Is the internet killing creativity?

I can't count the number of times I have had ideas of things I want to write. When I sit down at the computer, though, the e-mails and Facebook and other interesting distractions keep me from it. By the time I am "ready" (if ever), my thoughts have flown.

Quick personal summary, in case you were wondering:

I took classes last year to get a Certificate of Gerontology, and, hopefully, be more employable. Three classes in the fall, two in the spring plus an internship at the Council on Aging. I really enjoyed it all, in spite of having to read and write a bunch. I was astonished to find the subject matter interesting. There was a lot that I didn't know about aging and I found some of it inspiring and hopeful. Not all of it, though.

You should know, if you don't, that there is a huge change coming to our society. There will be a greater and greater percentage of people over 60, compared to fewer and fewer younger people. This means we should be planning now for what that means. Where will we all live? What will we do with the second half (or third third) of our lives? Who will take care of us when we can't take care of ourselves? How can we make it easier for us to take care of ourselves and each other (since there won't be enough young people to do it)? What about people without kids or other younger relatives? What about people in poverty? OMG, we are so much trouble it is hard to imagine how this will be OK.

I want to help, but I'm not sure where to begin. And, of course, how to get paid for it. After a few hopeful leads, I ended up not having any job prospects at the end of it all. I really thought it would be helpful, but I am now even deeper in debt than I was. There seem to be more jobs out there than a year ago; I think the economy is actually improving. That is the one thing keeping me from deep depression at this point.

To my great joy, Molli moved back to the United States at Christmas time. This is a huge deal and was accomplished without too much trauma. She brought her dog through customs...and her husband in May. The plan was for her (and him) to work and save money before going to law school this fall. Well, it happened sort of like she planned...except the amount of money saved was much less than expected...and the amount of money spent much more.

She scored essays for the university (as Polly and I have done, along with many others), and did well at it. It's not the worst temporary job you can find. It's indoors, sitting down, and uses your brain. She also became a substitute teacher, a very educational experience. Like many things in life, it taught her as much about herself as about teaching. It pays very poorly, but has the advantage that you can work or not work any day you want or need.

The best job she had is one we shared, an unusual situation in this day and age, but one that worked really well for us--except for the making a lot of money part... This is how it happened. Last summer, I volunteered with the Smart Lunch, Smart Kid program. It uses volunteers to provide lunches for children in low-income neighborhoods while school is out during the summer. This year, they asked if I would be willing to coordinate the program in Athens--a paid position starting in mid-March. I was very happy to be asked, but I couldn't legitimately start a full-time job until May, since I had classes and an internship. I also hoped at that point that I would be offered a job at the place I had my internship--which I was, at about that time, although the offer was later withdrawn (Is that even legal?!). When I suggested that Molli and I share the job, however, Action Ministries was more than willing. Looking back, I think they may have known they would actually get two workers for the price of one, but it was a really good plan in a lot of ways.

Molli did most of the work last spring, going to the training in Atlanta and meeting with potential volunteers when I couldn't. I had a lot of experience in working with groups in Athens, though, so I was a good source of advice for her. Once we started delivering lunches (June 3), we both worked 6-8 hours every day--sometimes more than others--but of course we only got paid for 40 hours a week, together. We arranged for 6 delivery points, registered children, recruited volunteers and donors...At the end of the day, we provided 12,000 lunches to about 1000 children over 10 weeks, working with hundreds of volunteers. It was a great experience in so many ways. We met many wonderful people and became close to some of them. When we were in trouble, someone would come through for us. It was awesome! We made a difference in people's lives. And we enjoyed working together, almost always. Sometimes Adrian or Ray would help us, our friend Janna, our exchange student from Germany, Elisa, and her friend from France, Luana...it was a real family affair and that was fun.

Well, that was a few weeks ago. Molli and Adrian moved to Boston Saturday and are starting their new life there. I'm excited for them--and jealous, and I miss them a lot!

So, here I am, another short-term, low-paid job behind me, another year of schooling, and unlimited opportunity. What will I do next? Who knows? Stay tuned.