New Chapter! (Plus a bonus)
If there's one thing that has been constant in my life in the last 5 years, it's change. We've moved four out of the last five summers. Nick has changed jobs twice (technically three times), and the loss of loved ones have left our lives forever changed.
Let me go into a little more detail. I babysat several children and homeschooled ours for years, 9 to be exact. Then I quit babysitting and signed us up for a homeschool co-op (an hour away), Trail Life, and American Heritage Girls. On top of that I figured it would be a good idea to throw in a few new curriculums while also working on implementing new programs and events at church...while living in a travel trailer. THAT was last year.
Because of all the extra activities I heaped on our plates, Seth managed to slide through Kindergarten without learning to read, and Lorelai only got through half of seventh grade. Toby somehow managed to complete all but one of his ten 3rd grade booklets, but that is still a mystery to me. We were all alive though, so that's a huge accomplishment! We may not have accomplished much in the way of school, but we did get to spend a lot of quality time together as a family that we didn't have during the four years before when Nick was teaching and coaching. That was a priceless.
At the end of the school year, Nick got a text about a job opening at Cameron. It wasn't just any job opening, it was the chance of a lifetime for him. They were hiring a new head boys basketball coach. He had been offered that position after one year at Cameron, but his first year was terrible. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It just was. Yes, he was privileged to be a part of a State Championship Football team, and just having a job is a blessing in itself. We just never saw him. He worked SO many hours and when he was at home he was grading papers or answering emails or planning a practice. You get the picture. Not knowing if the next year would be equally as terrible, he couldn't accept any more responsibility. We prayed about the opportunity and decided that he go for it. Long story short, he got the job and his workload is not as heavy as before so we're very thankful and looking forward to seeing what his team can do this Basketball season.
Back to homeschooling...this summer, I was determined to catch up on school. I guess I forgot that summers are busy too, and that didn't happen. Then, at the end of July I got an unexpected text from a friend about a job opening at the private school her boys go to and she also works at. We had already quit Trail Life and American Heritage Girls, and I had just decided not to attend co-op in the fall. We had a good rhythm going at church. We were commitment free, and I was prepared to hunker down and focus on homeschooling. I was prepared to, but I wasn't excited about it. I wasn't excited because it's extremely hard. Between the three different grade levels, different learning styles, relationship dynamics, criticism and questioning (and I'm not from the children), cooking, cleaning, self-doubt, and "adulting" it's just flat hard. Is it worth it? Absolutely, IF that is your calling or season. We made a lot of good memories and learned many life lessons that have bound us together as a family. I am so thankful for the time we had at home.
I said "had" because I applied for and got the job my friend told me about. I'm a PE Teacher now! It's almost Thanksgiving, so I've been a teacher for a couple of months now actually. We all survived the transition and are, mostly, enjoying the new routine. We just all wish school started at least an hour later, especially since we live thirty minutes away from the school. We struggled a little bit with where to place Lorelai and Seth, but ended up keeping them in their grade level. It has proven to be great decisions in both cases.
You may be wondering if this new chapter is easier since homeschooling was so hard. I can assure you that it is so much the opposite of easy. You thought I was going to say it was easy, didn't you? It's still exhausting and hard but in a different way. I am still stretched. I still get stressed out. The difference is that some of the burden has been lifted off of my shoulders and onto the shoulders of several different, very capable, teachers. Praise Jesus!
I love teaching PE. I love this school. I love the people I work with. I love the kids. I'm so happy with where we are right now. God knew what I needed and He sent it at just the right time. For all those reasons, and then some, I am very thankful for this new chapter and all it's new challenges and blessings.
Everything to this point was a saved draft that I had been working on for the last couple of weeks when I had a spare minute. I could have stopped right there and published it, but I didn't. Then, we got the news of another change. Most of you already know the news and were probably as shocked as I was. Actually, you probably weren't because I'm still in shock. We're having another baby!! I'm about 6 weeks along so the baby is due in July. We're. having. another. baby. Wow!
Let me go into a little more detail. I babysat several children and homeschooled ours for years, 9 to be exact. Then I quit babysitting and signed us up for a homeschool co-op (an hour away), Trail Life, and American Heritage Girls. On top of that I figured it would be a good idea to throw in a few new curriculums while also working on implementing new programs and events at church...while living in a travel trailer. THAT was last year.
Because of all the extra activities I heaped on our plates, Seth managed to slide through Kindergarten without learning to read, and Lorelai only got through half of seventh grade. Toby somehow managed to complete all but one of his ten 3rd grade booklets, but that is still a mystery to me. We were all alive though, so that's a huge accomplishment! We may not have accomplished much in the way of school, but we did get to spend a lot of quality time together as a family that we didn't have during the four years before when Nick was teaching and coaching. That was a priceless.
At the end of the school year, Nick got a text about a job opening at Cameron. It wasn't just any job opening, it was the chance of a lifetime for him. They were hiring a new head boys basketball coach. He had been offered that position after one year at Cameron, but his first year was terrible. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It just was. Yes, he was privileged to be a part of a State Championship Football team, and just having a job is a blessing in itself. We just never saw him. He worked SO many hours and when he was at home he was grading papers or answering emails or planning a practice. You get the picture. Not knowing if the next year would be equally as terrible, he couldn't accept any more responsibility. We prayed about the opportunity and decided that he go for it. Long story short, he got the job and his workload is not as heavy as before so we're very thankful and looking forward to seeing what his team can do this Basketball season.
Back to homeschooling...this summer, I was determined to catch up on school. I guess I forgot that summers are busy too, and that didn't happen. Then, at the end of July I got an unexpected text from a friend about a job opening at the private school her boys go to and she also works at. We had already quit Trail Life and American Heritage Girls, and I had just decided not to attend co-op in the fall. We had a good rhythm going at church. We were commitment free, and I was prepared to hunker down and focus on homeschooling. I was prepared to, but I wasn't excited about it. I wasn't excited because it's extremely hard. Between the three different grade levels, different learning styles, relationship dynamics, criticism and questioning (and I'm not from the children), cooking, cleaning, self-doubt, and "adulting" it's just flat hard. Is it worth it? Absolutely, IF that is your calling or season. We made a lot of good memories and learned many life lessons that have bound us together as a family. I am so thankful for the time we had at home.
I said "had" because I applied for and got the job my friend told me about. I'm a PE Teacher now! It's almost Thanksgiving, so I've been a teacher for a couple of months now actually. We all survived the transition and are, mostly, enjoying the new routine. We just all wish school started at least an hour later, especially since we live thirty minutes away from the school. We struggled a little bit with where to place Lorelai and Seth, but ended up keeping them in their grade level. It has proven to be great decisions in both cases.
You may be wondering if this new chapter is easier since homeschooling was so hard. I can assure you that it is so much the opposite of easy. You thought I was going to say it was easy, didn't you? It's still exhausting and hard but in a different way. I am still stretched. I still get stressed out. The difference is that some of the burden has been lifted off of my shoulders and onto the shoulders of several different, very capable, teachers. Praise Jesus!
I love teaching PE. I love this school. I love the people I work with. I love the kids. I'm so happy with where we are right now. God knew what I needed and He sent it at just the right time. For all those reasons, and then some, I am very thankful for this new chapter and all it's new challenges and blessings.
The End...or so I thought.
Comments
Post a Comment