(no subject)

[ht_hokie_girl]

Volunteering has been keeping me pretty busy, which is a very good thing for my mental health. I spend 3 days a week at a local middle school, where I have become a professional at answering the questions "Why don't you substitute?" (the county won't hire anymore, and subbing is  what convinced me to go back to school and get my teaching license because I hated it that much and "Why do you volunteer here?" (I did a google search for the closest middle school and high school. The coordinator at the high school ignored three of my messages, so your school won out). I've also deflected 7 very well meaning offers to attend different churches in the area. Attending every Sunday started to feel like a chore, although I will say I miss singing hymns.  I respect other's religious beliefs, I just don't feel like I mesh well with organized religion. That is hard to explain to some super-conservative people in the Bible Belt.  The staff and teachers are super nice, and very appreciative of all the volunteers. I've been there long enough that they trust me with fundraising money, larger projects, and book fairs. At the museum, I mainly sit in the school house and organize their archives. If I could get paid for this, I could totally do it full time. I like to organize, and I love history, so it melds some of my favorite things. The other day, while copying a test on an old copier in a room rarely used, I organized all the paper cutters (letters, symbols, numbers, punctuation shaped metal pieces set into rubber that cut paper when placed under a press) into their respective groups (bubble letters, cartoon letters, etc). See? I can't sit still.

The more I read books like 1776  and April 1865 the more appalled I am at my own history education. I feel like all the juicy bits were left out. So I'm looking forward to reading a few books I'll put on my Christmas list, and I'm hitting up a used bookstore next week.