The trick is to not drink the Poison

4th Full week of classes
1st 2 weeks were only 4 days

Saturday morning post shower, dogs having a barking festival at the bay window in the dining room, receiving a B (large terrifying chord) on my Management of Health Care Facilities class.  EEK.  I have not ever gotten a B a Stephens. Thankfully my proff will allow me to redo the part I obviously didn't understand.  My lack of experience in the HealthCare field is glaringly apparent.

This the function of the madness of my job. I have only so much time when I am lucid.  I have negligible experience in Healthcare. There are gaps in my background.
Everyday, I try to see Jesus going a few steps ahead of me.

The reality of schools is still the same as I have always known it to be. I was optimistic that there might be different attitudes in play since 1981 when I graduated.
 Sadly, there is still no positive reinforcement for teachers.  There is no belief in each other and the building up of one another, only jealousy and back stabbing. I have received no encouragement only correction.

It is parallel in the non-school world I think. I am taught that positive reinforcement is much more powerful than negative-- in both disciplines-- education and business.  That negative reinforcement corrects faster but also decays faster.  That positive reinforcement takes longer but has longevity.

This is the point of madness:
 If you are in charge, and expected to manage benevolently, but you yourself are managed negatively with swift and severe methods, along with subterfuge and gossip --of course you tend to "pass on the love."
The trick is to not drink the poison. Seems easy. But to recognize the poison--it is not always apparent- is tricky.

You never know what is around the corner

Tomorrow is Monday, and I will be up at 4 AM - to get ready for my 7th grade Orchestra at 7:40 AM.

What has happened?  I suddenly am the Orchestra Teacher at the local Middle school.  Stunned.

I will get control of the 6th graders. Somehow.  They will not be my undoing.  I put tape on the floor to set up the chairs by.  I have foraged for instruments for them-- and spent 2 weeks frantically repairing, repairing.
I set a sound post. .

It's 8:35.

My bedtime

My hair is being pulled away by the stars again....

I think I moved in July-- it's now hitting me.
Well, it's Thursday--in the springy-yet-still-cold part of March, whisking the time forward and backwards simultaneously--Spring Hill Nursey diverted my brain with Blue Moon Reblooming Wisteria and 
Double Scoop Cranberry Coneflower, and Mixed Victorian Primrose and

Red Colannaded Apple

Lots of studying too-Happy about spring, somewhat dismayed about people's behavior in general-- and learning to be "busy not thinking about things..."

I feel like I'm getting some rest

I am quiet--

knitting--

watching west wing --

all three quite a lot.
Struggling with my numbers, (Blood sugar), recovering from last semester,
getting ready for the one to come, trying to use as many commas as I can in this sentence,
getting LucyBeans
used to wearing her doggy boots in the freezing cold snow,

getting loose ends tide up, still look for the period of this sentence---oh, here it is.

Flummoxed at SandHill Slough

Today is finally over.  I dove in to a nest of bees and only got stung 3 times: My accounting test-- 3 wrong.

Worked on my quality management project today and remained flummoxed.  Flummoxed at SandHill Slough home with the cranes--- I HEARD them this morning. 

 I've been beating this wretched cold with a stick--

I finally had a day when I could walk around with out laying down every 10 minutes.  It was a feature of this cold-- laying down was the chief thing that made it better.  I gave up and stayed in bed all day yesterday- then got up at 7 PM and did an accounting paper.  I am winning.  Just the headache-- which I think  is caffeine withdrawal.  

Tomorrow!                              Walgreens and the Library!!!  

Adventures with dog training and the electronic fence.

snore

Tucky met the wild huskies with Dan on the leash this morning.  I needless to say was still in bed.

Going there soon, as I feel the damn fever coming on.  

Monday-- tread carefully

Walkies were really cool and nice.  Mr. Dog was perky and a bit unruly.

The Garbage Pickup is happening and there is a parade of tanker trucks barreling down Center street every 15 minutes. (???)The Cleveland Garbage process takes the entire day.
 The truck drives up and down the street past our bags almost all day, before they are picked up... We just don't understand what the method is.  The tankers-- We don't know what they are up to-- it's just excessive. They tankers where doing this all day yesterday--Sunday!!!! Who does this on a Sunday!!!

Sunday was the first with 2 services, so we drove separate cars.  I was able to use Dairyland Drive-- finally open again.  The drive is really pretty--


 lots of cows.
The Buick, my favorite, seems to have developed some sort of fuel leak.
EEK.  So we are going to try to handle that this afternoon.

I'm working on my Project for Quality Management.  Or at least planning to.

More coffee

I have missed over half of 2014 here.  So I will doggedly start over again.

We have moved house, and DHs job--and everything is in disarray--but getting better.   We love our new house.

   His job as a pastor in the north--went south.  Sadly there were so many deaths of very old people that the congregation could no longer pay a full time pastor.

 When one old person dies, the spouse, if there is one is usually moved out to be close to their offspring for care.   Some older members were "disappeared!"  Their adult children just took them away to live with them.  One family requested that the church not contact their mother.  So there were many goodbye's-- and so many that just left without saying goodbye.  It was really hard on the congregation to be in continual mourning.  We had 5 funerals in 6 weeks, at one point.  It also was hard on the church finances.. When these people left and or died, so did their support of the church.   When a church is delicate like this, having undergone so much death and sadness, the "alligators" come out.

 There are predatory members, that wait until the ultimate point of vulnerability and then take over.  That too happened at this church.

My husband provided pastoral care for all-- but could not stay the passive-aggressive actions of this contingent.  
We found another place and moved in under 3 weeks of accepting the new Call.    It was the right place, at the right time.  It is a Call.   I am happy to be near a metropolitan area again-- even though I'm still locked up with my school work.
I will try to keep better track of my life through this blogg--- that's all we can do is keep trying