So this is 2014

So the holidays are over and we plunge (and I'm not talking about the Northerners' awful temperatures coming in the next few days) into 2014.

I already know that a major transition is going to take place in May, when my son graduates from high school.  Exactly how we'll pursue his future education is up for grabs.  He's pulled in two directions -- one in which he could attend trade school, the other in which he'd attend a four-year college.  He is going to graduate with several credits thanks to our school system's dual-credit courses, and that will be a help, especially if he goes the four-year route.  But now we have to begin applying for financial aid in earnest, and I now understand the trepidation with which many parents undertake this.  This will undoubtedly be one of the adventures of the year.

Another adventure will be where I might go in this year.  I am torn also -- between my beloved Dark Shadows, which has its annual Festival the last weekend of June, and the Talent America national contest in Manhattan two weeks later.  I qualified for Talent America last year, but the finals came up too soon for me to raise the significant money it would have taken me to go.  The last national-level contest I sang in was the Karaoke World Championships-USA in 2009.  I want to do one more before I quit the competitive-singing thing.  On the other hand, I love getting together with my fellow DS fans; some of the best moments of my entire life have happened at Dark Shadows Festivals.  But, like I say, they're two weeks apart.  Unless I can figure out a way to stay back east for two weeks, I will have to choose one or the other and soon.

There's the continuing adventure of my husband's job at the post office.  We never know when they'll change rules any more, so that's more or less a roll with it type thing.  In a small town, it is one of the few truly secure jobs.  Even at just 30 hours a week, it provides a decent, steady life for us.

So this is life as I go into the new year.  Just the every day stuff.  Maybe I'll attack the "big picture" in another post, but trust me, that IS for another post.  Bye for now.

It's been a while since I've attempted to blog.  There ain't no telling what might wind up here.  It could be anything.  I have lots of things I'm interested in, and at my age, why not write about them all?  So here we go, going into 2014 with an opportunity to make my voice heard in a different way.