The Pennsylvania Pin

From the winter of 2011, I have been trying to prepare myself for this moment. Part of me expected it to happen sooner. But it just kept being pushed back, landing time and time again on the back burner. My car hasn’t been running great for the last couple of years. My freezing visit to Michigan I thought solved that problem and was ready to continue my days with my constant companion: my car. It seems though that Pennsylvania did not like that idea. After taking her in for the state inspection, I was issued a laundry list of things that needed to be fixed. Unfortunately the cost to fix them all was more than the car was worth. It felt like I was socked right in the gut. This was the car that had been with me for the past 11 years; the one that became my home on a few different occasions. How could I just send it to the junkyard?

The real smack down hit me the hardest when I realized I had no choice. My inspections tags would expire in two weeks. After that, I would be illegal to drive the vehicle. I was pinned.

In a great whirlwind experience that was quite stressful, I managed to purchase another car.  Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful for this new vehicle. It has way more whistles than my old car like power windows and locks, a sunroof, CD player, roof rack, and keyless entry.  I know God was definitely working as all seemed to fall into place in a very short period of time. Still, I can’t help but miss my old car. She was always dependable for great gas mileage.  I could sit and imagine where everything would fit when it came time to pack her up for another move. It didn’t even bother me how the radio and AC didn’t work.

I never imagined that getting a new car would fell like this.  Many people have been congratulating me on my new purchase. I want to be excited, but at this stage I am still in mourning. I am sure I will someday feel the same way about my new car. The knowledge of what my old car used to be able to do will fade.

And so, here is to another step in letting go, but never forgetting.

1998 Purple Chevrolet Cavalier

May 2003- August 2014.

We had a good run.

Creativity is Awesome

August 18-22, 2014

After last year’s Art Camp, Aletheia drove home bursting with ideas to make this year even better. 

First step: change the name from Art Camp to Creativity Camp; opening more doors of possibility. 

 
 


Second step: give each day a theme that focuses on a different branch of creativity whether writing a story or making wearable art.

Third step: add a day at the end that lets the campers exhibit to friends and family all they had been working on throughout the week.

All of the planning and preparation was well worth it as the girls had a fabulous week!

My First Flower Garden

Just days before we for Michigan, I couldn’t help but wonder if my flowers were going to survive our two week absence.

 I ask Aletheia’s dad to give them a watering if they didn’t get any rain.

Now, I am happy to report that only two flowers died in my first attempt as at a flower garden. 

However, I won’t see the result of some of my efforts until the spring. Will the bulbs I planted (at the wrong time I later found out) make it? Will the perennials survive their first winter? Is mint as hardy as they say it is? Only time will tell, my fellow-novice gardeners. Only time will tell.

Hershey - More than Just a Chocolate Bar

Can one live 15 miles away from the Sweetest Place on Earth and not dip into some of the chocolaty possibilities? I have to admit; it did take Aletheia and me a while to experience some of the sweet spots of Hershey, PA. Living in such an easy distance to one of the tourist hotspots of Pennsylvania has its advantages: you don’t have to pay for hotels or eat out in a restaurant for every meal AND the odds of meeting someone that works at one of Hershey attractions is very good.

Stephan came into our lives through work Aletheia was doing with a local church. They were like old friends instantly, which led to him coming over to hang out at our house one evening. As conversation progressed, Stephan started telling us about his job working on the trolley tours that ran out of Hershey World. As he described what he did and told us some of the history of the town, he started to light up. His admiration for Milton Hershey spoke volumes. I wanted to experience Hershey though the eyes of someone who had been teaching Milton Hershey’s legacy to people for a decade, so I asked when his next tour was and how to sign-up?

Thus began our experience of Hershey, PA. A few days later, we were on a trolley, touring the town of Hershey and hearing an amazing story of how one man made it through multiple bankruptcies to one day build a town and a school and change peoples lives all around the world through chocolate.

Thanks Stephan for opening our eyes to all that is packed into the name Hershey!

24-hour Turn Around

Aletheia and I are always reminding each other that it only takes a split second for things to change – one phone call, one knock on the door, or one answer to a question can really truly change the course and pace of your life. The hardest part is waiting for that moment. I have been operating in the waiting mode for so long, that when that moment finally arrived it happened so fast that it almost didn’t seem real.

For the past couple of months I have been living a life that did not include any predictable income from an outside source. Yes, I have been earning a little money from Space to Spire, but it is very unpredictable concerning when and how much I will receive. For the first half of the year, Frey’s Greenhouse played the roll of steady consistent income as a part-time job so I would still have time to work in the Spire realm. With the greenhouse season over, I need something else. After many inquiries and filling out many applications, all seemed to be lost in the large abyss of job hunting.

I have plenty of experience on the job hunt front but I still find it tricky to know what to do. I have turned in an application, but how much time needs to pass before I call and ask about it? Should I do it in person? After two week, I went for the plunge. After all, what would be the worst thing that could happen? I wouldn’t get the job? It seemed that that would be the case anyway, so why not?

After walking around the store for a while, I spotted one of the managers on the phone. While keeping my actions casual, I looked at the nearby merchandise all the while planning what I was going to say once he was off the phone.

Once his phone call was complete, I approached and issued my opening line. I managed to miss understand his response and continue in my focused, pre-meditated fashion. This got a chuckle out of the manager as I soon realized that his reply didn’t even register. After clearing up the misunderstanding with light and witty tones, I asked if they would be hiring for the holiday season anytime soon and ending the paragraph with a short phrase about not wanting my application to get lost in the “great abyss”. Yes I did use that phrase. And, why not? I had already made a spectacle of myself, why not jump in with both feet? Right?

Yup it was risky. I walked away feeling like somewhat of an idiot. I finished some of my other errands which included picking up another job application to a different store. I relayed the story to my roommate when I returned home, which resulted in some laughs about it all. When I got to my room, I look at my phone and saw that I had a voice message. It seemed that the intro to one of those moments had arrived. The manager found my application and wondered if I could come in for an interview the next day. Less than 24 hours later, I am officially hired as the newest Hobby Lobby employee assigned to work in the frame shop. My first day: Aug 25^th. Let the new adventure begin.