A Bonus Day

This is not my mail...my pile was not this neat!

I spent this morning cleaning out the clutter.  It's my last opportunity to accomplish something by the end of this month.  I've switched all  my monthly statements to electronic reporting,  purchased a new drive to backup my electronic records, created a new mail sorting station, and produced a reference notebook that holds all our financial, medical, and insurance data.  As hard as I tried it was almost impossible for me to stay on task.  Digging through the accumulated piles I uncovered long lost treasures that demanded to be read. 

You never know what you'll find hidden in the bottom of a mail basket.  I found a note written by my granddaughter last year.  She was just learning how to write, every letter carefully formed to say "I love you Nana"  and signed with her name...first and last, just in case I confused her with some other granddaughter named Megan.  I found numerous greeting cards from various holidays and events.  It's so rare for me to receive personal mail that I can't bring myself to throw away those handwritten cards and notes.  They sit in the mail basket for months, and sometimes years.

After my mother died my brother and I cleaned out her house.  We found every letter we had ever written to her and every greeting card that we had ever sent her.  I probably have more in common with my mother than I like to admit.

Today one of the treasures I refound was a letter that a friend sent me when I retired.  She wrote about the influence I had had on her in our work relationship and how I had made a difference for her and for our students.  I'm keeping that letter and the note from my granddaughter.  They remind me of the power of the written word and that I'm loved. 

Today is an extra day in your year.  It really is a bonus.  Spend some of your windfall time to write a real note, on paper with ink, and send it to an important person in your life.  I bet it will stick around a lot longer than those emails and text messages.

Another Fun Evening With David Sedaris

Last night my daughter, Sarah, and I attended a reading by David Sedaris at the Long Center For the Performing Arts in Austin, Texas.  This is the third time we have seen him read in Austin.  It has become a yearly tradition for us.  David Sedaris is my favorite author.  I love his insightful observations of our culture and his masterful descriptions that allow me to see everyday events from a new perspective.  Well, that and his writing makes me laugh out loud. 

Austin has been a stop on David's book tour for many years.  He has outgrown smaller venues and last night's performance at the Long Center For the Performing Arts was sold out.  The announcer introduced David by sharing a conversation that they had before the show.   Several years ago, after out growing the Paramount Theater, David's reading was booked into a large church in Austin. (This is Texas people, the churches are HUGE!)  The crowd in the Long Center chuckled at the idea of David Sedaris, who is known for stretching the limits of acceptable conversational topics, performing in a religious environment.  David told the announcer that he had toned down his performance out of respect for the location.  To which the announcer reminded him that he had said "cocksucker" four times!

My favorite part of hearing David Sedaris read is when he shares entries from his diary.  Last night was no exception.  He manages to make a story about waiting in line for coffee not only hilarious, but a reflection of our society.  The YouTube clip below is David reading a different selection from his diary on Late Night with David Letterman.

David Sedaris is now an enormously successful author.  Those of us who write might have fantasies of making the New York Times best seller list and doing book tours around the world, but last night at the Long Center before the reading started, I took a picture of the audience from just in front of the podium.

Can you imagine reading for a crowd this size?  Four tiers of seating and by showtime there were only a few empty seats.  We laughed at all the right places and applauded vigorously.  I'm not sure of the capacity of the Long Center, but it is well over a thousand people.  David signed books both before and after the reading...there was a long, long line.

This is big time success, but his travel schedule is grueling, a different city every night.  A lot of rewards, but a lot of work too.  I can't wait to hear him again next year. 

Nanas Got Nothing

It has been a week since I posted here, but I have been writing.  I just haven't managed to get anything down on paper.  The automatic download from the thoughts in my head to my computer screen has not been working.  The writing ideas float in and out of my head constantly.  I write myself to sleep at night, reworking sentences in my head.  When I read the paper, I'm looking for stimulating material to make a story.  When I attend an activity with my friends I think about how to make attending the craft show an interesting narrative.  So why don't I have anything to post?


This past week I've only "written" in my head and nothing has been very interesting.  Two or three sentences about spring gardening and another few on signs of spring in Hermiston.  The narrative about buying kettle corn at the craft show put me right to sleep.  Even if I had that interface that directly connected my brain to my computer, there wouldn't be anything worth reading.


What exactly are the signs of spring in Hermiston, you ask? 

• The buckets holding bunches of daffodils have shown up in the aisle by the deli at Safeway, a sure sign that spring is near.

• We don't have a Cherry Blossom Festival in Hermiston, but the ten trees that encircle RiteAid are in full cotton candy colored bloom.

See?  Not very interesting.

I've been surfing a lot of blogs and I can't even find inspiration to leave comments.  What do you do to keep the words flowing?  Is it possible that I've used up everything worth saying?  There must be a limit to the number of times I can write about cleaning out my closets.  Hopefully by tomorrow I'll come up with a better topic or I'll be sharing more closet details.

100 Words: Betrayal

One of the blogs I've been reading is Mr London Street at http://mrlondonstreet.blogspot.com/
MLS writes posts of 100 words on topics suggested by his readers.  I suggested that he write on the topic of
"Betrayal."  When he emailed me that he was going to use my suggestion for his post this Sunday, I decided to try and write a 100 word post also.

It is harder than it looks.  I had lots of good words that I had to throw away.  My first effort had 241 words!  This was a good exercise for helping me to determine the essential elements in the story.  I think I will also write the same piece and aim for 500 words...I hate to waste those good words I had to toss out to get down to 100.

Beth sat watching her friends run to waiting cars. Practice ended at 4:30. She shivered in the wind as she scanned the parking lot searching for her mother. Twenty minutes later the lot was empty, the school office was closed and she didn’t have a dime for the pay phone.

This wasn’t the first time Beth had to walk the three miles home. The last five hundred yards were all uphill.

In the house Beth yelled “Mom?”

She found her mother in the living room, a cigarette smoldering in the ashtray. Once again her mother had chosen bourbon and vermouth.

Count em...exactly 100.  Yeah for me!!!  Do you think I communicated the theme of the prompt?

Two Month Anniversary

On January 3, 2010 I made my first ever blog post. At the beginning of the year I made a commitment to myself to blog for at least two months. I started enthusiastically. There was a lot to learn. I was excited when I figured out how to put a counter on the site. I checked frequently to see if anyone visited. I was the most frequent visitor, but slowly others started to drop by. I spent a lot of time looking at other blogs and I left comments with my blog address. Then one day I got a comment on my blog and soon I had a couple of followers!!! My non-blogging friends didn’t understand what I was so excited about. What is a follower and why would anyone want one?


I had lots of ideas about what to write, at least for the first two weeks. I started another blog with a theme, as opposed to this one where I tend to jump from one idea to another. Midway through my two months I had a bout of writer’s block. I explored some of the sites that have suggested topics and I participated in a meme.

At one point I was ready to give up, but a commitment is a commitment. Now I find myself taking mental notes of every daily incident and thinking “Oh, I can blog about that.” I’m constantly writing in my head, although it’s still a challenge to actually get all those thoughts down on paper

So what have I learned from blogging? I have rediscovered my love of writing. Writing about some of the challenges of retiring has been therapeutic. I have revisited and analyzed experiences and, for the most part, put them behind me. Writing has allowed me to gain some perspective and let go of some haunting memories.   I've learn from my mistakes. Blogging has also allowed me to celebrate what's important to me.

I have so enjoyed the comments of those who have visited my blogs. I’m thrilled that others are reading my words, and some people are enjoying them! Thank you so much to those of you who have found my blog and are supporting me in this adventure. I think I’m going to continue. There’s still a lot to learn.

My Year

The following post was inspired by a topic posted at Topical Tuesday.  The task is to create a post about "My Year, 2009."    This is the first time I have participated in a meme. Here is the link to the Topical Tuesday home page:   http://topicaltuesday.info/


I have now been retired for one year and it has been the least productive of my life. After 30 plus years in education, I abruptly retired at the end of December, 2008. Where I had once been a valued, experienced administrator, a change in superintendent and two new assistant superintendents restructured our district level leadership. The assistant superintendent for student services, my new boss, was less than half my age…I had just turned 58. Overnight I became the village idiot. The knowledge I had gained after working 15 years in the district was useless because we had apparently been doing it all wrong for years.


I know all the research about change. I know it’s hard. I know we go through stages as we respond to change, but I’m really one of those people who likes change. I like to move forward and work toward meeting high expectations for all kids. But I had been cast in the role of the old-timer who stands in the way of real progress.


My opinions held no weight in decision making. My department and my staff suffered because I was no longer an effective advocate for our programs. One morning in early December following an administrative meeting I had a short meeting with the superintendent. It is enough to say that I had never been talked to by a supervisor like I was in that meeting. The superintendent’s voice was laden with contempt. His body language and gestures showed disgust. That afternoon I made an appointment to discuss my eligibility for retirement with the state retirement system.


I was eligible for full early retirement. The district was contractually required to pay for my medical insurance for seven years. I would receive a pension check only slightly smaller than my paycheck. I didn’t have the fight in me to stay where I was neither wanted nor effective. I retired.


I had no plans for retirement and I have spent the past year floundering. A friend who retired in similar circumstances had told me that leaving the district was like leaving an abusive relationship. She didn’t realize how bad it was until several months had passed and she had gained some distance. One day she woke up and realized that she was no longer stressed and unhappy.


My life had always been filled up with work and when I wasn’t at work, I brought my work home with me. My hobby was writing grants in my spare time to fund projects at work. Everything came to a screeching halt. I had no idea what to do next.


When people retire they take trips…so I went to Hawaii in January when everyone else went back to school and I watched whales.

I made numerous extended visits to Texas to see my grandchildren. I spent most of the summer in the pool and watched my granddaughter learn to swim.

I took a cruise to Alaska

I stayed up late and slept without an alarm clock. I got up when I wanted to get up. I got a new wardrobe of casual wear. I renewed my library card. I bought a laptop and set up an office. I started to write again and braved a blog. I rode my bike around the neighborhood. I began to heal and one day I realized that there was absolutely nothing that I had to do.



I’m still finding my way in retirement. I substitute occasionally and remember how much fun it is to teach. But then I eat lunch in the teacher’s room and the discussion about budget cuts or new regulations reminds me how fortunate I am to have no dependence on, or responsibility to, the school district.


I have gained the freedom to do whatever I want…my only challenge is figuring out what I want to do. That’s a work in progress.

Blog Slogging

I did a lot of slogging through blogs this afternoon looking for something interesting to read. There’s a lot of pain, misery, suffering, infertility, cutesy crafts, and Jesus loving blogs out there. It’s a little intimidating…I don’t want to add to the crap pile. If I’m like the average reader, and God knows I’m average, I don’t read past the first post unless the writing intrigues me. I’m feeling the pressure to produce some quality writing….hummmm, I’m not doing too well so far.

I “next blogged” through a whole bunch of happy family blogs. It’s kind of creepy reading intimate details of stranger families. I read the pleas for prayers for “angel babies” and relatives suffering with cancer. There were pages of beautiful babies celebrating every milestone in their first years…I noticed that once they get to the toddler stage the postings aren’t quite as frequent. I feel like I’ve been peeking through the windows at strangers…and this is legal?

If I read about Jesus in the first 25 words I “next blogged” on to something new. It’s not Sunday and I wasn’t ready for a sermon.

I’m still learning the customs and mores of the blog world. I’ve posted a few comments on the blogs I visited. I know that I have enjoyed the few comments that I have received on my blog. I’m never sure if my comments are appropriate. I appreciated when a reader pointed out that I was using a cliché in one of my posts. (Note to self, try to limit the @#$%^ clichés) His comment will help improve my writing. I find myself wanting to point out to a blogger that he should be using “you’re” not “your” or varying his adjectives…but I wonder if these helpful suggestions (from my perspective) would be interpreted as mean criticism. I am a stranger in a foreign land…and darn that’s another cliché.

It’s surprising to me that this blog world has existed for some time and I was oblivious to it until just a few months ago. What else it out there? I think I must lead a sheltered life…and now I’ve opened the curtains and the blog world is peeking in my windows. Creepy, huh?

What I've Learned So Far

Making the commitment to write a blog was a big step for me. I spent a lot of time looking at other blogs and being intimidated. Everyone else has well designed and organized blogs with strong points of view. Everyone writes so well, sharing themselves with poignancy and depth. Everyone else has something important to say, and they say it with humor and insight. I visited a blog that focuses on what one mother is cooking. She has these beautiful pictures of the Christmas cookies she made. Not only can't I produce a quality blog, but my Christmas cookies aren't works of art either. Maybe producing a blog isn't such a good idea...I'm not worthy.

I'm dazzled by the bloggers who can so freely share their innermost thoughts, and then I read one of those how to articles that warns not to share too much information. Now I'm confused and not worthy.

I've read several posts about how to choose a good name for a blog and the need to narrow the focus. I spent some time coming up with great ideas for blog names…unfortunately someone else already grabbed these good names. Great, now I’m neither original nor worthy! I suppose it is all good advice, but I decided that if I spent my time figuring the details out, I'd never get anything written. Besides, no one is reading this but me. I only need to please myself.

Writing the blog has already forced me to grow. I hear the lion whispering “courage” in my ear. The rest I will sort out later. The important thing is to start and that’s the life lesson that has been reinforced for me. Someday I will be worthy.

…and I can always edit, right?