The Coat

Dennis and I celebrated our 9th anniversary recently. For the past nine years we have been downsizing almost daily. We moved two households into one smaller house and have tossed, given away, sold and bartered belongings through three moves into new homes. It's been easier for me - I have always been a thrower. But Dennis is a collector, and he does not like to give up his things. One of his favorite items to acquire is coats. However our new condo has limited storage space, and we have had to come up with a household rule - one new purchase means two items of the same type must be given away.

On Saturdays, our part time PCA, Susannah comes and gets Dennis ready for the day. She has a two year old daughter and a boyfriend, David, in her life. Both she and David are immigrants from Northern Africa, and are living on the financial edge. One Saturday, when we were giving Susannah a ride home, Dennis gave David two of his coats. One was a rain type jacket and the other a very warm shearling coat.

Last Saturday it was warm - 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We gave Susannah a ride home, and when we were a few blocks away, Susannah called David, who was babysitting, and told he told her that he wanted to see Dennis. Dennis had been sick most of the week, and David was concerned and wanted to see him. As we drove up, David came out of the apartment building wearing the shearling coat and grinning from ear to ear. Susannah told us that he loves that coat.

We teased him a bit about wearing a winter coat in such warm weather, and he simply said that he wears it all of the time. He thanked us profusely for the coat, once again, and for bringing Susannah home. He hugged Dennis through the window asking how he was feeling and blessing us over and over.

It's not everyday that a simple action can bring so many warm feelings. It is easy for us, who have so much, to give away our stuff. Seeing someone so happy with what we have discarded makes the giver feel as great as the receiving. I am grateful for such small pleasures.

Until later,
Ann and Dennis

Work Me

Today this entry will be all about me. Well, at the least the Day Me, the me most of you don't know. This is the me that keeps me out of trouble, from 8 to 5, five days a week, 10 months a year. In other words, it's about me and work.

I am responsible for the "climate", (no, not the temperature) at school. I am the one who is held accountable for all of the students knowing the rules and living by the rules. In return I dole out (positive and negative) consequences for their choices. This also means, I am the one who is held responsible to make sure all of the teachers spend the time to teach the kids the rules. While I am able to reward them for doing their job, I am not able to hand out negative consequences.

Guess which one is the more difficult?

One of my responsibilities is to pull off a monthly reward celebration for children who honor the rules. While these happenings need to be motivating enough for children to look forward to earning, they don't need to be extremely memorable.

Last year we had a policeman bring in his partner, the police dog. I was preparing for the guy to show some of the moves the dog could make. At the very least I expected the dog to demonstrate some jumps. Unfortunately, the dog was only for show, and the policeman just talked to the kids. Toward the end of an agonizing 20 minutes, he eventually took out a rope and played tug-of-war with the dog. This is what the kids will recall, the last 30 seconds of the event.

See? The kids looked forward to seeing the police dog, but it definitely was only slightly memorable.

This year we will start off, on Tuesday, with Beach Blanket Bingo. We have Bingo Cards using all of the words from our expectations (rules). Sandy, the Jenny Lind All Star Staff Member forever, will read the words over the loudspeaker. As kids win at Bingo, they will come to the center of the school to collect their Grab Bag Prize. Then it's over. At least until the last day of the next month.

Anyhoo, that is what I do for about 20 minutes, out of one day, out of 197 duty days, of each school year. This means that you now know just a teeny bit more about me. Well, at least my Day Me.

The Weekend

My sister Jane, and her husband, Ralph, are in Minneapolis from London, for a few weeks. Last night we got together for dinner at our new condo. They stayed quite late, at least for me, and Dennis, and I slept in this morning. I haven't slept until 8:00 for quite a while.

I could have stayed in bed all day, but Laticia, our bi-monthly house cleaner, was coming this morning, so we had to get up. She is so wonderful, and I love the way the condo looks when she has finished polishing, vacuuming and scrubbing the place. I also enjoy spending a few minutes, just catching up with her life.

I could do my own cleaning, but knowing that I can have five hours free, twice a month, is worth any price we pay. Dennis and I now go out for a long breakfast twice a month and then do errands with each other. Then I sit on my behind for the rest of the day. I love these Saturdays.

Today, we spent the last of our small profit from selling the house. We purchased honeycomb blinds for the condo. Although we love these huge windows, we also know the sun will bleach out our furniture and rugs. It also interferes with watching TV on our oversized, expensive and digital, surround sound set up.

I know this post has covered a whole bunch of topics, and it is a bit rambling. Well, perhaps more than a bit rambling. I guess, just to put a rope around this post, I am trying to say that today life is great. I have my sis here, a great house-cleaner, brand new blinds coming, and I had the time to write this post.

Until Tomorrow,
Ann and Dennis
Living with Shy-Drager, Multiple System Atrophy and a bit of time on our hands.