It Could Have Been Worse......

We moved into our new house 10 days ago and today a tree fell on it. But I count ourself's lucky. It could have been way worse. The tree fell on the corner of the house pulling off siding, gutters and the soffit. It looks like the roof is okay but won't really be able to tell until morning. We are grateful that it was not worse.  We are also grateful for to the friends that came over with a chainsaw and help remove the tree so we can get out of the garage.  Amy is also very lucky because she had her car park in the exact spot where the tree landed 10 minutes before.  It sounds like there is a lot of damage in Waseca and other towns. 

If you look at the corner of the picture you will see my statue of Mary. It was my Great-Grandma's and she has come with me to every house I have. I think she was looking out for us tonight!

                                                     The rainbow after the storm.


Sharon

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." -George Eliot

When I left Carleton at the end of April I was mentally and physically exhausted. I was full of anger and sadness. I was broken.  I need to find myself again and let go.

So now four months later I feel so much better. I did a lot of sleeping in, relaxing and just being with myself. I stayed up late and slept until 9:00 every morning. Then I would get up and have my coffee and maybe by 11:00 I would shower and get dressed and go on with my day. It was great. It was what I needed to decompress and find me again.

A week after I left Carleton I started working as a on-call person at ICAN in Waseca. They are a great small company that has group homes for disabled people and they help in supporting them in their daily lives.  I would work two or three shifts a week.  I loved the work. I really enjoyed working with and getting to know the people in the home I worked at. It was so good to work with people that appreciated you and knowing that I was helping to make there lives better. The bad part was it was working evenings and weekends again.  Even if it was only a couple shifts a week and I loved the work I always kept my eyes open for something else because I knew I did not want to work evenings. Really I did not want to work at all but if I wanted to have some spending money I knew I need to work part time somewhere for the next 5 years when I could really retire for good.

So tomorrow that something else is going to start. I was hired by the Waseca School District as a Paraprofessional working in the high school with special needs kids. I am very excited. I have said for years that it is a job that I wanted to try.  After 26 years I will no longer have to work weekends, night, rotating shifts, or holidays. And best of all no summer work. I will work a total of 172 days in a year. I will be 5 minutes from my job if I drive or I can bike to it in ten minutes.  No more getting up at 3:30 in the morning, driving for an hour and working a 10 hour shift and driving another hour home.  I will put in 7.5 hours days at the most. I am so excited to start this new adventure.

So at 56 years old I am started a new career. It is not a high paying job nor is it full time. But it is a job I have always wanted to try so I am.

It is never to late to try something you have always wanted to do.....
Sharon