Whistle While You Work

It has come to my attention that I have been tossing you guys chocolate morsels so to speak. "And to everyone... Dark Dove chocolates" (that's me pretending I am a queen and making an announcement as cannons shoot off  candies and confetti to you all). But who can live off delightful treats alone. Every once in a while, a girl (or fella) just needs a little meat and potatoes. So, it is at this time that I fill you in on the large portions of time spent out here.

As many of you know, I am working at a local elementary school here in the city of Redlands. This district is particularly hard to get into but with the help of some friends and the Lord's mighty provision, I was able to sneak in as a sub. I was not six jobs into subbing before I landed a part time (aka consistent) gig! This job began in January and consisted of the most fabulous schedule! I worked from 8 until 12:20 everyday. Just enough to rake in a few bucks while still allowing for ample wiggle room to cook, clean, visit with friends, grocery shop, do crafts, make things, run to jo-anns, glue my fingers together, make more things, and sneak in a soccer game or two. Oh, it has been an incredible blessing!

Real talk, at first I was a bit nervous because it was a public school and my experience with public school is more minimal than the rain California accumulates in a year. But, it was the door the Lord opened and I am not foolish enough to pass that up. One down fall with this type of job is that you do not interact with your coworkers much. They mostly congregate around the water cooler at lunch but just before that time, I am clocking out for the day. However, with the Lords goodness, I found I was getting to know them through random crossing of paths here and there and before you knew it, we were swapping digits! (in the voice of the minions) "WHHAAAAAAATTTTTT?" And just like that I was in. The teaching team I worked with at the school was so incredibly supportive, there was no choice for me but to succeed. Oh the Lord is so good.

But when the year came to a close, that particular job did as well. I had a ton of support as fellow coworkers kept asking me if I had landed a job or not. Now, in hindsight, I see that I was not setting myself up for an idea situation as we were headed out of the country at the beginning of summer and not returning back to Redlands but 6 weeks following. This would make for communication to be a bit more difficult. However, I felt fairly certain that if that job opened up at the school again, I was first in line. Unfortunately, August came and it didn't. That particular job was no longer an assigned position. The Lord goes before us though and on the first day of school, I got a call asking if I could be a long term sub. This is an EXTREMELY long story short (full of inconsistencies such as the district saying I am unqualified to teach but qualified enough to train the new teacher... yada yada yada) but, it is roughly 30 days into the new school year and day number one is the only day I've had without a job! The principal at the first school helped me find another long term sub job until Christmas and returning from Christmas, I have a job from January to April!! I mean, holy smokes... as He provides, He does not withhold!! Zach and I have been immensely blessed!



With all of that being said, Zach and I are in awe of the Lord's goodness and not so much California's education system. Each week I come home with stories that only provoke Zach's previous thought of, we may end up homeschooling our kids. So, with that being said: Bring on the jean jumpers. I'll go get my themed sweaters right away!

3 simple words

Life is super crazy_______. Always, I think, is the appropriate ending to that sentence, but I also have a history of welcoming crazy any chance I get, so I can't be entirely certain that that's true for everyone. So, instead, I will choose "over here." Life is super crazy over here. Sometimes it's like I'm Dorothy, picked up in the tornado, and spinning around watching all of these key elements fly by and then shocked at the end of the day when I close my eyes for some rest, because I made it through and all bits were accounted for. Even though I'm living it, it still surprises me. Between the rotating jobs, the different schools, different schedules, different coworkers, different principals, rules, policies, classrooms, and students... between the worries of starting a new year for Zach, adjusting to new schedules, new routines, new norms of late night studying, saying goodbye to friends graduating, welcoming new ones, coaching a soccer team, tutoring regularly, catching up on our bible study, trying to figure out what it is for dinner.... it's constant motion. And then I see I have a new message on my phone:

And my world stops. The tornado has vanished and I am left to hear only my heart beat. Like that of the ticking of the clock: reminding me that time is valuable. Three words strung together and oozing of innocence, telling me a simple truth that she knows. "She belongs here".

Wow.

But just as pain aching as it truly is, as much as it grips my heart and whispers a nearly silent song of deep homesickness, it also meets me at a place of peaceful bliss. Because it is this that proves that our families love cannot be extinguished by any amount of distance. For this be but a season, but no matter how long I'm, we're, gone away from her, I know I have a load of blonde haired love waiting for me when I come home. And perhaps even more important than that, she has a load of curly messy haired love coming back to her. Always. In heaps unmeasurable. She too will step out one day and meet the world of chaos and noise but for now, in her innocence, she has built a strong foundation of love.

My heart tightens knowing I can't explain to her why it is that I must be gone for right now, but I take delight in knowing that she already understands my heart. Some day I will be able to explain what Alan Alda says "You have to leave your city of comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition" was true for me when I told my Love that wherever he took me, I would gladly follow. I know she'll understand. She is my silly, wild, fun loving hooligan who, while making it terribly hard to be far away, somehow helps in keeping me going.

I praise my God for blessing me with grace in abundance as He has helped me every step of the way. He has turned this adventure into something of much beauty. I also praise God for their drawings in the mail,  photos of sweet smiles decorating the walls, and text from my sister like this:

Fiona told me when I have aboy I should name him Bryce. Or Benjamin or Charlie. Remy said, yea or Hurrican or Jenny or Mice.

because they sure make this vast separation a bit more small!