Surprising Liberto with the news of our trip to Italy

Ever since I turned in my signed contract for another round of high school fun, I've been mentally planning the reward that will sustain me. Because the school system has granted a whole two-week vacation in December this year, longer than any I've seen before, I began to think about what part of Europe would be warm enough, or at least not 30 below, in December. I remembered that Mark and Terry went to Rome last December, so I began researching a trip-for-three over there. Rome has always been on my bucket list; after all, I'm probably the last remaining person on earth who studied Latin in high school, college, AND graduate school, during which I learned a lot about Roman history and culture. Researching on various travel sites, I learned that the price for a trip is not bad. I juggled some dates, airlines, and hotels and printed out a couple of possibilities. I planned my points of argument for Liberto:

1) Next December is our 25th anniversary; this would be an awesome way to celebrate
2) I have never coveted diamonds or fancy cars, but I always did want to see more of Europe.
3) To get me through the semester, I need something to look forward to
4) Íf we're going to wait until we're rich to do this, then we'll be waiting forever, and I'm not willing to do that.
5) I earn half the money around here, so I have the right to spend my half on something I really, really want. (Not that we divide it in half; that's a joke. It all flows into the same money pit together.)
6) My father fought in Italy during World War II
7) I've always had a secret hankering to be blessed by the Pope, ever since my parents had that experience during a visit to Italy in the late sixties or early seventies. My family isn't even Catholic, but the blessing was so moving that my mother cried and never got over what a powerful experience it was.
8)Italian is close to Spanish, Liberto, and you understand Italian pretty well, so you'd be a good tour guide.
9) We don't have pets anymore, so until we get a new cat or dog someday, let's take advantage of the freedom and go. For their entire lives, we always boarded Pete and Gus at the vets when we traveled because I didn't feel comfortable leaving them at home alone with a neighbor looking in.


After Jeopardy, I sat next to Liberto on the couch and told him sweetly that I am going on a trip, and that I'd like him to come with me. I presented my print-outs of the various vacation packages to Rome. Calmly, I waited for his mouth to tighten, at which point I would begin to recite my above reasons.

His eyes lit up. "I'd love to do that!" he said. "But let's extend the time to 10 days instead of just seven! And I want to stop in Paris on the way to Rome. I just HAVE to see Paris! Just two days! Then we'll go on to Rome! I also want to visit Florence and Venice! It's always been my dream to see Florence!"

I was thrilled! He shares my enthusiasm for the trip! I reminded him that we don't have to see everything and go everywhere in one trip, and we could always return another time.

Thus, we agreed that on Saturday, we will sit town together in front of the computer, go through all the travel sites, and plan the trip, seeing how well we can fit Paris, Florence, and Venice into it.

This makes the forthcoming semester seem a lot more do-able.

Liberto doesn't drink. But last night, he had another sleepless night. Almost every night, he can't sleep more than three or four hours. This morning he was exhausted and said he might have a real DRINK tonight to help him achieve a good night's sleep. He said he thought he had a little bottle of gin somewhere in the house, a souvenir present from Venezuela. They always send liquor back with him. This evening, he was three sips into his gin and tonic when I presented my proposal for the trip.

I'm hoping his response wasn't just the alcohol talking and that he feels the same in the morning. "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker" as the old saying goes.

Searing hot Sunday

I just returned from the daily trip to Food Lion. The unbearable heat hung thickly in the air. It was predicted to be in the high nineties today. No doubt, a thunderstorm is on its way, now that it's late afternoon. The sky is already darkening. Good! I love storms. Love the pounding of the rain on the roof and windows, love to look outside and see the fish and frogs dancing excitedly in the splashing pond.

The week in review: On Tuesday morning, Shawn left for Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. This time, he's allowed to have a vehicle on the base, so he took off in his car that has been parked in our driveway for almost a year. I assume he got there okay because the next day, I noticed one of his postings on Facebook. On Thursday, I started grading the June SAT's, and have been doing that daily. The grading window continues for at least another week. I see this as one of my post-retirement careers, so I try to accept every offer they make.

Paul is finishing his Associates Degree in drafting this month. He and I talked about it this week and we decided he would apply to transfer to Armstrong for a four-year degree in Health care. First, I told him it would give me peace of mind for my old age if he could have a degree in a field that would be almost certain to land a job. In this economy, the opportunities for drafting are as minimal as most other fields, but health care is far more promising. Second, I can't help but remember how patient and kind he was when tending to Pete in his last weeks. Paul may not be an extrovert, but he has a tremendous capacity for compassion. Third, many of his drafting courses will transfer. The two fields don't appear to be related, but oddly, health care requires a fair amount of math, and he's already taken some tough math courses through the drafting program, as well as psychology. This week, he received a Certificate from Central Georgia Tech acknowledging his high G.P.A. I've been impressed with how focused and responsible he has been with all his colleges courses, always studying hard, always getting assignments ready before the deadlines. I told him if he wanted to, he could still be a drafter in the future if the market opens up because he has the Associates degree, and nothing will change that, but if he adds a health care degree, such as nursing, onto that, he will have more choices. Thus, he applied to Armstrong this week and started the paperwork, such as transcript requests.

Derek and family returned from Cozumel last weekend. I would love to post the link to his photos from that trip, which he emailed to me on the Facebook chat room, but I can't find it in my computer's history or on facebook. It looked like they were having a beautiful time---how could one not, in lovely Cozumel?

Between SAT's, laundry, Food Lion runs, a little writing, the gym, and household business, I've been reading Matterhorn, by Karl Marlantes. It puts the reader right into the jungle of Viet Nam during the war. And of course, I've been watching my housing shows. This ongoing interest must be inspired by envy. I'm always excited watching couples tour their three final housing choices, usually all gorgeous, often overseas in exotic places, and then make their final selection. I also love watching Designed to Sell. Surely it is envy. It's all I can do to keep up with the basics in this very basic house, let alone remodel in the ways their team can do. Our next big step will be to put hardwood floors in the living room and bedroom, but that will be a major project because Liberto will insist on doing it himself, as he did with the the t.v. room and hallway.

Sunday swim

Late this afternoon, Paul and I enjoyed the first swim of the season, in our community pool. We swam for about half an hour before an ominous dark cloud crept in. Right now, it's just starting to rain, with little splatters bouncing off the azalea bush outside.

It's been a sweet, lazy weekend. This morning, Liberto and Shawn drove out to Tybee to go fishing. Instead, they accidentally caught a seagull which swooped down and tried to snap the bait off the hook in mid-air, as Shawn was casting, and got tangled in the line. Between the two of them, Liberto and Shawn were able to reel it in and carefully disentangle it and send it on its way. It put up a big fuss, of course, and bit Liberto's finger in the process. I am pleased, of course, that the two of them did the right thing. As I told Liberto later, "The way a person treats animals reveals everything about that person's character." A few years ago, when Shawn was living here, he drove several huge buckets of water from our fish pond down to our docks to empty them there because there were minnows still swimming around in that water and he didn't want to just toss the water on the ground and watch the minnows thrash around and die, as many other people might have done.

This afternoon, Liberto and I went to the gym, but found that it had closed at 4:00. But he already goes three times a week in the mornings before work, and I've been keeping up with going too, but not early. I sleep late every day, and it's wonderful.

I was watching Face the Nation or one of those pundit talk shows this morning. I think it's important to listen to all points of view, not just what I want to hear, and that's why I listen to discussions on Fox as well as CNN and read opinion columns by conservative and liberal writers alike. One thing I know is that around here, Obama is not well-liked, which is to be expected in this ultra-conservative state. It's hard to tell from where I sit how voters across the nation feel, but I do have a gut feeling that Obama won't win re-election in 2012. I know the Tea-Partiers are vastly exaggerated and their numbers are actually small, but I'm not sure he has the same widespread support he had in 2008.

Summer flows lazily along

I've said this once or twice before: I love the summers, especially when I reach the point of not knowing for sure what day it is. The teacher at my school who got cut is terrified of unemployment because she dreads having unstructured, open-ended days of not knowing what to do with herself. She may be worried about money, too, but a bigger fear is not having that emotional anchor of a job. If I ever felt that way, that feeling has long passed. I like my own company and have no problem spending unstructured time with myself. That's a good place to be emotionally.

A few days ago, I called the Georgia Teacher's Retirement System to find out about buying out my last three years in the system. They were very helpful. They told me which form to download and instructed me to mail the form to Francis Marion University, where I had my first real teaching job after graduate school. Human Resources will have to verify my three years of full-time employment there. They will then send the form to the South Carolina Teacher's retirement system for information. The paperwork will then go back to the Georgia Teacher's Retirement System for evaluation. The GTRS will send me a letter informing me IF I can buy out three years, and if so, how much it will cost. If a buy-out is on the horizon for me, I know I can get through next school year.

I'm in the process of having dental work that is running into the three thousands. Knowing I have both dental insurance and a medical flex spending account through my job has taken some of the edge off the pain, at least financially. The actual procedures are no less traumatic, but I comfort myself by thinking about Chuck Nolan wincing, rubbing his jaw, and telling Wilson, "I'd give anything to have a dentist on this island!" before knocking his impacted tooth out with an ice skate blade. I'm just having some crowns put on, but they are not cheap. In addition, both of our cars are in the repair shop today. Liberto's needs a new alternator and mine needs new brakes. Again, it's not cheap. Maybe I am delusional to think that we could have lived comfortably on L's salary and my part-time income, if I had lost my job. I've always said that it's not the little things that impact a family's budget, such as buying the cheap brand of cellophane versus buying Saran Wrap. It's the surprise, big-ticket items that keep a family on edge, the unexpected increase in homeowner's insurance, the termite damage co-pay, the broken washing machine, the broken glasses frames, the sick dog, the stalled electric garage door; I could go on and on.

In fact, the repair shop just called to say the cars are both ready. Paul is going to drive us there to pick them up. Let me grab the checkbook before we leave...

Saturday night wedding and politics

Last night, we attended the wedding of A. and M. in Forsyth Park. The temperature was cool; the ceremony was short, light-hearted, and beautiful, in front of the fountain. As part of the ceremony, they created a time capsule box. The mothers of the bride and groom stood up and contributed items, explaining each one, such as M's third grade trophy. It was sweet. Then the group walked across the street to a hotel for drinks in the lobby, followed by a fantastic dinner in the dining room. Standing by Liberto's side throughout, listening to various conversations from multiple employees, I learned a lot about the pain and politics of his job, more than I ever learn at home because on most days he doesn't want to talk about it when he walks in the door. As assistant city engineer, he is squeezed between the city manager, above him, and all the employees he supervises. He is the buck that stops right before the city manager. Therefore, he has to absorb all these peoples' pain, grievances, resentment, desires, kiss-ups, concerns, and mistakes, while answering to the no-nonsense manager who doesn't care about the humanity involved, and wants to see the results. Yet, overall, he continues to say he likes his job. Just not every minute.

I was thinking last night at the wedding that at this same moment, Derek and Erin may be doing their vow renewal. They're in Cozumel for their 10th anniversary.

Yesterday, before the wedding, he and Shawn and I went for lunch at Moe's for Mexican food, picked up the new printer at Office Depot, and did other little errands. I finished my second book of summer vacation. The first was A Reliable Wife; the second Olive Kittredge. Today I start Matterhorn, a Viet Nam War novel.

Yesterday, I also started researching the possibilities for a trip to Rome for December.

Falling Happily into Relaxed Mode

Liberto is back at work today, having taken a few days off. He has so many vacation days accumulated, he may as well be a teacher. When he requested those three days off, he thought I'd be finished with work, but he was a week too early. Therefore, he had a Friday and a Monday off without me to hang out with, so he did household chores and errands. Yesterday, my first official day of summer, he was still off, so we went to the gym in the morning, then out again in the afternoon to get him a new suit. We're going to a wedding on Saturday, he needs a suit anyway, so this was the time. He usually wears a sports jacket and pants for the few formal events he attends. I told him to be sure that it still fits for a few years, in case he has any job interviews within the city. He was approached by Someone recently about a vacant directorship; however,the City then instituted a hiring freeze, so that prospect has been pushed to the back burner. This summer, I will be working on my own bod. I haven't gone to the gym the way I should have this past semester, and have eaten to comfort my stress, so my clothes are a bit on the tight side. I will now continue to go to the gym every other day.

This morning, I went to the Nail Place and had a pedicure and manicure. I haven't done either for months, largely because I haven't wanted to spend any of my minimal free time sitting and waiting over there. I've been using glue-on nails, which are fast and look fairly decent because I can stick them on while watching Breaking Bad on Sunday nights.

Last night on Idol, Crystal triumphed. Knocked it out of the ball park, dawg! Here's proof of her magic and excellence: her rendition of that Credence Clearwater song during the first episode of Idol is still re-playing itself hauntingly in my mind. No doubt both she and Lee will do well on the open market. That's what really counts. Look at Daughtry. Look at Adam Lambert. In the long run, the free market determines the real winners.

Shawn is here on leave, but he has to get dressed up in military regalia and report to the Savannah Recruiting Center every weekday to do odd jobs, which range from nothing to filling out forms. At least he's getting paid for it.

Well, now it's time for me to think about what I'll do for the rest of the day for fun and relaxation. Oh, first thing, I must get a gift card out to my grandson, who turns 9 next Monday!!

Weekend fun at Tybee

Friday night, we attended the Tybee Beach Bum Parade. Everyone has water guns, hoses and buckets of water. People ride around the island on floats and shoot water at the bystanders, while they shoot back. It's a serious water war. Liberto, Shawn, and Paul rode on one of the floats and had no end of fun spraying water on screaming people from the truck.

On Sunday, we went to the beach. (BTW, Shawn graduated from his AIT at Ft. Eustis,VA, having scored 100 and 95 on his helicopter repair final exams! He has a little time off before he has to return to his next assignment, Ft. Campbell, KY.) Shawn and Liberto went kayaking on the ocean with one of Liberto's colleagues who owns kayaks, then they went fishing. Paul went swimming, and I was happy beyond belief just to sit and read a book that was not To Kill a Mockingbird or Romeo and Juliet. I started A Reliable Wife. What a pleasure to read something without having to teach it.

Tomorrow, one more teacher planning day. The Department Chair is holding a farewell luncheon for me and the other teacher at her house. Ha. The Chair has since learned the latest news about my employment status,(see previous blog) but I imagine the party will go on anyway.