Thursday, January 01, 2004
2003 Ribqah Wrapup
It is customary as we usher in the new year to reflect upon the previous 12 months. It has been a wild year in the whirling world of Ribqah.
In January, Rebecca took on the notion to paint. On the advice of Vikki at www.cornbreadchronicles.com, I bought some modest supplies and began "to just PAINT!" It was a bit painstaking, because I had DEFINITE ideas of what I wanted to produce and no abilities to make those results happen. So, I had to let go of my expectations, rules, perfectionism, and need for it to "be good," and JUST PAINT! After dinner with some newlywed friends - thanks Joel and Leslie - I heard the Moulin Rouge soundtrack playing and was told that it was actually Ewan McGregor doing the singing! Then Leslie filled me in on the basic plot of the movie - which I'd never seen. I went and bought a copy immediately, and watched it. I watched it again. And again, and again, and again. I can't explain it. It's quirky, it's jumpy, it's over the top, and I just LOVE it. It is my FAVORITE movie of all time right now. Joel and Leslie also invited us to accompany them to my Alma Mater's Homecoming celebration. This small university in central Alabama, The University of Montevallo(www.montevallo.edu),
is a liberal arts college and it's written in the charter that there may be NO football for this college. Homecoming consists of intramural athletic competitions which account for a meager point value for either the Purple side (liberals, theatre majors, art majors) or the Gold side (conservatives, business majors, athletes). All through the year, however, in the background, scripts are written and selected, and then original music is written, sets constructed, costumes designed and sewn, actors are auditioned and selected. On Homecoming night, both sides present a 45 minute original musical play all done by the students from start to finish. The plays are judged on several criteria and assigned a point value. The side with the most points at the completion of the Purple and Gold productions WINS!!! Interestingly enough, although I was a business major in college, I hung out with artsy people and was a Purple. ANYWAY - Joel and Leslie invited us to go to the play with them in February. Moulin Rouge was just the thing to get me all jazzed up about seeing a musical!
February was a big month. My parents moved out of the house I've known as home since age 5, and moved into an apartment about one mile from my house. Mom's Alzheimer's Dementia and other medical problems had escalated to the point that Dad felt he should be closer to help and closer to medical facilities. It was painfully disorienting for Mom and it took several months for her to get her bearings.
In Feb, I did MUCH painting and began selling my stuff on Ebay. FUN!! It helped encourage me to crank out three and four paintings on some days. I really enjoyed that time of creative explosion. Ebaying those paintings also brought special friend Bryan into my cyber life. (Thanks, Bryan!) We attended College Night (homecoming) at the University of Montevallo in February, and the Purple play absolutely sucked beyond belief!!!! It was SO sad. Either my standards were much lower in 1982-1986, or the quality of the writing, composing, and acting of that student body was leaps and BOUNDS better than it is now!! We'll see if that's the case again this Feb, because it was so FUN just to be back on campus! The Golds won the show, and both of the plays were "Chicago" knockoffs. The Golds was actually funny, well-acted, nicely "set," and just . . . GOOD. It was the calibre of the Purple plays in my hayday.
March saw the inception of the "Ribqah" identity. My actual name is just too freaking LONG to paint onto the bottom of each painting - it would look like grafiti! So, Ribqah am I!
April and May passed by quickly and in a haze of much painting!
June brought summertime, children home from school, playing in the sun and water outside, and finding time for art whenever and whereever possible. Hubby turned 40-years-old in July and his Mom and I treated him to a surprise birthday party! Great fun! Special friend CD made the trip from Atlanta, and besides having a GREAT time in the swimming pool, we also enjoyed FLOCKS of hummingbirds visiting the multiple feeders on Mom's porch, and digitally photographed many birds, insects, and party animals. Hubby's sister even brought a little college boy with nipple-rings with her!! He taught us to all run around the perimeter of the swimming pool as fast as possible and create a VORTEX from the energy! It was absolutely incredible!!
August saw the return of schooldays for the 2 big kids, and the return of painting for Me. September and October rolled by all too quickly, but saw the advent of my BLOGS!!!! My earliest archives are of October, but I think I started this thing in August. This was such a neat time of learning about HTML and websites, and writing as close to daily as I've ever been able to do.
November saw me teetering on the edge of the breaking point in my marriage, of my sanity, and of all rational thought. Maybe it's the added stress of Mom's dementia every day, Dad's continuing to tire and stress, my husband's consistently inconsistent behavior, the cash flow issues attached to entrepreneurialism in it's infancy, four children to care for, a large home to manage, MOUNTAINS of laundry, and my desire to just head toward the grocery store one day and keep going till I got to the coast, but the stress got almost unbearable in November. I determined that I had to go back to work full time for the financial stability of the family, but then couldn't put my 1- and 3-year-old in full-time daycare. Backed off and decided to think that through. Stress, stress, stress. Arguments, arguments, arguments, sobbing, cussin' and swearin' and no resolution.
December rolls in and we have a wonderful Christmas tree hunting trip and family togetherness thing to usher in the month. It stalls out quickly with my continued discomfort with our finances, my continued effort to change things, and hubby's unsureness about the correctness of my decision. Many arguments later, we have a plan. I've taken on a webiste managing position with one company, and an extensive copyediting job with another. These jobs can be done at home or scheduled around other more structured needs. Then in January, I'm going to take a potentially long term substitute teaching job. This will give me classroom experience and after 20 consecutive workdays, it'll be pretty decent money. The babies will continue to go to Mother's day out on Monday Wednesday and Friday from 9-2:30, and Hubby will schedule in-office days for himself on Tuesdays and Thursdays so the babies don't have to go full-time quite yet. If the long term job kicks in, that will probably change. This is a tough decision, but we are in agreement now that it's the right course. All this after so much fighting we are both exhausted and depleted of that love energy.
As I look into the year 2004, the only thing I'm sure of is change! I have always been a constantly evolving person, but for the last 11 years it was about evolving into being Hubby's wife, then Mom for each of the four babies. This latest evolution is a bit less passive, and is requiring me to make some heavy duty decisions. I'm thankful that I have options to consider. I'm thankful for a husband that listens and wants to agree. I'm thankful for beautiful healthy children that have great personalities and help me want to mother them when I'm tired and stressed. I'm thankful for my wonderful parents that help out as much as they possibly can, and are always willing to pitch in and BE here for every little event, or errand, or impromptu performance the children want to do. It is a beautiful thing to have a family of 8 at the dinner table as often as I do. I'm also thankful for the friends that add much spice to my busy (but sometimes routine) world. The friends help keep me flowing, not stagnate, encouraged more than stressed and ready to quit, giggly more than bitchy. They lighten me up and still don't mind having deep conversations.
This blog is about to evolve along with its author. Maybe a new place, maybe a new title, I'm not yet sure. Keep checking back often and watching for changes and additions. Thanks for being regular readers, thanks if you've just found me, and I look forward to corresponding with you in the future!
Good night for now.
In January, Rebecca took on the notion to paint. On the advice of Vikki at www.cornbreadchronicles.com, I bought some modest supplies and began "to just PAINT!" It was a bit painstaking, because I had DEFINITE ideas of what I wanted to produce and no abilities to make those results happen. So, I had to let go of my expectations, rules, perfectionism, and need for it to "be good," and JUST PAINT! After dinner with some newlywed friends - thanks Joel and Leslie - I heard the Moulin Rouge soundtrack playing and was told that it was actually Ewan McGregor doing the singing! Then Leslie filled me in on the basic plot of the movie - which I'd never seen. I went and bought a copy immediately, and watched it. I watched it again. And again, and again, and again. I can't explain it. It's quirky, it's jumpy, it's over the top, and I just LOVE it. It is my FAVORITE movie of all time right now. Joel and Leslie also invited us to accompany them to my Alma Mater's Homecoming celebration. This small university in central Alabama, The University of Montevallo(www.montevallo.edu),
is a liberal arts college and it's written in the charter that there may be NO football for this college. Homecoming consists of intramural athletic competitions which account for a meager point value for either the Purple side (liberals, theatre majors, art majors) or the Gold side (conservatives, business majors, athletes). All through the year, however, in the background, scripts are written and selected, and then original music is written, sets constructed, costumes designed and sewn, actors are auditioned and selected. On Homecoming night, both sides present a 45 minute original musical play all done by the students from start to finish. The plays are judged on several criteria and assigned a point value. The side with the most points at the completion of the Purple and Gold productions WINS!!! Interestingly enough, although I was a business major in college, I hung out with artsy people and was a Purple. ANYWAY - Joel and Leslie invited us to go to the play with them in February. Moulin Rouge was just the thing to get me all jazzed up about seeing a musical!
February was a big month. My parents moved out of the house I've known as home since age 5, and moved into an apartment about one mile from my house. Mom's Alzheimer's Dementia and other medical problems had escalated to the point that Dad felt he should be closer to help and closer to medical facilities. It was painfully disorienting for Mom and it took several months for her to get her bearings.
In Feb, I did MUCH painting and began selling my stuff on Ebay. FUN!! It helped encourage me to crank out three and four paintings on some days. I really enjoyed that time of creative explosion. Ebaying those paintings also brought special friend Bryan into my cyber life. (Thanks, Bryan!) We attended College Night (homecoming) at the University of Montevallo in February, and the Purple play absolutely sucked beyond belief!!!! It was SO sad. Either my standards were much lower in 1982-1986, or the quality of the writing, composing, and acting of that student body was leaps and BOUNDS better than it is now!! We'll see if that's the case again this Feb, because it was so FUN just to be back on campus! The Golds won the show, and both of the plays were "Chicago" knockoffs. The Golds was actually funny, well-acted, nicely "set," and just . . . GOOD. It was the calibre of the Purple plays in my hayday.
March saw the inception of the "Ribqah" identity. My actual name is just too freaking LONG to paint onto the bottom of each painting - it would look like grafiti! So, Ribqah am I!
April and May passed by quickly and in a haze of much painting!
June brought summertime, children home from school, playing in the sun and water outside, and finding time for art whenever and whereever possible. Hubby turned 40-years-old in July and his Mom and I treated him to a surprise birthday party! Great fun! Special friend CD made the trip from Atlanta, and besides having a GREAT time in the swimming pool, we also enjoyed FLOCKS of hummingbirds visiting the multiple feeders on Mom's porch, and digitally photographed many birds, insects, and party animals. Hubby's sister even brought a little college boy with nipple-rings with her!! He taught us to all run around the perimeter of the swimming pool as fast as possible and create a VORTEX from the energy! It was absolutely incredible!!
August saw the return of schooldays for the 2 big kids, and the return of painting for Me. September and October rolled by all too quickly, but saw the advent of my BLOGS!!!! My earliest archives are of October, but I think I started this thing in August. This was such a neat time of learning about HTML and websites, and writing as close to daily as I've ever been able to do.
November saw me teetering on the edge of the breaking point in my marriage, of my sanity, and of all rational thought. Maybe it's the added stress of Mom's dementia every day, Dad's continuing to tire and stress, my husband's consistently inconsistent behavior, the cash flow issues attached to entrepreneurialism in it's infancy, four children to care for, a large home to manage, MOUNTAINS of laundry, and my desire to just head toward the grocery store one day and keep going till I got to the coast, but the stress got almost unbearable in November. I determined that I had to go back to work full time for the financial stability of the family, but then couldn't put my 1- and 3-year-old in full-time daycare. Backed off and decided to think that through. Stress, stress, stress. Arguments, arguments, arguments, sobbing, cussin' and swearin' and no resolution.
December rolls in and we have a wonderful Christmas tree hunting trip and family togetherness thing to usher in the month. It stalls out quickly with my continued discomfort with our finances, my continued effort to change things, and hubby's unsureness about the correctness of my decision. Many arguments later, we have a plan. I've taken on a webiste managing position with one company, and an extensive copyediting job with another. These jobs can be done at home or scheduled around other more structured needs. Then in January, I'm going to take a potentially long term substitute teaching job. This will give me classroom experience and after 20 consecutive workdays, it'll be pretty decent money. The babies will continue to go to Mother's day out on Monday Wednesday and Friday from 9-2:30, and Hubby will schedule in-office days for himself on Tuesdays and Thursdays so the babies don't have to go full-time quite yet. If the long term job kicks in, that will probably change. This is a tough decision, but we are in agreement now that it's the right course. All this after so much fighting we are both exhausted and depleted of that love energy.
As I look into the year 2004, the only thing I'm sure of is change! I have always been a constantly evolving person, but for the last 11 years it was about evolving into being Hubby's wife, then Mom for each of the four babies. This latest evolution is a bit less passive, and is requiring me to make some heavy duty decisions. I'm thankful that I have options to consider. I'm thankful for a husband that listens and wants to agree. I'm thankful for beautiful healthy children that have great personalities and help me want to mother them when I'm tired and stressed. I'm thankful for my wonderful parents that help out as much as they possibly can, and are always willing to pitch in and BE here for every little event, or errand, or impromptu performance the children want to do. It is a beautiful thing to have a family of 8 at the dinner table as often as I do. I'm also thankful for the friends that add much spice to my busy (but sometimes routine) world. The friends help keep me flowing, not stagnate, encouraged more than stressed and ready to quit, giggly more than bitchy. They lighten me up and still don't mind having deep conversations.
This blog is about to evolve along with its author. Maybe a new place, maybe a new title, I'm not yet sure. Keep checking back often and watching for changes and additions. Thanks for being regular readers, thanks if you've just found me, and I look forward to corresponding with you in the future!
Good night for now.
Comments:
Post a Comment
free hit counter