It Was All a Blur

What a busy weekend! Its left me feeling quite behind the 8-ball, but somehow or another I will catch up. Don't have much choice.

I indulged in a full on pity party earlier today, and I guess that was a good idea. I pulled myself back together and I am actually getting some good stuff done this afternoon. I was really upset, though, this morning.

There are days that just start out tough, but then they get better. Thank goodness.

And then they get really great. I spent the evening being pampered while I watched Despicable Me. I've seen it. In the theater - which is a big deal for me. Since I gave birth to Tinker Bell I have been to the movies maybe three times. And one of those times I was foiled by the theater closing early - No Julie and Julia for me! (No, I know how close to a Seinfeld quote that is, but I won't go there - I never liked that show! Sorry Jerry.)

Yes, today got better and better. My dreaded boss complimented me, by e-mail, i.e. he put it in writing! And it was an enthusiastic compliment. Truly, today I was carried on the shoulders of invisible angles who effortlessly conjured a better and better day for me with each passing hour.

Or I am bi-polar.

And I worry about that.

But for now, I am so much better than I was this morning. I am thankful beyond words.

Thank you God and my dear, dear angles.

Another Haiku Friday - Grace

Its Haiku Friday and the given word is Grace.

I'll chew on this while I work this morning. Gotta install some DIMMs and move a very heavy machine into one of my rows of mid-range heavy machines. Physically busy day for me today.

Grace...

Makes me think of the serenity prayer...

God grant me the grace
To keep up this crazy pace.
Yippy! its Friday!

Hey - not to shabby for something off the cuff. Now into the lab with me!

Net Result

Ha! I guess my title is a pun today :-)

We sold it all. And we made some serious $$! Looks like we have what we need to fund all our festivities. Needless to say, I am relieved.

So the dreaded boss walked into my office this AM with a smile on his face. I knew immediately he was about to shovel something off on me. Turns out he wants me to train one of my co-workers. I am looking forward to this opportunity, actually. The co-worker is actually senior to me, and has a solid frame of reference. All I will really need to do is help him navigate a different area of testing with slightly different tools than he is currently using. He'll leap over me in less than an hour most likely :-) He's a nice person.

Today feels good. I like that.

I am keeping a close eye on Tinker Bell and Iron Man. In different ways they are both very sensitive. I hope I can help them develop sharp coping skills that will protect their sensitivity. That will be a good trick.

Turns out, this is National Mental Health Month. And yesterday was The Blog Party because it was Mental Health Day.

I've had correspondence with the mom of one of Tinker Bell's friends. And yesterday, as a result of something she shared, I felt compelled to research Mental Health advocacy. Seems there's a huge community out there. A community I want to explore further.

Now, there are folks out there who will flatly say that I am unstable. My emotion grip me at times. But I like to think I am getting a handle on that. Besides, Mental Health is not just getting a grip. Mental illness is as chemically, physically real as cancer. And, unfortunately, just as debilitating - maybe even more so because people are far less inclined to identify failing mental health and pursue treatment. Furthermore, there's such stigma.

I have felt that stigma my whole life. I have lived with it. Being embarrassed and circumspect about my mother.

I have so much more to say about this. And truly, what could be more important?

Blogging Live

I guess maybe I should actually be tweeting from the bake sale, but I don't tweet. I've been considering it, though.


But rest assured, it will be a cold, cold day in Hades wherein people will require Everest-grade Patogonia long underwear before I Facebook. It will never happen. If you ever think you've found me to friend on Facebook, you can be sure you are friending an imposter and not the actual me.


I digressed... please forgive me. BTW - Facebook is moving into my campus. They bought it. They are hacking apart lovely buildings with offices so as to create cubicle farms. Sad, sad, sad...

Its the quiet time between lunch and after school. I am using the school wireless for access and I am waiting until the parents come, hopefully with lots of $$, to buy the rest of our baked goods.

So far things have gone well. My mom came to help, as did Grandma M and K. Thank goodness they were able to help - otherwise it would be too much to do myself. We've got all kinds of yummy baked goods. Kids really like doughnuts. I sure hope we sell this stuff off - otherwise I won't know what to do with it. Maybe sell more tomorrow. But I would need someone else to be here to do it, I can only take off so much time.

Anyway, we may fall a little short of our goal, but that will mean that the parents need to chip in for all these graduation festivities they want. Suits me :-)

Baking My Heart Out

Just completed making two dozen cup cakes and 50 cake pops. The cake pops are really gorgeous this time. They turned out much better than the ones I made a couple of weeks ago. Seems I am getting the hang of it.

I haven't gone to Costco when it hasn't been raining in months. And sure enough, in the middle of May, we are having an arctic cold front and it was pouring when I went to Costco this evening. And my back hurt. I couldn't load the 3-bottle Bleach box onto my cart, a nice fellow stepped in to help me as he saw me struggling. I just couldn't get that darn box onto the rack below the basket. I felt old.

In other news, I sure am glad its tomorrow, because today was a little rough. Tomorrow will be better.

Yep, I guess I really didn't have anything to say...

Mental Health Issues

Mental health issues are near and dear to my heart. I have lived my entire life in the shadow of clinical depression. My mother has suffered her entire life. My grandmother would talk about what a happy young girl my mother was, but from what I have learned from my aunt, mom's older sister, my mother clearly was depressed by the time she reached high school. By the time my mother was about 30 she had a small child, me, and had tried to end her life. My father bailed.

Even as a small child I understood that my mom was ill. I also understood it was an illness no one talked about. I was embarrassed by what she'd tried to do. I didn't feel like it was my fault, but I did feel like I was the only person in the world who could stop her from trying to end her life again.

As a child I would sit up in the wee hours of the morning playing solitaire while my mother screamed about how awful her life was. I sat right there, in front of her to be sure that she didn't go into the kitchen and grab a knife.

This post is about hearing about the Peter C. Alderman Foundation on the radio this evening. They work in developing nations helping people with mental health and PTSD. Mr. Alderman talked about the stigma of mental health, and although he applied it to a different experience, I am so grateful that their foundation brings awareness, which is invaluable.

Amen.

Blogger is Back - In Time for Haiku Friday

I was a little twitchy yesterday given that Blogger was unavailable. I sure am glad its back in time for Haiku Friday. Today's subject: tulips

Mary loves Tulips
Fresh from the store Dad brought them
I meant to plant some

I had nothing yesterday. So I stayed home. I dug out my desk. And only did 2 loads of laundry. I cooked a chicken. I did nothing. It was good. I have more today.

The kids had skating yesterday. They are both doing well. Iron Man is really coordinated. Tinker Bell gives it what she's got and I think she likes it better than any of her other activities. Its less demanding than karate - which is good for her coordination and concentration.