abdominal "brace" or corset.  He just got out of the shower and has done that himself about every other day this week and THAT is good for him!  Most of all, he is positive and optimistic.

We have so much for which to be thankful!  Our friend, Bayard, Becky's husband, is dying...probably won't last out this week.  So while John has slowly improved, Bayard has declined rapidly.  Hard to see.  We are so glad that just a week and a half ago, they (Becky and Bayard) stopped here on their way home from their Barnes treatment, had a good supper with us, and a great visit.  We're hoping to go down tomorrow and see them.

For me, the week has been one of emotional dissonance as I have struggled with issues at work.  The day care board displayed a lack of grace in what they did, may not have done it if John's influence had been felt, and seem not to understand that this is not how we treat others.  I formulated my written response, mulling  over it all week, not wanting to be inflammatory, and finally sent it yesterday.  Dr. Allison, our Educational Superintendent, felt it was a good letter, Becky V and Ruth both gave me feedback...so I hit the "send" button. 
 

This is a memory of this week and is to make you laugh...

Yesterday, I sent April, a day care worker, home early to save personnel costs.  Then we scrambled the rest of the day to keep on top of everything.  For me, it got totally out of hand.  I went up to the playground to help take children to the potty.  First, I took four little girls into the upstairs bathroom:  two of them had good bowel movements, so it took some time. 

Travis and Esther (no real names used) both needed diaper changes.  I brought them down to the diaper room and put Travis on the changing table.  He was first because he had messed up his shirt and his pants.  It took a while to get THAT cleaned up.  Meanwhile, Esther took OFF her messy diaper, handed it to me, and wanted to pull her pants back up.  How does one keep one child on the table while preventing the other from messing up her pants?!

It took a while and some help from Charlene.  But I finally got Travis's messy clothes put in a bag and into his locker.  Before I could get him dressed I had to go and FIND some clean clothes for him from our cupboard.  Then I got Esther up on the table.  By this time, I had two poopy diapers that I could not get into the bucket because it was too full to flip around.  Trying to accomplish this, I spread poop all over the top of the bucket making a great mess.  Both kids needed cream on their bottoms and Eliana helped me get that on her pants as well...

AT THE TIME it did not seem funny!  So, please wipe that grin off your face!

I did sign a new Letter of Employment as Interim Director of Stepping Stones Child Care Center.  Now I am working full time in ministry with these children, their parents, and a good staff.  It takes all I have and then I go work out at the gym three times a week, try to find moments for outdoor walks, then come home to John and "home work"....hmmm....just started dusting last Sunday, have not vacuumed since we came home from the hospital five weeks ago, have not mopped the kitchen floor...but, we have EATEN, the house is neat, it just isn't CLEAN!  And John is accepting and supportive of all of this.

What I WANT is time for our garden.  The weather has not cooperated with that, not yet anyway!

At Stepping Stones, we are deep into building raised bed gardens.  With donations from Community Partnership (where I used to work) and church members, we have a budget of $1500 for supplies, fence, equipment and plants.  We are so excited about this!  Our day care kids and school kids will LOVE the experience.  The first step, which will happen this week, is planting some seeds indoors.  Hopefully, on April 12, at least three guys will build the raised beds and by the following week the fence will be installed.  

This week, two different pick-up loads of city recycled mulch was delivered.  It is smelly and wonderful!  You KNOW this is a project I can really get excited about.  Will keep you posted and share some pictures soon.