Here we are enjoying the last day of January 2021

 TERRY

I would say Terry is the same.  She has spent some time on the couch talking to Travis but for the most part since Saturday she has been in bed allowing Travis and I to visit.  As I write it is 8:00 AM and she is reading the paper in bed with the TV on.  This week may be the last of the water therapy before she gets evaluated again OR she may have two more weeks left.

Travis arrived Friday around noon.  He drove NONSTOP from St. Paul MN starting about 10:00 AM our time and arrived about 26 hours later.  Needless to say we visited a few hours but he went to bed early!  Travis and I had lunch at the Fish House yesterday as Terry preferred to stay home.  I put meat on the grill and potatoes in the oven for dinner and that was it.  Travis retired pretty early and Terry and I did as well.  I probably should say I kind of retired early as usually Terry will stay awake and wake TV for a time before she gets tired.

Not much to say today.  Travis is watching the weather as he thinks he may head out Tuesday for home again.  I would prefer if he would NOT drive straight through BUT he is kind of a big boy and can make his own decisions!  I say "big boy" and then remember my kids are getting to be middle age adults as the boys are 51,49 and 47 with Cynthia the baby at 40!!!

We got a laugh at a video that Travis had on his phone of Henry.  Travis has this vest where your can put weights in maybe up to 40+ pounds if you want.  Well I guess Henry now has one with 40 pounds.  He sent a video of himself doing 6 pull ups with the 40 pound vest on.  Oh my I think IF he does that on a regular bases he may become super strong!  

No tennis for me yesterday and today and the time off is good.  I will play tomorrow as Karl has these two courts and then we switch after 45 minutes.  There are some good players so that is fun.

Travis and I may go out for lunch again but then maybe we will order a pizza from a place called "Crust". They have the best pizza that I have ever had.  If we do that we will order and just pick it up for home.  NO reason to sit in a restaurant with the possibility of that darn covid in the air.

Well Terry is busy with the paper and I have not heard Travis yet this morning so I may must wander down memory lane today for a short visit.

We live in a different age today from times in the past

Some things in my life that would not BE today

• Our Millennial population which the computer says are people ages 18-36 are so different today.  The average person in that age group has had 4 or more jobs.  That comes down to job stay of 4.5 years.  Now for my job stay!!!  I taught at the North Dakota School for the Deaf for 8 years and then headed to St. Paul.  There I taught for 30 years and retired.  IF you want to throw another job in you can look at the paper route which I really do NOT want to look at BUT.  We started the route in the spring of 1978 and retired in the summer of 2007.  IF my math is correct that is 29 years!!!  Yikes. I guess that sets us apart form the Millennial generation "for sure".
• I do not know how many job interviews one goes through today but I never had a job interview in my life.  
• I was called into Mr. Hayek's office in the spring of 1969 and offered a job in the elementary grades at the school.  To sweeten the offer he said IF I would help with the football and basketball teams he could offer me a salary of $6,000.  I thought I had it made!  He failed to mention that with the teams there would be a need for a bus driver!!!  The Highway Partrol came onto campus and had me drive the OLD bus around the grounds for about 5 minutes and then gave me my bus driver's license.  Maybe I impressed him with my farmhand driving skills!  
• Then in the late summer of 1977 I got a call from a friend in St. Paul.  He said the Director of Special Education wanted to get ahold of me and offer me a job in St. Paul.  NO interview just a phone call to talk salary and a date to start.  I should add that by that time, 1977, I was the Director of Education at the school and earning a whopping salary of $18,000.  I agreed to start in St. Paul and there was NO wiggly room in salary as they had a salary scale with years and degrees so they just fit you in.  I believe I started that fall in mid October earning a salary of $16,000.  I might add that with a salary of $2,000 less we doubled our house payment and tripled our education expenses for the kids!  That could be several YIKES.
• Well then there is the case of heading Servant Camp.  It started out as just a volunteer but sometime in the early 80s I said I had to get some salary as I needed summer work to pay the bills.  If I can remember correctly I stepped down from heading Servant Camp after 28 years or so!  

I am sure there are many more examples of what life was like back then and what it is like now.  AND I should add that there still are people today who stay on the job a LONG time but when one looks at the average person job hopping is way way more common today than back then.  I could add that so many jobs also require more education today than then.  A friend, Ernie, worked for 3M for many years as a product development person.  I think he had a BA degree but when he retired in early 2000 his replacement had to have a Dr. degree.  

So times change, people change and the world does not stop!  Here it is 8:50 and Terry is still reading the huge Sunday paper, Travis still has not opened his bedroom door and my FP is about gone so will sign off.