Journey to Excellence

Several years ago a lady and her son rented a house behind us. Her name was Pam. She was a reading resource teacher at the elementary school. Although she and I were not ever going to sit and have a glass of wine together, I really liked spending time with her. She was into natural healing and foods, life as education, was a Christian woman. Her son was a nice kid and my kids enjoyed playing with him. She got married to a local man, kind of known for being a zealot, and they moved away.

A couple of weeks ago I learned that they moved back to town. She came into the library the other day and recognized me. She asked if we were still homeschooling, and I told her that Eli wants to homeschool through high school but that Brynne had decided to go to public school because she wanted to play sports and take advantage of the A+ scholarship opportunities for college. She told me she had pulled her son out of school, told me she no longer works for the public school system, and then almost ye…

See, I told you that would happen. I would blog for a few days and then get busy. And now it's been a month since I last posted.

So what have we been doing around here?

Brynne finished her 7th grade year in public school. She walked away with Straight A's all year except for one semester grade of an A- the first semester in Science. She had a successful year in sports playing volleyball and basketball and is now two-thirds of the way through her summer softball season.

Eli finished his 8th grade year in our homeschool and had a very productive year. Although it was hard on both of us with him being home alone the majority of the time doing his work, it was also good for him as he learned what he is capable of doing on his own. One of the biggest things he learned was time management. And we can all benefit from a healthy dose of that.

This year I have really concentrated on teaching the kids some life skills, not only because they need to know how to do these things but becau…

I'm not even going to lie .. I am so gosh-darn excited about starting my new job working from home! Recently I listened to the book You are a Badass by Jen Sincero. It's a little hokey-pokey advising you to tap into your "source energy" and the power of the universe, to manifest your beliefs, and to love yourself. But, really, the book is all about allowing yourself to be positive, have faith, take risks, and believe that good things will happen in your life.

Lordy, we have become so bogged down with 'ho hums' and 'I wishes' and have just resigned ourselves to the conclusion that all things are bad, we aren't allowed to enjoy our lives, and money is evil. We are a depressing lot.

I remember a time in my life when if I wanted something I believed I could get it and then went out and did just that. And then somewhere along the way I became a cynical, grouchy, pessimist allowing myself to believe that I was not entitled to happiness. Sadly, I think t…

I might have mentioned a time or two that this year has been one of transition. Boy, has it been. Last June I took a part-time job at our local library. I really felt that the job was exactly in my wheelhouse. It's a quiet place. There are books. The end. However, I learned some things about myself at this job, things I knew were true but didn't realize were so true. Next week I will close that chapter of my life to go back to working full-time at home doing what I started out doing 28 years ago, being a legal assistant. My how the circle of life turns.

What did I learn about myself this past year?

I am not a people person. I can appear to be a people person, but deep down I absolutely am not one. And all the energy I expel pretending completely wears me out. Like, I-need-to-go-home-and-go-to-bed wears me out. Small talk zaps me of my energy. I am not a talker, I'm a thinker. And when people come into the library, they want to talk. I just want them to check out a book and …

It was one year ago this week that my life took a different direction, and this past year has definitely been a year of transition. But, finally, FINALLY things are settling down and I feel like I am steering my own life instead of my life steering me.

The kids and I have settled into a good routine. The older two kids, who are now adults, are living their own lives. Our home renovations are getting close to being completed. I eased back into the workforce and am getting ready to start a dream job working from home. Spring is here, and I feel peaceful.

Life is tough and we spend so much time being reactionary as the world dictates to us how we should live. But I decided I was tired of living that way. I have to live with so many regrets based on decisions made while in those reactionary moments. I've often spoken about my "Florida State of Mind", which is the way I always felt when visiting my parents' vacation home in Florida. Things weren't that much different …

Welcome back to Journey to Excellence. Tap .. tap .. tap ... Is this thing on?? I hopped over to Taulman Times for a bit, but it just didn't feel right, so I am back here to, hopefully, resume regular postings.

I hate it when people say that, when people do that. Because, usually, I know they are only going to last a week or two and they'll stop blogging again. Let's face it: Instagram, Snapchat, and other easy forms of Social Media have taken the place of the time-consuming Blog. And I might end up being one of those bloggers that annoyingly come back for a gung ho two weeks to just fade out again. But, I hope not.

What's been going on? Whew! It's been nuts around these parts!

We are still in the midst of our renovation, but starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I am desperately hoping that in the next couple of weeks I will be able to use my upstairs bathroom. Once that is completed then we just have some finish work to do. The final project will b…