So, Why Blog?

My brother asked me this question. I guess the best answer is I just want to see if I can write something people outside of my family will want to read. I have a wonderful family and a rich life. I have had my share of mountains and roadblocks but it's always been interesting. Lately things have just become easier to take when I write about them. So, I'll start by presenting the Christmas letters I have written over the years. I started writing Christmas letters in response to a letter I got from one of my aquaintances (no, I won't tell you who). Her letters were those classic brag sheets where every child is a future Rhodes Scholar and they had more money than God. I found this difficult to swallow since I had met her kids and had known her all her life. Frankly, I've always felt life is more like a bad reality show. Full of cheap shots that are easy to poke fun at. I do like to laugh.

A few things you need to know. I have been around a while. I remember the day Kennedy was shot. I was in the fourth grade and I remember how shocked we all were. I never married, but when my brother got in trouble and needed help, I adopted his 3 kids Cherie, Chris, and Robert at the ages of 6, 3, and 2 years old. I graduated from CSULB with a teaching degree and taught for about 5 years. Unfortunately, it didn't work out and I went back to school for computers. When I was laid off from a tech. support job, I decided it was a good time to get back into education and have been a librarian at an elementary school for the last 11 years.

Although both my parents are dead, I have a large extended family that includes a half sister Juanita, an older sister Beth and a younger brother John. A cousin of my kids, Eric and his wife lived with us for a while as Eric prepared to return to the army. Once the boys entered junior high and high school band, we acquired a regular group of about 5 or 6 boys that are always over at the house.

We like to say we have a Heinz 57 heritage. My mother was of German descent and came from Nebraska. We spent most of our summers growing up vacationing on my grandparent's farm. My father was half American Indian and part African American and English. He was born in New Orleans, raised in Arkansas and moved his family to Los Angeles, California after World War II.

I consider myself a bleeding heart liberal and have been active in my Catholic church. I am very involved in my union CSEA for classified school employees. Librarians at elementary schools are not part of the certificated (teaching) staff. I have been assisting my elderly Aunt Jo since her husband died and that has really begun to take up a lot of my time.

I like to laugh. I like to laugh at myself. I love to read fantasy, science fiction and mysteries. My favorite authors are Janet Evanovich, Robert Jordan and Patricia Briggs.