Holidays
Happy Holidays to all of you!
Here, in lieu of any kind of greeting card or letter I give you my joys and sorrows of 2008. Because I want to leave you with a happy tone I will give the sorrows first.
This year I lost both my parents to colon cancer that spread through their bodies in different ways. My mom, Joyce, died in Jan and my dad, Oscar, died in Sept. I remain sad, but hopeful through this process. Now I am given the blessing of going through all the stuff... theirs and mine. I decided to move into the family home. This means that I had to sort and get rid of a lot of their stuff (mostly mom's) and sort and get rid of a lot of my stuff, remodeling the family home and moving from my house into it... then need to get that house ready to rent. I found out about holidays and contractors... not easy to keep them to task and this project is taking longer than originally anticipated. That's a big sorrow in my life now. I really want to be done with this! I am so ready to move on and be finished with this transition.
Another sad situation is the "falling out" I had with the mom of the girl I fostered for 18 months. She proved to not be able to be a friend to me, showing me early on that she was only interested in herself and what she perceived to be wrongs done to her, not being empathetic about me or my feelings at all. After having told her that I didn't want to have anything to do with her she slandered me to the community framing me a "drug user" saying that is why we don't hang out... not true. Not true at all. The girl also distanced herself from me, even though we text occasionally, she's not a part of my life at all now.
Top 10 Joys of 2008
10) Joe moved into his own apartment! (Now the ex is out of my house and on his own)
9) Joe got a job! (The reason he was able to move out)
8) I inherited lots of vehicles (now I have my car (Prius), the Kia- still trying to sell it, though, the mini-van, a suburban truck, and a travel trailer) that are all running and in good condition.
7) I went back to Spring Mysteries Festival last Easter and reconnected with several friends I've known for a long time.
6) One of the friends- David (Merlyn) came out to NM this summer twice to help me fix up my house (before dad died & the house that I'm going to be renting out)
5) My job- It is a joy to work with the individuals I serve and those that are my colleagues. The employment has been caring and empathetic through all the grief I've endured and is flexible with the schedule. I've hired some really fabulous case managers and they help me by not needing a huge amount of oversight.
4) Starting training as a sex educator for Developmentally Delayed individuals. There are a couple of professionals that developed a curriculum for the people I serve who desperately need it. It is 3 series each series involving 8 classes. I have completed training on Series 1 and 2 and am scheduled to begin teaching mid February in Las Cruces and Alamogordo.
3) Athena's Home Novelties. I started as a distributor and it is a fun setting in which to teach adult women about their bodies and empowerment. I gain great joy each party that I put on. (The tiny sadness is that this has been on hold this past 4 months due to the grief and moving challenges.)
2) Pati- my cleaning lady. She has helped me SO MUCH. I gave in and got a woman to come help me once a week to keep my house clean. She is really worth it. She helps with the laundry, kitchen, floors, bathrooms, etc... and she's been coming 2x/week lately to help me to pack, clean, organize and move all my stuff. I am very grateful she's in my life. I don't know how awful this all could have been without her help! Plus, as a bonus, she's helping me learn Spanish because she doesn't really speak English at all. :)
1) Trianna turned 10 and is in the 5th grade! She's a big kid at school and amazes me with her creativity and empathy toward younger students. She is happy to have a Kinder to care for. :) I can't believe she is getting so old! She is my biggest joy at the moment.
Now you are all caught up with me and where I am in my life. I have a lot to do and much work to yet accomplish. I hope to be able to show people the "new home" I'm creating very soon. I also give thanks in advance for the blessing of a responsible tenant coming into my other house soon!
May each of you find your blessings even in the middle of tough times!
Holiday Greetings!
Sarah Heartsong
Here, in lieu of any kind of greeting card or letter I give you my joys and sorrows of 2008. Because I want to leave you with a happy tone I will give the sorrows first.
This year I lost both my parents to colon cancer that spread through their bodies in different ways. My mom, Joyce, died in Jan and my dad, Oscar, died in Sept. I remain sad, but hopeful through this process. Now I am given the blessing of going through all the stuff... theirs and mine. I decided to move into the family home. This means that I had to sort and get rid of a lot of their stuff (mostly mom's) and sort and get rid of a lot of my stuff, remodeling the family home and moving from my house into it... then need to get that house ready to rent. I found out about holidays and contractors... not easy to keep them to task and this project is taking longer than originally anticipated. That's a big sorrow in my life now. I really want to be done with this! I am so ready to move on and be finished with this transition.
Another sad situation is the "falling out" I had with the mom of the girl I fostered for 18 months. She proved to not be able to be a friend to me, showing me early on that she was only interested in herself and what she perceived to be wrongs done to her, not being empathetic about me or my feelings at all. After having told her that I didn't want to have anything to do with her she slandered me to the community framing me a "drug user" saying that is why we don't hang out... not true. Not true at all. The girl also distanced herself from me, even though we text occasionally, she's not a part of my life at all now.
Top 10 Joys of 2008
10) Joe moved into his own apartment! (Now the ex is out of my house and on his own)
9) Joe got a job! (The reason he was able to move out)
8) I inherited lots of vehicles (now I have my car (Prius), the Kia- still trying to sell it, though, the mini-van, a suburban truck, and a travel trailer) that are all running and in good condition.
7) I went back to Spring Mysteries Festival last Easter and reconnected with several friends I've known for a long time.
6) One of the friends- David (Merlyn) came out to NM this summer twice to help me fix up my house (before dad died & the house that I'm going to be renting out)
5) My job- It is a joy to work with the individuals I serve and those that are my colleagues. The employment has been caring and empathetic through all the grief I've endured and is flexible with the schedule. I've hired some really fabulous case managers and they help me by not needing a huge amount of oversight.
4) Starting training as a sex educator for Developmentally Delayed individuals. There are a couple of professionals that developed a curriculum for the people I serve who desperately need it. It is 3 series each series involving 8 classes. I have completed training on Series 1 and 2 and am scheduled to begin teaching mid February in Las Cruces and Alamogordo.
3) Athena's Home Novelties. I started as a distributor and it is a fun setting in which to teach adult women about their bodies and empowerment. I gain great joy each party that I put on. (The tiny sadness is that this has been on hold this past 4 months due to the grief and moving challenges.)
2) Pati- my cleaning lady. She has helped me SO MUCH. I gave in and got a woman to come help me once a week to keep my house clean. She is really worth it. She helps with the laundry, kitchen, floors, bathrooms, etc... and she's been coming 2x/week lately to help me to pack, clean, organize and move all my stuff. I am very grateful she's in my life. I don't know how awful this all could have been without her help! Plus, as a bonus, she's helping me learn Spanish because she doesn't really speak English at all. :)
1) Trianna turned 10 and is in the 5th grade! She's a big kid at school and amazes me with her creativity and empathy toward younger students. She is happy to have a Kinder to care for. :) I can't believe she is getting so old! She is my biggest joy at the moment.
Now you are all caught up with me and where I am in my life. I have a lot to do and much work to yet accomplish. I hope to be able to show people the "new home" I'm creating very soon. I also give thanks in advance for the blessing of a responsible tenant coming into my other house soon!
May each of you find your blessings even in the middle of tough times!
Holiday Greetings!
Sarah Heartsong