Thank you for your prayers and suggestions!  I really appreciate your help.  I hope to begin next week and look forward to learning along with my kids. 

Today, I was going through a box in my office when I came across something that I had totally forgotten about.  Back before I had kids, I became involved with a monthly women's group, called "Christian Women's Club".  It's an organization that meets around the world but our local group was closed back in 1998, a few months after I had my second child (no, it wasn't his fault!)  At these monthly meetings, open to women of all ages, we met at a local restaurant for a fun presentation (like a fashion show) and heard a speaker who shared the gospel in an informal way.  It was fun but it was a lot of work every month, especially when I became the chairwoman for a few years.  This meant I had to write, basically, a running commentary to open the meeting, introduce people and keep things moving.  There were guidelines given but I had a lot of room for creativity and I look back now and realize that the writing was the part I enjoyed the most. 

Speaking to a room of people is hit or miss for me - I'm either really comfortable or am a nervous wreck.  If I can make people laugh with me (not at me, hopefully) it helps me relax.  Of course, if no one laughs when I expect it, that's when the nerves kick in.  And believe me, both of these scenarios have happened, time and again.  Case in point ...

One of the things I had to do at the beginning of the meeting, was to inform people that while we wanted everyone to enjoy themselves, there were four things we wished them to avoid discussing (according to National Christian Women's Club guidelines).  These things were:  Age, weight, politics and religion (we were non-demoninational).  I remember that I got into the habit of making silly rhymes each month to get this point across.  I know I saw some eye-rolling at times but once I heard someone say to another that I was "so funny" and boy, was that a pat on the back!  I know that I had at least one appreciative soul!  It was tough, coming up with a script every month but I learned so much.  And everything you do helps you later in life, whether it is in writing or something else.  It's called learning.  I'm so smart.

Anyway, I came across a script that I wrote for some meeting on March 2 (funny, that's just a few days away) but this was in 1993, 2 years before Chad was born.  I thought I'd write here just the little poem I wrote about the 4 things not to discuss.  Our special feature that month was a lady who was showing us her collection of Victorian and antique lace, which explains the first line.  Here goes ...

You may talk about lace, but not the age of your face,

     Discuss the project you are doing, but mention weight, and we'll be booing,

Chat about Astoria, but no politics, they'll bore ya,

     Of your church, please do not mention, but do relax and enjoy our luncheon.

Ah, yes - I can see you rolling your eyes through the computer!  I'd like to hope I've grown in my writing ability since then.  But I think I'll keep this, just to look back on and laugh.  Or not. 

How about you?  How do you feel when you come across something you wrote years ago.  Do you cringe and think, "Why did I write this?" or what?  Have you seen yourself grow over the years in the form of items you have written?  Tell me about it.