Well, the ‘holidays’ are fast approaching and we are already in the second week of Advent! How time flies! Linda and I are struggling to get all the lights up and, probably more than usual, worrying about what is going to go under the tree. Right now, it looks more like carpet than anything else. We are nearing the end of a tough year, the employment situation is not just a statistic here, it is the reality of day to day existence. Though I have been working as a driving instructor, that was only a part time job from the beginning to offset the difference between a teacher’s salary and where the bills end. For a bit more than a year, it has been the only salary and the distance between the bills and salary has been further and further. I have had a great empathy for those that have been looking for work, even when I have worked 7 days a week, it still is not enough. I have considered other part time work, but that has offered less than what I am making now, making it a lose-lose situation (give up hours in one part time job which pays more to take hours in another job to get less? Hmmm, what’s wrong with that picture?)

Anyway, Linda and I have our health, our family, and Faith. We pray that we will see the other side soon and can relate to those that fear the new year. I hope and pray that the new year will be a new beginning. I pray for those that have not offered me, and others of my age, a job because they see the gray hair and think we are “too old” or “we can’t afford someone with your experience”.