College

Dear Sarah,

Good morning, how are you? You are off to your first year of college.  I know you’re excited and maybe a little bit scared, but you’ll do fine.  God will not let you down.  He will be with you all the days of your life. 

I’m mailing this the day before you leave so you will have a welcome to college letter waiting for you. 

Welcome to college.  The most fun and possibly the most important time of your life. I looked at the class schedule you left at your mom’s.  Looks like you are going to be very busy. Don’t forget to have a little fun, and always remember your daily Bible reading. 

Love Grandma

Dear Grandma,

It was wonderful to have a letter waiting for me when I arrived. 1,286 miles is a long drive, but I made it.  When I got  here I had been awake for 36 hours.  I stopped a couple of times on the way and tried to sleep in the car, but I couldn't really rest, anyway my back was killing me and so I lay down on the floor and put my legs on a chair so that my knees and hips were at 90° angles and put one of my large textbooks on my chest.  It eased the pain in my back and I fell asleep with my dorm room door open a crack.  When I woke up in the late afternoon, every girl in the dorm had walked by, and peeked in.   I don't think they'll ever let me forget it.  What a way to make a first impression; at least I didn't fall into the fountain. Joyce the girl from California did that. 

I have a job interview on Monday at a nursing home.  My nursing assistant certification transferred to Pennsylvania with no trouble, I just had to pay a small fee.  

 This semester isn't going to be easy but I think it might be fun.

Love, Sarah

Dear Sarah,

I am glad  you made it ok.  There are worse things to be remembered for then falling asleep on your floor with your feet in your chair.  

The chickens are starting to slow down their laying.  Your dad helped me set up a solar powered red light inside the henhouse for them to lengthen their daylight time. A few of the young ones got into the laying mash and we got a couple of really tiny eggs.  I got your brother to help me separate them. We put all the ones to butcher in their own pen, they had been free ranging but it was time to keep them close.   We are going to be butchering about 80 chickens in the next week or so.  I know that you're really going to miss that. HA HA.  We are going to miss you being here, you always make the smelly jobs a little more fun. I’ll be sure that you get some fried chicken when you come home for Christmas.

How are those classes going?  Have you learned anything exciting? How did the job interview go? 

 Keep God first

 Love Grandma

Dear Grandma,

Classes are going well.  I am learning some things.  Mom and Dad did a good job teaching us our Bible, so I haven’t learned anything that is 100% new but I have enjoyed learning a little more about what I already know. For instance, I knew that David was anointed to be king before he killed Goliath, But I guess I didn’t realize that God used his rejected king to train his replacement.  I mean I’ve known the timeline ever since I can remember, but now it looks different.   Every class has at least one term paper, and some have several smaller (4-6 page) papers.  I guess writing it out is a good way to cement what you know into your brain, at least that’s what we are told.  I think that my brain is turning to cement or maybe mush, not sure.  It’s just crazy.  I have classes all morning, then I work 2-3 afternoons a week at a nursing home about 20 miles away.  It’s an okay job. We are required to work at least every other holiday and Christmas eve and Christmas day are both holidays. So unless they make an exception I will have to quit the job in order to come home for Christmas.  The school is closing the dorm from Dec 21st until January 4th so I will have to do something.  I am looking forward to your fried chicken, and vegetables from the garden.  I have to cut this short if I want to eat supper I better go now, and if I want to pay my whole school bill before I leave, I better eat what’s offered in the deal.  

Love Sarah

Dear Sarah,

Sounds as if you are doing ok in everything,  I worry that you might be doing too much, trying to work and take so many classes.  I know that you are young and don’t think you need to sleep but you’ll get sick if you get yourself run down. 

We got the chickens processed. There are some in the freezer, some in jars and some already in stomachs.  You should be able to take some of the jars back to college with you after Christmas.  We also made more pickles and dilly beans.  We are expecting the first frost next week so we’re trying to get in as much as we can.

Did your Mom tell you what your eleven year old brother did? He was walking along the top of the chain link fence and fell.  When he fell he landed on one those spiky ornaments that are on top of every other fence post.  He had quite the gash in his side, your ten year old sister had him all wrapped up in two or three rolls of gauze by the time your mom got home from the post office,  she took him to the ED, they stitched him up and kept him overnight just in case of any internal bleeding.  There wasn’t any internal bleeding but he has an adventure story to tell.   He is so proud of his scar.  We all miss you.  I miss your weekly visits and your help with moving my chairs and my quilting frames.  It is about that time of year when I will start doing more inside. I’ve asked your cousin to help me set up the large quilt frame in a couple of weeks, I just got started on the top.  I am working on a purple double wedding ring pattern.  

Glad your job is going ok, try not to work too much. Remember your Bible reading. 

Take care, Love Grandma.

Dear Grandma,

Hope you are still doing well.  I love hearing about the chicken, and the quilts, who gets this one? Mom did tell me about Joel. She also said he was showing off for the neighbour girl, apparently she said that she was going to be a tightrope walker, but didn’t think that he could walk on the round top of the fence. 

I made it through midterms; I  won’t say with flying colors, but I passed everything.  I am so tired though, someone walked out at work so they have been pestering me to work more.  I don’t feel like I can, but the charge nurse stated that the law states that they can make me stay over and work a double if the staff to patient ratio would be too low.  So I worked a double.  Once again. I am working my job and someone else's too. I may just quit when Christmas break comes. I just want to pay my bills and help people.  

Sorry this is so short.  Love you,

 Sarah

Dear Sarah,

I just want you to know I pray for you every day. I am glad that you passed all your classes.  I wish you didn’t have to work so much, I wish I could help you out, but I don’t have any money to send you, at least not now. Hang in there, everyone has rough spots - it’s part of life and growing, not just growing up but just growing as a person.  You learn something new every day, sometimes it is intentional. 

Whatever you decide about the job I’m sure it will be alright.

I have all the pieces cut for the double wedding ring quilt, and about half of them sewed together. I am including some scraps for  you to look at, A, B, C, and D samples of what the rings are made of, the others are possibles for the back.  Let me know which one you like best. 

I am not surprised that your brother was showing off, in fact your sister filled me in on the details a few days after I sent that letter.  They really do miss you.  We all do.

Love Grandma

Dear Grandma,

Thank you so much for all the wonderful letters, I don’t know what I would do without my wonderful family.  The other night I was made to work a double shift again because someone on the night shift didn’t show.  I think that this time she was really sick, but it still makes me tired.  Anyway one of the ladies on my hall kept screaming, I went down there to see if I could help her and she was sitting up in bed staring at the wall by the door, her eyes were wide and she looked terrified. I asked her if I could help her and she just started talking and told me detailed account of how her uncle raped her little sister until she almost bled to death.  I asked the other girl I was working with, she has worked there for ten years. She told me that when the lady was about nine and her sister was six their dad was killed in a mining accident.  Their mother couldn’t support them so they went to live with this uncle. The charge nurse told me later that the lady shot the bad uncle when she was fifteen.  The nurse took her something to help her sleep.  I am so thankful for my family.  I am also thankful that laws and social services have changed to help protect children better. 

I liked G for the backing. I am sending that one back to you and keeping the rest so they don’t get mixed up.  And because Tracy and Sam took the others for a project for their early elementary education class.  

Counting the days to the end of the semester.  Forty.  🙂.

Love Sarah

Dear Sarah,

That poor lady, still being haunted by that all these years later. I wish things like that didn’t happen but they do.  When I was in grade school there was this boy that would act strange. He wouldn't stay in his seat, angry all the time, picking fights and hiding from the principal.  He didn’t have any bruises and his family was “decent” but years later it came out that he had been abused by an older cousin.  I am glad there are more and better options for kids and parents today.  

I am glad you have a great family and I am glad that I am a part of it.

I hope that you can keep your grades up with all that working.  I thought that you were supposed to be part time. 

You may have figured out that the quilt is for you.  I am working my way through the grand kids and it’s your turn.  I have it on the frame now. If I don’t get it done before you get home for Christmas, you can help me finish tying it.  

The roosters are still crowing and we are still getting a few eggs every day but not many.  

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Love Grandma

Dear Grandma,

I love you.  I know I’m not overly gushy , but I just wanted you to know.  I almost hit a kid this morning coming back to the dorm from yet another forced double.  I must have dozed off driving past the bus stop.  I woke to see this kid's face right on the windshield then, I was past him and he was walking up to the bench with his backpack hanging off one shoulder.  I stopped and got out. No one was hurt but the other kids at the bus stop said it looked like I drove right through him.  I have always believed in miracles but now I have lived one.  I am overwhelmingly grateful to God for whatever it was that He did to keep me from killing that child. I am also still shaking.  I called the nursing home and quit before I went to bed.  Finals are in two weeks then I am coming home.  I like this out of the way private college, but I think I will stay home and work and save, Maybe I’ll come back at a later date, 

Looking forward to being at home. Love you

Sarah.