Well, it's 10:20pm. and by now I had every intention of being sound asleep. Pfft. Fat chance of that for me!

I will drive 2 hours to the airport in the morning; leaving here by 7am., to check my bags and do the security thing by 9:30am. (I'm allowing an extra half hour there for stopping to pee or whatever) and then sit and have coffee until I board my plane at 11am. or so...

One of my huge wishes in life has always been to travel the New England states. I won't actually see much of Vermont; except for the little town of 12,000 people where I will reside for a week in a lovely historical hotel. Oh, and the town sits on a nuclear power plant. Wouldn't ya' know it? I am pretty certain that most of the folks in Vermont are rooting for our one and only Senator Obama; so, as soon as he makes it to the big desk, he'll get right on that one. Pfft.

My life of blogging for two years with all of you, has certainly been an enriching experience for me. I like telling you that ever so often. No, I am not thinking of anything morbid or ominous tonight. Not. At. All. I just want ya' to know, I look forward to being in touch when I return from yet another job training adventure in the great state of Vermont; as I probably will not have much time, and maybe no access to the internet. Not sure, but you can bet if I do, I will be in touch here sooner than Saturday evening when I shall arrive home again.

Peace out!

* Update: I read the words of Ms. Mikkelson (in my link) incorrectly when I initially published this article. Corrections made now...I really just wanted to share the poems, as I think of how very lucky I am these days...

Now, I have really bad days sometimes; as I'm certain you probably do as well. But just for a minute, can we imagine tending to some of the same everyday mental stressors we deal with, while still doing the major necessary chores in these ways? 

I know for a fact that my grandmother did scrub her children's clothing with a washboard, until her fingers would bleed; just as Lorretta's song tells us the way things were for the lives of people from the hollers. My grandfather worked the dark coal mines 34 years. It was very difficult work; and he made very little money to support his family. He used to bite into chunks of coal, whenever he would feel such pain he couldn't cope well, while at work in those mines. I honestly do not believe the people who lived through the years of the Great Depression have fond memories of their struggles to survive. They may tell the stories in that light, in order to satisfy the longing of those who wish to hear...

Most of the actual memories of those who would tell the stories, were more harsh than the stories they told; as Barbara Mikkelson expresses at the bottom of the page in the link.

Our lives are not nearly as difficult today...We can learn a lot from the wisdom and strength of those who have lived before us, and made their way to ripe old ages before they died; knowing that they had really lived their lives.