Done, woes, Christmas

Mama, Victoria and I took our last test for FBI yesterday evening. It was not too tough a test and almost everyone finished it in about a half hour. Five of us are graduating and four will go on for one more semester. After that, we have no one in the church signed up for the course. It is good to have it completed. In many ways I will miss the Monday night lectures, but I am sure we will fill that time with something else. No matter how much we talk about it, we never seem to get un-busy. At some point when our diplomas arrive, our pastor will congratulate us in front of the church and hand out the diplomas. I believe it is for an Associate’s Degree in Bible. It may never serve a purpose other than to mark a task completed, but it is a big accomplishment for us – especially Mama and Victoria. Who knows, if any of us go to work for the children’s home and need credentials to work internationally, this will meet that requirement.

Yesterday was not the best day I have had at work. It was one of those days when I could not escape the nagging feeling that I am not the right person for the job I am doing. I have been in this awkward position before and it always seemed to work out one way or the other, but getting past the negativity and finding a stable footing to operate from can be challenging. When you feel that circumstances are lined up against you and you are not being heard, or rather, what you say is being misinterpreted, it is brutal trying to fight back to normalcy in the hope of attitudes and relationships getting better at some point in the future. I have talked with Mama about finding some way to either supply or augment our income without a fulltime employer but, to date, I have not succeeded in accomplishing that desire. So, here we stay and muddle through until things begin to get better or I must leave to work for someone else. At least it is Christmas time.

Speaking of which, Mama and I stopped at Lowes and bought our Christmas tree after our class celebratory dinner at Casa Torres. The trees that remained in the bins were not inspiring. There was not much to choose from and the one Mama got – because it was full – has a crooked top that makes the tree look like it is leaning no matter what direction we spin it. Mama even asked me if I thought we could take it back and exchange it. But, it will do for this season. We get it for the ability to display the ornaments hung on it and to offer the pine smell to the house. It will do on both counts. I like the trees that are less full and have more prickly needles, but Mama does not like to see light through the branches once it is set in place. It more than meets that qualification. This morning she asked if I could build a box to set it on. Her argument was so that she could more easily water it, but the real reason is that the space where we have could accommodate a much taller tree and Mama likes to fill up spaces. It is only a five-foot tree, so we could afford to raise it a bit. This little tree cost us $40. I do not want to know what a nice, tall tree would cost.

Let the decorating begin.