Ten Years

 Ten years ago, I started a new job.  I had applied through a temp agency and after having interviewed with the company they offered me a job.  I would work through the temp agency until the contract was over and then would have the possibility of being hired by the company.  I know some people do not like the thought of working through a temp agency but I have always enjoyed it.  You have an opportunity to try out the work environment and see how you fit with the company.  

The last Monday in July (it was the 27), I started working part time.  Two weeks later I went full time (well 37.5 hours a week) and then in Oct when the contract was over was hired full time by the company.  

Starting a new job has many emotions…there is excitement, anxiousness, relief, dread, etc.  I was all those in one.  Would I learn the product?  I was familiar with the program I was going to use and I knew I would not be working with the product like the salesmen would but still would I learn it well enough?

Today as I sat at work I thought about that.  I really enjoy this company and am glad I went for that interview.  Hopefully I will be able to put another 10 years in.  

My Best Friend

I was 13.  He was 15.  We were 2 of the non-athletic campers seated underneath the large shade tree (I don't know what kind it was.  Only that it was welcome relief from the hot sun during summer afternoon days.)  This was my first weekend at Teen Retreat.  My first time to be a camper the same time there were boys as campers.  I had been looking forward to attending Teen activities at camp for about 2 years.  One reason was that I could get away from my younger sisters.  The other reason was that there would be boys.

As we sat under that tree, we shared our backgrounds with each other.  He was in 8 grade.  I was in 7 grade.  He had visited family who lived in east Germany.  I had visited family who lived in northern parts of the US.  We shared our mutual dislike for gym class at school because it was not an encouragement to those of us who were athletically-challenged. 

I left Bible camp that weekend excited about a new friend I had made.  I couldn't wait until the summer camp week.  I looked forward to becoming reacquainted with this boy.  Unbeknownst to me we were going to visit Grandma during the teen week.  It would be alright for me to attend a junior week (with just girls...and with my sisters).  So I missed him that summer.  The next summer arrived and he was in east Germany visiting his family.  I'm sure we must have attended spring and fall teen retreats together but I was looking forward to spending a whole week with him as campers.  2 years later we finally were together at teen week.  But by that time I had become very shy around boys & had difficulty talking with them...unless they were someone whom I had known for several years on a somewhat consistent basis. 

I observed him from a distance though.  And slowly realized over time that he might be a potential lifelong mate.  He was sensitive to other's feelings, a good listener, would go out of his way to make the load a little easier, to name a few.  One big plus was that he was willing to help the older staff members in whatever way they needed help.  But the most important quality was that he loved the Lord and wanted to serve Him in whatever way He directed.

We went our separate ways but stayed in touch through camp.  I started teaching school and one year decided to counsel at camp that summer.  He ended up counseling also.  Sitting in counselor training week, I remember thinking (it was like I was hit over the head with this thought), "if you're going to marry this boy, you'll have to be able to talk with him".  I remember making it a point to seek him out to talk with him.  And would you believe our conversations were just as easy flowing as they had been that very first spring retreat under that shade tree.  

One August day I had taken a lady from church to an appointment.  Upon arriving home there was a message on my answering machine that this boy had been in an accident.  He had been almost to his job site when the accident occurred.  I arranged to go to the hospital the next day.  I would ride over with the ministry director (from the camp we attended).  I didn't know this boy's parents so wasn't sure how they would respond to my being there.  We stayed only a short time.  I chose to go back 2-3 days later.  Every 2-3 days I would make a trek to the hospital.  But not before much time in prayer making sure this was what I should do.  My one fear was that I would ruin the friendship we had.

During his stay in the hospital there was a news report that a set of parents had died and the children ages 5 and 3 years were in that same hospital.  That brought back too many memories of many years earlier when I was the 5 year old in a different hospital with my 3 year old sister.  All sorts of emotions rushed through my head.  What if I saw those children (I knew I probably wouldn't but what if)?  Would I be able to handle it?  Would it be like seeing myself 21 years earlier?  So I stayed home.  I couldn't force myself to go to the hospital.

Very shortly I received a call from his mother.  Would I please come visit him?  So I took a deep breath and drove myself over there.  Praying the whole time that I would not see those children.  I also prayed that if I should see those children that the Lord would give me the stamina I needed to get my visiting done and get myself home.  I did not see those children and had a wonderful time visiting him.

He was released from the hospital and we started doing a few things together just as friends.  A Thursday evening might find us grocery shopping together.  Saturday might find us at a local warehouse club with his parents.  Sunday we might decide to combine our lunches so as not to eat alone. 

Two years later he placed a ring on my finger and then five months later, he gave me his last name.  This adventure has lasted for 18 years already and I'm looking forward to many, many more.  I never knew that my love for him would continue to grow.  He is truly my best friend and I am thankful we are traveling this road together.   

Starting a New Job

I debated what to title this post...should I title it "Ask & It Will Be Given...Eventually"?  Or how about "Patience Is a Virtue"?  I even thought about "Not My Timing".  I finally settled on the above "Starting a New Job".

About 20 years ago, I had my first experience with a temp agency.  Out of desperation because substituting wasn't paying the bills, I walked into a temp agency.  The older lady was very nice and immediately placed me in a job.  The company was looking for a full-time employee so when the required number of days were completed, they hired me full time.  I could have been hired before the required number of days but there would be a buy-out fee the company would have to pay to the temp agency.  Most companies are willing to let the temp agency have their required days.  That company down-sized a few years later and since I was the last one hired into my department I was the first one to go from that department.  I was getting married in a little less than two months so didn't really look for a job until after the wedding.  I did do some more temp jobs but they were just temp jobs...moving the previous year's records to storage, etc.  

Two and a half years ago while I was subbing & before I worked at the radio station, I applied through another temp agency.  The one I had used previously was going out of business...or at least the owner wasn't pursuing jobs.  Working through this temp agency has been a little different...some may be because it's a different place but I think the majority has been the eighteen years since I last did work through a temp agency.  This agency would call when there was a potential job, ask if I were interested in the job and then set up a time for me to go interview with the company.  I had one interview shortly after applying but that was not for me.  During the next two years, I had an opportunity for at least 2 other interviews but for some reason an interview could never be set up.  I was a little disappointed but kept telling myself the Lord did not want me in that position.  Then last summer, I received THE CALL.

Very nervously I went for an interview with this company and was hired (through the temp agency) on the spot.  I started working part-time the following week so I could serve out a two week notice to the radio station.  I worked at the radio station in the afternoon so that was able to be worked out.  Ninety days after beginning temporary employment the company hired me full-time. 

Starting a new job is both exciting and scary.  There are things to be learned even if you've done similar jobs.  The computer program with which I am working is one I'm familiar with but there are still things I am learning.  Ways this company uses the program that I've not used in the other two jobs.  Learning people is also another part of a new job.  Much clarification has to go on when beginning a new job until you get some understanding what the new people mean when they say such & such.  There are still questions asked but I have learned now how to ask questions to different people.  You know you might be able to ask one person "why is the pricing different?" and they will be able to tell you...whereas another person you might have to be more specific "the pricing on line 3 on the invoice is $x more than listed on the purchase order..is it okay to go ahead with getting the invoice ready to be paid or should I wait on different pricing?".  

While I feel I have settled into this job pretty well, there are still times I feel like a newbie.  Sometimes it's something I have only done once or twice since I've been there and have to ask is this how I do this.  I have just been given another responsibility so I am having the operations manager sit beside me while I go through this new responsibility just so I get it done correctly.  I actually tried to do one of these on my own and did something incorrectly so tomorrow we will sit together and he will walk me through the process again.  I have more than one of this type of invoice to process so hopefully doing more than one will solidify the process more in my mind.

I'm also trying to remember to pray for the business, the owner and my co-workers.  I heard a speaker on the radio the other day say something to the effect what business owner wouldn't want a Christian praying for his business.  He then listed several outcomes of an employee praying for the company and I have felt compelled to pray for this company.  I have prayed for the Christian businesses for which I have worked but never had I prayed for a secular business as a whole.  I prayed for different co-workers as they had need but never a conscious effort to pray for a secular business.  Now as I lay in bed at night waiting for sleep to come either at the beginning of the night or after awakening in the middle of the night, I pray for my husband and then the company and all there.  Then if I'm still awake I pray as the Lord brings to mind.

I think I've done enough rambling for the night so will close for now.  As always thank you, my family & friends, for your prayers. 

A Country Church

Along a winding road in the hills and hollows (pronounced holl-ers) of northeast Tennessee sits a small church.  From the days of no indoor air conditioning to now, this church despite its building and attendance size has shown love and created many pleasant memories.  Summer Sunday evenings would find the windows open and funeral home fans being used while the elderly gentleman from down the road led the singing.  The before Sunday School assembly found the second grade teacher leading a few songs and asking who had birthdays.  The birthday person would get to walk in front of the church and place money in a small Tupperware cup.  Usually this consisted of change equaling the child's new age.  When it was an adult's birthday having the exact change for the new age may not have been as important.  "Happy Birthday" was usually sung as one was walking to the front to put in her change.  The preacher had a very commanding voice.  His voice did not make you feel like you were in trouble...you just sat mesmerized by it...whether you understood the sermon or not.  As a side note we girls must have been very wiggly one morning.  I remember coming home after church and Mother telling us it would not surprise her if Uncle Guy walked down from the pulpit and took us outside to spank us.  He had done that with a boy one time.  I remember the next few weeks being scared to move.  Not necessarily from fear of Uncle Guy spanking me but more from the embarrassment of if it were me he took outside to spank.

The pastor's wife had a vision for a Sunday evening program for the children who were not old enough for the youth group.  The first Sunday evening each child was handed a strip of paper.  We were given three choices for a name for the group....Young Learners, Happy Growers and I can't remember the other one (maybe Eager Explorers).  We were to each write the name we wanted the group to be called.  The votes were tallied and Happy Growers became the name of the program for the new group.  Sunday evenings found us listening to flannelgraph or flashcard stories.  Aunt Evelyn & Uncle Guy both could tell a story.  We were especially fond of Sunday School Charlie and his adventures.   The most exciting part of the evening was the golden nuggets.  What's a golden nugget?  Well I'm glad you asked.  A golden nugget was just a piece of gravel that had been spray painted gold.  But to us children it was worth gold.  We earned golden nuggets for memorizing verses, bringing our offering, Bible, attendance, bringing a friend, etc.  Every so often we got to spend the golden nuggets we had earned.  Aunt Evelyn made sure there was something that every child could purchase.  So for the ones that may have very few nuggets (because of not being there every Sunday or not having as much help from home) there was a small trinket they could purchase.  And for the ones who had earned every nugget possible there was something of a greater value.  Now to an adult these may have seemed to be items which were junky or not really necessary.  But to us Happy Growers they were the best thing (second only to being out of school for a holiday or snow day).  

One Sunday Aunt Evelyn announced that every month we would send our offering to a missionary.  We were then each handed a fold out brochure that had the name, country and picture of each missionary/family for the denomination.  We looked at the brochure and each wrote down which missionary we wanted to help support.  It was decided we would help a single lady in Taiwan (I believe).   She reached out to us Happy Growers.  You know the month change could not have equaled more than $5 but she treated us like we were the group that gave her the most money every month.  We had fun learning of Taiwan and preparing packages to send her.  I'm sure the church probably helped us in that endeavor.

Happy Growers would not have been the same without Edna and Ruby.  They were twin sisters who were the food committee for us children.  If we decided to have a cook out they were the ones to organize & in my mind they prepared all the food for the cook-out.  (Now maybe they organized and church members helped contribute, I'm not sure).  I looked forward to the evening closest to my birthday.  You see Edna and Ruby would have a cake for me (as well as for each child when it was their birthday).  It would be a doll cake.  (The cake would be the dress of a non-name brand barbie doll).  Edna and Ruby made sure the icing was your favorite color also.  

The faith is now sight of each of these ladies who were so instrumental in organizing and running the early days of Happy Growers.  I thank the Lord for them & Uncle Guy (because I'm sure he helped Aunt Evelyn plan and prepare).  I pray that the children I now teach will see the Lord in me just as I saw Him in Aunt Evelyn, Edna, Ruby and Uncle Guy. 

Easter 1974

I don't remember the planning that went into that trip.  I don't remember the 800 miles from Pitcairn, NY, to Kingsport.  I don't remember if we brought Grandma & Grandpa or if they came another way.

My first memory of that trip is pulling into the camp driveway after dark.  Someone was in front of us to show us the way.  Was it the farmhouse uncle or was it the great-uncle who was the director of the ministry?  We were led into an apartment and shown around.  The little kitchenette had a small fridge.  I remember the fridge being opened to show us the milk.  There was cereal also.  Had the farmhouse aunt and uncle provided that for us?  Had the ministry director great-uncle bought milk & cereal for the little great-nieces in case they needed a bed time snack?

During daylight hours, I remember following the farmhouse aunt up the stairs to where the youngest cousin slept.  She was wide awake & ready to join the festivities.  As the farmhouse aunt took her out of the crib, I remember thinking she was the cutest thing I had ever seen.  All I wanted to do was hold & squeeze her.

Easter Sunday arrived.  We cousins were gathered in the kitchen.  There was much excitement among us younger cousins.  You see the farmhouse aunt had all the adults outside hiding the Easter eggs.  The older cousins were beginning their teenage years so I'm sure an Easter egg hunt was not the most exciting thing.  The third oldest cousin said something which made us all laugh.

We finally were released from the kitchen.  I have heard the cousins were paired up for the egg hunt...oldest with youngest, next to oldest with next to youngest, etc...I don't remember.  I do remember being near the sidewalk at the farmhouse.  I looked up at the front porch and saw all the aunts enjoying visiting with each other.  I remember hearing them laugh and being amazed that they all laughed alike.  Then the farmhouse aunt said something.  She had the most beautiful sounding voice.  She still had some of that normal sounding (NY state) voice but every once in a while, the Southern drawl would show up.  I couldn't hunt eggs...I was mesmerized.  A thought popped into my head, "if I ever have to live with anyone besides my mommy, I'd like it to be the farmhouse aunt."  Then I felt funny - why would I live with anyone besides my mommy.  I would live with my mommy for a long time.

I don't remember anymore of that Easter.  We went back to Pitcairn, NY, with hearts full of wonderful farmhouse memories.

Who Am I? A Look Into My Family Heritage.

I have always been interested in family history...who were my grandparents, who were their parents, etc.  Fortunately I have other family members who know or are working to find out.  When searching through genealogical archives, the name(s) of the previous generations will hopefully be attained.  That tells you by what name that person may have been called but it doesn't tell you who the person was.  Was he a hard worker?  Did she have to wash others' clothes to help make ends meet for the family?  You get the picture.

I can tell you a little about my maternal great-grandfather, Josiah Perry.  He lived from April 17, 1842 - March 1922.  He was a Union soldier in the Civil War (the Battle of Gettysburg).  We have a picture of one of us pointing to his name on the monument there at the Gettysburg battlefield.

You can't see the name very well because of the shadows.  A story that has been told and re-told is that his to-be wife's brother had been shot on the battlefield and as Josiah walked by him, he asked Josiah to loosen his belt buckle.  He knew he would probably not make it off the field.  He also knew there would be some discomfort from bloating as he waited.  After his time in the war, Josiah married Emily Blackmore (b.May 13, 1851-d.December 1918) and they raised 14 children...John born 1868, Eleanor (died as an infant), Mary Ellen 1872, Frank 1874, Charles 1876, Will 1878, Alex 1880, Susie 1883, Cornelius 1885, Wesley 1887, Myron 1888, Florence Tylee (FT) 1891, Elizabeth 1893, Martin 1897 and a grandchild Ed Hawk 1893.  The birth years of each child were given by Uncle Martin at my request.

I was very excited to come across a letter that had been written to a cousin introducing her to our great-grandfather.  Josiah was a small man.  He was much smaller than his wife, but he was a very stern man and ruled his family with a rod of iron.  He was not afraid to physically overhaul his boys when they didn't move at his instant command.  He was a lumberman and eventually became quite deaf.  Most of his sons inherited this characteristic.  Because he lived and worked with a rough crowd, he apparently was a very rough man, unlearned in reading and writing.  But he managed to make a fairly good living considering the size of his family and the type of work in which he was involved. 

Before my grandfather (F.T.) was born, a traveling Methodist minister told Josiah about Jesus Christ and how He wanted to live in Josiah's heart and how He wanted to help him live his life.  Josiah believed.  He learned to read the Bible.  He even told about the Lord at church so that he was called a Methodist lay minister which was quite an honor.  The older children may have resented a little the sudden interest in the Bible, the Lord and the repeating of the Lord's prayer at breakfast on the knees everyday.  They possibly resented the out loud prayers of their mother, Emily, in the evening as she prayed for her rugged sons and their wild lives.  However, when the youngest son, Martin, was born she asked in faith believing that one of her 10 sons would become a minister.  My Grandfather and Uncle Martin never smoked, drank or swore like the others.  Uncle Alex eventually became a Christian and was given the responsibility of being pastor of the Monterey Baptist Church.  Uncle Martin, known as the mountain pastor, stayed in one locality for over 60 years telling the boys and girls (with the help of his wife and various other people) the stories of Jesus, David, Daniel and all the others in the Bible.  My grandfather, F.T., pastored several churches and had some very interesting things happen to him.

When the Lord passes out the rewards in Heaven, probably that traveling minister who took time to tell this rather calloused lumberman about the Lord and probably didn't expect too much in return will receive a great share in the men and women of Monterey, Lake Lamoka, the foothills of Tennessee and the rural regions of Cayuga and Steuben counties of New York State.

Josiah Perry about 1920

Wordless on Wednesdays!