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| The view from my front door this morning. |
Weekends sure fly by now that I don't work on them. I can't complain, though. There's never a dull moment at my job, so the weekdays go by pretty quickly, too. I'm looking forward to the five days off we get at Thanksgiving (Wednesday through Sunday) which still feels far away but in actuality it's only about five weeks. Gregg's taking those days off with me, and we're planning to take the dogs and go camping.
It's finally a little cooler outside. Up until this weekend, besides two or three days when hurricanes were churning out at sea, it's been unseasonably hot and humid for October. The pumpkin you see on my front step has started to rot in the back and will have to be thrown out and replaced. It's just been too hot for pumpkins to sit in the sun!
Today has been a lazy day. I did a load of laundry, took a nap, and read the first quarter of a book for next week's book club meeting (the bigger of my two books clubs). This month our selection is Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight. So far it's....okay. It's one of those Gone Girl type thriller/mystery novels that quite honestly isn't my favorite genre. I'm hoping that In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware will be better; that's the October pick for my smaller club. I'm glad my love of books is no longer contaminated by working at a job I hate in a bookstore!
Speaking of work, for those of you who asked, I did not take on a second GAL child. It was a 16 year old boy with severe mental health problems who has been committed to a psychiatric ward for treatment. His 17 year old brother would have been part of the package but he's in prison for rape (!) and will be serving time beyond when he ages out next year. I was frankly kind of appalled that the GAL program director would even suggest such a case for me. When I said no she quickly said she understood and that they would try to find an experienced male guardian for the younger boy. I wonder why they didn't just do that to begin with! So for the time being, Kay remains my only GAL assignment.
It's about time for Gregg to get home from work, so I'd better wrap up this blog post. We have leftovers for supper tonight, but I'm going to attempt to make little baked apple hand pies for dessert. I have some apples I cooked down into chunky applesauce the other day that need using up. Gregg loves fried apple pies, but they're too messy and time consuming to make very often. We'll see how the baked version turns out instead! Wish me luck.
Have a good evening, everyone.
32 comments:
Little baked apple hand pies for dessert, yum. I like the pretty view of your porch and front yard and I think that second GAL case would have been a difficult one for you right at the start. Good call.
Baked pies sound so good to me.
Notice I picked that part of your post to talk about !
cheers, parsnip
We had peach cobbler tonight. Laura's first attempt, and pretty good.
I DO wish you luck. My husband always speaks with great fondness and nostalgia about his grandmother's fried pies. I have tried to replicate them but with no success.
And yeah- those children obviously need someone with a great deal of experience. I hope you don't feel bad for one second about saying "no". You did the absolute right thing.
Do you get to choose your GAL clients? I imagine a lot of the children are somewhat 'damaged', and could be a real handful. I guess that's the down side of the job. Best always to think of your own safety/sanity first.
I am sure your apple pies were delicious!
It has been very warm here for a few days now, too, and apparently this is going to last until at least mid-week. The view from your front door is very nice and homely.
Glad to know you have stuck with "only Kay" for now - this way, you can give her all the time and attention you can spare and do not have to take away from her. The boys need professional assistance, that's for sure.
Sometimes it's very hard to say 'no' but it was probably a wise decision. A bit strange they asked you. Hope those apple pies turn out good.
I am intrigued to know how you can fry an apple pie!
It is difficult to say "no" but you must do what is right for you Jennifer as it is a big commitment. My sister and brother-in-law fostered two sisters (different fathers). They took in the two little girls when they were 7 and 8 years old. The two little girls had had a terribly sad and very violent background since birth. Both sisters then went into separate foster homes but didn't stay long in each home, changing 5 to 6 homes, until they finally settled at my sister's. They lived with my sister right into their twenties and have turned into two fine woman. It was hard work but a lot of love and understanding from all our family helped. They are a very important part of our family now. Both girls are married. My sister and brother-in-law are proud grandparents which they would never have been, having a 41 year old cerebral palsy daughter.
Sorry Jennifer if this is a long comment on a personal experience.
Your front door view is beautiful!
Greetings Maria x
I agree with Cro. And having a nice job now that you enjoy, after the horrors of the Mall, why not sit back, relax and do just that, enjoy yourself for a change.
p.s. How about an Apple Crumble? Even better with a few blackberries thrown in!
It's as if your job is helping you to fall into a normal, regular way of life. I am glad you refused to take on that boy. Kay is enough for you right now and when she moves on into the adult world I hope your next GAL child will be someone who comes with less family "baggage" than the sixteen year old.
I wouldn't have taken that GAL assignment, either. That's way too much with all the responsibilities you have. Besides, it should definitely go to a man with a lot of experience. It's so nice to see the joy in your writing these days.
Love,
Janie
It sounds like you did the right thing to turn down that assignment. Knowing your own limits will no doubt be an important part of being a GAL! I hope the second books turns out to be better than the first. Maybe you can compost that pumpkin?
What a beautiful view.
Lovely view looking out through your front door. What a challenge those two boys will be for who ever takes them on.
Alphie
The hand pies tasted good! Unfortunately, they were kind of ugly! :)
That was the best part of the post!
I love peach cobbler. Good for Laura!
MY husband talks about HIS grandmother's fried apple pies! Apparently it's a Southern grandma thing. :)
Every child that enters state custody has to be appointed a guardian, but we're free to say no. Thank goodness.
They were yummy, but didn't look all that great. I'll try again this weekend.
The pies tasted good!
Fried pies are small, that's why they're called "hand pies".
What a great story, Maria. Thank you for sharing it!
I really am enjoying my new life.
I really just want to work with younger kids. Teenagers make me nervous, baggage or no.
Thanks Janie! I'm so much happier now!
We don't have a compost pile (I wish we did!) so I guess it will have to go to the trash. Too bad!
It's just a regular street in a regular neighborhood, but it's pleasant!
Thanks Alphie. Yes, whoever gets those boys will have their work cut out for them!
Maybe you can compost that pumpkin?
แตกใน xxx
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