AN UPDATE ON MOM. Mom is having a rough time. Last Saturday morning she called asking if I could take her to the ER. Her back was giving her a considerable amount of pain. To make a long story short we discovered that she has a compression fracture in her lower back to add to her list of ailments. There’s nothing to do for that but take it easy and stay on pain medication. She’s doing that and has people helping her around the clock. Some days are good days, others aren’t. Overall she’s doing pretty well, but she’s in for a long recovery.
COUSINS AND COLLEGES. My family has done a lot of traveling lately. They were actually driving to Georgia a week ago Wednesday (the 22nd) for some cousin time when I was writing the last edition. They stayed there until Sunday. They enjoyed the trip, though Vicki had some pretty severe muscle spasms in her back that laid her out the first couple of days. I do know they ventured out to see the Minions movie that’s out now.
Vicki and Jenna hit the road again this Wednesday (the 29th) for college visits. They headed west to Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, where they had a tour scheduled for that afternoon. They stopped in Camden on the way there. It was the first time anyone from our family has been back there since Pauline passed away. After the tour at Union, they headed to Birmingham, Alabama, where they had a tour of Samford University scheduled for Thursday morning. When that was over they headed home, stopping in Nashville for a little shopping.
Jenna was impressed with both universities. I think it would be premature to say more at this point as she still has a couple more schools she wants to visit. She is also reevaluating her desire to go into nursing after her internship experience this summer. She simply feels she doesn’t have the passion she needs to have to go into that field.
ENDING A CHAPTER. Monday will be the start of new employment adventures for me and Vicki, though I think it all feels very surreal for both of us. Vicki has spent a lot of time at church (when she’s been home) cleaning out her office and closets she has used for the children’s ministry over the years to leave things in good shape for her successor. This is something she usually does after VBS anyway, but leaving has made her take a deeper look at things.
I’ve been doing a lot of the same things at my job with Robertson County: cleaning my office, documenting how I do things that only I do, making sure people can log in to systems I have maintained, etc. I’ve also been saying goodbye to a lot of folks. It hasn’t been easy, but the nice thing has been the affirmation I have received. I know I’m leaving a lot of valued friends behind.
My supervisor treated our department to lunch at a local restaurant in Springfield Wednesday. We’ve had our share of people come and go in our little group in my time there. It was odd looking around the table at the friends I’ve grown close to knowing that I am the one who is changing the group this time. They sent me away with a drill press for my shop and a plaque that reads:
In Appreciation
All of us at the Technology Department
wish to express out gratitude for sharing your
experience, knowledge, gifts, and friendship with us.
We appreciate your humble and dedicated service
to the students, parents, and staff of
Robertson County Schools.
Joe Swann
21 Years of Service
July 29, 2015
All of us at the Technology Department
wish to express out gratitude for sharing your
experience, knowledge, gifts, and friendship with us.
We appreciate your humble and dedicated service
to the students, parents, and staff of
Robertson County Schools.
Joe Swann
21 Years of Service
July 29, 2015
As much as I care about my former coworkers the relationships will stop growing simply because we won’t be seeing each other every day. Goodbyes are hard.
Joe
