Memorial Day at School

I know. I should be at a cemetery or something, however, I have been at school since 7-something a.m. and I am getting so much done! What's more, my husband brought lunch and helped me for awhile. What's more, he's a custodian at a high school and he's really tall, so all the high places got dusted and organized. He also showed up with a couple of new plastic bins for organizing! Don't worry, there are plenty of jobs for the students to do over the next couple of days, but this feels so good and what's more, there's AIR CONDITIONING for today because it's automatically programmed for weekdays! Ha ha! I'm getting so much done with no children in the room! Almost giddy with joy! And yes, there is no pay for this time spent at school. I'm volunteering. No pay. No holiday pay. Just volunteering in my own classroom for my own sanity to remain intact over the next three days, after which I have professional development meetings.

The Broken Hiring System in the National Park Service

This is not a rant. This is simply an explanation. My husband, the park ranger, still finds permanent status with the fed an elusive business. He's great at being a seasonal park ranger and last summer he moved up a couple of grades, but now this year he's moving back down a couple of grades because of budget. We know a few people who have found perms--either they have moved around a LOT as a single ranger (not so conducive to our marriage) or they have something else going for them (non-caucasian, female, Schedule A illness/disability, Veteran). K has something going for him as well...a wonderful boss at a local high school. Thankfully, she takes him back whenever he shows up in town and she's happy to keep him as long as it takes the Department of Homeland Security to complete his background check.

So these background checks have to happen annually because the summer seasonal rangers separate from service each fall. Each background check costs the NPS around $1800. They don't care that K has had one every single year since 2001. They don't care how many times he's been fingerprinted or interviewed by a federal agent. They don't care that he has a stellar resume with glowing reviews. The rule is that because he's "new" every spring, they have to do another background check.

Another rule is that you can only work 1039 hours in a season. If you surpass that even by 15 minutes, you cannot have rehire status. This has been some kind of a rule for a really long time, but nobody enforced it until like February...just recently. K's big crime is that back in 2003 (I think) he was asked to work a bit longer in the season after the cave closed and that unknowingly tipped him over the 1039 for that one season and now in 2018...he has lost his "rehire status." So, he has had to begin from scratch, so to speak. He did his due diligence, applied for his old job successfully and was offered a position which he accepted. However, this new enforcement of this very old rule that no one realized they were breaking all those years ago, has created a big problem for the NPS. Rangers didn't find out that they couldn't be hired for their old job until after the hiring process was completed (no chance to apply for their old job which they thought they would be automatically rehired to do). Also, they say in the news that this "rule" hasn't been evenly applied throughout the country.

Bottom line is, there are a bunch of seasonal park rangers out there who would love to work, who have done all that's required of them, but they can't work...yet.

So we wait. This would have been the weekend we would have reported to the park. But because the ranger hasn't cleared, we're not allowed in, can't move into government housing, and can't work. We know a ranger from Washington who has worked 47 seasons and he's just hanging out in Seattle until he gets the call that he has cleared. His situation really cracks me up because a couple of summers ago he was coaching track while teaching high school science and asked if he could skip training in order to coach his kids at their state track meet (they got first in state). No, he was NOT allowed to skip training. So he dutifully reported to be trained for a job he had been doing for forty-something years and got photos texted to him of their big win. And now, he's retired, but training starts on Monday and they won't LET him come to training because he hasn't cleared his background check. Oh, the IRONY! We know a married couple from Florida who have been staying in their RV in Blackfoot, Idaho, just waiting to hear that they have clearance so they can buzz into the park and get started. I know a ranger who has his blue tubs stacked up by the front door so that he can load up and roll when he gets word.

I know a supervisor who is opening a visitor center on Friday, just in time for Memorial Day, with only three rangers who have cleared thus far. Maybe word will come soon.

Mother's Day Flowers and Such 2018

We had such a nice time over Mother's Day Weekend. We skipped town Friday afternoon and ate Prime Rib at Mom's Cafe in Salina. We stayed in a hotel that night, in Salina, due to the weather. Next day we headed for Fremont Indian State Park, a place we hadn't been since 2010. We enjoyed the short hikes here and there and appreciated the campground. It's just good to get out and see the petroglyphs and spring flowers and move the body a little...and get back to sleeping on the ground. Not pictured are about one hundred pelicans at Pelican Point--they were having a float meeting and then decided to take their business to the air. We visited the Fish Lake Cut Off on the Old Spanish Trail. We attended all the church meetings in Elsinore, lovely people and vibrant ward. We had a great, relaxing time, just the two of us. On Saturday night before turning in to the tent, we sat in the RAV 4 holding hands and talking. We talked for about an hour and a half. Running away together is one of the best things we do!

May Playground

So this is a burned wood chip from our school playground. It's a good thing I'm a sometimes observant playground duty guard because a child was using a magnifying glass and the sun to light wood chips on fire...which several other children thought was so fascinating. I watched it myself and saw smoke coming up. In fact, I still have this particular wood chip on my desk because it smells like a wood fire. And it makes me chuckle. Here's the thing...the child was convinced there was no way full on combustion could occur. I made it stop. You know, "not on my watch."

And this took me right back to Lana'i where I served as a Cub Scout Den Leader for the Webelos. As soon as I was off the clock on Wednesdays, I would head over to the church for Scouts. All my boys beat me over there every week of course, and some of them were in my fifth grade class. What do a bunch of boys do while waiting for their activity to begin? They light things on fire, of course. Same tactic--use a magnifying glass to direct the heat of the sun so that you can light your slippers (flip flops) on fire. Just watch that smoke curl upward! Again, fascinating.

Or you could always carve your initials into the green bananas growing on the tree in back of the church. They were impressed I carried my own pocket knife. When the bananas were ripe, we each ate the one with our own initials on it. Delicious. Carving bananas seemed okay to me. Lighting things on fire? Not so much.

We give the children back to their parents in two weeks. I hope they're ready.

He Really Likes His Treats

My husband has a sweet tooth the size of Texas. He has a treat cupboard in the kitchen that is too high for me to reach without taking extraordinary measures, so his stash is usually really safe from me.

Yesterday we visited the Elsinore Ward down by Richfield after camping, and they passed out those Utah truffle bars. I took the regular milk chocolate one and K was quite interested in my gift. Then he saw someone else with a mint chocolate bar and encouraged me to trade. Then he asked if I'd be interested in sharing. Uh huh. I always share my Mother's Day chocolate with him. I don't see a way around it.

So I'm still at school and just called him to see what our plans are for the evening. He mentioned that someone has dropped a treat off for me and there's a note with it--we don't know who. He described the treat as a "chocolate brownie with chocolate frosting and chocolate chips on top." I said, "You can eat it now. I don't need it." He said, "No, someone loves YOU and it's for YOU!" I said, "Just open the note and read it to me." He said, "No, you can open it when you get home."

And then he said, "The brownie looks really good though! We'll have to share it." I should have asked him to text a photo of it and then dive right in to eat it. He gets so excited about treats.

No Pics at the Moment but We Have a Happy Life and I Love My Husband

Just wanted to say that life is good. Last night, K had dinner in the oven when I got home from school. We swapped stories of the day and dug into Sunday Pork and Potatoes, the first meal he ever made for me which happened to be in May 2004. We watched a general conference talk for Family Home Evening and talked about being spiritually self reliant and receiving personal revelation. We then folded some laundry together which makes the folding of laundry so much more bearable because our conversations continued and the time flew. I flopped on the bed for awhile to continue reading the latest installment of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. I had him carry a box of books to the kitchen table so I could begin wrapping them to give out to my class on the last day of school. We were watching a PBS program about the drought in California and how water in the western United States is a privilege AND a responsibility and we shouldn't be wasting one single drop--such nerds are we. Then he set some ice cream out to get a little soft and we ate that while watching the 10:00 pm news. I got to bed first and played Sudoku on my Kindle while waiting for him to brush his teeth. It was my turn to pray and I fell asleep TWICE during the prayer; he nudged me both times and somehow I finished. I just wanted to say, this is the good life! All these little things...are us. I am grateful.