A Pregnant Pause

I learned about Australia’s politics, history and culture when I taught the English paper for an Australian matriculation examination.

Although I’ve NEVER been to Ausralia and NEVER graduated from an Australian university, I was assigned 2 classes of exam-oriented students.

Interesting, yeah? That’s for another day…

After immersing myself in Aussie politics, history and culture for 4 years, I corresponded with a wonderful Aussie lady 25 years older than me!

I forget how we met but until Lucas was born, we wrote regularly and exchanged:

stamps
stickers
postcards
newspaper clippings
pretty stuff

She even sent me a tub of Vegemite! LOL

Then, Hubby and I had spent 12 days with a group of CRAZY, fun-loving and thrifty Aussies on our Europe tour.

Without them, it would have been a boring tour and we’d be the only nutjobs getting excited over snowfall in Switzerland!

I would love to visit Australia one day especially to all the historical and cultural sites my students and I read and talked about.

Definitely Sydney where my sister has been to recently and returned gushing all about the place…and Melbourne! And Perth!

It’d be nice if we could stay at Sheraton hotels.

Hilton hotels would be up my alley too. And of course, Hyatt hotels…

Best Western hotels? I’ve not tried those before but hey, there’s always a first time for everything, right?

Hmm…I wonder if any of my students became F & B managers? Or even chain hotel sales managers? *wink, wink*

If not, I think my pen pal would love to host us at her place in little Grafton

Will we emigrate to Australia? Hmm…who knows, who knows. Will need jobs and sponsors first!

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Just a short note to inform that I’ll be offline for a while.

An ad to write. A brochure to edit. An article to finish.

Work is piling up and I’ve got deadlines!

Also, an exciting, unexpected opportunity has come up and I’m giving it my best shot.

Sorry I can’t reply to your comments yet

Take care everyone!

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I found this from the University of Iowa and was surprised why I didn’t think of this immediately.

Reading it on Sunday night, I realized that I have been going through these stages and could have added to my own stress, in addition to what has been happening around me the past few months.

I am sharing this here in case others in my situation may also be aware of their own emotions and address them.

Remember, we have a life to live!

What is Grief?

Grief occurs in response to the loss of someone or something. The loss may involve a loved one, a job, or possibly a role (student entering the workplace or employee entering retirement). Anyone can experience grief and loss. It can be sudden or expected; however, individuals are unique in how they experience this event. Grief, itself, is a normal and natural response to loss. There are a variety of ways that individuals respond to loss.

Some are healthy coping mechanisms and some may hinder the grieving process. It is important to realize that acknowledging the grief promotes the healing process. Time and support facilitate the grieving process, allowing an opportunity to appropriately mourn this loss. [Read more →]

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