So much for going undetected . . .

I tried.  Really, I did, but I guess a red Chevro-sleigh is easily noticed by a certain teen cadet who has been riding in it with her Gram for a long time.  Drat.

My plan was to slip into one of the high school parking lots and at least take a photo of the rock climbing wall used at GN’s JROTC Field Day.  I wasn’t even going to get out of the car.  I was going to shoot from behind the wheel and the slip away.

I parked as far away from the rock wall as I could get and still be in the parking lot.  I rolled down my window and was getting my camera ready when I heard, “Hi Grammy!”

I was so busy trying to be covert that I hadn’t noticed that GN was standing right by the wall.  I turned quickly to see if she was crabby or happy to see me.  She was happy.  In fact, one of the members of the National Guard who was helping the field day waved me over to get a closer photo.

Why not?  I don’t get to bug GN at school when I am at work, so I walked over and enjoyed the hug my granddaughter gave me and then the smile she gave the camera.

Gram’s Retirement Internship – Day 5

Day 5 has barely started, but I am already enjoying it!

Goodnight’s JROTC squadron has their annual Field Day and they brought in the National Guard to help run the show.  They are going to be outdoors for the entire day with passes to be excused from their regular schedule.

My responsibility was to pack “really fun lunch, Grammy”,  pack the sun screen, then iron and starch the cadet’s uniform shirt to turn it in with the uniform that has been fetched from the dry cleaners.  No more uniform inspection days for this school year.

I just drove by the field and the rock climbing wall had just arrived.  Some soldiers had already set up a couple of volleyball nets and were busy running around on the field to get some other things ready.  Luckily for me, the field day will be where I can park undetected and watch for a while, just to see how it goes.

If if could sit n the bleachers and not get the glare from my granddaughter, I would watch and cheer, but I don’t think field day is an official spectator sport.

When I get my fill of watching field day, I need to get home to the chore on my list for today and that is vacuuming my heating vents and cold air return vents.  It’s a small house, so there aren’t too many, but I have to climb the ladder for four of them.  That will slow me down a little but at least I don’t have to haul the ladder to the second floor.

That will be enough work for the day.  I should be able to have enough time to read for a while before I have to pick up a very tired cadet.  I promised to take her to Burger Nite at the VFW this evening.

Yum!

Gram’s Retirement Internship – Day 4

Today will be a bit tedious, but at lest the sun is shining.

Goodnight was offered an after-school job beginning in the fall.  She hadn’t been looking for work yet  because of her age, but had started talking about it with me.  Sunday, the principal of her middle school asked her about helping out with something and the hourly pay is better than minimum wage and something for GN to consider.

The catch is that GN will need to get from her high school to her job before I usually get off work, so will have to make her way on the city transit.

Yea!  The Gram already knows the transit system and man of the routes and GN has been using the system for nearly a year now.

So my task for Day 4 is to figure out routes, stops, and timetables to see if it is workable.  My initial investigation showed that the bus she needed stopped running an hour before she got dismissed from school,  sp. thought she would have to turn down the job.  However, I spotted a bus with the same route number yesterday at the time she would need to get on, so I followed it to a stop, parked in front of it and asked for a schedule.

Today, I am following the map and checking out the safest stops for her to wait and I am actually watching the buses to see how closely they are following the timetable.

It may not seem like a fun thing to do on a retirement internship, but I am a detail-oriented do-bee and I like that sort of thing.  GN does not have enough experience or exposure to figure this put on her own.  I do.

But when I get this task settled, I am taking myself to a movie.

That’s Day 4 in a nutshell.

Catch you later!

Gram’s Summer Retirement Internship – Day 3

The item on today’s schedule was to have a new central air conditioning unit installed.  Mine died at the beginning of a long 100 + degree streak two summers ago.  It tripped the circuit breaker and there it sat ever since.

The salesman came to my house the day before and we had a long chat about what I needed and what I wanted.  We came to an agreement AND THEN he gave me a HUGE discount on the total price because of how long I have been a customer.  Yea.

The technicians arrived right on schedule.

I had saved some indoor chores for while the technicians were working so I could be around the house.  I did some bookkeeping that took me about an hour.  Then I cleaned one drawer of my file cabinet.   By the time I wrapped those chores up, the guys were ready for me to write the check and send them off.

Sadly, it was too cold for them to test the unit, but the standard procedure is to schedule an operation check for a week after installation anyway.  It may be warm enough next week for that to happen.

The rain started to fall just as they were finishing up their work, so I was grateful not to have to put it off for another time.

All the extra work hours I put in to save up for this will pay off when GN and I can be more comfortable than we’ve been for the last two summers.

Gram’s Summer Retirement Internship – Day 2

Day  2 started as early as day 1.

GN was v-e-r-y testy last night so rather than let her sleep in as late as possible, I decided she needed to take the “long way” to school.  She thought that meant her regular city bus ride across town, but I had a different plan.

I took her on a long drive.  We stayed in the city limits, but I took her through the neighborhood where we lived when she was born.  The frown started to leave her face.  She remembers the little playground, though she hasn’t been there for thirteen years.

We drove up and down a couple of St. Paul’s seven hills and she started noticing the flowering trees.  Her testy slumped-over posture started to fade.

We arrived at our breakfast stop and she began to be verbal.  After eating, she was actually conversational.

After breakfast, we stopped at a grocery store to pickup an item from the international aisle that I needed to make her favorite banana bread.  She was starting to tap her fingers to the music on the radio.As we worked our way toward her high school, we looked for the dry cleaners where I need to take her JROTC uniform before she turns it in for the summer.

We only live four miles from her school – ten to fifteen minutes away at most, but this morning it took us an hour and a half and I don’t know how many miles to make the transformation from testy to her smiley self.  It isn’t easy being a teen and I wouldn’t do 9th grade over if I got paid a lot of money, but the long way to school worked its quiet wonder for today.

My tasks on my list for today included rearranging two cupboards in the kitchen . . . call it musical china if you wish.  Three sets of dishes needed tending.  I decided it was time to let go of one set.  They came out of the cupboard and were packed for donation.  The remaining two sets were just swapped from the cupboards where they were stacked.  One set is more wintery and I like the other set for spring and summer.

My ulterior motive for the swapping and packing was that I really wanted to make one cupboard into a little coffee shop/library in the corner of my kitchen.  I hate being in the kitchen, to be honest.  The kitchen is the darkest room in the house.  There isn’t a window in there and the sink faces the wall that adjoins my townhome neighbor’s kitchen. The kitchen means work . . . cooking, washing dishes, and scrubbing the floor.  The little coffee shop/library cupboard is my attempt to make a bright spot in the kitchen that will make me enjoy it a little more.

The dishes that I want to use over spring and summer don’t take up much space and they are tucked in between two shelves of books.  One shelf holds the books I want to get to this year and the other shelf holds my Minnesota collection: people places and events that have shaped this state I call home.  I also tucked some coffee mugs, teas and coffee in that cupboard to make it more inviting.  I tucked a few new books for GN in the cupboard too.  Her hot chocolate is there as well, but she hasn’t noticed the switch yet.

I haven’t taken a photo yet because I am not quite finished with what I want to do in that corner cupboard.

I had time for a nap before I picked up GN from school.

After a simple supper, I plopped on the couch, sitting up, but with my legs stretched out.  GN asked me if I wanted the television on.  I didn’t.  I told her we were going to work a crossword puzzle together instead.  She practically dove onto the couch next to me, arranged some pillows to make herself more comfortable.

GN: why did you decide to do this, Grammy?

Gram: Because you didn’t have any homework and it will be fun.  You have a large vocabulary for a girl your age, but language is more than just vocabulary.  Crossword puzzles are a good way to learn, too.  What you don’t get the first time, will stick in your memory for the next time a similar clue is given.  You’ll see.

One Across: chew the _ _ _.

GN: I have no idea!

Well, you may not have heard this idiom before.  Chew the fat . . .

GN: GROSS!!!

Gram: No, not gross.  it means chit-chat or small talk, but it is an idiom.  Do you know what an idiom is?

GN: something idiots say?

And so the evening passed with my granddaughter snuggled close enough to see the crossword puzzle and make good attempts and guessing the words to be filled in.

One clue asked for the Morse Code message for help.

GN: SOS, right Grammy.

Gram:  Yes, that’s right!  Now, do you know the actual code for SOS?

GN: It’s dashes and dots, isn’t it?

Gram: Yes, but not in that order. And do you know how to ‘say’ the dots and dashes?

GN: Nope.

Gram: Well there is a phonetic pronunciation that would make the distress signal sound like this:  di-di-dit  dah-dah-dah  di-di-dit.

GN: Cool.  How did you know that?

Gram: Great- grandpa knew Morse Code.  He used to sign his notes to Great-grandma with something that took me a long time to figure out.  I figured it out.

We worked two crossword puzzles because GN had so much fun. with the first one.

My 2nd day of Retirement Internship ended when I picked up my granddaughter from school, but because there is much less pressure to keep a schedule when I am off work, I could share my retirement internship with her.  It was a fun evening.

Gram’s Summer Retirement Internship – Day 1

Sometimes I arrive at my retirement internship with a lot of energy and a short chore list.  This time, however, I am so exhausted that I am going to need a few naps just to move up to tired.   The chore list needs attention regardless.

Day 1:  Goodnight had an early morning orthodontist appointment so there was not even a chance of sleeping in for either of us.  I got up early to make the call to her high school attendance line to let them know she would be in as soon as she got her smile adjusted a bit.

Then I rolled the teen out of bed, packed her lunch, got her to the orthodontist, then dropped her off at school.

The rest of the morning was spent in my closet.  It is not a walk-in closet, but I was in there anyway.  I took everything out, washed shelves, vacuumed the floor and wiped the walls.  I sorted clothing and made a pile for donating and a small pile for mending: buttons to be replaced and that sort of thing.  The remainder of the clothing got returned to the closet.

I decided to watch a movie and put my feet up on the couch for a while.  I watched the 2009 version of the 1956 film, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt starring Michael Douglas.  Very interesting plot and I LOVED the twist in the plot near the end!

By the time I finished the movie, it was time to load the car with the donations I had prepared and then pick up GN from school.  While I waited at school for my granddaughter, I had a Lovely phone chat with Gr8.

Day 1 went by in a heartbeat . . .

Treats for a JROTC Class

Goodnight and I made a pit stop after the college graduation ceremony that isn’t a part of our regular graduation night routine.  We stopped at a candy store.

My granddaughter didn’t ask me to stop, but there is a reason we have the expression “like a kid in a candy store.”  From time to time, I just want to see what my granddaughter will do when she is given the opportunity.

I handed her some cash and told her to pick what she wanted.  I stayed in the car, but had the odd luck of a parking spot right out front of the store.

When GN returned to the car, she said, “Grammy, you gotta see what I got!”

Gram: What did you get?

GN: Treats for my JROTC class tomorrow.  They are gonna LOVE it!  It’s Fitness Friday and we work out for the whole class period.  They are gonna like my treats.

What had my cadet granddaughter so excited that she spent her candy money on something to share?

Gummi Army Guys . . . in patriotic red, white and, blue colors.  I asked a few of the soldiers to pose for a photo before they had to head off to school with GN.

Another Event, Another Thrift Shop Dress Challenge

It’s graduation day for the college.  I like to attending the ceremony because it is the culmination of the work we do here and n the course of my day, I run into so many students that I want to see them walk the stage and wave at the loved ones who supported their school lives and schedules.  It’s a very joyous evening.

I thought it was appropriate to find a new dress for such a joyous evening and since I had such good luck recently with a dress for GN’s JROTC award ceremony, I thought I would try my favorite thrift shop again.

Before I tell you what I found, I should say that I fully accept the odds of not finding what I’m looking for when I walk into any given thrift shop.  But it’s worth a stop because it is budget-friendly, eco-friendly and I enjoy the challenge.

With that explanation out of the way, I found a very nice rayon dress with a floral print.  We have finally hit some balmy weather so the rayon will be cool enough and the floral print cheery enough.  Dress with frivolous ornamentation: $6.00 and seven minutes in the store!

Meet Harold

Harold came to live with us last week.  Goodnight introduced him to me when she brought him home from school one day. Harold is one of products of my granddaughter’s ceramics class.  Her goal was to shape him like one of her favorite treats: gummy bears.

She named him Harold after one of her favorite “little kid” books, Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson.

I smiled when she told me that.  It means there are good memories that she has catalogued during her lifetime.

So, I just want to introduce Harold.

“and the award goes to . . . “

I am a back-sitter.  I like to sit in the back of any given event so I can take it all in.  I look around, catch people being human and it only enhances my experience of an event.

Last night was no exception.  I sat in the last row in the auditorium at GN’s high school where I observed her squadron’s award ceremony.

It was lovely, but the loveliness began even before the ceremony’s official start.  GN had to arrive early, because she had left the tab to her uniform in her gym locker and needed to run and get it before she got demerits for incomplete uniform.  I dropped her off at the door and told her I would head to the auditorium and meet her after the ceremony.

Because we were early, I got to watch the Color Guard practice the presentation of the colors . . . twice.  I got to watch one young cadet pace nervously.  It turns put he was in charge of the Color Guard and he wasn’t pacing nervously, he was practicing his role in marching the Color Guard to the stage.   I got to watch the honored guests gather at the back of the auditorium and greet each other like the current and former soldiers they were. The veterans represented different conflicts, different branches of the military, and different veteran organizations.  I got to observe my granddaughter getting help from one of her peers to affix her shirt tab properly, which is hard to do with the uniform coat on.  I watched parents come in, find seats and then lean close to each other so they could talk.  I watched the two NCO’s make the final preparations of the award table.  All of the activity was very touching and made me appreciate the event even more than if I had missed it.

The program began with the presentation of the colors.  The Color Guard did a flawless job.  We recited the Pledge of Allegiance and the colors remained posted during the ceremony and afterward for photos.

There was a long list of awards: 45 categories of medals and ribbons.  Most of them were exclusive to third- and fourth-year cadets, but it was good to see what GN’s upper classmates had accomplished.

One recognition worthy of note was to the entire squadron.  It was decided by the JROTC headquarters that the squadron at GN’s school was the top organization in the country.

GN received ribbons for Good Conduct, Service, Sports and Scholarship, and Uniform.

The award for which GN had been in the running was the Superior Performance Ribbon.  I was told that no Freshman had ever been awarded that medal.  GN had been decided the winner late last week.  She did not know it.

But . . . human is as human does.  A last-minute decision was made to give the award to a Junior, because of a late-breaking incident in the school life of my teenage housemate.  I got a recorded phone message that GN was marked absent from her 4th period class.  When I asked GN about it, she told me that she had, in fact, skipped the same class the day before, but never got caught, so tried it again the second day.

Where was the AWOL cadet?  What class had she skipped?  What was she doing with her freedom?

She skipped her home room period to attend a second lunch in the cafeteria so she could raise funds for the Cadets Against Cancer team that will be participating in a walk-a-thon at the end of the month.  While her intention was admirable, her method was less than superior performance because of her deception.

I knew ahead of time that she was taken out of the running and GN was only informed about being in the running when she was taken out.  I don’t condone deception, but the larger issue for me was that she was unaccounted for in a large metropolitan school and if there had been any security issue, she was not where she had led people to believe she would be.  That is a safety issue from my perspective.

True to her genial nature, Goodnight did not let that cloud her evening.  She had taken care of the appropriate apologies to her teachers earlier in the day.  She applauded whole-heartedly when members of her squadron walked across the stage for their awards.  She peered across the auditorium to smile at her gram when she received her own awards.

GN is fifteen.  She will make many more mistakes in her lifetime.  I don’t expect her to keep track of the foibles she racks up.  I expect her to learn from her mistakes and accumulate skills to keep her on a path of integrity.  I reminded her not to strive for any given award, but to strive for the characteristics regarded exemplary by virtue of the award criteria.  That way, win or not, she will have admirable traits and be a responsible citizen.

So . . . the award went to someone else last night.  Am I disappointed in my granddaughter?  Nah.  She just wanted to raise money for cancer research to save other kids from being motherless from the disease that took her own mom.

Her ideology is admirable.  Her methodology needs some tweeking.