Grandma/student/teacher - An Update

Successfully finished the semester at UVU with a Cumulative GPA of 4.000... I had to really work for the A in Oceanography but enjoyed it tremendously. In my Music Appreciation class, I learned a great deal about Johann Sebastian Bach as I did my research paper on him. The Psychology and Sociology classes were fairly easy but I had to stay focused and did have to do some catch up at times.

I was finally convinced that the Pharmacy Technician Program was not a match for me. I was maintaining about a 95% most of the way through until we started doing the pharmacy math. I failed several tests in a row and even had my home teacher tutor me but in the end, I was stressing out majorly because I was "killing patients" by not understanding all the steps required to make the formulas work. I am not a quitter so it really bothered me to have to tell my job coach at Deseret Industries that I didn't think it was a match. But the weight off my shoulders has been such a relief.

I have been working at DI for 8 months and feel so grateful for the friendships that I have developed. In a way, I feel like I was able to finish my mission at DI. I was asked to teach an English As A Second Language Class to 8 of my co-workers who were all Spanish speakers. We began by learning all the sounds, then increased their vocabularies with a lot of pictures that I printed on my color laser printer. I had permission from our Store Manager to teach them the song "I Stand All Amazed" which we performed at one of the morning devotionals. Such a spiritual experience as they each voluntarily shared their feelings afterwards. A lot of tears and hugs, as we concluded the class. Then just two days later, I got a call from Church Headquarters in response to a position that I had applied for earlier. So...I will be starting a new job in a couple of days. I accepted a 1/2 time position to get my foot in the door, and will be working from 6 PM to 10 PM each evening at the Riverton Office Building. The Church Office Building in SLC purchased this building from Intel to move all 5 of their computer offices together into one building.

I am still paying for COBRA for insurance coverage but with my daytime hours open I will be able to continue my schooling AND have the daytime hours open if I need to get a second job.

Not sure how vacation time will work in the future, but was able to get together with all nine of my grandkids (at the same time) for the first time ever this Christmas. We have 7 grandsons and 2 granddaughters ranging from age 8 down to 22 months. One of the highlights for me was making wooden nativity sets with all these little ones. Our Relief Society had already cut out the shapes and then included the stickers to be placed on each piece. So the kids put the stickers on and I painted them with a clear coating. We wrote "Christmas 2009" on the back of each set and then they got to take them home. I wanted them to be able to assemble their own nativity sets and it was a good chance to talk about and remember the true meaning of Christmas.