Monday, November 24, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
MOVE OVER!
I recently traveled to my parent's hometown of Victoria, Texas to visit my grandmother who had broken her hip. It was my desire to introduce her to three of the great-grandchildren she had yet to meet while she was still capable of visiting with them.
During my return to New Mexico, I was pulled over by one of Hudspeth County's finest sheriffs. And seriously, I am not being sarcastic here, I am truely grateful for this officer pulling me over. My infraction? "Failure to vacate lane or slow down." I was informed by the officer that there is a law in Texas (New Mexico and Oklahoma, that he knew) that says, "whenever there is an emergency vehicle pulled over on the side of the road, you must vacate the adjacent lane (ie. move to the farthest left lane) or if you cannot vacate the lane, you must slow the vehicle to no less than 20mph less than the posted speed limit." My mother and I were bewildered, neither of us had ever heard of this law, not surprising since we don't live in Texas, but even more surprised that there might be one on the books in NM that we didn't know about. There I was facing my first ticket for a law I didn't know about. I was informed that another Hudspeth sheriff had been hit by a vehicle failing to vacate and would no longer have the used of his legs! The officer asked me where I was going, where I was coming from and why had I been in Victoria, TX? When he returned from his vehicle, he announced that he was giving me a warning (my perfect **knock on wood** diving record in still standing) and that he had just lost his grandmother due to a broken hip.
So my mission: to inform as many people as possible of this law and what other states it involves. Not so that you can avoid a ticket, although that is a perk. But so that we can all better protect our officers and emergency personal who are already in enough danger as it is.
I found this link: http://www.respondersafety.com/Downloads/MoveOver/State_Move-Over_Law_Chart_July_2008.pdf which has a chart of all the states that currently have a "MOVE OVER" law on the books, some also include tow truck drivers. It also has links for each state so you can read the specifics of your state's law.
My co-workers (all state employees) had never heard of this law, so they are passing it on too.
Hopefully by being better informed drivers, we can all do our part to protect the lives of all our emergency personal including that sheriff in Hudspeth county, Texas. I'll be sending him a thank you note.
During my return to New Mexico, I was pulled over by one of Hudspeth County's finest sheriffs. And seriously, I am not being sarcastic here, I am truely grateful for this officer pulling me over. My infraction? "Failure to vacate lane or slow down." I was informed by the officer that there is a law in Texas (New Mexico and Oklahoma, that he knew) that says, "whenever there is an emergency vehicle pulled over on the side of the road, you must vacate the adjacent lane (ie. move to the farthest left lane) or if you cannot vacate the lane, you must slow the vehicle to no less than 20mph less than the posted speed limit." My mother and I were bewildered, neither of us had ever heard of this law, not surprising since we don't live in Texas, but even more surprised that there might be one on the books in NM that we didn't know about. There I was facing my first ticket for a law I didn't know about. I was informed that another Hudspeth sheriff had been hit by a vehicle failing to vacate and would no longer have the used of his legs! The officer asked me where I was going, where I was coming from and why had I been in Victoria, TX? When he returned from his vehicle, he announced that he was giving me a warning (my perfect **knock on wood** diving record in still standing) and that he had just lost his grandmother due to a broken hip.
So my mission: to inform as many people as possible of this law and what other states it involves. Not so that you can avoid a ticket, although that is a perk. But so that we can all better protect our officers and emergency personal who are already in enough danger as it is.
I found this link: http://www.respondersafety.com/Downloads/MoveOver/State_Move-Over_Law_Chart_July_2008.pdf which has a chart of all the states that currently have a "MOVE OVER" law on the books, some also include tow truck drivers. It also has links for each state so you can read the specifics of your state's law.
My co-workers (all state employees) had never heard of this law, so they are passing it on too.
Hopefully by being better informed drivers, we can all do our part to protect the lives of all our emergency personal including that sheriff in Hudspeth county, Texas. I'll be sending him a thank you note.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
A guy once told me....
"Life will come full circle. We shall meet again." This is also written in my my high school yearbook from my junior year. The young man who wrote this was John Ripici (not sure of spelling) and I still find it very profound and rather Zen in its nature, which is not surprising as this young man was a Buddist.
While I have yet to re-meet John since he graduated, I have been blessed with the re-introduction of many people from my past.
Brandi - my best friend. While I have a few best friends, each is unique in their own way, our personal history, and their availability for coffee, chats, and crisis. History - Brandi has known me since I was 12 years old and in 7th grade. Brandi was older than me, had a twin brother who used to tease me, but pretty much stuck up for me at every turn. We used to ride the same school bus from our little hamlet of Boles Acres and our moms would take turns checking on us to make sure our skirts weren't too short or that we hadn't snuck make-up from the house to put on at school. We lost track of each other shortly after she graduated in 1991. Found - I enrolled Josie in HeadStart in 2006 and she made her first best friend "M". I wasn't able to attend the first few parent meetings but volunteered to be president after the original president failed to show up to meetings. It was then that I meet M's parents - my old friend Brandi. And it so happened that she lived at her parents' old house just down the street from where we were living! Visits at home flourished and the coffee rained down from the heavens in buckets! Seriously, I had to replace the first coffee maker. She has been here for me for everything from going to my Halloween party to hugs when I've gotten in a very heated discussion with Daddy. I am truely happy that life has brought her back to me.
My Ex - ooooh, this one is scary. My Ex was my first for alot of personal things (I'm sure you understand). History - I met My Ex at college when I was 24, we had both volunteered for hall council to represent our dorm wing and I later went on to become dorm president. As this was during the Clinton years, we were teased about him being my intern. We got engaged, lost our first baby, got pregnant with our second baby, married and then he joined the Army without even discussing it with me and he was gone during the rest of the pregnancy until BB was four months old. We moved to his first duty station and he became abusive so I left with BB, filed for divorce and didn't see him again until 2007 (though I wouldn't call this re-meeting). Found - My Ex actually remembered our daughter's birthday, without reminding from his mother, and e-mailed her through my account. I was impressed and decided to tell him so because I've been hoping he'd mature (i.e. get his head out of his ass) and start being the father he claimed to be, and yes, I was very nice about it. He replied about how he was sorry about what happened, glad that I was proud of him, and happy that he had finally gotten his head out of his ass and grown up, even if it did take eight years. I was flabbergasted! A short series of e-mails have followed and though I'd like to think that at least I can be friends with My Ex and perhaps forgive a little easier, I will tread cautiously upon this new terrain.
Mr. M - a new re-introduction to life and almost scarry with the timing of said event. History - Mr. M was a friend of mine in high school and someone I had a crush on for several years, though I never said anything. Mr. M sat in front of me in US History class, which was also homeroom, so we were stuck there for more than the usualy class hour. I used to give Mr. M back massages, this shy-girl's way of flirting, and together with other bored members of this class, would light gunpowder (from a classmate in the "building trades" class supply of nail gun caps) and drive our teacher crazy with antics like supergluing chalk to the chalkboard, flipping every other book on the shelf upside-down or backwards, or pouring "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" slime on his desk. *Yes, sweet little ol' me has done a few things I could lie and say I was not proud of, but let's be truthful, it was and still is pretty hillarious! And no, I will not be telling the kids* Once again, graduation separated me from this friend. Found - this one surprisingly found me. MySpace can work wonders in locating people you thought were gone forever, even when you aren't looking. I am enjoying this re-introduction.
Speaking of MySpace, I have a few honorable mentions. Mr. S - was my second boyfriend ever and took me to my first high school dance, Homecomming, our sophomore year. Lost track of him when he moved over the summer but he was found on MySpace just as crazy as ever. Rik - was the director of a play I had the lead in and we had a fast love-affair over the course of two weeks which we tried to make last over long-distance, marriage and children were even discussed. But alas, I began college and became very busy and was unable to devote as much time to letter writing as he deemed was necessary and the affair fizzled nearly as quickly as it began. We reconnected just as I was preparing to leave my husband with a letter he wrote to my mother's address asking about me, but he was lost again when he changed jobs. He is again found via MySpace and is happily married and continuing his theatre career.
I hope this trend of re-introduction continues as my always curious mind wonders what happened to those I knew. Did Matthew ever forgive me for breaking his heart? (And there are two broken-hearted Matthews, sorry) And for that matter did Mike (a couple of those too)? And what ever happened to my flamboyant friend Mikey? Nathan? Chad? And I still miss Cameron (way long story there!) and yes I still have that book you gave me. In fact, it still smelled like you for many years. (Yes, I smelled the book, okay!) I'm just a weirdo full of nostalgia.
While I have yet to re-meet John since he graduated, I have been blessed with the re-introduction of many people from my past.
Brandi - my best friend. While I have a few best friends, each is unique in their own way, our personal history, and their availability for coffee, chats, and crisis. History - Brandi has known me since I was 12 years old and in 7th grade. Brandi was older than me, had a twin brother who used to tease me, but pretty much stuck up for me at every turn. We used to ride the same school bus from our little hamlet of Boles Acres and our moms would take turns checking on us to make sure our skirts weren't too short or that we hadn't snuck make-up from the house to put on at school. We lost track of each other shortly after she graduated in 1991. Found - I enrolled Josie in HeadStart in 2006 and she made her first best friend "M". I wasn't able to attend the first few parent meetings but volunteered to be president after the original president failed to show up to meetings. It was then that I meet M's parents - my old friend Brandi. And it so happened that she lived at her parents' old house just down the street from where we were living! Visits at home flourished and the coffee rained down from the heavens in buckets! Seriously, I had to replace the first coffee maker. She has been here for me for everything from going to my Halloween party to hugs when I've gotten in a very heated discussion with Daddy. I am truely happy that life has brought her back to me.
My Ex - ooooh, this one is scary. My Ex was my first for alot of personal things (I'm sure you understand). History - I met My Ex at college when I was 24, we had both volunteered for hall council to represent our dorm wing and I later went on to become dorm president. As this was during the Clinton years, we were teased about him being my intern. We got engaged, lost our first baby, got pregnant with our second baby, married and then he joined the Army without even discussing it with me and he was gone during the rest of the pregnancy until BB was four months old. We moved to his first duty station and he became abusive so I left with BB, filed for divorce and didn't see him again until 2007 (though I wouldn't call this re-meeting). Found - My Ex actually remembered our daughter's birthday, without reminding from his mother, and e-mailed her through my account. I was impressed and decided to tell him so because I've been hoping he'd mature (i.e. get his head out of his ass) and start being the father he claimed to be, and yes, I was very nice about it. He replied about how he was sorry about what happened, glad that I was proud of him, and happy that he had finally gotten his head out of his ass and grown up, even if it did take eight years. I was flabbergasted! A short series of e-mails have followed and though I'd like to think that at least I can be friends with My Ex and perhaps forgive a little easier, I will tread cautiously upon this new terrain.
Mr. M - a new re-introduction to life and almost scarry with the timing of said event. History - Mr. M was a friend of mine in high school and someone I had a crush on for several years, though I never said anything. Mr. M sat in front of me in US History class, which was also homeroom, so we were stuck there for more than the usualy class hour. I used to give Mr. M back massages, this shy-girl's way of flirting, and together with other bored members of this class, would light gunpowder (from a classmate in the "building trades" class supply of nail gun caps) and drive our teacher crazy with antics like supergluing chalk to the chalkboard, flipping every other book on the shelf upside-down or backwards, or pouring "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" slime on his desk. *Yes, sweet little ol' me has done a few things I could lie and say I was not proud of, but let's be truthful, it was and still is pretty hillarious! And no, I will not be telling the kids* Once again, graduation separated me from this friend. Found - this one surprisingly found me. MySpace can work wonders in locating people you thought were gone forever, even when you aren't looking. I am enjoying this re-introduction.
Speaking of MySpace, I have a few honorable mentions. Mr. S - was my second boyfriend ever and took me to my first high school dance, Homecomming, our sophomore year. Lost track of him when he moved over the summer but he was found on MySpace just as crazy as ever. Rik - was the director of a play I had the lead in and we had a fast love-affair over the course of two weeks which we tried to make last over long-distance, marriage and children were even discussed. But alas, I began college and became very busy and was unable to devote as much time to letter writing as he deemed was necessary and the affair fizzled nearly as quickly as it began. We reconnected just as I was preparing to leave my husband with a letter he wrote to my mother's address asking about me, but he was lost again when he changed jobs. He is again found via MySpace and is happily married and continuing his theatre career.
I hope this trend of re-introduction continues as my always curious mind wonders what happened to those I knew. Did Matthew ever forgive me for breaking his heart? (And there are two broken-hearted Matthews, sorry) And for that matter did Mike (a couple of those too)? And what ever happened to my flamboyant friend Mikey? Nathan? Chad? And I still miss Cameron (way long story there!) and yes I still have that book you gave me. In fact, it still smelled like you for many years. (Yes, I smelled the book, okay!) I'm just a weirdo full of nostalgia.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
I'd been hoping this would work.
It feels like finding a long lost friend or breathing after holding your breath for a long time. I haven't had the internet at my new house since we moved to Roswell in June and I wasn't sure I could access my blog at my new office. BUT I CAN!!! My head has been a rumble of thoughts and ideas and stories waiting to burst forth but without an outlet and yet, here it is. Tomorrow will give me more time to update the online world with the Powell family happenings and my somewhat idealistic thoughts on such. But I feel like I have my voice again.
Friday, April 18, 2008
All for the love of writing
I was enjoying a little down-time at the office when I read this blog at Velveteen Mind. I truely enjoy her blog and decided this one required a little linky-love. Most of the blogs I find by going through Chelsea's "I'm Somebody's Mother?" blog and I just tap the links that BlogHer has on the page (after laughing my ass off at whatever Chelsea may have to offer). Just on the chance that she should ever read my little page here, Chelsea, you were my first blog, ever. I lost my blogger-cherry to you and I am now running rampant down the blogger streets. I have shamelessly entered a haiku contest, which gave me my first comment, and even been so brazen as to admit personal defeat to the public. I admit I have been a little lax in the writing arena, but I can only excuse by saying: Daddy's already in Roswell, I'm tending to four little ones by myself, planning my graduation AND wedding, dealing with repeated "welfare checks" by CYFD because of The Big B frantically trying any crazy tactic to "get her daughter (note just the one) back", and packing. I'll write more about The Big B's tactics later.
At any rate, Velveteen says it all in her blog about why I write. I hope you enjoy her as I do.
At any rate, Velveteen says it all in her blog about why I write. I hope you enjoy her as I do.
Friday, March 28, 2008
My kid may be what!?!
Yesterday was Josie's second autism evaluation appointment to see if she has made any progress with the things we have attempted to do. While she has fewer "bad" days, her bad days are worse and she's been asked to leave school for the rest of the day for biting. There have been quite a few days where Daddy and I are at our wit's end. We have tried music therapy, dance therapy, schedules, counseling, cooking, monitoring her sugar intake, watching for food triggers, being extra firm but allowing more time, and the list goes on. She even only wears certain colors like pinks and yellows because for some reason blues, browns, and black or sometimes even green lead to "bad" days. We have found that asking her "what colour is your sky?" gives us an indication of what kind of day we can attempt to encourage or avoid.But,
we've reached our limit. Nothing new, old, or in-between is working for her anymore. We have improved what seems as far as we could without medicinal intervention. Our counselors say so, the teacher believe it, and the specialist we drive 400+ miles each way to see agrees. Daddy couldn't go with us yesterday, so Josie and I were alone to hear the diagnosis and I had to make a decision.
Josie has autism - Asperger's syndrome and she is very intelligent, this is what we were working with. She has some sensory loss and needs occupational therapy for balance and fine motor skills especially on her left side. With the combination of her biological mother's mental health history and her maternal grandmother's plus the extreme peaks and valleys Josie is displaying - her doctor believes they may be precursors to her being bi-polar.
What!?! (Deep breath) Okay, we can handle this (repeat as a mantra). Then the doctor went over some medications for getting her to focus, getting around her rigidity, and the peaks and valleys. She asked me which barrier I felt she needed to most overcome with the use of medication. (Oh, dear God, I'm considering medicating my kid. But I can't help her alone anymore, she needs something) I believe she needs to focus if she is going to do as well in school as we know she is capable of doing. Crying, I agree to try the ADHD medication, explaining that I feel like the worst parent in the world because I couldn't fix the world for her. Peter and I had agreed that medication would be our last resort, and here I was making this decision without him. But he did agree with my decision when I got home, it really is wonderful to have someone support your decisions about "their" child, makes me feel like I am the mom here.
So, we're going to try the medication over Spring Break, I'm taking the week off to see how she does and because it would cost more than I make to put the kids in camp for the week. A friend of ours suggested (and we had heard at the support group) that using the medication and fish oil seems to work wonders. I'll be researching more about this. In the meantime, I'm praying that this works because she really is a wonderful little girl and I want her to enjoy the world.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Water, water, everywhere
I, know, again with the blue posts, but this one is because of water. Let's clarify, Water Problems.
I took a lovely one credit class this weekend called Project Wild, if you get the chance, take it and have fun. On Saturday, I woke at my usual get-ready-for-work time and turned on the shower. My shower take a little while to get warm so I have it two minutes while I sipped on some coffee. Since that was enough time, I stripped off my PJs (which were actually the shirt I wore the day before and my undies) and swung a leg over the tub side and into.....
ICE COLD WATER!!!!!
I screamed and hopped out of the bathroom naked to tell Daddy that I think the pilot light on the water heater was out. Then I thanked God that I had a shower the day before and my hair wasn't oily because the pilot light wasn't out, the water heater cracked and water was pouring out. Our landlady had it replaced in time for evening baths/showers.
Then on Sunday, Daddy took the girls to dance practice and when he started to get them out of the van, he noticed a steam kind of sound coming from the engine. Turns out our water pump had just gone out. Daddy limped the van home and took his car to pick up the girls and a new water pump. He spent the rest of the evening taking off the old water pump, then the next day scrapping off the gasket and putting on the new water pump. One gallon of antifreeze/water went in, everything was fine. The second gallon and it all started leaking out. So my dad said to bring the van to his house (5 minutes away) and they could work on it together. Never have I seen my dad take to anyone I've brought home as he has to Daddy. And to think, it only took 2 1/2 years to get here.
Daddy has a theory about fixing cars. It's not fixed unless you bleed. Well, Daddy got quite a few scratches and gashes from trying to fix the van. I told him, "Now it looks like your theory doesn't hold....
WATER!"
I took a lovely one credit class this weekend called Project Wild, if you get the chance, take it and have fun. On Saturday, I woke at my usual get-ready-for-work time and turned on the shower. My shower take a little while to get warm so I have it two minutes while I sipped on some coffee. Since that was enough time, I stripped off my PJs (which were actually the shirt I wore the day before and my undies) and swung a leg over the tub side and into.....
ICE COLD WATER!!!!!
I screamed and hopped out of the bathroom naked to tell Daddy that I think the pilot light on the water heater was out. Then I thanked God that I had a shower the day before and my hair wasn't oily because the pilot light wasn't out, the water heater cracked and water was pouring out. Our landlady had it replaced in time for evening baths/showers.
Then on Sunday, Daddy took the girls to dance practice and when he started to get them out of the van, he noticed a steam kind of sound coming from the engine. Turns out our water pump had just gone out. Daddy limped the van home and took his car to pick up the girls and a new water pump. He spent the rest of the evening taking off the old water pump, then the next day scrapping off the gasket and putting on the new water pump. One gallon of antifreeze/water went in, everything was fine. The second gallon and it all started leaking out. So my dad said to bring the van to his house (5 minutes away) and they could work on it together. Never have I seen my dad take to anyone I've brought home as he has to Daddy. And to think, it only took 2 1/2 years to get here.
Daddy has a theory about fixing cars. It's not fixed unless you bleed. Well, Daddy got quite a few scratches and gashes from trying to fix the van. I told him, "Now it looks like your theory doesn't hold....
WATER!"
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