Light the Night Brunch

Today, Steve and I attended a brunch given by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for those of us who raised over $1,000 in the Light the Night walk. It was very nice. There was good food and some speeches. I received a certificate for being in the "Bright Lights" club. The day of the walk, they had taken my picture. I found out today that they are using those pictures by sending them to Washington, DC as part of a campaign for more funding. They call it "The Faces of Blood Cancers." So my face is going to Washington, imagine that.

A speaker told a story that I liked very much. A man had two sons. One was an optimist and one was a pessimist. One day, he decided to teach them both a lesson. He put his pessimistic son in a room with every toy imaginable figuring that this would make him happy. He put his optimistic son in a room full of manure and some tools to show him that life isn't always so great. When he went in the room to see how his pessimistic son was doing, he found that he was crying. When he asked him why he was crying, the son replied that he believed that if he chose a toy to play with, someone might come and steal the other toys. The father left, just shaking his head. He then went into the room of the optimistic son and found him digging away at the pile of manure. He asked him why he was digging. This son replied-with all this manure there must be a pony in here somewhere! The speaker then concluded that this is what we must do-keep digging until we find a cure.

This year's walk is scheduled for October 7th. I plan to do it again. We could always use more members on Team Jackiepie!

Ice Skating

My sister Patricia asked me if I wanted to go ice skating with Peter this weekend. At first I thought about the cleaning and laundry I should do. (Now that I am back to work, I don't have the time to do it during the week.) Then I thought about what is more important. Will my nephew care about how clean my house is or the time we spend together? And I have been wanting to go ice skating for a long time. I always loved to skate, and I think it has been about ten years since the last time I went skating. So, it didn't take me long to decide to go ice skating. There is an arena very close to my house, and I had never been there. Peter and I had a great time, and Patricia, Steve, and Andrew came later to watch us. And guess what? I was able to do my cleaning and laundry as well. I had so much fun that I think I may start to go ice skating myself on a regular basis. It's good exercise and I really enjoy it.

So many times we get wrapped up in what we think is important. That's OK, but don't forget to enjoy life also. In the past, I would save the best for last. Not anymore. I try to do what I want when I want to do it. I don't neglect what needs to be done, but I also try to do things that will make me happy. When I feel guilty about it, I tell myself that I am worth it. Eat dessert first, have fun, and be happy. Tomorrow is promised to no one.

First Day Back to School

I can't believe that this day finally happened.  I went back to work today.  I had a very good day.  Actually, I did not do much-mostly I observed the substitute and the kids.  The sub will stay with me one more day, then Thursday they will be all mine!  The kids are really cute.  They seem to like me.  Everyone is asking me if I am tired.  Really, I am not.  I had plenty of energy all day.  I'm starting to get a little sleepy from waking up early, but that is good because I know I'll get a good night's rest.  It's a little strange to be back, but soon it will feel like I never left.

That's all for now-I've got to get ready for work tomorrow you know!  :)