Big News

I'm recovering this morning from a visit from Princess June. At three years old, it was her first time to visit alone. As the little sister, she's always been here with her big sister. I took lots and lots of pictures and there will be several blog posts coming up. But first, I have some big news to report.

Pending a background check, a physical, and a drug test, Patrick has found a job. It's right here in Corpus Christi so we won't have to relocate. He'll be doing inside sales for a company that sells many of the things he's sold in the past -- industrial hoses and fittings, gaskets and packing, expansion joints, and other industrial products and services. The pay is somewhat less than he was previously earning, but the benefits are good and, after a year, he will participate in their bonus program which should help with the salary difference. And, there is a good chance for advancement.

We expect that he will start working sometime late in July, which is perfect timing because his severence and benefits from his old company expire at the end of July. The only concern we have is that the new company has a three month waiting period before their health insurance kicks in, so we're looking at potentially two-to-three months without health insurance. And, before you ask, we have already explored the COBRA option. At more than $1,100 per month, we simply can't afford it. So we're looking around for some gap coverage.

In addition, the whole time we've been dealing with the job loss and job search, we've also been dealing with my mother-in-law's declining health. She's 84 years old and has been in reasonably good shape until recently. Since May she's had a mild stroke which has left her with significant weakness on one side, a surgical procedure to open a blockage between her kidney and bladder, and now she has hairline fractures of two vertabrae.

She can no longer take care of herself and, even though one of her daughters lives with her, family members have had to step up to help take care of her. For me, that means cooking meals to send down to her several times a week. For Patrick, that means helping transport her from home to medical testing and doctor appointments a couple of times a week. It also sometimes means just sitting with her. It's been keeping us busy.

Now, about my long absence from blogging ... I don't really know how to explain it. Patrick and I were talking about it last night. It's like this whole experience just kind of stole my voice. I would think of topics to write about. I would even start writing. But I would not or could not finish and publish them. Our life went on almost like normal. We never missed a paycheck, but there was a huge feeling of loss. I can only compare it to the death of a loved one. There was always this spector of impending disaster in the distance.

Thank you to to all of my blogging buddies who have checked on me from time to time. I can't tell you what that meant to me.

I would also like to thank the staff at the school where I substitute. The ladies at Wood River Primary School, especially Dawn Denman who handles scheduling, kept me working almost every day from the time I told them that Patrick was losing his job until the end of the school year. I truly appreciate their thoughtfulness and support. It would have been so much harder without them.

I'm hoping that as he goes back to work, life will get back on track and I'll be able to get back to blogging on more of a regular basis. I guess time will tell.

The Substitute Diaries - What's That Name Again?

I have found that one of the most interesting and frustrating parts of working in the school system is learning the names that are in vogue at the moment.

I will preface this post by telling you right up front that I am not a fan of unusual names. Honestly, I don't get the fascination with giving your kid a name that no one will ever pronounce or spell correctly. My mother named me Vicki. No, not Victoria, just Vicki. Vicki is one of those names that is often misspelled. I often get Vickie or Vicki. In high school I had a teacher who insisted it should be spelled Vikki. And I have family members who still don't get it right to this day. But, no matter how it's spelled, the pronunciation is never an issue.

When our first child was a girl, we were shocked and unprepared with a name. We had a boy's name picked out before we even got married. The hospital staff insisted that we give her a name before we were discharged. So after hours and hours of deliberation we named our daughter Kathryn Anne, always intending to call her Katy. I will confess that I wanted to name her Katy Scarlett, but my husband was having none of that. He insisted on formal names rather than nicknames.

Then when we had our second child, we still had our boy's name in reserve, but we had decided if it was a girl she would be named Emily Marie. I named him right there in the delivery room, Nicholas Patrick. When he was about 9, he came home from school one day and told me, "Mom, everyone else calls me Nick." From that day on he's been Nick.

Years later, when I told someone our children were named Nicholas and Kathryn, they asked me if I had an obsession with Russian aristocracy. Honestly, that had never occured to me.

Since I've been working in the schools, I have seen a lot of names that I've never seen before.

I've had both an Aubrey and an Aubryna in the same class. I've also had Kristin and Kiersten in the same classrom.  I've had Riley, Rylee, and Brylee, some of those are boys and some of them are girls. Then there are Isaiah and Izaiha. There are Amia, Amaya, and Ayana. Also Desiree, Desarae, and Dezirae. Madison and Madisyn. Destinee and Destiny. Kamden and Camden. Tiffany and Tiffinee. Kaylee, Caylee, and Kailey. Baylee, Baleigh, and Bailey. Carly and Karlee. Cameron, Kamryn, and Camryn. Jonathon, Johnathon, and Jonathen.

Among the unusual names are Wilmer, Seidi (pronounced Sadie), and Anazaria.We've also got River and Rain who are siblings.

I'm never quite sure what parents are trying to accomplish by giving their children unusual names. A name is not what makes a child stand out. But, hey, it's a free country. Name your kid whatever you want. But, if you choose to give them an unusual or oddly spelled name, don't expect everyone to be able to pronounce it or spell it correctly. You'll need to prepare your child to cope with that. And, please, above all else, teach them to be polite about correcting people who get it wrong, especially adults. I've actually had first graders roll their eyes at me when I mispronounced their name while checking attendance.

Bloglovin

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/3830518/?claim=vnqr86trsdt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Time for an Update

I realize that I've been silent about our situation and a few of you have very kindly sent me emails and notes checking on us. It's time for an update, although there really isn't much that's newsworthy.

Patrick worked through the end of March closing down the local operation, disposing of furniture and equipment, shipping the stock to other stores, and terminating all the services they used locally. During the last week, he was asked at the last minute to rent a truck and drive the remaining equipment and stock first to Houston and then to Lake Charles, Louisiana. It was a difficult experience. It would have been much easier if he could have just walked away and been finished when they notified him of the impending closure. But, they compensated him for the extra work, so it was a worthwhile endeavor.

So, even though we knew it was coming for several weeks, he woke up on April 1st to the reality of being unemployed for the first time since 1979. I have to say, he's been very disciplined. He gets up with me every morning and gets dressed. He's taken over the laundry (okay, I sort it for him) and the housework. He's also been working on cleaning out the garage. I must confess, our garage has always been a mess. It's where we tend to drop things. But when he moved the remnants of 30+ years from his office to our home, it filled it to the point that my car won't fit in until it's cleaned. Fortunately, the kids are coming in the weekend after Easter to do the heavy lifting. Hopefully, my car should have it's home back after that.

He's been meeting weekly with a job coach who is helping him plan his job search and learn how to look for a job in the 21st century. That's a big plus considering how much the process has changed since 1979. He's learning about Monster.com, LinkedIn, and the plethora of other job sites. He's already been on two interviews, one of which was very promising, but he hasn't heard anything from them yet. The other one wanted him to be a door-to-door salesman for an electric provider ... all commission with no benefits. No thank you!

As for me, I've been able to increase the number of days I'm working. Rather than the three days a week I usually work, I've been working almost every day. It's not much extra money, but it makes me feel better psychologically. I'm also very busy most evenings and weekends with sewing and alterations. And, just to be clear, we're okay for now. Patrick's severance package will run through the end of July and that includes our medical and dental insurance. We're very hopeful that he will have a job by then.

We are very grateful for all the people who have offered to help in his job search. One of Katy's lifelong friends has even hooked him up with a recruiter she uses in her business. We have really found that people are very kind and helpful. I'll let you know as we move through the process or as things change.

Now for today's news. I have a black eye. That's right. It looks like someone punched me. Yesterday morning I opened the upper cabinet to reach for a coffee pod. When I did, a metal lid fell off the top shelf and hit me right on the top of my cheekbone at the eye socket. Here's what it looked like immediately after it happened.

A day later, it's significantly darker and wider and has blended into the dark circles that are always under my eyes anyway, making it look much worse than it is. It really does look like someone punched me in the eye.

We went out shopping this afternoon and I noticed an interesting phenomenon related to my black eye. When I saw someone I know, they would ask me what happened to my eye. But, interestingly, strangers looked away and didn't make eye contact. I'm guessing they assumed that I had been punched. They looked away rather than ask if I needed help or if I was okay. I'm kind of conflicted about that. I don't really think strangers should get all up in my business, but I'd like to think that if I needed help someone would offer.

We're headed for San Antonio tomorrow. It's Katy's birthday and we're going to take her out to lunch. Then we're going to babysit tomorrow night so Travis can take her out for her birthday.

I hope you have a great weekend.

As I promised yesterday, I'm letting you know that the Kickstart campaign for a printing of The Magician's Cat is live and ready for your support.

Here's Monica's note:

The Magician's Cat Print Campaign is Live!

I just pressed the launch button on Kickstarter to try to make a print version of The Magician's Cat! Here's the link:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/774786282/the-magicians-cat-print-edition-of-the-ebook

The campaign includes:

• Loads of original art rewards 
• Stretch goals that give backers cool bonuses! 
• Copies donated to Animal Welfare for fundraising! 

I hope you'll take a look and tell some friends! And if you enjoy my work and want to help me keep making art, make a pledge! :)

And of course the free ebook is online now -- available in multi formats for your eReading pleasure. Thank you so much to everyone who helped make this happen!

 

downloadable PDF

 

ePub ebook download

Mobi ebook download

If you are able, I hope you will support Monica's efforts.

I've Got a Treat for You

My cousin James' daughter, Monica, is an artist who works in Austin, Texas. I got a note from James this evening letting me know that Monica is giving away downloads of a children's book that she wrote and illustrated. I contacted him right away and got permission to share it with you.

Here's what James said:

Some of you may be aware that in high school, Monica wrote and illustrated a children's book titled The Magician's Cat.  Light and whimsical, it tells about a shy cat with a strong work ethic and devotion to duty who struggles to find some balance in life.  (The underlying "message" is a soft sell; the appeal in the book is in the light verse and the artwork).

Last year, Monica decided to update the artwork (and create some new drawings) and to publish the book as a FREE ebook and launched a successful Kickstarter project to fund the efforts.  Earlier this week, she made the book available online.  

You can access files to download to your computer, your iPad, or your Kindle by going to:

Downloadable pdf

ePub ebook download

Mobi ebook download

James only had two requests:

1) Let family and friends with young children and grandchildren know about this book and how they can access it.  The grownups will appreciate the artwork as well!
2) Tell them also that on Thursday, April 17 (noonish), Monica is launching another Kickstarter to fund a print run of the book for those who prefer to have a hardcopy for the kids' library.  If any of you fall into that category, you can assure yourself of one of the first copies with a small pledge to the Kickstarter campaign.

I will publish a link to the Kickstarter project as soon as it's available. If you are inclined to pledge, sooner is better.  A good start at the opening of the project builds momentum and may make the difference between a successful (funded) project and one that doesn't make its goal.

I'm also including a link to Monica's blog, No Borders Studio. You might want to have a look at her other projects and illustrations.

I hope you enjoy this beautiful book. Please feel free to pass the word about the free download.

Change is Hard

Life has thrown us a big, giant curve ball. We found out last week that the company Patrick works for is closing their local office. That means after 35 years of working the same job, he will be unemployed at the end of March. There will be a modest severance package, but we don't have all the details of that yet.

We are both having a hard time coming to grips with this new reality and working through what our next steps might be. We are not quite old enough to just go ahead and take retirement. The most troubling aspect is the loss of our health insurance.

Facing forced career change is never easy. That's especially true at 62 years old. I must admit that I'm very angry. It seems to me that this company has little regard for an employee who has been a loyal worker for many years. I know that I've got to work my way through this anger in order to make this into a positive change.

We have only just begun to explore some alternatives. I'd like to use this as an opportunity to move closer to Our Little Princesses. But, truthfully, we will see where a job opportunity arises and follow the work.

We have always met our financial responsibilities head on. It is very important to us to pay our bills on time and to live within our means. The prospect of losing our income and having to juggle and stretch to meet our obligations is scary. I've been trying to do a little research and gather advice about how to prepare for unemployment and loss of income.

I know it's been a long time since I've posted. I just don't seem to have enough hours in the day. I've taken today off to try to get some rest. For the past few days, I've come home from work and literally fallen asleep sitting straight upright in my chair. I'm gong to try to get in a trip to the grocery store today and maybe do a little sewing for myself if I don't spend the entire day sleeping.

If you have any advice or tips for us in dealing with this situation we're facing, I'd love to hear from you.