It’s Wednesday, so you know what that means.
It’s time for Joyce’s Hodgepodge questions.
If you’re here visiting from her link, I thank you very much! If you found me randomly, I still thank you. 😊
Let’s get to the questions, shall we?
1. What’s something you’re curious about right now?
The first thing that popped into my head when I saw this question is that I’m curious about what damage I’ve done to my right shoulder.
I’m still waiting for my insurance company to approve the MRI my orthopedic surgeon has requested. I know I tore something. I am praying it’s not the rotator cuff and the labrum, as was the case with my left shoulder. All I do know is that I’ve got similar pain but to a lesser degree.
So yeah, that’s a big question that’s still up in the air. I plan on getting surgery immediately to fix whatever it is so my life can return to some semblance of normal where icing my shoulder isn’t a daily occurrence, and PT isn’t a biweekly event.
2. If you could plan the perfect girl’s weekend getaway, where would you go and what would be on the agenda? Do you have anything like this on your calendar in the next few months?
This is the EASIEST question this week because I’ve had this planned this out in my mind for years.
Oh, and by the way, did you know that I’ve never had a girls weekend getaway? Never. I’m old too, but back in the day, the ladies just didn’t do this.
With that said, I’d gather a couple of my best friends . . . Rebecca, you’re one of them . . . and head somewhere quiet like a mountain cabin. The cabin would be stocked with many books, lots of yarn, and a TV for us to watch some of our favorite reality TV shows in between the chapters we’ve read and the rows we’ve knit. We’d have a fire going, warm blankets, lots of yummy snacks, coffee (for the gals who drink it), and tea for me.
My hope is to meet, in real life, a few of the friends I’ve made online . . . maybe when I retire and have more time.
3. What’s the most unique item in your refrigerator right now?
I keep a bottle of ginger-turmeric juice in my fridge.

I make a new batch every couple of weeks and drink 2oz each morning when I get up.
I have a Champion juicer (it’s over 30 years old and still going strong) and juice everything fresh – including the ginger and turmeric. I don’t strain anything because the juicer separates the pulp from the juice.
Here’s my recipe in case you’re interested.

4. In this season of your life, what do you find most challenging?
With two grown children living in different directions from me, I am constantly fighting FOMO. I have been very purposeful about visiting them enough that my grand babies know me, but it’s hard to balance everything – especially while working full time.
I am very thankful that I’m not teaching any more. I never felt like I could get away, and even if I did, that job sucked the life out of me. I had nothing left in the tank when I was “off” of work.
My current job environment is much healthier; the leadership in my office appreciates and encourages work-life balance. There’s never a guilt trip about taking off, and everyone naturally fills in the gap when someone isn’t there.
5. Do you collect anything? If so why that?
Lately, it seems like I’m collecting makeup (take a look at yesterday’s post). 🤣
In all seriousness, though, no, I don’t collect anything.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
I’ve been a little sad since last Friday after finding out that a coworker accepted a job in a different department on campus.
I’m happy for her, don’t get me wrong, but I’m so sad for myself as well as the rest of our office.
She was the first person I met face-to-face when I started working there.
She’s less than a year older than me, we are both grandmothers, and our daughters played a collegiate sport. We have a lot in common.
So I’m being a little selfish and feeling a bit blue about the whole thing.
I guess that says a lot about where I work. It’s very rare when a group of women can perform their jobs without talking about each other behind their backs.
Ugh.
To add to that is the fact that I’ll be the oldest person in the office now. Age has never meant much to me, but y’all, that’s going to be strange too.
I’m not a person who does change well.
I pray that her new job is everything she hopes it will be, and that the students she serves will discover just how amazing of a person I already know she is.
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