Nearly a whole year has gone by since my last post, and my how things can change in a year! First of all, the move back home. Oh, what an optimist I was...expecting to find Plano schools ready to welcome me back with open arms! How was I to know the economy was soooo bad that they had actually laid off 90+ teachers? That story would be repeated in suburbs all over the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and I resigned myself to the idea of taking a year off to study for my ESL Certification, with the idea of spending time in Central America to study Spanish.
But, as it all turns out, things worked out just the way they were meant to. My mom had a stroke in July, and I rushed off to be with her. I wound up moving to Tyler, Texas, a beautiful little city of roses, azaleas, and clear blue skies which Mom absolutely loves. Sounds wonderful, right? I'm sure for some it must be heaven on earth.
Do you remember the old tv series, Twilight Zone? Years ago I watched an episode where a group of old folks sat around watching vacation pictures on an old slide projector, enthralled at the monotone narration by the photographer, drinking prune juice, and having the times of their lives. Meanwhile, a young hippie sat drumming his fingers, bored out of his skull, wishing he could be anywhere else but unable to leave. Zoom into one of the old ladies saying, "Oh, isn't Heaven *wonderful*?" And the hippie says, "Heaven? I thought this was Hell." Do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do.
And there you have me, in Tyler, Texas. Let's just say this bastion of right wing fundamentalism, clinging to its early 60's, pre-Civil rights ways--white high school on one side of town, Black/Mexican on the other-- is just not my cup of tea. But it is awfully pretty. I have tried to take pleasure in the small things...the cardinal couple who come to my bird feeder every day, the beautiful fall colors; spring, bursting forth in a profusion of glorious bloom. And of course Mom's resilient spirit, positive attitude, and incredible effort on her path to recovery. I am glad I could be here for her. And I will love Tyler all the more...from my rearview mirror... when I move Mom over to Dallas next month so she'll be near my sister. All to get ready for my next big move...to Moscow, Russia. So things are looking up, and I am indeed celebrating the journey on this wild ride called life.
No comments:
Post a Comment