Just a bit of random ramblings

This is the newest addition to our household. Sparks! It took us forever to give her a name. I finally gave up and told Tim, "it's up to you, I'm just gonna call her 'bad girl' til you come up with something better."

So, what did he do? He got the dictionary out and started flipping through it. He started reading to me the definition of spark and the one that made us both laugh was this: " a flash of light, esp a flash produced by electrical discharge. b. a short pulse or flow of electrical current. " ... spark

She is a live wire! So, Sparks it is. We needed livening up around here.

 I'm not sure what to think about us getting a dog. In a way, it makes me feel like one of those retired couples who dote continually on the dogs....hmmm.....not us! Not yet anyway. I prefer to think of us more like the newly weds who have no children and treat the dog like one of their own. I am not ready for the retirement mentality! Life is far from over for us.

But, it did make me think....just where do we fit in? For years we've been part of that community known as Homeschoolers. When you live in the country (or not) and teach your children at home you usually get involved with other families who do the same. Their kids and yours are friends and do things together. You get ideas and support for teaching methods and curriculum from them, just generally do a lot of socializing together.
Well, our children have all graduated high school and one of them is working on their bachelor's degree in college. So, I guess we're done with that part of life. It's just Tim and I. Well, now we have Sparks.

For me, I'm not liking this part of life so much. My kids were what I did. They were my career. I invested everything I was into them. My time, my skills (for what they were), and what I didn't have, I found a way to get, if were in my means.
Funny thing, although I knew one day it would be over, I never gave it a thought as to what I would do then. I'm sort of at this place in life of "where do I belong?" We are certainly not retirement age. Yet, we really aren't so young anymore either and no longer have the children as common ground with some of our friends.

There are a lot of things we could be doing.....outdoor things....but finances are so tight, it's making it hard. Not impossible, just hard. I like who we are though. I wouldn't want to be anyone else. Let me tell you about the part of us that I like.
America is full of money. Everyone has it, or wants to get more of it. People have such a strong desire for it that they often "cheat" in one way or another in order to achieve the "American dream". Because, we have always had to work so hard for what we do have, we have a great appreciation for it. It didn't come easy. It was earned. We don't look with disdain on the individuals who have less. We've been there and in many ways still are. Yes, we have a nice big home. It's still unfinished however, and  you wouldn't believe what we have gone through to get this far. Most Americans would never consider going without the things we have.....that is another story however. (smiling)

I have strayed too far into the "preaching arena"!  You can read my thought's about that here (that's not my job) I'll stop now, and try to get back on track. I do feel the need to find just where we fit in. In our lives and even in this little blog of ours. I know that just as the children were once a priority, it would seem that easing Tim's load might just be the new priority. In this society, it really takes two incomes to make ends meet. I'm not talking about all the latest electronic devices or two brand new cars in the driveway. That's not us. That's not what we want from life. We do want to pay the bills on time and have a bit leftover. We'd  like for Tim to not work so hard. Most of all we like to be able to enjoy our world around us, the outdoors, family, friends..... basically, our Appalachia and all that it is to us.

We just need to find a way to do that. I guess you could call this the major goal this coming year. Who knows, it may take a bit longer....