:)

SHE'S HOME!

My heart is breaking for her...

I knew it would happen.  I knew that she would love "her" kids and that being with them would enrich her.  But with love comes the vulnerability that opens us up to pain and now that Bridget is due to come home, she has had to say goodbye to her students and it hurts.  Part of me is miserable because I can't relieve her pain.  But I know that there's nothing I can do.  And would I change anything if I could?  The only way to prevent the pain of loss is to never love anyone or anything.  That's no way to live.

God bless you, Bridget.  May you get over the pain of separation soon and be left with the sweet memories of your beautiful, sweet students who love you and will always remember the young woman who gave them her heart.

Odds and Ends

So Bridget asked me if I was excited about her coming home and YES I AM!  But part of me is a little nervous about it too, which I hated to admit, but there it is.  I'm nervous that she won't like it here anymore because it isn't China.  Maybe if I wash her hair and give her a scalp massage for $2?  Seriously, though, I know she's had a wonderful time and I'm so happy about that.  But I don't know how we can measure up.  Oh well, I suppose it's not my job to "measure up" to a wonderful experience like that.

The job is going great, I am having a very good time.  I really like having Mondays off because it means I no longer dread Sundays.  Used to be Sundays would be horrible because not only did I not do anything like shop or clean house or whatever, the next day the work week started up again and that was the end of the long-awaited weekend.  Shoot, not long enough to get anything done.  Now that I have Monday off, I can get things done on Saturday, spend Sunday going to Church and enjoying family, and then finish getting my house tidy and get extra projects done on Monday.  By the time I go back to work, the weekend is not that far away.  Sweet.  And the people I work with and for are really wonderful.

Today I got a retirement packet from United.  There really wasn't much to it, only health insurance information, which of course is very expensive. (Almost double what it was when I was an actual employee.)  It's the only information I have received about retirement so far, which is kind of surprising.  I thought I would get a packet from my old boss, this is actually from WHQ.  I was sad when I read through the information.  Sure feels "final." I don't know that I'm really all that ready for final.  United was part of my life for so long, still feels like it should be part of my life.

Tomorrow Gary and I are driving to Utah for a spur-of-the-moment trip to help out with a sewing project.  (That's why we're driving, so I can get my sewing machine over there.)  I'll be helping out with Carolyn's project (making a quiet book for the kids for Christmas) and I'll come home Tuesday.  Gary wants to be back home for Sunday though because the Choir needs him if they're going to be ready for the Christmas program.  He'll drive back Saturday.  Since I don't want to try to haul my sewing machine on the plane maybe David and Sarah can bring it back to Colorado with them when they come for Christmas (please?) so I will have it back in its little cabinet.

I think I have become a little bit of a clean freak.  I am in love with my Dyson vacuum and my floor steamer.  I blame Carolyn, who introduced me to Dyson.  And steam cleaners.  And Gary gets a kick out of how much I can go on and on about my wonderful vacuum once I start talking about it.  (At least, that is how I choose to interpret his eye-rolling.)

Since Bridget has been gone we have eaten at Taco Bell WAY WAY too much.  That may or may not continue.

I think that's about all I have had on my mind lately.

Except to say that I really love my grandkids.  :)