He is going back to Afghanistan after Christmas

We have not seen our nephew for a while, but he will be home for Christmas, yet in January he will have to go for his second round of Afghanistan. I am proud of him, for doing what he does. And I know how hard it has been on my sister.

You might want to check out 'All I want for Christmas ... HMS Ocean' on Utube, a very awesome treat!

I watched the news this morning and found out how much out taxes will go up next year. Will it help our country, or just hurt us ... because we are just climbing out of that hole of unemployment.

And Sarah Palin is running for president?

Since I can’t fix the world, I guess I will just focus on our own little world. And this Christmas will be good. My sisters kids are all home and so is our son. For the first time in many years we will be able to get them all together. And I am looking forward to that!

We will not exchange gifts, but we will spent good family time together. Lots of good food and our Dutch game, called ‘SJOELEN’. We used to have a blast with that!

I am sure the cousins will pick on each other as always and there will be lots of laughs.

This is how Christmas should be ... MERRY!! And I wish YOU a very Merry Christmas!

When are we too old to fall in Love?

I see people of all ages on this site, looking for that special someone, not just for a roll in the hay.
It makes me happy to see that, it proves to me that the ability to fall in love might be ... forever?
After my divorce it did cross my mind, that I might spend the rest of my life ALONE. I wasn’t that old yet, but it seemed to me that my love-life was over! As it turned out, it had not even started yet. My real love came later, and it came unexpected, out of nowhere. I was not even looking for love, yet it found me!



When I ran across this picture I was moved by the passion, the look on their faces ... I have seen that look on younger faces, a look just like it!

You should NEVER give up hope to find true love, because just when you are not watching, there it is! We can embrace love at any age, count each day, even when they might be numbered, yet the intensity of the love that is felt, will even be deeper. Because it will be truly appreciated.

Please tell me ... you have heard of Demis Roussos, or Aphrodite’s Child?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV7X5tPt6wc

A few nights ago I woke up and clearly heard inside my (crazy) head ‘Goodbye my love, good bye’ .... it was haunting me, because just that day I had found out that a friend of mine had died.
She passed away after her second bout with cancer ... she was an awesome person that was my son’s teacher during his ‘gifted program’ from age 7 till 12. She taught me how to deal with my son. Not many people realize, but gifted children can have a very hard time socializing and are often lonely and difficult.

Somehow the song seemed to have something to do with her, yet I didn’t understand the connection. Wasn’t that a lovesong? When I listened to it and looked up the lyrics I realized this song could have a totally different meaning.

When I was a teenager I remember having a major crush on this handsome man. He was born in Egypt, till his family moved back to Greece. Demis was in a band ‘Aphrodite’s Child and his voice wasn’t discovered till the lead-singer took a break and asked him to sing a few songs.
Demi became an immediate hit in Europe after that. Young girls like myself carried a major crush on his dark, wild look.
His music carries the influence of the Middle East and Greece  combined and his voice is haunting.

So now I am in the USA and NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT HIM?

I went on the internet and found a lot of his music ... the old videos have poor quality, but several seem to have been redone and still make chills come down my spine . So much passion!!

The man is grey now, his voice slightly trembles, but he still sings.
Some of my favorites .....

‘Good-bye my love, good-bye’
‘Forever and ever’
‘My friend the wind’
‘Follow me’

And with Aphrodite’s Child ...’ Rain and tears’

~~~~~~~~~

And here are the lyrics to the song ‘Follow me’

Follow me to a land across the shining sea

Waiting beyond the world that we have known

Beyond a world we dreamed could be

And the joy we have tasted

Follow me along the road where only love can see

Rising above the fully of the night

Into the light beyond the tears

And all the years we have wasted

Follow me to a distant land as mountain high

Where all the music that we always kept inside will fill the sky

Singing in the silence where the heart's real

While the world goes on turning, turning

Turning, follow me

Follow me to a land across the shining sea

Rising above the fully of the night

Into the light beyond the tears

And all the years we have wasted

Follow me to a distant land as mountain high

Where all the music that we always kept inside will fill the sky

Singing in the silence where the heart's real

While the world goes on turning, turning

Turning, follow me

Take my hand

And we'll find the land

Beyond the shining sea

Follow me

Thank God, the BUSH is back!

So they took away my furry snacks and my giant litter box. 

They expect me to aim all my shit into this 1' X 11/2' stinky shit-hole. 

My sunbathing days are over!!!   And even if I am lucky enough to find some weak rays that come through these ‘special windows’, I have to knock off all this crap to find a place to curl up.

But hey ... I will quit bitching for now ... 

Thank God .... the yearly bush is back!

I would ring my Christmas bells for you ... but they cut them off (it had something to do with that stinky shit-hole I kept missing). But how am I supposed to know that those rainy stalls they shower in ....  and those flower-pots are not for ME to use?

I know, I know ... I said I would stop bitching ... for now 

Red Shoes

Some days I share details from my work with you, today is one of those days.
Tomorrow we will go back to perving!


In case you are new to my blog, this is a follow-up on a previous blog.


One of the children in my preschool/daycare is four years old and functions at the level of a two-year-old. Except, the two-year-old's are starting to pass him by. His mother had ignored my ‘hints’ that we might have a problem. As a qualified Montessori teacher I do know that the little ones develop at their own speed, but in this case the child is having many problems.


1. Low self-esteem, I keep hearing ‘I can’t’
2. He doesn’t really play
3. He still doesn't recognize any symbols (alphabet and numbers), even though we work on them daily. My two-year-olds are remembering some of them.
4. Concepts of ‘same and different’ and ‘bigger and smaller’ ... he can’t see it, not even in concrete form.


A few weeks ago I had a serious talk with Mom and she agreed that something needs to be done.


She tearfully hugged me before she left and thanked me. The next day she asked me NOT to talk about this problem with her husband, since he always overreacts. So I have not mentioned it to him.


Today I brought up the subject once more with Mom. Nothing seemed to be happening and he is not doing well.


She was very defensive this time, brought up some ‘clever’ things that the boy had said and done. Funny thing was, these were things I had just read to him in a book. 


I noticed he has no imaginary world, so I am ‘playing with him’ doing make-believe. The mother didn’t believe that he had no imaginary world, because the other day he saw a red light in the sky and mentioned it was Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer. I explained to her that we just read that book and I TOLD THE KIDS to watch for that red light.


To make an already long story short, she explained to me that testing him would put a label on him. She also told me, she shared this with ONE person, a lady she works with and this person told her, her son was probably fine, not to worry about it. 


That was all she needed to back out? She is more worried about ‘labels’ than helping her child?
Also, they still don’t have time to READ to him yet he loves books. I have hundreds of books and I read a few every day.
I told her she could borrow my books any time.


I am frustrated with this..... 
The rest of my young crew is brilliant. We sing songs in English, German, French and Dutch. We do lots of special projects for the Holidays.


My three-year-olds are recognizing some words! My two-year-old's have rap-sessions while going potty. Potty-training two kids at the time is fun! I have no idea how the rapping got started, and they only do this while going on their little potties. 


So yes, my place is still a happy place, and the ‘troubled child’ is not troubled, yet I am! I wish I could help him better.


Okay, now you are still wondering ... but what about the ‘RED SHOES’ this blog is supposed to be about?


The little guy I am worried about has worn the same pair of shoes last winter ... all summer and is still wearing them every day.  Three of his cousins wore these shoes before him. The sole is worn off the heel and the toe and the shoes are getting tight.(they are not rich, but he does own a DSI)


When the kids talk about Santa and the gifts they are hoping to receive this boy tells them (and me)that he is getting ‘red shoes’! He started talking about this way before Christmas.


And I WANT HIM TO HAVE THOSE RED SHOES!


I give my little ones a small gift, they find it under my chimney. There is always a note from Santa, that tells them to OPEN the gifts at home. This prevents WANTING the gift someone else received!


But giving a child shoes? A bit different ... I admit!


Today I discussed this with his mother ... she said ... SURE! 
She was not aware of her son’s wish.


So Santa will give this little boy RED SHOES for Christmas!

The ultimate bullying? The prize goes to our greedy insurance companies!

I looked up the WORD ‘insurance’ in my dictionary ...

Insurance ...
1. PROTECTION against risk, loss, or ruin, by a contract in which an insurer or underwriter GUARANTEES to pay a sum of money to the insured, or the beneficiary in the event of death, accident, fire, etc, in return for the payment of premiums: also, the business of PROVIDING this PROTECTION.
2. A contract GUARANTEEING such protection.


On October 30 my friend was in a major accident ... she was in a coma for 10 days.
Left side of her rib-cage is crushed ... 9 fractured ribs ..  Both lungs were punctured
Broken pelvis requiring a pin
Ruptured spleen and liver

Needles to say, she has been through Hell lately! But she is a very positive girl and a fighter, thank goodness!

I have been E-mailing with her, her father gave her a laptop to use in the hospital.
Enclosed are the two last ones.





(Nov 24)
“Things are coming along for me. I had a little set back
yesterday. Started running fever and having chills and
tremors. I have a slight infection in my pin site at my
pelvis. Started me on IV antibiotics. Also increased pain,
that required me to go back to the IV pain medicine. I am
feeling better this morning. I am keeping my fingers crossed
that the antibiotic is working to allow me a good day. Kids
and D will be over later today to make my day complete. 
I am so thankful for all the blessings in my life.”








(Nov 29) “Had set back over weekend with chest pain And shortness ofbreath. Spent weekend having multiple tests. They did rule
out heart attack, blood clot, and gallbladder attack. They
are running an overnight monitoring of my breathing to see
if my levels drop requiring oxygen. I will probably be
coming home on Wednesday. Insurance will only allow so much
time in hospital. They are saying I am independent enough
to go home. I am a fighter and will survive no matter where
I am at. I keep thinking of you guys.”



I scares the daylights out of me that THEY have decided she is well enough to go home.
This is called PROTECTION? Or maybe this is the GUARANTEE my dictionary told me about?
I hope there is a way the doctors can make this insurance group responsible for their promises!

Two set-backs in ONE WEEK!

Bullying pisses me off ... I am so worried about her!

It makes me sad when he is so negative .... yet I love him so much

It makes me sad when he is so negative .... yet I love him so much

No, I am not talking about my husband, he is a very positive man, not talking about our son either. He is a perfect mix of happy, pissy and sarcasm for his age.


Maybe it bothers me today, because in the USA we are all talking about how thankful we are right now. In the Netherlands they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. But he could have so much to be thankful for, if he would just LOOK AROUND! Maybe older people get this way? I don’t remember him being this way when I was a kid.


I am talking about my father.


So, yes, now I am saying negative things about my father. I hope you don’t mind that I share these feelings today. If you have read my blog before, you know how much I love my parents. I hope to go see them real soon ... I am planning a trip after Christmas.


The reason I feel this way right now?


I talked the my parents on the phone for an hour this morning. We do this every Sunday. One week they call my sister (she lives near me) the next week it is my turn. 


But she is in Holland right now, with her 26-year-old daughter. They are visiting for 10 days.
Most of these days my sister is with them, my niece is doing a bit more sight-seeing.
The E-mails my sister is sending me tell me how much time she is spending with them. They are playing games, watching tv, listening to music. She cooked for them several times. One day my other sister took her to visit an aunt, where they stayed for ONE HOUR. She lives an hour-and-a-half away! But my visiting sister has explained, “This visit is for Mama and Papa!” So they only stayed for ONE HOUR!


Sometimes elderly people seem to get very selfish, or maybe he is just confused. He was whining and complaining, telling me how she was gone all the time. And then he would say things like, “I understand, we are old and boring.”


Why is it that sometimes elderly people get so manipulative? Or is that a stupid question?


My sister is a jewel ... maybe even too nice!! When I wrote about her neighbor taking her flowers and vegetables in one of my blogs, someone even commented that my sister should, ‘stand up for herself; that she was a doormat.’


So while my father is going on and on with his complaints, my mother is commenting on the scent of fresh air, when my niece comes back from a walk. She is grateful to be alive, after having had several surgeries during the last year.


My mother comments about the good things she is enjoying during my sister’s visit.


It is almost like they were living different lives, instead of sharing the same home, the same kids, the same visits.


So this is a rant, I guess, and I thank you for the ear. I will be going to visit them soon, and I must be positive and bring them smiles!


Maybe you have elderly family and you understand I don’t write this because I don’t love him, I just wished he could be happy and grateful for having had such a long happy life. And for kids that love them very much. Kids that travel across the ocean, to be with them!