Yesterday, I had to do some shopping. I hadn't been shopping, except for groceries, in a long time. Having a steadier income does make a difference, sometimes. It was nice to know that I could go out shopping to get something I needed for a change. And I needed some new clothes. Not a lot, but a few things. This morning, the handbell choir I am in at church is performing (that'll be a whole different blog I imagine) and they decided at our last rehearsal that we'd wear black and white with purple accents. Well, I don't own much black or white besides tee shirts and I don't think that's what they meant. And you can throw purple accents out the window....wasn't spending my hard earned money on something I'll wear once. But, I figured I could use some new pants anyway....I'm getting tired of only wearing khaki lately. I decided to go to Hamrick's to shop. They have great prices and sales there. Sure, it's not high end stuff and some of it is cheaply made, but when I end up paying $2.40 for a long sleeve button down white dress shirt, I don't really care about that. It'll serve its purpose until it falls apart.
I left my cozy little neighborhood and headed out the pseudo back way to Hamrick's. I opted not to take Wendover on a Saturday morning as traffic going to Walmart, Sam's and Costco's can be tremendous. Anyway, as I was driving down Gate City Blvd...aka High Point Road, which it will ALWAYS be to me...I felt like I was in a different city. I left the tree lined streets with cozy houses and drove through miles of shops and strip malls, both full and empty ones. The atmosphere was totally different from where I'd been only a few minutes prior. Not bad, just different. Instead of trees, there are signs lining the roads. Instead of distinctive houses, there are cold, angular buildings free of personality. And lots of traffic. I guess lots of people like to do their shopping on Saturday mornings...go figure.
This reminded me of going shopping for clothes with Mom when I was growing up. We would leave the lazy, quiet town of Monroe and head towards the big city of Charlotte to shop. It was just about the same feeling leaving the streets of houses and small town shops for miles of box stores and stop lights. Of course, those were the days when there was still land and trees between Monroe and Charlotte...not so much anymore. We would go to someplace such as Hamrick's.....usually TJ Maxx and fill up the cart with clothes. I didn't know at the time that this was a discount store, but that didn't matter. Stores like Belk's, in our illustrious Monroe Mall, were only for special purchases because let's face it, they were expensive...and still are.
It was always a fun trip for us and I miss that, obviously. But yesterday was fun for me as well, even though I was by myself. Finding bargains is a good thing. Styles may have changed in the last 30 years, but the stores are pretty much the same. Towns and cities may have changed in the last 30 years but the feeling I got from driving from place to place was the same. I enjoyed that feeling and I plan on making that drive again if for no other reason than to experience that feeling again.
That is all.
Sunday, March 4, 2018
Saturday, March 3, 2018
Quote of the day
The greatest power you have on earth, whether you are an angel, a spirit, a man or woman or child is to help others.
Anne Rice
Anne Rice
Friday, March 2, 2018
Thought of the day - working at HG
There are times when life puts us exactly where we're supposed to be. When I graduated with my BSW, I never really imagined that I would be working in housekeeping a year later. That has brought several things to light for me. My interest, while getting my degree, was always to be working with our senior community, which is what I am doing now. Also, I went through a period of mourning after graduation because I was not able to do anything with my degree. Most jobs didn't want someone with little to no experience or didn't have a Master's, so when working at Heritage Greens became an option, I jumped at it. I started out working in the dining room, which I honestly loved. I had never waited tables before but I was pretty good at it. I don't know if I'd be good at waiting tables other places but in a senior community, I was great and spoiled my residents. Just ask them yourself if you don't believe me! That made me realize that social work can be done in any setting. Social work is a broad term that covers a lot of areas. Social work does not discriminate. I have learned that just because I am not working at a non profit agency or for the government does not mean I am not a social worker every day of my life. That realization made my degree a little more attractive.
I am now the Housekeeping Supervisor at Heritage Greens. I have learned a lot in the four weeks I have been on the job. I still have a lot to learn, but am loving every minute of it. Honestly! I still get my daily interactions with the residents plus paperwork and fun things like that. I have a staff of seven women who work in housekeeping. They are pretty amazing. All very different personalities and I am learning their strengths and their weaknesses, as well as my own. I am finding myself very protective of these women because they are good people and work hard. With the way they each care about their residents, I am seeing that my staff embodies what HG strives for. We care and we're here to make their lives as comfortable as possible. This is their home, after all.
Yesterday, I met a resident that I had not met before. We had seen each other in passing and once she thought she recognized me as someone else, but that has been the only interactions that we have had with each other. I wasn't even sure if she was a resident or just someone visiting a resident. She didn't eat in the main dining room when I worked there, so we had not had much contact. Anyway, as I was leaving for the day, she stopped me in the hall to ask who I was and what I did at HG. I told her my name and that I was working in housekeeping. She told me that she had been waiting to meet me and was excited for the opportunity. We talked for about 10, 15 minutes and got better acquainted. As our conversation was coming to a close, she told me that she has been impressed with how quickly things get handled lately. She said that she could tell such a difference since I started my new job and what a great job I was doing. She was even going to go to the big boss and tell him how great things were now because of me. Whether or not that's really true, it felt great to hear. Our mission statement at HG is "Making a difference everyday". And yesterday, I felt like I was.
That is all.
I am now the Housekeeping Supervisor at Heritage Greens. I have learned a lot in the four weeks I have been on the job. I still have a lot to learn, but am loving every minute of it. Honestly! I still get my daily interactions with the residents plus paperwork and fun things like that. I have a staff of seven women who work in housekeeping. They are pretty amazing. All very different personalities and I am learning their strengths and their weaknesses, as well as my own. I am finding myself very protective of these women because they are good people and work hard. With the way they each care about their residents, I am seeing that my staff embodies what HG strives for. We care and we're here to make their lives as comfortable as possible. This is their home, after all.
Yesterday, I met a resident that I had not met before. We had seen each other in passing and once she thought she recognized me as someone else, but that has been the only interactions that we have had with each other. I wasn't even sure if she was a resident or just someone visiting a resident. She didn't eat in the main dining room when I worked there, so we had not had much contact. Anyway, as I was leaving for the day, she stopped me in the hall to ask who I was and what I did at HG. I told her my name and that I was working in housekeeping. She told me that she had been waiting to meet me and was excited for the opportunity. We talked for about 10, 15 minutes and got better acquainted. As our conversation was coming to a close, she told me that she has been impressed with how quickly things get handled lately. She said that she could tell such a difference since I started my new job and what a great job I was doing. She was even going to go to the big boss and tell him how great things were now because of me. Whether or not that's really true, it felt great to hear. Our mission statement at HG is "Making a difference everyday". And yesterday, I felt like I was.
That is all.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Thought of the day - my morning routine
With a new job comes a new routine. Sort of. My schedule at work is more regular in this new position than when I was in the dining room, which is great. It's so nice to have my weekends back! During the week, I still get up at my normal time around 5:30. But now, instead of having to be at work at 6:30, I go in at 7:30. I need to figure out what to do with that extra hour of my time!
I enjoy my mornings before work. Michael and Squirt are still in bed. I have my coffee. I listen to the radio and surf the internet. It's quiet and peaceful. This particular morning, it's raining, so that provides some nice relaxing background music. This time of day is just for me and I like it. I wonder sometimes, though, should I be doing more with this time?
There are other options, I suppose. I could sleep an extra hour. hmmmmmm? I could fix breakfast every day. That would probably give me a good boost of energy for my morning. As much as I actually enjoy domesticity, that's not an unlikely option for me. I could exercise, too. We have so much exercise equipment that we don't use, this would be the perfect time to use some of it. I could also use this time to work on some projects that I have been ignoring. That would be productive, right? Of course, I'd have to do it quietly as to not wake the boys haha.
As I am typically a creature of habit, I have to ask myself do I really need a daily routine? Does it have to be the same thing every morning? I guess it could go either way. Early mornings are the hardest time for me not to have a cigarette still. There was something about standing on the porch alone in the still of morning and having my coffee and a smoke. Ah, the memories. That's really what I am looking to replace. If you ask an ex smoker, they'll tell you that those key times of smoking that were daily occurrences are when they want one the most. Mom always said it was after dinner when here craving was the worst.
But, I digress. I have many options to add to my mornings. When I really think about it, I don't need a set routine, but I would like to change things up once in a while. But until I decide what to integrate into my mornings, I'm going to turn up my NPR and have another cup of coffee.
I enjoy my mornings before work. Michael and Squirt are still in bed. I have my coffee. I listen to the radio and surf the internet. It's quiet and peaceful. This particular morning, it's raining, so that provides some nice relaxing background music. This time of day is just for me and I like it. I wonder sometimes, though, should I be doing more with this time?
There are other options, I suppose. I could sleep an extra hour. hmmmmmm? I could fix breakfast every day. That would probably give me a good boost of energy for my morning. As much as I actually enjoy domesticity, that's not an unlikely option for me. I could exercise, too. We have so much exercise equipment that we don't use, this would be the perfect time to use some of it. I could also use this time to work on some projects that I have been ignoring. That would be productive, right? Of course, I'd have to do it quietly as to not wake the boys haha.
As I am typically a creature of habit, I have to ask myself do I really need a daily routine? Does it have to be the same thing every morning? I guess it could go either way. Early mornings are the hardest time for me not to have a cigarette still. There was something about standing on the porch alone in the still of morning and having my coffee and a smoke. Ah, the memories. That's really what I am looking to replace. If you ask an ex smoker, they'll tell you that those key times of smoking that were daily occurrences are when they want one the most. Mom always said it was after dinner when here craving was the worst.
But, I digress. I have many options to add to my mornings. When I really think about it, I don't need a set routine, but I would like to change things up once in a while. But until I decide what to integrate into my mornings, I'm going to turn up my NPR and have another cup of coffee.
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