And your point would be what?

Let's just break it down right now before I take this another further. My work schedule is Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. We are not allowed overtime so why bother. When my shift is done, I leave, because I am being paid to be here at the college from 7:30 till 4:00, nothing earlier, nothing later. So with that being said, yesterday evening around 3:54, I get a call from another office asking if my department head was in. I told the irate, impatient lady that my boss was gone to a meeting.

She inquired as to how long she would be gone. I told her that according to the calendar, it showed my boss at the meeting from 3:30 to 5:00. When I told her that, she then said to me, "Well how long are you gonna be here?" Without hesitation, I told her that I leave at 4:00 o'clock. The lady on the phone then says, "Well, I have an upset parent over here and she needs to talk to your department head." At that point, I replied, "And your point would be what?" The lady on the phone didn't like my answer and so she said, "So if you have an upset parent, you wouldn't stay later to help that person?" I said, "No ma'am. I get off at 4:00 and that she can make an appointment and I'll put it on the boss' calendar." The lady once again said, "But she's upset." I said, "Well she is gonna have to be upset and get over it because I'm leaving and my boss is not here."

I enjoy my job but my job is not my life. People expect you to just drop everything when they want you to without regard to other things in your life. What about my family that is waiting on me to come home to help them with homework or just to tell me about their day? It may sound cruel but work is work and when it's time to go, it's time to go.  I've got other things to do and as for the lady who was upset, well looks like life didn't stop because of her not getting her way. My phrase is put your big girl draws, thongs, hipsters  panties on and deal with it.

Lovingly yours,

This is unbelievable

A student came to my office door and stood in the hallway and peeped inside and said, "Excuse me ma'am, I'm looking for Barbara." I smiled at the lady and told her that I was who she was looking for. She was in a frantic mode saying that her instructor is not the right instructor and that she was in the wrong class. I calmed the lady down and told her that it was ok and that we were going to get her to where she was suppose to be. I had another student in my office so I told the lady that I would let my department head speak with her and while the lady waited, I glanced over and told her that the bag she was carrying was a nice one.

When my department head became available, I sent the lady in to get her schedule worked out. When she was done, she came out and thanked me for being so kind to her because everyone else had been giving her the run around. I told the lady it was no problem and she said that she would never forget me.

About ten minutes later, the lady came back and handed me the bag that I thought was so nice. I wanted to tell her that she didn't have to do that, but before I could even get the words out of my mouth, she said, "When people do something nice to you, then you do something nice for them." I was just being me and nothing else. She handed me the bag and I graciously said, "Thank you."

Lovingly yours,

Pointing the finger

I'm sure we have heard this phrase alot, "If that had've been me, I would have....." or " You let that happen to me and see what I do." Well we don't know what we would actually do until stuff happens. We want to sound all big and bad and talk junk but then life happens and you find yourself doing the very thing you said you would not do. Let's just say you found out that your best friends spouse has been gambling away their money and now they are in major debt and the first thing you want to say is, "Girrrrrrrrl, if that had've been my husband, I would have done....." No you not gonna do anything except probably fall to the floor, scream your lungs out and say, "Lord, why me?"

Life is just that...it's life. There is nothing new that is happening today that didn't happen when Moses and Jesus walked the earth. People today try to be just a bit more sneakier with it. Besides, who cares who is doing what with whom for how long and what for? I don't care. I probably would care if it was going to change the way I got into Heaven, change the way I got paid for the better or something like that.

We are all sinners and we've all come short of the glory of God and we ain't perfect and we all have to remember that we have one judge and one jury. Say it aloud with me, "ONE JUDGE, ONE JURY." It shouldn't matter what someone has done or said or didn't do or say, God has the final word and that is all I have to say on that note.

Lovingly yours,

A right to write

I have always enjoyed writing. I've had a passion to do it every since I first put pen to paper. I remember when I was in grade school that I would practice my penmanship so that my handwriting wasn't too messy at all. Is that the makings of a semi-nerd or what! Whenever my dad would tell us girls to go to bed, I would always go in the bathroom, close the door and sit on the floor next to the tub and start writing. I wrote about this or that or even nothing at all. I just wrote because I enjoyed doing it.

Over the years, I've written poems and stories, some that I've made up, some were realistic and I guess after moving from here to there, things got lost in the rubble. I've always wanted to write a book but between work and school and then a life, I'm making the excuse that I don't have time to do it. I'm sure I can make time but when? Has anyone gone back to school while working a full time job and still being a wife and a mother? Holy Cow!! Well in light of what I like to do, I don't know why I'm not getting a degree in what I enjoy...ah ha, I know why. The degree I am seeking does not require me to take any more math. Yippee!!

So here is a of something I wrote back in 2008. Let me know what you all think.

I see black stars surrounded by black holes envisioning me to move closer. I hesitate cautiously. Could this be a dream? I give in, but yet so slowly. The stars encircle me and pull me into one hole at a time. I ponder the thoughts of my inner being and ask myself, "Just what is going on!" But wait, I am at a stand still because there is another star that is left behind, one that is drowning from the fall. I can't just let that one star drift away without me trying to help it. It even has a brighter glow of all the other stars put together. I am still being pulled into yet another hole, the forcefield is so strong. I like the strength of all these black stars. Their strongness, their boldness - but I also like the brightness of this lone star. Its strength you can not see, because it is hidden within. A black star? Hmmm...no light will come of it, maybe a single flame or even a spark. Give me the star so bright and I will hold it close so the world can see. Even though it shines, it has been through some things....things that are too much to share, things that makes me sit back in the rocking chair at Grandma Lena's country house and ponder, "Just what are these stars to me!" ~written by: Barbara Rene Wells-Bedenfield~

Lovingly yours,

Nickel and Diming it

Our 17 year old daughter decided that she wanted to save our spare change over the summer and then see how much money she had in about two months with just nothing but spare change. Well, I was doing the same thing with my spare change except that I just drop mine into a jug and don't even think of counting it just yet. So, hubby told our daughter that whatever spare change he gets, that he will just pass it on to her.

When our 17 year old came to me about a week and a half ago, she asked me how much spare change did I think she had. I told her that I didn't know and that I would guess she had about 20.00. She said that she thinks she had about 30.00. She poured all the change out on the floor and I told her to put it all in stacks of one dollar increments and then we would count it like that. I helped her sort coins and put them in the stacks. When all the sorting had been done, we then counted the stacks. She had a total of 52.50 in change. I asked hubby if he had two more quarters on him to help make her have 53.00 and sure enough he did. She beamed with joy.

She asked me if I would help her roll the coins in wrappers, which was a job all by it self, so I did. She then asked if I would take the coins to the bank and bring her "real dollars" back and I did that too. She put all the wrapped coins in a small purse and I lugged that purse to the bank and it was heavy too. The bank teller handed me the cash for the coins and I stuck it back in her small purse and then when I got home, I handed our daughter the purse back and told her that her money was inside. She was so proud of that 53.00 dollars that she said that she is going to start saving change and not count it for a whole year. I wonder how much I got in my jug. Hmmmm!!!

Lovingly yours,

On the road again

I decided that I wanted to go and see my parents in MS at the spur of the moment. I called mom to see if they would be going anywhere and she said no. Since the drive was only an hour and a half away, I knew it wouldn't take long to get there. I mentioned to hubby that we were about to go and see mom and he said that he was gonna stay home and do laundry and stuff. I said ok and then the kids proceeded to grab a change of clothing and then we were on our way. When I got to MS, I called hubby just to let him know that we had made it. He said that was fine and to call him later on that night before I go to bed.

When night time came and everyone had settled, I called hubby and told him that mom and dad were glad we were there and wanted to know how come he didn't make the ride over for just one night. I was in a good mood until hubby gave the answer that he did. He said, "you act like you didn't want me to come." I was like, "what?" I didn't want him to come? What kind of tomfoolery is that? I almost didn't respond. I said, "how come I acted like I didn't want you to come?" He said, "You didn't ask me if I wanted to go." I paused because I'm thinking if I've told you that I'm going over to see my mother, you can say that you were going to. You mean to tell me that I have to ask a grown man if he wants to go with me? Huh???

He asked, "Are you still there?" I said I was still there but he confused me saying I didn't ask him to go. So I asked hubby on the phone, "So you really wanted to come but then said you weren't coming because of things you had to do?" I told him he sounded like a child and that I wasn't going to sit and talk on the phone about this non-sense and that I would see him on the next day when I got home. He said he didn't mean to upset me. I told him it was too late for that already. We said good night to each other and then got off the phone.

After I got off the phone, I still kept thinking about that. I said to myself that whenever he goes to the grocery store, how come he don't have to ask me if I want to go, heck if I want to go, I just grab my purse and say that I am going to. If he don't want me to go, then just say he don't want me to go with him. Maybe I see things differently, but asking him if he wanted to go just didn't make no sense at all to me.

Lovingly yours,

My living is not in vain

I left stopped off at the grocery store early this morning so I could buy me something for lunch. The only store that was open at 6 something in the morning was Wal-Mart and so when I went inside, I looked at my watch and had about fifteen minutes to waste before I went to work, which was just up the road. So I walked around trying to find something I could throw in the microwave because I knew I wouldn't be taking a lunch today because of all the work I needed to get done. As I walked towards the freezer section, I saw some pizzas that were usually four dollars or more were on sale for 1.98. Hmmmm, I think I should get the kids a few of them but since I was on my way to work, there wasn't anywhere to keep pizzas until I got off work.

When I got off work, I decided to swing back by there just to see if there were a few pizzas left at that price to pick up. Sure enough, there were tons of pizza and I got a few of them and then thought that we needed bread, so I picked that up too. While I was walking down the aisle where the bread was, an elderly gray-haired white lady in one of those wheelchair scooters from the store rolled up near me and said, "Excuse me, can you tell me where the frozen dumplings are." I said, "Well, I think they are over on the next aisle" and I pointed over to the freezer section where I thought they were. She rolled on over to the other side and I was leaving the bread aisle about to go and check out. As I walked passed the freezer section, I saw the elderly lady still rolling and glancing in the glass doors of the freezer section.

I backed up and turned around and went to her and said, "Looks like you haven't found them yet." She said, "No, I haven't found them yet." I looked into this elderly lady eyes and all I could see was if that was my mother and needed help. I said, "Well let me look for them for you." I told her that she didn't have to move and that I would find the dumplings for her. I also told her that I'm guessing I would find them either by the pie crusts or the biscuits. As I was looking down by the pie crust, the elderly lady was parked (no pun intended) by the biscuits and she said, "Ma'am, I think I see them." Oh cute it was someone who could have probably passed as my great-grandmother calling me ma'am. So I walked on down and sure enough I found the frozen dumplings that was located on the very top shelf and I opened the glass door, reached up and got a pack down for the elderly lady. I asked if she needed more than one and she said that one was fine. She thanked me and we both went on our way. That was a good feeling.

Lovingly yours,

Then there were two

Yesterday, it was mine and hubby's anniversary but we didn't do anything special because every day is a special day that is filled with blessings and joy. We didn't go all out because every day is a day we go all out with waking up and thanking the Lord to be able to be alive. We woke up, said Happy Anniversary to each other and got ready for church. I did get him a card and he got me some Beyonce' perfume, even though we had agreed not to get each other anything, mainly because I am content with what I already have and I couldn't think of one single thing that I wanted nor needed.

The kids wanted to know if we were going out to dinner and celebrate. It was just so hot outside that after church, all I wanted to do was sit around and do nothing. I've been so busy with school that not to have any homework felt like a blessing and a reason to celebrate right there. Hubby can always take me out anytime he wants but the night before, he grilled a beautiful, delicious steak on the grill and boy oh boy, was it delicious or what! I was just happy for that because I wouldn't have been outside cooking nothing on nobody's grill.  We didn't make a big fuss over our anniversary, it was just merely another year being married to me, it was just adding on to the constant nags and annoyances that married couples go through. Ok, if somebody says their spouse don't get on their nerves, well good for you. Mine do get on my nerves occasionally, but it's not all the time though. I'm sure I get on his as well, he's just not bold enough to admit I do or he may think I will get mad if he says it.  I won't.

I've learned to know what battles to pick and sometimes when he gets in his mood, and I know I'm not in the same mood as he,  I'll just sit there like I'm slow and I won't say a word. He'll eventually catch the hint and then go on about his business. Marriage can be trying, it can be joyful, hopeful, boring, lively, disappointing, it is what you put into it. Hubby once asked me if I would like to mentor to someone about marriage. My truthful answer was, "No, I do not." He said he was curious as to why not. Again, my truthful answer was this, "People think weddings make a marriage and it don't. Marriage is work, and it's not temporary work where you go in today and then decide you not going in tomorrow, then go in on the 3rd day." People want to hear what they want to hear and if I can't give it to them straight, I'd rather not give it to them at all.

Lovingly yours,