Gone But Not Forgotten - Poinsettia Hell Games

I think it's already looking droopy :-(

I am so excited I can hardly stand it.  Since I started my new job before the holiday season officially began.... Marked by the delivery of lovely and coveted Poinsettias, I thought I would miss out on the Poinsettia hell games and my standing on the Poinsettia "Wall of Shame".  Much to my surprise, I looked up this morning to find ex-boss #2 standing at my desk with dreaded Poinsettia in hand.  Yes!!! I still get to participate in the games.  I promptly took a picture of my Poinsettia to verify its condition upon taking ownership and emailed the others to take pictures and forward them to me so we could make every thing official. I'm so happy that although I may be gone... I am not forgotten.  Love you guys and gals to the moon and back :-)

Dinah actually put her poinsettia in poinsettia daycare last year when she left for vaca

Tiff's, she usually wins

 

Tiny Doses

I greeted my boss this morning with a.... "How bout them Cowboys"  I did not get a response, but his body language said all that needed to be said... So noted.  I went by my old stomping grounds to stir the Bedlam pot. If a Bedlam win doesn't call for some shenanigans, then nothing does. I started the shenanigans at church by posting a "OSU Fan" sign on my former bosses truck. I later received a picture showing me that he had edited my wording. After work today I gifted Choo Choo something that will be given to him tomorrow morning. I'm sure he will be tickled pink (or orange) at my thoughtfulness and generosity. I told my partner in crime that

I had learned that my new co-workers do not respond well to losing Bedlam and having it mentioned to them first thing in the morning. He grinned at me and said... "That didn't slow you down did it?" Oh he knows me so well....  "Well, actually it kinda did." He cocked his head in dismay. He has never known me to back down from a prank or a good jab.  "Well" I explained... "I am pretty new, and they're not quite sure how to take me yet. I hate to go full throttle Jackie on them and totally overwhelm their systems... So yeah, I shut it down. " He nodded and said... "Yeah, better to introduce them to small doses so they can build up some tolerance." EXACTLY! A full dose of Jackie-ism can take a while to get used to... this I know. Look how long it took me to liven up the group of "PPP" (pocket protector people... it's code for Engineer). I've gotten a lot of emails telling me things aren't the same since I left. I imagine they are hinting that the fun factor has taken a nose dive, but they could be saying that things have become nice and quiet but, oh so dull. I'll mind my p's and q's with the new group, and will keep fun Jackie under wraps with tiny

doses of fun thrown in. In time maybe I can dial the fun factor up a notch or two with no harm, no foul. I can do reserved Jackie for a while (I have trouble maintaining her for long).  It may take a while before they meet Jackie unplugged.... From the look I got this morning, it may be a VERY long time. Life is too short to take football so serious and a healthy dose of laughter should be a part of everyone's daily diet.... Plus a good belly laugh burns belly calories (I'm pretty sure that scientific fact is somewhere on the internet so it has to be true). Tis the season to bring joy and cheer to those around you and nothing does the heart good like a genuine smile. Go out there and spread the joy!!!  At least I can say I tried.

Lil Cecil Johnson present and accounted for and working harder than a Choo Choo Train

With a Thankful Heart

As I sit here on the eve of Thanksgiving,  my mind recalls the difficulty of the year that is almost gone. One year ago tonight, I knew there would be challenges in store. We had just discovered Mom had a mass, but we didn't know what that would mean. I knew in my heart, this would be the last Thanksgiving I shared with her, but I could not predict the difficulties and losses that lay ahead. Over the next several months, I lost not only my Mom, but several good friends. I saw others around me suffer unimaginable losses. I was certainly not alone in my struggles. In addition to the loss of loved ones, it was announced the company I worked for was selling, with all indications pointing to yet another loss... that of my job. The first 6 months of 2014 was marked with numerous funerals and constant uncertainty, and watching the heartbreaking grief my Father endured on a daily bases from the loss of the woman who had been the love of his life for 57 years. During those months, I felt like I had completely dropped off God's radar. Did he see my tears, did he know my pain? Event after event undermined my confidence and caused me to doubt myself in many ways. I felt alone, misunderstood, and faced hurtful criticism from unlikely sources.  I believed my failures, on so many levels, far outweighed my worth. In the middle of my struggle, positive things began to happen and the cloud began to lift. The last couple of months, many of the clouds have parted. Tonight I look back on the last year with a heart overflowing with thankfulness. I've seen the light come back into my Daddy's eyes, I've been blessed with a precious grandson, and God has provided me with a new job that I absolutely love. Sure, I still have stuff that threatens my peace, and wounds that need to heal, but nothing will keep me from celebrating the good in my life with a thankful heart. May forgiveness and mercy penetrate the wounds that remain and cover our hearts with unfathomable love.

I... Am... Whole...

"And finally".... She said as our session came to a close "How are things related to your TBI?" I paused for a beat as I quickly assessed myself. I did a quick inventory of the stress, the loss, and the changes I've faced over the last year. "I feel... I... I am... I am whole." I finally proclaimed. "I am, I am whole." She smiled and nodded. Gosh it felt so good to not only say those words, but to mean them with every fiber of who I am.  It's been a long journey, but I am there... I am me again. I know this person who lives in my skin and not only to I know her, but I like her. I couldn't ask for more than that.

Twice the Fun

When I showed up at my new job to pick up the new hire packet, I noticed all of the women had two computer monitors on their desks. I went home to my husband and said... "That can't be a good sign."  Oh my goodness, how was my ADHD brain going to function being torn between two monitors. The first day I felt like my brain was on fire, which sounds like a movie Denzel Washington should star in. Last night during one of my insomnia fits that nothing could tame, I worried and fretted that the day had gone too well. Obviously I had missed (or messed) something. In my mind, I dissected the spreadsheets I had worked on that afternoon from 3 a.m. on. Insomnia is so much fun. But after being on the job for a week now, I can say without hesitation that it's much like working at the doctor's office. I strap myself in and take an 8 hour roller coaster ride. I multi-task much better than I mono-task,so this is the perfect job for me. There is no room for daydreaming or time to get bored. Simply said, I love my new job, which isn't saying anything negative about my old job. I would rather have several irons in the fire (not literally in the fire, that's just an expression). My ADHD brain is happier when it can scurry around several different rabbit trails at the same time.  I sent some of my friends an email today that said... "I have two computer monitors on my desk so I can do twice the work.... they don't know me at all."  I know they are listening for sirens signalling I've attempted to make mac and cheese for lunch and have burned the place down. I'm confident this will not happen, because I no longer eat mac and cheese for lunch :-) Another co-worker replied that having two monitors just gave me more to blow up...  But truthfully, I never actually blew anything up and technically the building wasn't actually on fire.... technically.  The fact that they implemented fire drills after the Mac and cheese incident was a mere coincidence. I've come clean with the I.T. guy at my new job about being called the terminator. I still stand by the reasoning that things went awry because most of our stuff came over on the Mayflower. And... Today I proved without a shadow of a doubt that I was having twice the fun with or without two monitors. I thought I would tackle the mountain of invoices that had piled up on my desk to be filed. As I got to the bottom of the pile, I was so excited because I could see the corner of my pretty little desk (I'm telling you it doesn't take much to keep me amused)... That is until I realized, as I was just finishing up, that I had filed them all in the wrong cabinets (insert dramatic sigh here). I un-filed them and placed them back on the corner of my pretty little desk and declared it break time. My supervisor laughed hysterically, without compassion or shame, at my filing and un-filing plight. Tomorrow morning when I'm perky and fresh I'll have twice the fun filing them in the right place. AND hopefully I will sleep tonight and not play Excel ALL. NIGHT. LONG. Just keeping it real and keeping it fun = keeping it real fun.

I'm a Hoarder

Last Sunday I went to Ada for a friend's recital. When she got up to sing, I was teary eyed. I worked with her when we were helping the youth praise team. I've watched her chase her dream and hurtle every obstacle Satan put in her way. She has overcome so much and preserved through it all. I couldn't be more proud of her than if she were my own. Today "The Girlfriends" had a wedding shower for another one of our boys who has stepped out on the marriage cliff and took the dive. I sat watching our boys catch up with each other as we held our grandbabies. Gosh it seems like only yesterday that they were neck deep in teenage mischief. The time has truly flown by. So many precious memories

threaded together.... We have been so very blessed. It was my first chance to show off lil Levi Atlas Patterson. He went from the arms of one girlfriend to the next until he ended back in my arms. I realized I am a hoarder when I had been as patient as I could be and told them they had to give him back... Lolli needed her loving. No, i'm not ashamed of myself. I've waited a lifetime for this pleasure.  They all agreed with me that he is perfect... absolutely perfect.

Going A Way Shenanigans

I put the cart before the horse in posting my new job blog before my going away blog.  The crew did not let me leave without a farewell send-off.  The day started with an email telling me I had a treasure chest of goodies headed my way. Soon Choo Choo's sidekick appeared in my office with a thoroughly duct taped box.  Actually there were several thoroughly duct taped boxes nestled inside each other along with a million Styrofoam peanuts and tiny insignificant, yet entertaining tidbits that gave me a peek into the minds of nothing short of genius (well, maybe on some planets it would be considered genius... Planets way the hech out there in LaLa land).  The treasures included buy not limited to a 2 cent injector (a syringe with 2 pennies glued on) so I could inject my 2 cents wherever needed.  Also a dime-on pin (a cancer awareness pen with a dime gluedf on).  Get it?  Dime-on pin?  Genius, I tell ya, pure genius.  We went to lunch where we were joined by some of the field guys and I kid you not when I say... They brought more awesome gifts.  How on earth did I merit such generosity?  The lunch gift was a waste paper basket labeled "A cowgirls lunch pail).  Inside I found a "whine bottle", bubble bath (which was a can of pinto beans), sardines, crackers and... Wait for it, wait for it...Deviled Ham.  Genius tell ya.  This is just a small part of the shenanigans I've been up against the last few years.  You have to "dig deep" in the shenanigans dog pile to out-do these guys. I'm a mere rookie by shenanigans standards... I stand in awestruck wonder at their "present".  Choo Choo chose pinto beans for lunch so I told him it looked like I wouldn't be the only one enjoying a "bubble bath".  I suggested we film our bubble baths and post them to face... "I'll sing Santa Baby and you can be tootin your own horn (like usual)"  He backed away from that challenge in a big hurry.  Later in the afternoon I walked into a co-worker's office to hand over more files to her.  She looked up from the computer and saw my arm full of folders and said... "GO A WAY".  I just smiled and assured her that was what I was planning on doing.  At break the girls tried to kill me with death by chocolate.  It did not work, I am still alive (my teeth are black, but I'm still breathing).  I left the office with my favorite work memory playing in the background over the intercom.... That's right.... SANTA BABY!!!  One day I will blog that story.  I will have to change the names to protect the tormented, but I will do it.  It was a great Go Away Day.  Love you guys to the moon and back.... To infinity and beyond.