The White House

The White House

Friday, February 21, 2014

Little Bumps in the Road

I've had a heavy heart the last couple of days. I know disappointment and difficulties are a part of life, but that doesn't make it easier

Elijah finally found employment which is hard in the middle of winter. Unfortunately he was fired on the 6th day not because he was late or lazy or any reason you might think. He was [rudely] fired because of his memory loss issues from the accident. He was working as a cook at an A&W - KFC combined restaurant with lots of menu choices. After three days of training (that were only a few hours each time... and on one of the days there wasn't a single order placed) he was expected to remember all the techniques, sauces, assembly for all the burgers, chicken dishes, etc. I doubt that many of us could do that after only a couple hours. They got mad at him for asking for direction on a "Papa Burger" and threw him out. It was a kick in the gut because no matter how you sugar coat it he was fired for being "stupid" and that hurts. That's something Mama can't "fix" and a lot of tears were shed. Now it's time to suck it up and help him find another job that is more suited to his abilities. When life knocks you down you can't give up.

I haven't taken any photos the last few days so I thought I'd share these two beautiful children back in December on the day of their Holiday Concert at school. They look so grown up here.


The second disappointment came yesterday for Emily. The last two days she has been trying out for the 8th grade volleyball team and didn't make the cut to the 3rd day of tryouts. That in itself isn't the tough part for me. It was the emotions that followed. Making the team was a long shot. There were 44 girls who tried out and they take 12. She doesn't have prior experience so she is behind in skills. She is also a home school student and I warned her that she would have to be in the top 5 for them to cut a student from the school for her. The blow was how mad she got at me for getting cut. It became my fault that she is behind her peers athletically because I didn't make her play sports when she was little. Mind you, I tried, but that was when the Hex was still in her life. He had her completely brain-washed that sports were a waste of time and her life consisted of watching movies, cutting firewood and the occasional bike ride. When he left 1.5 years ago she immediately signed up for soccer and is now on her 3rd team! She is behind skill-wise, but she is working hard to catch up and she is having so much fun. She wants to take clinics this summer because she wants to make the team in high school. Not going to be an easy feat when the other players have 10 years more of instruction. It's the same with volleyball. She wanted to make the team so she could get better to play in high school. In that one phone call high school became a big disappointment and it was all my fault. That stung, but I know in her heart she's not really mad at me. She's really mad at being held back by the Hex all those years... I'm just the sounding board. Looks like we have a lot of clinics in our future.

It's -16* this morning on the hill and seems to be that in town. No temperature inversion today. I need to get the fire going to take the chill off the "kitchen". (you know, the room where my kitchen will be someday). We put in a big dog door this fall and it creates quite a draft on these cold days.

These two photos are from Olivia's birthday party in December. This Fall we did more work to the sledding hill to make it longer and faster. We've decided it also needs to be wider. The kids had a really great time.



Time to refill the coffee cup and get busy on the housework. It just never seems to do itself. ;)

4 comments:

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Dear Gayle ~ I am sorry for the disappointment that have happened there for you all. May things go better all around.

FlowerLady

Nancy J said...

We, too had some disappointment when grandson was in the National Mountain Bike race, a virus for a few days before, then the race officials did not get the seeding correct, so he was placed further back than he should have been, but even so finished 10th. Life is so hard down here too for teenagers, and who better to vent their anger and total dismay than Mum?? Somehow the Dads don't seem to get the words thrown at them so much. Love your own sled track, is it Olympic training by any way? Super grown-up photo of the younger ones, Olivia, you are a real beauty, and Lucas, one totally cool dude!! I can see you will both have some heartthrobs very soon, all lining up for each of you, Gayle, look what lies ahead. Take care, so lovely to get you back on the blog again, I have missed you soooo much!!! Greetings to you all, Jean.

Sparkless said...

We had a sledding run when we were kids. It was behind my parents house and was very short with prickle bushes at the end. You had to jump off the sled before you hit the bushes or risk getting scratched. Weirdly it was fun and we loved it.
Sorry to hear about your daughter's disappointment. It sounds like she is one determined girl though and will easily learn any skills she needs.

Kim@Snug Harbor said...

My daughter does the same thing to me when shes hurt/mad. Probably because mom is the only one they can safely sound off to. Maybe Elijah could train her over the summer?

I feel bad for Elijah over losing his job. At least he went out and got a job and tried. I got fired once and felt horrible until my dad told me HE had gotten fired once too, and my dad is the smartest man I know. Almost everyone gets fired at some point. I think Elijah has really made some huge strides in the past year. Good for him!