omnium-gatherum part deux

[temporal1]

My goodness. April 8.
Feb 19 i returned from a longer than expected winter visit with family near Seattle.
they all kept getting very sick or injured, includng their horse! vet warned he might die. he recovered.

so did they, i’m thankful to say. i was busy! i was glad i was there to help. they needed it.

how did i not get sick??! oof. God’s will, has to be.
if i’d gotten any of their bugs, i probably wouldn’t have survived.

Home February 19.
So much to catch up on. Taxes and lots of other paperwork. Everyone must have my documents!!
Car troubles - finally resolved, thankfully. Decluttering. Now the yard is calling. Findng stairs to climb.

i decided when i returned i was going to make my best effort at ALL OF IT.
As opposed to my usual nunavut.

April 8: about 7 weeks
i’m impressed. respectable progress. now to keep the momentum.

Yesterday, i applied for REAL ID at DMV. $5.
i took many documents. they used: 1) Driver’s License, 2) Passport, 3) Utility bill.
They looked at me very suspiciously. i had no guilty conscience. so. carry on.

i have my original Soc Sec card from 1964.

In olden days, people carried them (and used them) like Driver’s Licenses.

When i look at it i think of that little girl applying for it. 14. My young signature. That signature. Full of hope.
i’d gotten a job at the nearby hospital. My father had been deathly ill the year before. i couldn’t wait to get a job.
It was critical. i don’t think anyone knew. i don’t remember talking about it. my job was to go to school and behave myself.
so i did.

[temporal1]

2021 / Hans Groff and Groffdale
https://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.php?t=4107

2026 / steve - Amish ..
https://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.php?t=8858

2026 / P.197 Bunny trails / Topeka Indiana
https://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.ph ... start=1960

[temporal1]

My grdaghter is 18.

well.

my grdaughter is now telling me about load bearing walls, rafters, footings, elevations ..
this is an architectural mentor group, she’s interested in structural engineering.

God have mercy. The things i’ve witnessed in my odd little life.

ACE Mentor Program
https://www.acementor.org/about-us/mission/

AGC
https://www.agc.org/ace-mentor-program- ... on-seattle

What i like best about the group so far:
At their first meeting they were lectured, “We want a long term relationship with you, no matter where you go or what you do, we want you to keep in touch with us.” wow. in this transient world, a non-transient message. i like.

They meet every other week after school in a swanky hirise nearby, they eat together then work. The mentors are from all aspects of building, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc.

Their first project is on a real house that a tree fell on. (Easy to find here.)

no, i’m not surprised she’s interested and able. i’ve been watching her for 18 years.

- - - - - - -

i’m most interested in her spirit and soul. no matter where she goes, what she does.
i hope she remembers.

^^ACE is going well.
i’d like to be there for their end of year presentation. doubtful. i hope it’s recorded.

she applied to a number of colleges, has received offers that make me gasp.
one school offered her a “full ride” (i think it’s called) - they decided it’s too liberal. i’m happy to say that’s a factor.

they visited 4 schools, i think.

her choices narrowed to Gonzaga/Washington and Carroll College/Montana. Both Catholic colleges, Carroll is small and remote. Not sure about being home for Christmas from Helena?! i haven’t asked. i’m trying to stay neutral and supportive.

she told me this morning she decided on Carroll. she has to sign.
frankly, i think she chose Carroll from early. i can’t say exactly why.

not her mother’s choice. at all. she told me that’s been a challenge. i said, we know your mother is strong-willed.

so. 99.99% decided. tomorrow is the final final final deadline to sign.
i said, you’re not going to wait that long? she said no.

(short) time will tell.

this is a monumental step for her. i told her there is no wrong decision. 2 good choices.

we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

if it is Carroll, i expect they’ll love her to pieces.

[temporal1]

CARROLL it is! Civil Engineering (main interest, geology)

prayers prayers prayers .. ..

[temporal1]

Today .. ordered hearing aids.

Not that it matters at all in the grand scheme of things ..

but. my ears. my ears.
i don’t want anything touching my ears ..

when i was 17, just graduated HS, started my first full time office job ..
it was early summer. some family visiting on a -rare- trip from California .. i developed an earache.

well.
it developed into a boil inside my ear, the most excruciating pain. high fever.
my old-fashioned doctor put me in the hospital for about 2 weeks, i don’t know how many penicillin shots they gave me, day+night, i remembering longing for the next one .. it was bad. the doctor said my ear opening was closed from the swelling. before that, i would do anything to avoid a needle injection. major reversal right then. “when is the nurse coming with that shot?!” in my head. too well behaved to ask, of course.

i was ashamed to cause a fuss when family was visiting. i missed their visit. plus, what a wet blanket it must have been.

anyway.
that wasn’t the only time. i had a few incidents, no hospitalizations, but excruciating pain+fever each time.
once, in Vermont, i called a doctor on Friday, too much pain to say much. he told me to take aspirin, see him in his office Monday morning. when i got there he was consumed in apologies! he said he had no idea how bad it was - until he saw me.

see? i don’t take silence for granted. silence is silence.

i felt bad for him. after all, i didn’t speak up. (i was dying) .. talk about miscommunication .. sometimes it’s better to have someone call for you.

doctors said i don’t have wax in my ears, or very little, wax prevents infection. i’m careful with my ears.
no one has to know. i can’t think of one time ears (in this context) have come up in conversation.

eventually, in my early 20’s, i stumbled upon a certain prescription cream i experimented with. i haven’t had another incident. i use it sparingly, maybe once monthly, no more incidents.

the doctors tell me not to use it. with guilt, i use it.
if they had any idea the crippling pain involved, i don’t think they would object.

so. i’m about to find out about hearing aids. next week.

[temporal1]

HEARING AIDS: got ‘em!

DAN VASC / "Nessun Dorma" - GIACOMO PUCCINI'S TURANDOT cover / 3:34min

i wrote in Comments to the singer, DAN VASC:
i found this otherworldly performance this week.

Today, i went for hearing aids, for the first time.
i asked to hear this recording in the office, my first song with the new devices.

The hearing aid team was surprised and listened (in awe) with me. What an experience for us. Thank you!

[temporal1]

^^ACE ended for this year, the students held presentations for their parents. I got to see some short out-takes.
i would have loved being there. i’m glad for the little bits i got to see.

i’d like to add a short bit, but can’t figure out how to add it.

When i look in my files, i don’t see the clips my daughter sent, they might be protected/hidden somehow.

Next week: prom!
She has a beautiful dress. So graceful and elegant. Long arms! Where did those come from?! Not me!

i remember 18 years ago when her mother called from Montreal, in tears, having such a “fat” infant!
She was roly-poly, like her mother as an infant-toddler. i tried to console. “give her time” ..

Well. There she is. Tall-ish and willowy.

i’d like 12 more just like her. all stages, every one. a precious gift.

i tell her, “13 would not be too many!”

Her dorm room is on the 3rd floor, no elevators. No worries about exercise.
Montana

[temporal1]

uhhhh.

KPFF
https://www.kpff.com/office/seattle-wa-locations-kpff/

Internship, mid-July through August.

[ohio jones]

Looks like an excellent opportunity!

[temporal1]

Looks like an excellent opportunity!

do you know this company?

God keeps sending me things i didn’t pray for. looks like He’s not going to stop.
she’s a baby. she’s so gentle. and quiet. she’s an artist and self-directed crafts-lady. emphasis on young lady.

i hope she remembers what i’ve told her all along, i only care about your spirit and your soul.
girls are pushed so hard. she has been pushed so had. she’s had some hard times.
when she’s told me, i’ve assured her, i know, i see it, i believe you. we’ve prayed together for answers and healing. from very young.

imho, her biggest problem is she’s so able.
when she’s pushed (constantly) she’s able to perform. that’s a wonderful thing - - - except it encourages the pushers to keep pushing. what is enough? when will they leave her alone?

i’d like to know who she is, what she wants, what she would do, left to her own choices. i really would.
she has so many interests and talents.

it all started when i began reading to her over the phone before preschool.
she had a book, i had a book. she followed along as i read. that was it. no phonics, no “lessons”, just reading for fun.
we began with a preschool book of daily devotions. that was a year. if i didn’t call fast enough, she would leave a plaintiff message, “grammy, where are you? i want to read daily devotions” - a real mouthful for a young one! do i still have the tape?

after awhile, i realized she was reading, herself. she began reading to me. we did that for years. she learned to read scriptures over the phone. she began using her mother’s special pink-cover Bible! she learned everything. self-motivated. why all the pushing?

i would think, that’s a certain kind of intelligence. i don’t know what kind, but, it’s something.

so, yes.
i do wonder what she would be if left to her own devices? ‘cause, in my view, her own devices are plenty good without all the pushing.

i pray for her spirit and soul. i pray for the Holy Spirit to protect her and guide her. i pray for her to accept herself and not feel pressures to perform, to fulfill others’ fantasies. i pray for her to not have regrets. to be happy. to be safe.

i pray for her college to be a place where she can have time to find herself.
interesting to say, she-chose-this-college, quietly defying the (intense+familiar) pressures of others.
i’m smiling, trying not to smile too openly.

and praying she has a good roommate. someone cheerful and fun. someone to trust.