Wow, somethings have been neglected for a while. So much to do, so little time. Life has been eaten up with all sorts of things. Right now, the job search is my primary goal. I am getting ready to gear up for the big swing. Teaching next year or else. I can't do this for another year. I just can't.
Fingers crossed, I will be teaching again.

YOU’RE INVITED!

Dear Friends & Family,

The time has come. I’ve begun the project of writing a book about Matthew’s life. The ‘bare bones’ of an outline is finally done! Deb Jarvis, Matt’s dear friend, is collaborating with me on the book, and we’re looking for YOUR stories to be included.

We envision a book that paints a comprehensive picture of Matt, one that reaches beyond the mother-son relationship. We’re looking for a wide variety of stories about Matt as a young boy, teen, friend, brother, cousin, nephew, neighbor, student and transplant patient.

YOU’VE received this invitation because I believe you have something to contribute. No matter how insignificant your story may seem to you, it’s important to us. Together we believe we can begin to do justice to Matt’s pretty remarkable life. --NO, we’re not just looking for ‘good’ stories! We’re seeking the REAL Matt; the human details, perspectives only you might remember.

If you need an example of how simple a story can be, consider this one his cousin Krysta shared with us over Thanksgiving dinner (keep in mind this will probably read better written in her own words, from HER viewpoint): When Matt was about 7 or 8 years old he sometimes spent part of his summers on camping trips with his cousin, his aunt and her ‘significant other’, John. At this particular point in his life Matt had his own idea about what the word ‘clean’ meant. He was firmly convinced that a late day swim in the lake was as good as a bath, and was not at all happy when auntie insisted that a swim was NOT going to be good enough. The only way auntie could get Matt to take a bath was to have her friend John’s help. The poor man was forced to grab Matt, heave him over his shoulder while Matt struggled, wiggling and kicking, loudly bellowing his protests every single step of the way to the showers! (hmmm, do we see the stubborn side of Matt beginning to emerge? -Maybe!)

So please contribute, open your heart, dust off those memories and share with the world the Matt YOU knew! Your stories can be handwritten or typed, emailed or sent snail mail. You could also tell your stories on tape, if that is more convenient for you or if writing isn’t ‘your thing’. You will be acknowledged for your story, unless you tell us that you prefer to be anonymous.

We do need to know if you want to contribute by the end of January 2009. Our goal is to have the book ready for publication on Matt’s birthday, October 5th, 2009.

RSVP Options

20 Pinewood Rd. Phone: 978-779-286

Bolton, MA 01740 Email: lshelales@aol.com

Has it really been that long since I last posted. OMG!

Good grief!

And a lot has happened since then. I started teaching, Rob got on staff, and we got the monster mutt!

Yes, we lost our minds (and our hearts) to a male black greyhound named Whither. I got talking to Rob at the end of August about being alone at night, since he is on second shift, and we started discussing dogs. It had been a point of discussion for a while, actually, but it kicked into high gear towards the end of the summer right before school started.

I had been going online and checking out breeds, but had had greys in the back of my head for a while. They are not guard dogs, but they are big and have a nice temperment where the kids are concerned. They also have an elegance about them.

So there I am, checking out groups online, making some calls, and the one in Hopkinton, MA says, "Hey, we have some great dogs. Why don't you come down and check them out before you do any paperwork. It will save you some time if you find one you like."

It was the Friday before school started, and I had nothing else pressing to do, so I went for a drive. Hopkinton was about an hour away, and I got there an hour before closing. I had just missed the director, but decided to look at the dogs. I really had my heart set on a brindle, but my main requirement was that the dog be good with our cats.

Not one brindle was good with cats, it turned out, but there was this one big, black boy who was, and when I took him out for a walk, I was sold. I dragged Rob down the next morning, and they pretty much shoved us out the door with the dog. Turned out that tracks were closing for the season, and big black greyhounds were harder to place than cute little brindles. We had our dog.

Whither, it turned out, was terrified of the cats. They have since made their peace, but he would go the other way if he saw one coming, a fact the cats delighted in. The kids were enchanted immediately, and Will, who has always wanted a dog, was ecstatic. And I had a companion. All was good.

We still had some challenges, like building him a fenced enclosure out of chicken wire, and trying to get rid of a nasty bout of hookworms(we're in take two mode on this one. We just cleaned and bleached the 50 yard pen...shudder), but we should have them licked this time. The Derry Dog park seems to be a breeding ground for hookworms, so we may not be going there again for a while.

So that is the dog story. School stories will follow soon...

Ok, so, for reference, I have not yet found employment for the summer, yet. I have my app in with the camp, but it is late in coming since I was so concerned with getting a stale job for the fall

What I should be doing is focusing on lesson plans and getting my head wrapped around having the kids here for the next week. I am not 100% sure of what I am doing yet, so not knowing that the plans look like make my brain hurt. I have to design these from scratch, which is fine, but using the info they gave me +the books they gave me =large gaping holes. None of this is insurmountable, and I am probably going to have little problem getting things going in the right directions, I am just feeling BLAH

BLAH!!!!!

No ranting involved. I have a beautiful apartment, great kids, and loving husband. I have a teaching job for next year. I have a garden again, but I am feeling a little detached from the working world.

A friend of mine reminded me to look at all I have accomplished.

Left James with little money
Got self into new apartment
Got self into grad school
Passed a lot of tests (PRAXIS I, Miller's analogy, PRAXIS II in English and Biology)
Worked as a para for two years
Passed most classes with an A or A-
Completed student teaching
Graduated with a 3.862 GPA
Lost Dad, Matt, and Lily and not cracking up or going into a deep depression
Subbed for 6 months without losing my cool
got an apartment back in Salem
Actually went to commencement
Got a job in Salem High

That is a pretty huge list of accomplishments, and for the most part I look at it and can't believe that it was me who did those things. I still feel disconnected not doing something, but this too shall pass.

Light at the end of the tunnel

I HAVE A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I am driving to my mother's house yesterday, and I saw an oval ribbon magnet for breast cancer. It read "Save the Ta-tas"

A chunk of the sales money goes to breast cancer research, so I felt that purchasing one was for a good cause. Check them out for all of their fun stuff and apparel

Sean didn't show up until late Sunday night, and apparently, he had spent the whole weekend with friends, not being productive, and when we met with our soon to be previous landlord last night, he had a kaniption (sp?) and yelled about how we knew that he had plans(?!?) this past weekend, and how he could not move out until NEXT weekend since he has to work all week.

So I did not get my security deposit back last night as planned. I am not pleased about this. I am less pleased with Sean since he had the better part of three weeks to deal with all of this, and he deemed it more important to go hang out with friends and then get mad at us for moving. Our landlord agreed that he is simply not able to handle change (his girlfriend is also a month pregnant: they found out this past weekend), and is unable to cope with the reality that we would up and leave when we found a place to move to.

I am not feeling very charitable about this, and I am sorry to vent at you all, but I am very frustrated as this is just another example of Sean not taking responsibility for his own life. He is screwing not only himself, but me, and my mother, since she loaned us the money for the move and would like to get SOME of it back!

Rob is rips**t about the whole thing. He feels that this is another example of Sean taking advantage of us and being irresponsible. I am just annoyed that I am not as done with the apartment as I would like to be.

I feel as though I am standing at the brink of a very big change. Between the move, a possible job in Concord through the end of the year, and the recent weird prompts to go in certain directions, life seems to be rolling in the right direction again. I only hope that it continues to do so.

Ok, so here is the official info for the moving:

Sat and Sun 3/22 - 23 - The boxes. We are moving boxes, and bookcases, also any small things that need to be hand ported, such as guitars, paintings, and other fragile things. Books will be unpacked and the boxes hauled back to pack again (most of our boxes seem to have books in them at this point...hmmmm.) Anyone who can come for Boxing Weekend, is more than welcome.

Sat and Sun 3/29 - 30 - Actual move! Sunday's force will be split into the movers and the cleaners, but Saturday we are all going for it. I will be renting a truck for this part. Also, cats and plants will go this weekend.

All help will be appreciated. Pizza and beer will be following...

Hopefully, this will be our last move for a long while. Pleah!

Thanks to everyone who can help in advance!
--Deb and Rob