Well, Jace, I couldn't resist that challenge to draw you more into my porch pondering. By the way, I do remember those Batman episodes. Bam! Whop! Zing! What? We couldn't hear the sounds? This is TV, guys, not the funny papers. Oh well, my tastes were much different back then.

Back to learning, I always loved school. I loved learning so much that I gladly volunteered to help my classmates learn, too. It was no surprise that I went on to earn a Masters Degree in Elementary Education. I taught for sixteen years. I learned a lot from little children. There is nothing like them in the world. They just blurt out what they think without malice aforethought, so you can't hold it against them. "Ms. Pat, did you have a rough night? Your hair looks funny."
"Thanks, Jeb, I'm so glad you noticed."

I can't bring Jeb up without telling one of my all-time favorite teacher stories. One afternoon, I sat at my desk and stared at a huge stack of papers to grade. I was tired and it was Friday. I grabbed up a stack and started grading them. About halfway through, I found a note from Jeb, written on First Grade lined paper, that simply read, "I hope you have a good weekend, Ms. Pat."

Needless to say, I smiled through the rest of the stack.

That was when I lived in a suburb of Atlanta. I moved from my tiny little town in Alabama to discover what life was like outside the confines of our little hamlet. Living in Atlanta was a huge learning experience. I found that I could drive in a big city and live really on my own, as opposed to living in a trailer three miles from my parents. I grew up in Atlanta—well sorta. There was still much more learning to come.

My dad passed away in February of 1988. I didn't make it home from Atlanta to see him before he slipped into a comma. His death left a gaping hole that I didn't know what to do with. It was my first experience with losing someone so important to me. I learned how to grieve and how to move on. I moved back to Alabama to be near my mother. I taught a few more years, then my life took a different turn. I got a job with Child Support Enforcement for the State of Alabama. (Oh, yeah, I already mentioned that. Remember the new computer in the last entry?)

I enjoyed learning all about Child Support. My supervisors soon realized they needed to keep me occupied with learning new things. I have now been with the Child Support Unit eighteen years, and I am still looking for new things to learn. It's the thing that makes life work for me.

In April of 2008, I discovered the best thing since chocolate—Writing.com. Now, this is a place for people who love learning. After almost four years, I still discover new things all the time. Right now, I'm learning how to be a teacher of an online class. I'm teaching my first class of Punctuation Station. What a blast! I have a terrific class; we have fun together and we learn from each other. Like I said, this is the place to be if you enjoy learning new things. There's something new around every corner.

When I say that Writing.com has helped me keep my sanity, take my word for it. I'll have to say, "Stay tuned" for that episode. By the way, I started this post because my darn reminder thing kept telling me it had been so many days since I wrote in my journal. Are you satisfied now, computer thingy? I promise to write more often. I have a million stories to tell, so stay tuned for more episodes in the many faceted life of Pat—Warrior Mom. (Oh, that's a completely different story for another day.)


"ONE SIZE FITS ALL RAFFLE" 
"Newbie Help & Support Raffle ~ CLOSED ~" 

"Showering Acts of Joy Group " 


Click below.



"Newbie Help & Support Writer's Hideaway" 
"Squirtoon's Fall Auction!" 

 

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Over the last few years, I have discovered something about myself. What I enjoy about just about anything that brings me joy is the process of learning. I love learning something new. When we finally got Windows at work (as opposed to Big Box with Green Screen, aka terminal), I immediately was hooked! We bought us one for home. I studied everything I could find out about using Windows. I had all my co-workers asking me how to do this and where to find that. Even my supervisor discretely worked out a secret strategy for letting me teach her without making her look less supervisory to the other workers. Even after she was promoted to field supervisor, she would sneak a call to me every couple of months. "Pat, don't say a word about me calling you; I'm not supposed to call you guys now that I'm not over you any more. Pleeeeze tell me how to fix this or create that."

I still have documents that I created years ago before our State Office had finished preparing the official ones we needed. Co-workers still come to me and ask me to e-mail me a copy of this or that form. Why bother saving it, when you can always ask Pat?

This story really does have a point, but I believe it will be better made in the light of day. Please come back Saturday and see where this leads.



"ONE SIZE FITS ALL RAFFLE" 
"Newbie Help & Support Raffle ~ CLOSED ~" 

"Showering Acts of Joy Group " 


Click below.



"Newbie Help & Support Writer's Hideaway" 
"Squirtoon's Fall Auction!" 

 

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I first "met" Rixfarmgirl back when I was a regular judge for several contests. Later, I associated her name with New Horizons Academy and her classes, Grammar Garden and Punctuation Station. I was pleasantly surprised this summer when Karen asked me to teach Punctuation Station. I accepted and Rixy sent all her files to me, along with her sincere offer to help me in any way she could. Every few days, she'd run across a resource item that she thought I might need, and she would sent it to me. She wanted to be sure I had everything I needed to teach the class. I'm certain that she was equally interested in the students' success with the class as she was with my success.

I didn't have time to get to know her well. I looked forward to sending her pesky e-mails, asking her what to do about this or that. I know it was her intention to be there for me as I taught my first session of Punctuation Station. We only think we are in charge of our lives. God always has the final say. He loves us and wants what's best for us. Of that, I am sure.

Missy touched many lives while she lived here on earth. Her life was rich and full. She gave of herself to others, which is the only way to have a fulfilled life. Even after thirty-eight years as a teacher, she wasn't through teaching. She began teaching at New Horizons and touched the lives of countless students who walked through her classroom door. At the end of her life, she was still teaching Grammar Garden, and she was teaching me, too. She will be missed by many. I am not grieving for Missy, for she is where she was always meant to be. "This world is not my home. I'm just a-passing through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me to that eternal shore, and I can't feel at home in this world, anymore." (from a favorite hymn of mine)

My sorrow is for Missy's loved ones, who will feel an emptiness where she once was. This hole will not be filled, but time and many tears will heal the gaping wound so that the empty hole no longer aches with such intensity. The pain will slowly diminish but never disappear. A time will come when her loved ones can smile at fond memories and cherish the time they had with Missy.

"Dear Father, bless Missy's family. Give them a strong faith and the courage to put one foot in front of the other until they regain their strength to move forward with their lives."

"Be especially kind, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

 

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I'm a little pressed for time today, but Karen's prompt immediately brought to mind a piece I wrote not long after I joined Writing.com. Though I'm sure I could think of other inanimate objects which have a special meaning to me, I'm not sure that any one of them would surpass the significance of this one, so I'm cheating a little in today's blog. I'd like to share this piece with you because, after all these years, the old iron bunkbed still represents a very special place in my heart. Due to job restraints and some physical limitations I am no longer able participate as a counselor during my husband's session. I miss it terribly, and I sometimes go down for the weekend before our session starts. My best friend and her husband usually come down from Tennessee, so it's "Girlfriend Time" for us. We lie on those old iron bunk beds and talk until the wee hours of the morning, and we never run out of things to talk about! She's one of those friends I describe in the piece I wrote. I hope you'll read and enjoy this little piece of prose. Hey, Karen, I did end up editing it. That almost always happens when I re-visit a piece, so the blog prompt did its job, after all.

ID: 1417825   (Rated: E) The Old Iron Bunk Bed  A short piece about my favorite place on earth--Backwoods Christian Camp by Pat ~Rising Star Sapphire Aude

"Be especially kind, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

 

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Karen asked us to think about a favorite poem or story and tell why we like it and when or why we wrote it. This poem was the first to come to my mind, but I did my homework and reviewed several of my poems before deciding on this one. This is a great blog prompt, Karen, for so many reasons. It had me going back through my poems, enjoying them once again, and seeing how poetry has changed my life.

This truly is one of my favorite poems because it has a lot of meaning for me, and because it really is a good poem. It is a tribute to my favorite sister and the inspiration she is to me. It is also most significant because it is one of my first poems. I was 54 years old when I started writing. Who was I to think I could write poetry? I had always dreamed of writing poetry, but had no belief in my ability to do so at all. Poets write poetry, not first grade teachers, or child support enforcement workers.

Fortunately, my co-worker and good friend, SWPoet , told me about this wonderful web site she had found, and she thought I ought to join, too. I scoffed at the idea of joining a site for creative writing. She nudged me for several weeks; meanwhile, I began thinking about the poems my mother wrote and stuck away in an old book, afraid for anyone to find them. After she passed away, we dsiscovered them. Not many, but they were real poems. So, in honor of my mother, I joined Writing.com in April of 2008. The poem you see below is one that I wrote in July of 2008. I started out writing a few short poems. Though I felt completely foolish for posting them for everyone to see, I crawled out on that limb and did it. I was overwhelmed by the encouragement I received. It spurred me on to write more poetry. It was like I couldn't stop. I had all these poems in me that had been locked up inside for too long.

Obviously, some are better than others. I don't expect any of them to be published, but I am proud of them. They come from my heart, and when I read back over most of them, I smile with satisfaction that this 50+ year-old woman could create a thing of beauty. This community gave me the courage to call myself a poet. I learned from other poets, and I even began to feel the stirrings of some stories struggling to come out. I'm learning and practicing the skills of writing fiction. I have so many stories to write.

I hope you enjoy this Double Nonet I wrote for my dear, precious sister just three months after "becoming a poet." Since it's short, I thought it would be okay to post the entire poem. I have also included the bitem link as well. Hey, while you're there, check out some of my other creations!

She's A Rock

She’s a rock, shaped by weather and time.
She remains fixed amid the storms.
Loved ones cling to her against
the raging flood waters.
Beauty surrounds her.
Compassion is
her cloak, her
strength, a
shield.

Pain
stabs her,
engulfs her.
She chooses life.
She overcomes grief,
demonstrating her hope,
holding high her steadfast faith.
She remains fixed amid the storms.
She’s a rock, shaped by weather and time.


by Pat Nelson
July 15, 2008

ID: 1450988   (Rated: E) She's A Rock   A Double Nonet dedicated to my sister, Mary Ann by Pat ~Rising Star Sapphire Aude

"Be especially kind, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

I was reminded of this quote the other day and wondered if any of you had heard it, or if anyone has ever felt that you were being asked to do that very thing.

"Faith is stepping off into the darkness of the great unknown and knowing
that God will either give you something to walk on or give you wings to fly."

"Be especially kind, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

Check out my new Rising Star, Mia


 

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The first class I took here was quite a while back. Karen and I had recently become acquaintances. In fact, it was sometime along in there that I became her Rising Star Sponsor. I can't remember the exact sequence of events. Those darn brain cells get more slippery with age, and little details like that seem to slip and slide right out.

At some point, she told me that she was planning to start a new class at New Horizons Academy. It was a poetry class with a bit of a different approach. I think the name was a bit different in the beginning, but it was based on the current class, "Journey." It was a wonderful experience, and I learned so much. Soon after that I took a class about weak verbs v. strong verbs. I worked like a dog for both classes because I tend to set high goals for myself. I enjoyed them both.

Personal health issues slowed me down for a while, and I was unable to take other classes until this past spring. I signed up for Dynamic Reviewing, and it changed my reviewing and writing for life. What an adventure! I worked hard in that class, too. I guess I figure if I'm paying the GPs to take a class, I might as well get everything out of it that I can.

Recently, I was asked to be Joy's assistant in her Dynamic Reviewing Class. I was thrilled and gave a hasty "Yes." Going back over the things I learned last spring could be nothing but beneficial for me.

This session I'm also participating in Winnie's Comma Sense class. I am excited about that! I've had my eye on that class for quite a while. I'm a recovering coma-holic, and I've taken to looking the comma rule up before bestowing my misguided comma instructions on the writers I review. With this class, I will, hopefully, become re-acquainted with those ticky little comma rules I learned so many, many years ago.

The news just gets more exciting! Next, I was asked to consider teaching Rixie's Punctuation Station so that no instructor would be teaching two classes during the same term. Me?? An instructor for New Horizons Academy? Of course, I said I would love to, so now I am studying the materials Rix sent to me and preparing to teach winter session.

I've been a staunch supporter of New Horizons Academy for a long time. It's wonderful to have a top-notch educational institution right here on the WdC site. The tuition is very reasonably priced, and the courses are so appropriate it makes it hard to choose which one to take.

Beginning last spring, "Showering Acts of Joy Group "  began offering our members free tuition for one class each term. We figure it's a win-win situation. Our members become better writers and reviewers, and "Showering Acts of Joy Group "  reviewers improve their ability to offer helpful and encouraging reviews.

Well, that's all for now. This visit on the porch is probably a little long, but I wanted to share what New Horizons Academy means to me. I have tremendous respect and admiration for all the staff and faculty.

"Be especially kind, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."