Lunch With The Secretaries

Today I drove to Brea to lunch with the ladies I used to work with at Buena Park High School. We were all secretaries in the large office, and I was 23 years old when I started working there in 1990. This was the first job I had in a school district, and I loved it. I loved the atmosphere and everyone I worked with. It's where I worked when I began my credential program and left to do my student teaching just before graduating from CSUF to begin teaching. These ladies were like second mothers or aunties to me and taught me so much. I am forever grateful for them.  Carolyn, in the bottom photo next to me, was the closest in age of the ladies who were in the office. She became a dear friend and influenced my love of Mary Englebreit and rubber stamping. She is so elegant and kind, and my heart was full after hanging out with the gals today.

Working on FVHS Campus

It has been fun to have a job here on the campus where Heather attends high school. The principal's secretary made a cute sign for my desk. The work keeps me busy, but is doable. I like clerical work because it feeds my need for organization and order. The staff has been very welcoming.

Easing In to the Work World Again

Took a first step back toward employment today when I turned in my paperwork to become a clerical sub for the district. I will be taking Shelly's job, and Tricia's before her, helping with state testing. It's only a few weeks of the year, but it's a start.

Cleaning Out Dad's Place, Part 2

We scheduled this weekend to meet Michelle, Shane and Gavin at my dad's Idyllwild place to continue clean out. After Michelle and I initially visited in July, worked and realized the task was going to take a lot longer than anticipated, we scheduled time with the husbands and some man muscle. We rented hotel rooms for an overnight stay so we didn't have to drive back home in between packing days. The kids thought this was cool, and it was nice to have a shower and place to stay closer to the action. We concentrated on the outdoor areas as well as moving the furniture pieces that required the guys. We filled the back of a UHall truck and took another load or two to the local dump and donation centers. After two full days of work, there is still a lot to do, but we were pleased with the outdoor areas being cleaned up. I worked on the porch which seemed insurmountable. I concentrated on one area at a time until I could see the end. It was really easy to want to feel frustrated at how much was left after all our hard work, but we had to focus on what we DID accomplish.  We have scheduled another packing day in October, and we'll need another rental truck. There's that much stuff.  After we unloaded the truck, we couldn't believe how much space it took up. If we can't get Dad to part with more stuff, his new place is going to look like a warehouse of boxes with isles in the middle. Yikes.

Cleaning Out Dad's Place Part 1

Another fun adventure I had while Kelly and the girls were at camp was with my sister, cleaning out my Dad's mobile home in Idyllwild. It was pretty good timing that she could come while the family was gone because this was not a project we could undertake while worrying about getting home and taking care of kids and schedules.

This was our first trip to Dad's in many years, and we were, quite frankly, shocked. We did not expect to walk into a situation that looked like an episode of Hoarders, Buried Alive. We discovered that Dad is a packrat/hoarder.  We spent day one cleaning the spare bedroom out so we could have an empty room to move things to that were going to Dad's new place.

I may have recorded this already, but in December of 2014, Dad was at my place and had left for a doctor appointment in Anaheim Hills. He frequently visits the Kaiser facility there, so I thought nothing of it. When he returned, I learned that he had spent the past three or four hours trying to find the location. He went to the location he normally goes to, but the appointment was at a new building, and that was the one he couldn't find. He eventually had to divulge that he cannot see well enough to read street signs or find address numbers while driving. The macular degeneration he has had taken the center or pinpoint vision from his eyes, and the condition will get worse as he gets older. The incident started a discussion about the possibility of him moving closer to me before he needs help. He agreed and we started mobile home hunting in February. After a few trips to mobile home parks near my house (most of which were either too expensive or had only large homes available), we moved a little north and found him a place in Westminster, just about 7 minutes from our place.

Escrow closed in May on Dad's new property, and we thought he had been packing. Michelle and I assured Dad we would help with the move also, but we truly expected that he would do more than he did. I'm sure he was overwhelmed. We sure were. After the first day, we had the guest room cleared and several bags of donations ready. We drove some to the donation center, but it was clear that we were going to need a truck to make any headway.

The next day we rented a flatbed in Banning and drove it up to the park. We used it to truck donations to the donation center, and to dump a few loads of trash at the local waste distribution facility. We were able to clear the kitchen counters and the living room (see before and after pics above), and we hope that Dad will be encouraged enough to continue packing as well as keeping the areas we cleaned up clean.  Time will tell.  Michelle talked to Shane, and they will make plans to come back in a month or two so that both our families can go back and continue packing and moving Dad.

After three days of work, we took the following morning off and went to breakfast and then to the mall to do some shopping.  We were going to spend the morning working at Dad's, but we were exhausted, and since there was no hope of finishing, we took a break. Michelle left in the afternoon to get started with her long drive.  I was so grateful to have the time this weekend and my sister to help with this project. We'll be back at it in October.