Welcome! I know your time is valuable & hope you find something worthwhile here. I journal about life, things that inspire me, things that tick me off, things I'm proud of & things that make me laugh. I'm attending school to become a Massage Therapist so that may be a frequent topic. I hope you'll comment on my posts & that you'll become a subscriber. Make it a great day & may you be blessed in all you do!
Updating
Posted by Sue in About Ryan, About me, Family
It’s been quite awhile since I’ve posted on this (or any) blog, so I decided to write today about what’s been going on in our world.
Ryan started 9th grade at the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts in August. His major is the cello and he’s the only cello player in all 4 grades, which makes his life a bit challenging. He’s made new friends and is doing fabulously in all of his subjects. The first report card already came home and he received all A’s! He’s taking piano classes every day in school so now he’s studying the guitar with his private teacher on Friday nights. We’re very proud of him.
We’ve been attending a wonderful church every Sunday - Lifehouse Church East. Ryan actually started us going because it’s a “rock n’ roll” service. The people are very open and welcoming, the church does a lot of outreach into the community of Hagerstown, and the sermons totally speak to my heart and soul. It has really helped me to solidify my relationship with God and my spiritual path.
I made a major, life-changing decision about a month ago and as a result, last week I began attending the Synergy Healing Arts Center and Massage School! It’s a year-long program and at the end I will be eligible to take the National Boards to become an RMT - Registered Massage Therapist and work in a spa, open a private practice or work on a cruise ship. If I go on further and get an AA degree I wil become a CMT - Certified Massage Therapist, which will allow me to practice in medical facilities such as nursing homes, hospitals, clinics or doctor’s offices.
My growing desire to live a more meaningful life, guided by God’s will for me, was what brought me to this decision. I believe that if I can help just one person touch the divine that lives within them, help them to heal themselves and feel better, so that they leave after a therapeutic massage session a happier and more grounded person, then I can contribute to positively changing the world we all live in.
The other change in our family is that I’m now officially working with Jim in his business, D & E Remodeling and Repair Services. My duties include marketing (please check out our new website!), bookkeeping (I’m doing my best but it is a huge challenge for me!) and providing an extra set of hands and unskilled labor on the jobs. So far, we’ve been working pretty well together, and now I have his permission to nag him!
That’s about all the time I have for now as i have homeowrk to do! I’ll try to post further updates at least once a week. Have a fabulous day!
Important Lessons & Tough Parenting Decisions
Posted by Sue in About Ryan, About me
You know what they say when you “ass u me”. Well, I recently made an assumption that unfortunately my son Ryan has had to pay the price for, but I was also able to re-enforce a life-long value that I have worked very hard to instill in him.
Last weekend we went to a free timeshare vacation at Massanutten in Virgina. When they called several weeks ago to schedule it, I made an assumption, based on previous experience, that the Washington County, MD public schools were closed for Columbus Day Monday. After all, schools were always closed for Columbus Day when I was growing up, they’ve been closed in other areas we’ve lived where Ryan went to school, and I remembered that he always had days off in October in prior years - so, of course, in my mind that meant it had to be on Columbus Day. So I scheduled our vacation for the Saturday, Sunday and Monday of Columbus Day weekend.
As you’ve probably guessed by now, schools WERE NOT closed this past Monday - they’re closed tomorrow (Friday)! Go figure! But, Ryan got his report card last Friday and got ALL A’s - he made Distinguished Honor Roll! This is no small feat since he’s in all 8th grade merit/honors classes - Geometry, Physics, Social Studies and English Language Arts. So, we went on vacation and had a blast.
Fast forward to Tuesday when Ryan has to go back to school. I have a choice to make - I can lie and say he was sick on Monday so he gets an excused absence or I can tell the truth and hope he gets an excused absence. He’s never had an unexcused absence so I didn’t even know what that means. Well, I told the truth in the note (that we were out of town - I didn’t go so far as to say we were on vacation) and, you guessed it, he gets an unexcused absence. I emailed the principal and took responsibility for making a wrong asssumption (basically ate some crow) and he was very pleasant in his reply but “rules is rules”. Thank god Ryan didn’t miss any tests or I might not be so proud of my integrity.
The lesson I have always tried to consistently instill is that honesty is ALWAYS the right choice. It’s rarely the easiest choice to make, but if I expect Ryan to be honest I believe that I need to always set the example and make the same choices I expect him to make. Boy - will I be glad when he’s off and on his own and I don’t have to set such a good example!