A day late, but that's okay!

Yesterday was such a 'Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood' (a sun-shine filled day with near perfect temperatures). A day befitting the 6th birthday of my 2nd Grandson, Aiden.

I've always said I can't see/use the word job in the same sentence with the word child/children. Epiphany (favorite word thanks to 25 years of Oprah)! I can, however, see the word fight, or more appropriately 'fight for' in the same sentence with the word child/children. And no one should fight more fiercely than a mother, or WILL, than a grandmother! I am fighting now for my Aiden's right to graduate from Kindergarten. Yes, Kindergarten! It is a grade level that is not even mandated in the State of Illinois though some politico is trying to change that law. This post would be way too long if I spelled out the details and reasons I am fighting...so I will just include a few links that highlight the lack of merit in retention at any grade level. A child who enters school for the first time at age 6 or 7 and/or 1st grade is at the same advantage/disadvantage of a child who does not graduate Kindergarten. Clearly with the spate of PreK/daycare facilities a child who does enter school for the first time until the age of 6 or 7 is probably at a disadvantage. But that's okay, because it just forces the teacher to do what they've been trained for.....to teach and to teach to the different ability levels, barring any real or significant need for special education intervention.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-jim-taylor/failing-kindergarteners-y_b_806550.html
http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/grade_retention.php
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1520-6807(198710)24:4%3C346::AID-PITS2310240409%3E3.0.CO;2-7/abstract

In spite of this little glitch which will not be allowed to be earth-shattering for Aiden if it does not work out the way I want it to, nothing, NOTHING could have made yesterday any less a 'Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!'

Tired, but . . .

If you wait until you are rested to get things done, nothing will ever get done!

As my 94-year-old Mom's only caregiver, life is even busier these days. But with a first-time ever home health aid things should get easier--once I have refined schedules, tasks, and timeframes for what needs to be done. Mom gets 20 hours a week, I get 9 hours but what is done for one can not overlap what is done for the other! Now I will have some one to do some of the housework, run errands, do laundry, etc.

Though it doesn't seem like it, I have had some time freed up to spend on line with my favorite knitting community. I have had time to get some knitting done.

This is Super-Natural Stripes, a cute little top-down baby cardi that I am working on for a friend's 1st Grandchild who is a boy.  http://fpea.blogspot.com/2007/07/free-pattern-fridays-super-natural.html

I plan to make a pink one but I won't be using the eyelash yarn in the garment.

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So, as I said, I am tired, but . . . finding some me time. It's imperative!

What's really free?

It is said The Best Things in Life Are Free (you know how the rest of the song goes but I'm ignoring that part). The best things in life are free, I truly believe this. As a Facebook post going around says, they are:

• hugs
• smiles
• friends
• kisses
• family
• sleep
• love
• laughter
• good memories

From occurrences this morning I will add:

• Watching my youngest grandson show me the fingernails he's painted blue . . . when I asked him to show me his toenails when prompted by his mother.
• Watching Mom, who is in recuperation mode, eat ALL of her breakfast that I prepared for her (Jimmy Dean sausage, raisin toast w/margarine, buttery & sugary oats with hot milk added, orange juice, and eggs--and she's finicky about her eggs)!
• Kibitzing with the guys behind the counter at the corner gas station where I go get my morning cup of coffee when I don't have any at home.

What are the "free" things in your life that bring you simple pleasures? Sometimes you have to just notice a little harder. They are there!

Start where you are...the present

Trying not to fall back into neglecting my blog this early in my new start! I don't know what my posting goals are or will become, yet. I think part of what gets me bogged down when I come back to my blog is wanting to fill in the missing. That can be a lot when it's been months since I've blogged. Then it hit me, start where you are. Of course the past is important and there are memories to learn from as well as cherish. I can weave things that have happened in the past in with future blog posts to highlight, accentuate, and underscore them!

Don't let yesterday take up too much of today.

Our eyes are placed in front because it is more important to look ahead than to look back.

Remember the past, plan for the future, but live for today, because yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come.

Soooooo, not going to worry about the past or setting specific blogging goals. I know I don't want to let months go by, and they won't. Life is so interesting and spontaneous (whether our choice or not; whether to a larger audience or just to oneself) until you can not encapsulate it in a schedule as you can/would the daily news.

Finding my way back to my blog . . .

So, because of my care giving duties to my dear Mother which have me more or less home bound until resources and homemakers kick in, I have more time to knit and focus on things that had gotten placed on the back burner....like my blog! I actually became excited about jump starting my blog again. So I knew immediately I wanted to merge my blogs into one. I managed that. Even generated some excitement among friends/fellow knitters one of whom said I must post. Uh oh, I started slacking already I realized as I just jumped up to compose this post. I'd jotted down a preliminary note or two. I'll get to that in a moment. I've renamed my blog, merged the older one (Look Gran'ma) with what was TheKnit HitsTheFan, and can't wait to make my blog as pretty and creative as those of the ones I follow. I think in my months of inactivity adding bells and whistles have gotten easier. I'd wanted to name my blog Life, simply . . . as well as change my URL address to the same but unfortunately all configurations of that name were just not available. Soooooooooo, I've settled for A Grandma's Hand . . . Simply my life! Grandma's Hand is the name of the Ravelry (you knitters know what I'm talking about) group I started for us Grandmothers and I used it at the urging of my friend Sue S. (thank you). I have so much to catch up on. I can't wait!

Now, for that preliminary note...my enlightening epiphany!

The thought hit me that life can not be nutshelled. As long as someone has an opinion or question, life can not be nutshelled . . . in a few sentences, paragraphs, photos, or posts. Blogs are just the crack in that nutshell. This nut welcomes you to peep into that crack.