Dear Friends,
I'm just home from a vacation with my mother and her dog. We had fun driving clear across the country, more than a thousand miles one way, all the way to the ocean. I do love the ocean. In fact, all my life I assumed I like mountains best because my family always went to Colorado for vacation, but now I'm questioning that. I might really enjoy living near enough to a coast to be able to enjoy the beach on a regular basis, but I want a bit of distance from the ravages of hurricaines!

Maybe I could be happy a couple of hours from the coast in North Carolina, Virginia, or Washington state. Then again, both coasts are far from my family, including my kids, for now, anyway. My daughter might move to New York and my son talks a lot about California. If they move far away, hey, I'd just about have to move, too, right? Of course.

Meanwhile, I've been in a huge money mess that I think I finally have done my part to correct. Now it is in the hands of others, so I'll just wait to get the letters telling me how things will come down. Last year I had a lovely fellowship that paid $6000 in cash for the school year. This year that is gone and my disability has been reduced by more than $100 per month, because they claim I was overpaid during the time of my fellowship last year. Sigh.

I officially graduate December 31, 2009, so it is time to look for a job. Nothing has happened yet with the school job I hoped might be created for me, and I'm not sure i want it, anyway. I really miss Mike and I'd like to move closer to him, if possible. I don't want to move before my son gets out of high school in May, though. I'm not quite sure how we'll make ends meet between now and then or what he'll do if I up and move right after he graduates. What a mess.

I guess I'm feeling a little overwhelmed about everything right now. I know the only answer is to walk it out, doing what I can each day. One day at a time I can apply for jobs, create my resume, clean up my house, discard clutter, rest, and take care of myself as best I can. So far I've never actually starved to death. It probably won't happen in the next few months, so I'm fine, really.

That's the news for now. Thanks for reading.
Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way. :)