2013

A new year, a new start. First, some good news - I am going to be an aunt again! The baby is due in July, and I'm very excited. I've been collecting materials for my thesis and writing (though not as much as I should be) and I was able to do some freelance work. I have found a mentor for my thesis, and I plan on taking no more than a year of Research Arts. (hopefully just a semester). I'm applying for jobs down South that I am very excited about, and I continue to have blind faith that things will work out. Things happen for a reason.

A blog reader sent a nasty comment, which I chose not to publish - if I'm not mistaken, this person has done so several times before. You know what I was always taught? "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all." What good comes out of putting other people down? Does it boost one's self-esteem? If so, that's a problem. All too seldom do we see kindness anymore, and hiding behind an anonymous name and screen makes it that much easier to hurt people. Whatever happened to the Golden Rule? sigh. I guess some of us just never left kindergarten.

Speaking of which, my nephew is doing wonderfully in kindergarten, and I am so proud of him. We went to the library and got some books, and now he wants to go again, which makes me happy. I like sharing the love of reading with him.
And of course, the Sandy Hook shooting - I still can't get it out of my mind. How do you tell your kids that their sibling has been shot? How does someone go into a school and shoot ANYONE, much less kids 6 or 7 years old? I admire the teachers who protected their students that day - those are the real heroes, TIME magazine. The special ed teacher who was found slumped over several students. The teacher who locked herself and her class in a bathroom and helped them stay calm and survive? And the students themselves - what courage it takes to go back to school. A place that was a safe haven, changed forever. Yes, it's a new building, but a class is missing. My heart breaks everytime I think about what those children must have been thinking.

The medicine for the tremors isn't working as well as I'd hoped; I fell down the steps twice in NC and my hands still shake. The good thing is, I get out of handling dishes and food! haha. No, seriously, I am hoping he maybe increases the dosage and it'll work out.

Happy New Year, everyone!