A sense of accomplishment

This is for Day 11 of a challenge 30 Days of Writing started by Nicky and Mike of We Work For Cheese in which several other bloggers and I are participating for the month of June. Today’s prompt was: A sense of accomplishment

I work as a speech therapist in a public high school and I would have to say that for the most part I feel a sense of accomplishment when I work with the kids on my caseload. I have a varied caseload of students with disabilities such as Down's Syndrome, Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and various forms of mental disabilities. 

Once a student gets to the high school level they often begin to plateau and progress becomes slower, so you have to be patient and wait for the small achievements and breakthroughs.

Example: I had a former autistic student who refused to make eye contact or even acknowledge me for over a year. I was patient... I noticed that he liked it when I wore different dangly earrings... so I made sure on the days I was going to see him I changed out my earrings. He would come up to me and look at them for a minute or so and I would talk to him. Over time he began to respond to me and after another 3 mos. or so would finally sit at a table and work with me.

My autistic students have taught me patience... and with the small gains they do make I feel a real sense of accomplishment.

My former boss told me before he retired that he hesitated to put me full time at the high school level because the progress is so slow that many teachers burn out-and he didn't want that to happen to me.  I explained that the progress is still there but I just had to re evaluate my criteria and definition of success. Slow & steady won the race with these kids. :)

The babysitter

This is for Day 10 of a challenge 30 Days of Writing started by Nicky and Mike of We Work For Cheese in which several other bloggers and I are participating for the month of June. Today’s prompt was “The babysitter".

I remember my first babysitting job. It was for neighbors of ours and I was 13. It was the easiest job in the world. They had a small infant- around 5-6 mos. old and they wanted to go out for dinner. I arrived around 7PM and the baby was already asleep in her bed. Her parents came home around 11PM and she never woke up once. All I did was sit and watch t.v. 

I babysat through my teenaged years and most of the time the kids were pretty good- they basically just wanted someone's undivided attention- a captive audience so to speak.   :)

Magic carpet/Best friend

This is for Day 9 of a challenge 30 Days of Writing started by Nicky and Mike of We Work For Cheese in which several other bloggers and I are participating for the month of June. Today’s prompt was “Magic Carpet". 
I missed yesterday's prompt of Best friend because of something that happened RL to me @ work. So since there are no rules... I am going to combine the two prompts.

Magic carpet- to me elicits a carpet which will magically whisk you away from your problems. Something I could really use right now.  

Because it happened again.... I was verbally harassed at work by a male coworker for the second time this year. 

I will not go into any details but will say that this time I reported it. 

So now I have to deal with all of the fall out associated when you make a complaint and I left work early on Thurs. and was off yesterday as well. It is too uncomfortable for me to be there right now. 
Luckily the school year is over and Monday is our last day- but I don't honestly feel up to going in. Fortunately all of my final reports etc. are complete and there is no actual reason other than turning in room keys for me to be there. I can do that another day when the staff is all gone.


Best Friend

 

My best friend is my hubby of 28 years. I have known him since I was 15 years old. We were high school sweethearts. He knows me better than anyone else in the world and yet he still loves me. :)   


He is my rock, my better half, my soul mate. 
The one who can put a smile on my face every single day.

This is a man who upon receiving my very emotional phone call on Thurs. morning dropped everything, left work and came to school and sat with me until I was able to leave at lunchtime. 

He makes me calm while it is storming- both literally and figuratively. 

We have been through a lot of ups and downs in the 35 years I have known him.

When I look at him I still see the handsome young man in his 20's, I don't see the graying hair, the slight limp he has when he walks, or the fine lines of experience which look so good on his face.

I see my love- a man who is the type of person you want by your side when you have a problem. A man who is unerringly generous and who supports you no matter what.

I thank God every day that he is in my life.

My other best friend (besides my husband) is my college room mate Tobie.

We joke that we will always be best friends because we know too much dirt on each other ;)

Ours is a friendship that has spanned 35 years. We made it through college together, through each of our weddings, the birth of our children, the teen-aged years with said children (4 of the 5 combined being girls *shudder*- but the solo boy (mine) who is giving me a run for my $ these days), the death of her dad, the ups & downs within both of our marriages, our kids high school & college graduations, the marriage of my oldest, and our parents and our changing roles with them.

I love Tobie dearly and her kids are like my own-

I don't know what I'd do without her!

Cali (l), Buffy (r)

Finally I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my other two best friends... my dogs Buffy & Cali. ...dogs offer unconditional love. They never judge you, are always happy to see you, never tell you you have bad breath and can be such a comfort without needing words...

Buffy

Cali

Excess

This is for Day 7 of a challenge 30 Days of Writing started by Nicky and Mike of We Work For Cheese in which several other bloggers and I are participating for the month of June. Today’s prompt was “ Excess".

Excess: An overabundance of something.

Dependent upon what you have in excess, you can make an argument that excess can be either good or bad.

Examples: 

Good excess... love, friends, family, happy times, having "enough" (which will be different for every person).

Bad excess...having too much to drink, addictions to things like food, smoking, gambling, the amount of $ spent on Kim Kardashian's wedding.

In 1995 a movie Seven came out which was about a serial killer who planned murders corresponding to the seven deadly sins: gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride, lust, and envy. It was a powerful movie about a twisted sociopathic killer. The killer in the movie (played so well by Kevin Spacey) determined that the excesses needed to be punished.

In today's society we live for excesses, but often we consider them conveniences. Let's face it, no matter how much we have... we always want more.

I am sure every generation has felt that younger generations have had it easier especially with the advances we have had in technology. 

When I was a kid I would've never imagined cell phones or that I would one day own one. I got my first when I was 40. The closest thing we had to compare were the  communicators you saw on Star Trek. 

But excess can be a motivator...if you desire something that is not a necessity, you know you will need to work hard to attain it. Or if you  determine that you need to lose excess weight,  quit smoking etc.- these types of excesses can motivate you to change.

It is when we get bogged down with excesses that we go wrong. We all know that if we overindulge there is always a price to be paid.

Case in point weddings. My oldest recently got married. The amount of excess available and  associated with a wedding is unbelievable. We had to make a conscious effort to keep a handle on the expenses. Even doing so, we went over budget. Was the wedding excessive? No I don't think so, but again my frame of reference might be different than yours. 

All that being said... I sure would love the chance to hit a mega millions jackpot and see if an excess of money is all bad.

Pressure

This is for Day 6 of a challenge 30 Days of Writing started by Nicky and Mike of We Work For Cheese in which several other bloggers and I are participating for the month of June. 

Today’s prompt was: Pressure. You can find the meaning from World Dictionary here.

I don't claim to know anything about any of the scientific meanings of pressure- but as for the those which pertain to daily life- I can relate.

Many people find that in their professional life they work well under pressure- I am one of them. Give me a work deadline and I've got it- I will move heaven and earth to get whatever it is completed on time- early even...

I have through the years also experienced pressure within my personal life. (Who hasn't?) The 2 year period of time when hubby & our son lived in another state defined pressure for me. I went from a bustling household of five down to just me and our oldest living at home and working opposite hours. Those were tough times...

But pressure can be a good thing- it forces us to move out of our comfort zone. It forces us to adapt & change... To grow. 

" That which does not kill us makes us stronger."
Friedrich Nietzsche

I have learned over the years that Nietzche was right.

I have also learned that worrying serves absolutely no purpose. 

The pressure of everyday life is not worth my sleepless nights, high blood pressure, acid reflux, weight gain & irritable bowel. 

Pressure in the past few years forced me to reevaluate my own coping mechanisms. I decided to make an effort to take some form of control. I  made a conscious effort to become physically healthier & have lost 28 lbs (so far -yay me!) and as a result have been able to drop some meds. 

I also have tried to relinquish control to a higher being and have become more spiritual. I have  learned to accept that I am doing the best I can and I forgive myself if I screw up. I try to take time to be thankful more often and accept that there are some things that I simply cannot change.

None of these things would've happened had I not had pressure. Pressure forces you at some point to find a balance within your life. 

If you learn to "not sweat the small stuff"- you'll find that pretty much most of life is "small stuff". If you are able to do this you will find that pressure can be controlled and used in a positive way.

The Rat Race Trap offers the following suggestions which I believe are helpful:

• Be Present

• Surrender to The Chaos

• Meditate

• Avoid Snowball thinking

• Let Others Be Right

• Accept That Life Isn’t Fair

• Everything Is Not an Emergency

• Pick Your Battles

• Stuff Happens

• Stop Driving Aggressively

• Single Task

• Be Flexible – Things Change

• Accept That Everything Is Temporary

Lesson learned for me? Embrace life's pressures, just do not let them control you.

      


(*Blatant reference to Queen/David Bowie for xtra points)

Spiders

This is for Day 5 of a challenge 30 Days of Writing started by Nicky and Mike of We Work For Cheese in which several other bloggers and I are participating for the month of June. Today’s prompt was “Spiders”.

This guy looks nasty!

Well according to this site most spiders are supposedly good for our environment. They eat a lot of other insects that we do not want. We had a run in last fall when my hubby was bitten by a brown recluse which I talked about here. They are nasty little guys and you don't want to fool around with them.
I generally am not a huge fan of spiders but I am not super freaked out about them like my son is. Yes my 6'1 18 y/o son is a wuss when it comes to spiders and has to have his mommy kill them for him because he is so skeeved out by them! However I also am not the type to just let one live if it is in my house- if I see one I either suck it up with my vacuum (Take that spider!) or I kill' em with whatever is handy.
I once saw a video which said that over the course of our life time we unknowingly swallow several spiders in our sleep- I didn't particularly like that idea but *shrug* I guess you could consider it added protein.
So what is it about spiders that scares so many people?  Is it the multiple legs? The creepiness of how they move? The webs they spin?

In looking for pics of spiderwebs I had to admit that their webs can really be a thing of beauty.

Look at the detail- how delicate they are, you have to respect something that can make something like these!

Does my new found respect mean I will change and set them free? 

That I will find a more humane way to get rid of the ones in my house? 

Heck no!-
If I find them- I'll still kill'em-  spiders are so creepy...

Behind the wheel.

So I happened upon a blog which challenged you to write daily for 30 days.... here 
There are no real rules and I've decided that since today is the 4th I will begin with number 4....


Day 1: Cheese
Day 2: A roadblock
Day 3: They played my song
Day 4: Behind the wheel



Today's theme is behind the wheel.


Wheels.... to me means my new car... I call her sweetie... she is new- a 2012 Chrysler 200 .

She is black like in the pic and has a creamy beige interior- so pretty! She also is loaded! We purchased her @ the end of April b/c my old Jeep Cherokee was getting up there in miles and we needed a car which would be better on gas mileage and would also be more comfortable for long drives. Since it was the end of the month and they needed to make their quota we got a REALLY good deal on her!!! She has a sunroof , blue tooth and Sirius radio!


I feel like I finally have a grown up car-one for me- not for hauling kids around etc.
She is fun to drive and I LOVE her!


My son gave her the ultimate compliment when he said she is "sick" - hubby says since I've lost weight and am now driving a hot car I look even hotter *giggle*- amazing the little things which make you happy!


This is for Day 4 of a challenge 30 Days of Writing started by Nicky and Mike of We Work For Cheese in which several other bloggers and I are participating for the month of June. Today’s prompt was “Behind The Wheel.”