Pennies, catheters, giggles galore

Well, tonight looked a little different than the average. I've been intending to try such an 'experiment' for awhile, and tonight finally turned into the right night to give it a go. Actually I've been wanting to hang out more regularly with the more ripe side of society for years now. Anyway, tonight my friend and I drove to a random senior's home and peeked in the window. We saw a table of old ladies sitting at a table, but we weren't sure if we could just walk in or what, so we prayed for a minute...checking in to see if this was somewhere we could be most useful in on this particular night. We died laughing as the minute we opened our eyes, the blinds appeared to be shut! As we laughed our way past the window, we realized the blinds were not in fact shut but there were five women waving at us and laughing at us in a mirror like way. So went for it and buzzed them, and asked if we could "chill" with the for awhile. In we went, and oh the giggles that followed.
We sat with them at "their" table for 2 hours, playing their gambling game of pennies- the one they've been playing every night at 6:45pm for the last nine years. There was Mary, who has had polio and now has Parkinson's, but had an unassuming but deadly and very likeable wit about her. There was Helen number one, who worked for 20 years in the laundry room at the hospital. There was Cecile, a French lady from Gravelbourg who brought home the big penny haul over the evening. And there was Helen number two, and then Rose, bless her heart- a real crackerjack if there ever was one. I felt like I was in a movie or something, with these five very sharp and experienced women, the conversation going from catheters and hot old men to the good ol' days, where they earned eight dollars a month to make ends meet. By the time our round of penny gambling was up, there were hugs around the table and welcomes for a return visit. It was a nice change up in my regular dosage of nightly planning and coaching.
Older folk have a lot of life to give. Point proven.

Pictures worth double posts!!!!!

Syd and new little sister, Mareesa.

Happy Birthday, Sydney Rae!

Elijah!!!!!

A day in small town Saskatchewan

Just got home from a day trip to Kennedy for my Aunty Lois' birthday. It was a lot of fun! My Grandma put together a great party for her little girl! Somehow we snuck 17 people into their cozy house. Small town Saskatchewan is growing on me these days. I've been a city girl all my life, but the idea of living and teaching in small town SK doesn't sound out of the question. Who knows. Maybe someday. For now, it's fun to go visit Grandma and the family in Kennedy.

Cousin Tasha and Uncle John...sweet party hats!

What a happy Friday!!!

Yippeeee!!!! I'm so happy!!!!!!!!! Yippppeeee! Mareesa Janell joined us in a flash this morning!!! Woooohooooooooo!!!! I guess they arrived at the hospital at 5:15am, and Mareesa came in a hurry 12 minutes later. Bec, you are my hero! :) Ahhh, yes, happy happy day. Plus, it's Friday.
Now I'm just trying to figure out how quickly I can get to Calgary!

what brother lawrence has to say today

"You can learn to overcome the worry of anticipation. After you begin to experience more and more the ready success of divine grace upon all occasions, you will not worry about things before they happen. When the time comes for you to do your duty...He will empower you and make you fit to fulfill your obligations."

Life here

You may have come to the conclusion that I have dropped off the face of the planet. But- I have not. Not quite yet. ;)
It has been a blogless three weeks, but certainly not for lack of activity. The days have been full- full of new experiences, challenges, and emotions. Things are slowly becoming what I might be able to identify as 'normal' life for me here in Regina. I'm looking forward to more of that feeling, because I don't like the scattered sense that I have often felt during the past month.
My Mom, Dad, Autumn and Andrew left for India on August 29, the same day in which I also started my high school teaching position at Western Christian. I had quite a bad time leading up to their leaving. Saying goodbye is a definite struggle for me. A week later we had a rerun when my China connection and life friends, Jay and Shannon, left to return to Shiyan for another year. So now I'm finished with the business of saying goodbye and I'm looking forward to saying hello again in May and June. Goodbyes are not my favorite.
The #1 question I'm asked these days is, "How's teaching?" So far it has been good, in most ways. It is challenging in many ways. It is also tiring. The best parts so far have been teaching my Gr. 11 and 12 PE class, and coaching volleyball. We had our first game on Thursday night and lost a close one. I'm excited about the possibilities this year, both in the win column and the relationship column.
The role of teacher is fun in a lot of ways, although it feels awkward in a way too. The strange and awkward part for me is being the decision-maker and planner for other people. It is new to have people coming to me with problems or decisions that need to be made. I don't know, it's just a challenge and requires a constant demanding of wisdom greater than my own. I guess this is the transition from student to teacher. I think feelings of inadequacy come easily if I lose focus, or perspective.
The planning is the greatest task and threatens as an all consuming sort of thing. If I can do a better job of using weekends to getting ahead, that would be a good idea. The problem this week was that by the time Friday came, I had absolutely no desire to be planning for Monday. And that feeling didn't go away on Saturday....and now Sunday has already arrived and Monday is on the doorstep. Ah well.
Anyway, I thought I had better do some catching up. Have a great week...the call for planning is coming through loud and clear, so I'd better get to work. Blessings.