My daughters have always added love, joy, and excitement to my life. They have taught me more about life and love than you or they could imagine. There has never been a moment that I did not treasure their company; even during trying times in those teenage years. I love you girls!
Because she was too young to write, I wrote this book for my three year old granddaughter as a diary. It was offered to her as a recording of her thoughts, feelings, and actions. I hope this book brings her joy as she uses it to reminisce about this glorious event in the life of her family and herself.
Ellie, just a toddler herself, walks you through the mixture of emotions and questions an only child feels when a new bundle of joy is welcomed into the family.
I began October with the goal of simplifying my life by organizing my home and doing things to make cleaning quicker and easier.
I began by purging closets and drawers. I pulled everything out and in very little time separated clothing, electronics, and toys into three categories: keep, trash, and donate. BUT I am still left with papers I have not gone through to determine what to keep and what to trash.
Pa
pers aside, there have been other accomplishments toward meeting my goal. I have made specific spaces for storing materials for all my activities: writing, sewing, music, jewelry, painting. Glass top furniture pieces have been eliminated or replaced with easier to keep clean pieces. The glass and wood coffee table is now one of those all wood lift top tables with storage. Nick-Nacks that require tedious dusting have been removed.
Even the outside of my home is being simplified. No more painting and staining the deck and porches. Wood has been replaced with composite decking.
Purge…purge…purge.
Once I have the house done, it’s on to the storage shed.
Now, back to those papers.
Writng, writng, and more writing. That’s what I’ve been doing between naps. I have written one nonfiction book and one children’s book. The nonfiction, Kindness and Caring: a 40 day challenge, is almost ready to be published. The children’s book needs to be illustrated and formatted.
What Do I Do Well, is a children’s book I wrote about five years ago. It has been illustrated, and will soon be published also. 
Watch for me online and in stores.
Well, it has been almost two months since my official retirement date. It didn’t seem any different until last week. As a school teacher, I always had summers off for vacation. This summer was just as it normally is for a summer vacation other than everyone asking me what I was going to do now and what it felt like to be retired. What did they mean? What was I going to do… anything I want to do or nothing at all. Isn’t that what retirement means… ceasing to work?
Anyway, last week summer vacation ended and students returned to the classroom. Now, retirement is real! Now, I feel fully retired. I miss the cheerful greetings and hugs from returning students. I miss getting to know the strengths and weaknesses of new students and creating ways to use the first to overcome the latter. BUT I don’t miss early rising, late evening, and bringing work home. I don’t miss thinking about going to work sick because it’s easier than making lesson plans for a substitute to follow, especially knowing that you will probably need to teach or reteach the material you left because the substitute decides not to follow your plan. I don’t miss working lunches. And I don’t miss the meeting where teachers are introduced to the next educational trend.
with The Artspreneur 