Looking back

Over the last 20 or so years I have done a lot of things. Laughingly, I haven't earned a lot of money doing them. Thank goodness for Social Security and parents who taught me by example that you don't need a lot of money to survive.

I think the challenge I am most proud of is the creation of the summer writing camp for school age children. Its purpose was to introduce the kids to people in the community who had interesting jobs.It gave the adults an opportunity to share their experiences and just maybe provide an interest for the children in something they didn't know about. After the adults finished talking about their job the kids were given an opportunity to write about what they had learned. One of the most sincere compliments I have ever received came from one of the adults. He said, "I wish there had been something like this when I was growing up".

One adult that stands out was the editor of our local paper. I don't remember much of what he told them, but I definitely remember the ending. After the kids wrote he had them each, in turn, stand on a chair to read what they had written. I was holding my breath that nobody fell!

The other one that stands out was the very last, after four years.I brought my dog, Ejay, and my son who had recently retired from the Army. Ejay was a rescue who had apparently run away. His previous owner couldn't afford the fee to get him back. He showed how happy he was by taking a run around the top of the tables, stopping to say hello to everyone on the way. After explaining who he was, I asked he kids to write about what they thought his life was like before I adopted him. My son came up next and told them about all his assignments during the 35 years he was in the Army. He retired as a Sargent Major. After all that their first question was, "Are you married?" My son and I just looked at each other and tried not to laugh.