Tattle Tale

I had an experience at work today that has left me pondering. My job is to be an advocate to & for the elderly. My time is spent helping them get a tax abatement on their property tax. It is based on age & income. In order to work at Community Action I have had another background check. Less than a year ago I had one in order to volunteer for the Center for Women & Children in Crisis. I passed that one, not much has changed since then. One of my new duties is to go to a senior citizen center once a week where I am available to those that have questions or need help on their tax abatement forms. There are a bunch of people over 65 that qualify, but they don't know about the program. So today instead of sitting in my room at the center waiting for people to come to me, I spent time in the halls asking people if they knew about the program so I could help them get signed up if they were interested. I had a lady tell me she wouldn't qualify because her rent is subsidized, so I went on my merry way. A little while later one of the office workers came & asked if I had a badge I could wear so people would immediatley recognize I was with community action. As it turns out a tattle tale had gone to the office & said there was someone (me) walking around in the halls gathering information they shouldn't be gathering. Since I am not a scam artist (backgroung check) & community action has permission to set up shop at the center to help the elderly, the office worker informed the tattle tale who I was. As it turns out, this tattle tale could get a rebate! Too bad for her she already knows it all. Which brings me to the lesson learned today. I don't want to be in such a hurry to be right that I  hurt not only myself, but others. What if miss tattle tale had gone to the office & asked for verification that I was legitimate rather than accusing me of wrong doing. She would have found out I was helping her friends. Please dear friends & family. remind me to get the facts, keep an open mind, & learn from others before jumping the gun & possibly ruining a good thing for myself & others. So many of my clients are grateful for the help I give them. They are kind & enjoy talking about their colorful lives. The aging proccess can be difficult, but there are many who are successfully manuveuring through their days. They are the ones I look to for an example. I just ran into one bad apple today & I'm not going to let her spoil the barrel.

The Last Lecture

Many of you have probably heard or watched Oprah when she featured Randy Pausch, the man dying of pancreatic cancer. I listened to the rerun & have also checked the book out from the library. I am so completely amazed at this man's courage & example in the face of adversity. I want to grow up to be just like him. I encourage everyone to read the book. It has hills & valleys, emotional ups & downs, but very inspirational at the same time. I recently learned he passed away last week after a valiant fight against a type of cancer that is still deadly in spite of years of research. Once again a good man gone too early. 

Twenty Four

In honor of our Pioneer Day celebration & a belated Independence Day tribute I am listing 24 things I love about July. (Not listed in order of importance):
1. President Monson as the Grand Marshal of the Days of 47 parade.
2. Bull riding at the Fiesta Days Rodeo in Spanish Fork.
3. Fireworks in the front yard.
4. Fireworks in the park.
5. Swimming at Veterans Pool & not getting Crypto Sporidium.
6. Hot days.
7. Cool nights.
8. Sandals, flip flops, shorts, capri pants, & sunglasses.
9. Playing in the park; slides, swings, chasing, & laughing.
10. Glenn Beck in person at the Marriott.
11. Stadium of Fire with Austin on the field participating in the opening ceremonies.
12. Hannah Montana in concert.
13. BBQ's...hot dogs, hamburgers, & especially chicken bruschetta.
14. S'mores-toasted over a gas burner in the front yard!
15. Springville Summer Reading Program complete with green bug shirts.
16. Independence...freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of choice...what a great nation.
17. Garage Sale-broken fence optional.
18. Patriotic Music.
19. Visitors from Arizona-Jen, Dave, Tess, Brynn, Claire, & Jayne.
20. Amy home from Arizona, working in Bountiful, but home on the weekends.
21. The end of Math 1050...actually the first week of August.
22. A great job that feels like I am getting paid to go visiting teaching.
23. An old blue door painted black.
24. A lot of great memories to store up & revisit next winter when the snow flies.
July is on my list of favorite months of the year. The days are hot & I can't imagine being cold. By the end of August I start wishing it were cold. The the chill in the air lets me know another summer is at its end. Thanks goodness for football, pumpkins, & beautiful fall leaves to ease us into colder weather. In the mean time thank goodness for all good things July brings.

The top 3 reasons to hold a garage sale are:

1. get rid of junk that hasn't been used for too long

2. earn a little cash

3. people watching...if you are into that hobby it is a great venue!

We held a garage sale this past weekend in our front yard. The downsizing of household goods continues & it seems like a lot of junk that no one would want to buy, but customers came & shopped & bought giving us less junk, pocket cash, & people to watch. On the Friday I was sitting on the porch when a car rolled into the driveway, at a slant. The older gentleman shopped from the window for a minute, then got out. He was about 5 steps away from his car, holding up a pair of camo pants when his car started rolling forward. Moving forward is probably more accurate. His car proceeded to stream roll a large plastic bin & a couple of boxes on its way toward the fence. Within 30 seconds 2 sections of fence were lying flat under his tires. It took time to register this car was on its own, left in drive, so this customer could shop at our garage sale. It took time for it to register in his mind that it was his car on the loose. He was not an Olympic runner, but once he recognized his car he moved as fast as an old man can in an attempt to stop the runaway car. He got in the car, backed it up & stood dazed at the damage. In the mean time I am still on the porch laughing my head off. The whole event happened in less than a minute, yet provided hours of laughter as we have recounted the event. He drove away without purchasing any goods & kept driving back to reassess the damage. He planned to repair it with a friend, but in the end paid cash & Bill made the repairs. This was by far the best garage sale ever...we got rid of junk, made some pocket cash, & have the best story to pass down to future generations.

Memories

I am following Angela's lead with this one. 

Here are the rules:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you & I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog & see how many people leave a memory about you. 

It should be funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing the game & I'll come to your blog & leave one about you (or if you don't have a blog I will e-mail you my memory!)  I am following Angela, it looked like fun, I hope you'll play along!

"Say Cheese"

Sunday after church we had a photo shoot with 4 cute girls. My only wish is that the other 6 best grandkids in the world were also here so we could get some new pictures of them too. 

Community Action

I hope my blogging days are not over. I have enjoyed reading blogs & writing on my own, but I feel like I've dropped a ball. I am glad everyone is having a great summer, playing with kids, swimming, etc. I picked up a part time job 2 weeks ago working for Community Action. This job is great as it is flexible & I feel like I am getting paid to do my visiting teaching. I sign senior citizens, disabled on SS, & widow/widowers up for tax abatements, renter refunds & HEAT. I make home visits & also meet them at various senior citizen centers. Once a week I work at the Payson food pantry. It has been very interesting, but it has cut into my free time. At the same time I am plugging away at my college algebra class. I only have one chapter test & the final left & then will have another college class under my belt.  I am planning to take statistics & chemistry this fall. All I can say is wish me luck.

Twenty Two Words

Happy Birthday shout out to Robert David Hoopes in Detroit, MI! We sure miss having you here to keep us laughing.  We missed celebrating your birthday with you on the 1st & plan to make it up to you when you arrive back home. Here is a list of 22 words that say Robby:

1. Industrious   2. Faithful  3. Monkey  4. Smart  5. Funny  6. Tall  7.  Dark 8.  Handsome  9. Sentimental  9. Thrifty  10.  Athletic  11.  Personality +   12.  Uncle  13.  Motivated  14. Brother  15. Soldier  16.  Available  17. Honors   18. Rambunctious   19.  Cougars   20.  UVU   21.  Happy  22. The very best 22 year old son a mother could ask for.  Thanks Rob. I love you & enjoy watching you grow & develop as you figure your life out. You have made good choices & continue to do so. You will be successful as you continue to hustle both at employment opportunities & as you continue your education.  Keep up the good work!  Love, mom