Wow it has been a long time since I blogged. Please don't mistake my absence from writing as an indication that I have not been doing anything. It has more to do with a pact that I made with myself. I recently completed a book titled "One Month to Live" (a recommended read) which is all about looking at your life from the perspective that you are dying. What would you change? What would you do differently? The question then is why not do all of those things now? Why wait? Anyway, during one of the chapters it has you evaluate your time and determine if it is productive and purposeful. No big surprise, playing on my computer, surfing the world wide web, getting sucked into facebook, ect consumed a lot of my time. I decided then to limit my activity on the computer.
So now that I am not spending as much time playing on the computer, what have I been up to? I bought a pistol and have been practicing shooting it. After my first class, I hit three out of four targets dead on. I have almost talked myself into going back to school to get my doctorate degree and I am currently studying for the GRE. I have been playing my guitar more and finally finishing the stack of books I been meaning to read. I have recently decided to extend my contract here in Lineville, Alabama. I know you are asking, "what would possess you to extend in a podunk town like Lineville?" Well, I like the job and the people, so I figured I could handle another three months. I am also excited to be in this area for the spring and summer...hiking, fishing, etc. Besides, I feel like a local now. I don't hear "you are not from here are you?" as often, and when I hear gossip in the office now, I actually know who they are talking about. My favorite quote here is, "I don't like to gossip, but did you hear about..." Yep, I have learned the lingo. They don't have breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have breakfast, dinner and supper. They often get "tarred" meaning they are exhausted and they cook over "fars". Forget grammer and rules of English. They really don't exist. I cringe every time I hear a double negative, slang words, or improper use of past tense or plurals. I have learned that sweet milk is the same as buttermilk and goes great on cornbread all mashed up. I also have it on good authority that biscuits are great when dropped into coffee. I am no longer shocked to see an 85 year old lady dipping snuff, and I have just about gotten used to hearing the female anatomy referred to as "pocket book or purse." I just hope that I can tolerate Virginia for three more months.
This past weekend I was able to go home and visit with my family for Easter. As usual I anticipated and welcomed the chaos that accompanies having a house full of kids under the age of six. Being the great aunt that I am, I took the kids to the playground. My instructions were "wear them out so they will take a nap." They had fun pretending Mason was a dragon and they were running from him all over the castle. After a long afternoon on the playground, we returned home to make a big chocolate chip cookie for my brother's birthday. They lost interest with baking when mom decided to let them dye eggs and add glitter to them. Not to worry, their attention returned to the cookie when it was time to lick the bowl. We had a successful Easter egg hunt. I think we only lost one egg. Mom threw a new twist on hunting eggs and put money in some of them. So instead of assessing how much candy and how many eggs they each had at the end of the hunt, they were counting their money. Why didn't mom do this when we were kids? I then endured being tackled by my nephews and loved every minute of it. Saturday we went downtown for the race and enjoyed some music from a local band. Laurel entertained us all by dancing all around the stage, by herself of course. Yes, I adore my niece and nephews and love spending time with them. They never fail to put you in your place and they frequently say things that make you laugh hysterically. My time off for Easter was too short. Back to work.
I am looking forward to warm weather and being able to get outside and enjoy it. Hope to be able to visit with some of you soon.
