September 23, 2011

Picking Up The Fragments

Every Friday the lovely Mrs. 4444 @ Half-Past Kissin' Time is our hostess-with-the-mostest for Friday Fragments...a chance to share those little bits that aren't enough on their own to be a post.

Mommy's Idea

I went to my Spiritual Formation class last night with a lot of.....dread....yes, I think that's the right word for it.  We are currently reading Invitation to a Journey by Robert Mulholland.  Oy.  Tough read.  I have been struggling like I don't remember ever struggling with a book.  There is some great information in it.  If only I could find it.  Mulholland uses difficult language and a lot of it.  It seems to take him several paragraphs (or even pages) to say what I think he could say in about 20 words.  In other words, the book is "clear as mud." 

I even wrote about it in the journal we are required to keep....complaints and then I wrote out a prayer asking for a better attitude and clarity.  I have to say that my reading did improve a bit after that, but it was still like slogging through jello.

So, I went to class last night feeling kind of dumb, figuring everyone else would have breezed right through it.  Then the first question the instructor asked was if anyone was struggling with the book and all the honest people started piping up.  (A lot maintained their superior silence....like the lady who shared the 20 or so ways a single pebble reminded her of Jesus)  The instructor said it is a difficult book, verbous and nearly unintelligable in some parts, that we just have to glean the nuggets the best we can.  In his words, "If you're struggling, you're NORMAL." 

I really needed that boost.

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Megan got her first paycheck after working the split-shift schedule she volunteered for.  Not so hot.  She didn't realize that she only gets 5-6 hours a day doing that.  She spoke to her boss yesterday and will continue doing it a couple of days a week, but the rest of the time she will work full days.  Yea!  Arranging the rides for her during the middle of the day was getting tricky.  I so wish she'd get her driver's permit.  If she and her boyfriend break up I don't know what we'll do because he's been a huge help with that.

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Have I told you about the...uh....snafu with the school bus endorsement portion of my CDL?  Every four years school bus drivers have to recertify.  That means hours of classroom instruction, hours of road time with a trainer and retaking the written and driving tests.  We are also required to have a physical every year. 

I did all that.  I put in the classroom time back in March or April.  I did all the rest this summer.  Last Friday I got three, THREE!!, letters from the Dept. of Transportation.  One said since I didn't take the class, my school bus endorsement was revoked.  The second said since I didn't take the knowledge test, my school bus endorsement was revoked.  The third said that since I didn't take a physical, my school bus endorsement was revoked. 

I have been sweating since August 31 when my endorsement ran out, anyway.  I told my employer that it was up and I still hadn't received the new card.  Oh, it's okay....you did everything, it's been sent in (my employer sends everything), technically you're legal.  In the fall and spring, the state police do random school bus inspections.  I've been living in fear of being nabbed for one of those.  I'm not sure they will swallow the whole "technically" thing. 

Now I've got the letters.  Obviously, my paperwork is missing in action.  My employer says keep driving.  I'm not happy.  If I get caught, it could mean my whole license, not just my CDL.  I just don't have a lot of faith in being "technically" legal.  They are trying to track it down.  Nothing so far.

I will not be a happy camper if it comes down to I have to do it all again.

Maybe it's a sign.  I kept hemming and hawing over the summer about whether I really wanted to do this another four years.....

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I'm looking forward to tonight.  As soon as I get home and change, Tim and I are headed to the 'Burgh to meet up with friends at Station Square for some awesome seafood at Joe's Crab Shack.  YUM-O!!

You all have a wonderful weekend with your families and friends...and don't forget to say thanks to the One that made it possible!

7 comments:

Cathy said...

I just read Friday Fragments on someone else's post. I enjoyed reading yours. It's a fun way to get to know a little more about people. I really need to consider doing this. Sometimes I have lots of fragments in my life.

I admire you trying to wade through that study. I haven't done it, but if it was that hard I'm not sure I would ever follow through. I need things pretty straight forward and simple. Hope you find the nuggets of truth you need.

Hope you enjoy Joe's Crab Shack. I've eaten at one of those before and really loved the food.

Have a great weekend.

Stacy said...

Cathy...I do several memes/bloghops just because they are fun and a good way to meet new bloggy friends. This one is a nice way to tie up the week.

Thank you for the encouragement. I'm not sure I'd have stuck with the book if it weren't required reading. The class is a college credit seminary course. The teacher promised the rest of the books are much easier to read. Whew!

We are seafood lovers and since Joe's came to the 'Burgh (there are two of them!) we go a couple of times a year...maybe more often now that we know our friends like it so much, too.

Enjoy your weekend!

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Have a great dinner and a wonderful weekend.

Anonymous said...

Enjoy your dinner and have a great weekend! I hope they sort out your certification sooner than later!

Ellen aka Ellie said...

With all the books out there, why assign that one?

Reminds me of my college Trig class. I was in my 30s, studying to be a teacher, and the other students were 18 and all pre-med. I was student teaching at the time. Mac was four.

I didn't get it.

But no one was superior. No one. They all helped me. I was a straight A student, and I fought for that D. (Couldn't take it pass fail.)

To this day, I have no idea why an eled teacher had to take Trig. It has served me not at all...

Stacy said...

Debby...thank you. Dinner was awesome...the company even better. I even got to shop at the Hard Rock. Scored the Pittsburgh Hard Rock's Pink Ribbon t-shirt. :)

Restlessvagabond...thank you...and see above. ;)

Ellen...my instructor didn't choose it. It's required reading chosen by the seminary for this course. You were lucky everyone was so helpful. There are some like that in this class, but it's hard because we are in four different locations connected by skype. The instructor is helpful and very nice...and a former colleague from my old ministry days. One of my dearest friends is at my location, but she is taking the class as part of her doctorate. She tries to help and is wonderful as an encourager but she is also just so stinking smart that she leaves me in the dust. The man at our location doesn't talk. The other two ladies? One is the pebble lady and all I can think when she comes up with all these touchy feely illustrations of every point is that she really seems to be trying to impress us. Even the instructor never knows quite what to say. The other lady is a 60+ grandma who has already taken several classes and is really eager to tell you about them and what they did and how they did it and what she got out of it....blah, blah, blah. I should be more forgiving, I know, but if we could all just keep it real, we'd all get so much more out of it. The guy I'm enjoying the most looks like he belongs in Hell's Angels.

Unknown said...

I don't think there's a Joe's Crab Shack here in Oregon but it sure sounds good.

How have you been? Thanks for the well wishes! It's been a whirlwind year but a blessed one.

I'm with you on reading books that are really wordy. I tend to lose focus quickly.

Have a great weekend.

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