May 2013

This month I have been living out of a suitcase pretty regularly.  I've moved out and back in with families, and am temporarily staying with another one.  I've had interviews and offers.  I've had tears of homesickness and happiness.  This month has really been a roller coaster of a ride!

Low:

• I got really homesick by the end of student teaching.  It was rough for a couple of weeks.
• I did move out of the Abrahamson's house, but I did move back into my own...well, sort of.
• My mentor teacher had surgery which requires her to be gone for the rest of the year.

High:

• I got to go home!  Ruby missed me a little bit!  :)

• Whit and I went shopping for a bridesmaid's dress again.  This time, I really have it on the way.
• We had a garage sale where we both got rid of a bunch of junk we didn't need.  :)
• I sat at my sewing machine.  I baked cookies and bread.  I got a lot accomplished!

• Because of my teacher being gone for the rest of the year, they wanted to hire a long-term sub.  Who better than the one who just spent the last 8 weeks with them?  Of course I didn't turn this opportunity down!  After commuting the first couple of days, I loaded up a week's worth of stuff to move into my teacher's house.  I've now made a couple of furry friends.  Kitty and Winston are most hospitable!

• I got to see my dear friend, Tums, graduate!  So proud of that girl!

• Dustin and I had a wonderful Strawberry Point date in between commencement and the party.  Such a beautiful afternoon!  :)

• I GOT A JOB!!!  I'm so excited and looking forward to it all!  I've been very welcomed by a couple of people via e-mail and offers to help with the apartment search to make sure I'm in a safe place.  I'm excited to see what opportunities will arise from this classroom and city.

I could tell story after story of all the crazy things that have happened to me over the past month.  God has continued to answer prayers I haven't prayed since January that focused on student teaching.  Just because we stop praying about a certain topic, doesn't mean God stops answering.  He is always faithful.  This month is living proof of that.  Here's to June and all the crazy adventures it's sure to bring!  :)

I Accept

Last Tuesday I had 2 interviews.  One of the interviews was at the building where Dustin works.  As much as I love him, I don't want to work at the same building.  We've talked about it.  We talked about both sides of that opportunity, should it arise.  At the same time, he's waiting to hear back about climbing the ladder.

I went to my first one.  I don't feel comfortable disclosing the names of the school just for confidentiality reasons, but my Facebook friends know.  I got lost.  I had to turn around and ask for directions from a guy at Pizza Ranch.  The school is a little large and a little like a maze.  When the secretary told me I could sit, I turned and there was only a little person chair.  I asked if there was a bigger one and by the time I got back from the bathroom I had one there.  My nervousness was beginning to grow.  I was greeted by the principal and welcomed by the teacher who I would be co-teaching with if I got the job.

We sat down for the interview and I couldn't shut up.  They asked me about my past experiences and of course I talked in great details about them all and talked highly of so many of my students.  Naturally, I grinned and giggled like anyone who knows me knows I do.  I was given a tour and some good news to end the interview.  Because this job hadn't been posted and I had been contacted because of other interest in the district, there were very few if any other interviews to conduct.  I would be notified by the end of the week.  At this point, I was in love with the school and the prospect of this job.  The room is kind of a younger version of where I'm at now.

On to the next interview.  This one was a little weird for me because I knew the people conducting my interview.  They had to handle some of my discipline problems when I did all I could and had to continue teaching.  I laughed at some of the questions just because I knew they knew somewhat of what my answer would be before I spoke a word.  They told me the same thing.  I would hopefully know by the end of the week.

Prayer, prayer, prayer.

Thursday was the day.  I had just gotten home and picked up the phone saying 'Unavailable.'  The principal from the first school called me offering me the job!  I took it right away!  I started jumping up and down excitedly and all but bouncing off the wall!  She gave me detail after detail and soon, she was offering to help in the apartment search just to make sure her new employee was in a safe part of town.

I called Dustin, he called Grandma Schuett and his parents.  They called everyone else and I was getting calls back of congratulations.  I called Whit and told my parents.  Excitement was buzzing through the phone lines that night.

Friday, the principal at the other school started asking Dustin if I'd accepted the job at the first school.  He called him twice on Friday night and again on Monday.  Ya know, sometimes, it's just nice to be wanted.  This morning, I got the call from him asking if I took another offer.  I had to tell him yes.  I think he was a little disappointed he didn't get to me first, but I don't think I'll be disappointed with where I'll be at!

This weekend, Dustin took me to some graduation parties in his area.  When introducing me, he said my name closely followed by my new employment.  I think he's just a little excited for me!  :)

In Limbo

I'm sitting at school torn.  I'm torn because I absolutely love what I'm doing.  I love the fact that I'm subbing and gaining more teaching experience and spending more time with the kiddos that I love.  I love the fact that I will be spending my last summer before the start of my career at home.  I'll spend plenty of time at Gramps and Grammy's.  She's been working on a list for me.  Mom has too...  I'll be driving back and forth to visit Dustin and he'll be driving back and forth to visit me.  I'll be in the kitchen, at my sewing machine, and outside...I'll probably pick and eat my fair share of berries like usual.  I'll be teaching Ruby a new trick or two.  I'll be working in the garden and growing flowers.  I'll be sleeping in.

Friday started staff training at camp.  Every day since then, I've been thinking, "If I was at camp right now, this is what I'd be doing."  I'd be doing team building, getting to know new staff, being goofy with Lu Bird, Tums, and Gwen, I'd be all but unplugged from Facebook and my phone, I'd be sending snail mail and spending time with my Bible and journal on a bench next to the crick watching the water flow.

I'm just ready to stop moving.  I love camp, but I'm glad to not be moving weekly and not be living out of a suitcase for the summer.  With the moving topic, I know I'll be moving in August.  I've already been going through my stuff and organizing in ready anticipation.  I just want to be somewhere with a little more permanence than knowing I'll have to pack up and move again in a matter of days, weeks, or months.

Right now, I don't feel like the 'lives in' category on Facebook really pertains to me.

Extended Stay

Last week was bliss.  I was home.  I cleaned, sorted, got rid of so many things from my room.  I baked, wandered around outside with Ruby, and sat at my sewing machine.  All this to distract me as I waited for phone calls about interviews.

Wednesday I got a call about an interview for Thursday.

Thursday I got a call from the principal at the school I just left.  He said that my mentor teacher would be out for the rest of the year and was wondering if I could get my license soon and be willing to take over for her for the rest of the school year.

Is that really a question?

I started making calls as soon as I could so I could get back to that classroom of kids as soon as I could.  They all wanted me to stay anyway, so why not give them a fake out of about 2 weeks and show up again?  :)

As of Monday afternoon, I am a licensed practitioner in the state of Iowa!!!  What a great feeling that is to know that all the classes, field experiences, late night homework, big tests, student teaching, and the writing of my TWS are worth it!

I started today instead of yesterday because I had 2 interviews yesterday.  I think they went well and I'll know by the end of the week.

When I came back today, it was like I hadn't left at all.  Some of the students didn't even acknowledge my prior absence and greeted me like I had been there the whole time.  Others came in with exclamations of seeing me again.  Over and over I explained that I would be staying just a little while longer.  7 more days and I will really have to leave.  But until June 3rd, I'm thankful for God's provision with a job that I love.

Please take some time to pray for my mentor teacher though.  She's had to undergo some surgery and will be in the hospital for about the next week.

Windblown

Yesterday was completely wonderful!  Dustin and I headed to Strawberry Point to see Tums graduate from high school!  :)  I thought we were going to leave in plenty of time...Hwy 63 thought different.

I love my car.  Everyone knows it's my baby.  She has things that just add to her character such as her purple color, the dents from Peyton and myself, the bumper stickers, and all the scratches and dents from the college parking lot.  Currently, she's in need of an oil change and tire rotation.  Thankfully, I have a boyfriend who used to work in a shop and so he offered to do these for me.  She also needs an AC recharge.  She's needed one for a while, but after one really hot ride home from the Twin Cities followed by a week of cold weather with snow included and being away from the men at PTL, I have put it off.  Lately whenever Dustin and I go somewhere farther away, we've been taking my car.  Anytime I drive lately I need to roll the windows down to get cooled off.  I've been rocking the windblown look just about every day.

Yesterday was no different.  We hadn't even made it to Traer and we were uncomfortable.  When we made it to Hudson we had been rolling the windows down for periods of time.  At Cedar Falls, I showed Dustin where I lived while at UNI.  I also showed him the famous Scratch Cupcakery where I spent quite a bit of time!  :)  As we headed towards Waterloo, we found a chunk of Hwy 63 to be closed.  We were beginning to get crunched for time and I was hot and getting frustrated.  We had to take some back roads and got to Olwein when we stopped for lunch.  At this point, we grabbed some drive-thru McDonald's and ate on the way.  We rolled up to Starmont with minutes to spare, but other people were pulling in at the same time, so we weren't the last ones!

Tums giggled as she saw us strolled in.  Naturally, all the graduates were lined up and ready to go graduate.  After a quick hug, we went to find a seat.  I'm so stinking proud of my friend!

After getting out of that hot high school gym, Dustin and I headed to the giant strawberry!  Luckily, a nice lady was walking by who took our picture for us!  :)

After a quick stop for some gas and ice cream, we headed to Backbone State Park.  It was a GORGEOUS day to be there!  We started out hiking a little of the Devil's Backbone.  It was stunning to stand and look out over so much beauty!  After being a little winded from that, we sat on a bench in the shade for a while just hanging out letting the world pass by.  After a while, we headed down to the spring and sit by the water.  That water was cold.  Plain and simple.  We had a couple of contests to see who could hold their feet under the water the longest.  Neither one of us lasted very long.  It was so much fun to laugh and be completely silly at that spring.  We still had a while to kill, so we just laid there on a blanket under the sun soaking in the beauty all around us.  It was such a memorable afternoon!

Tums told us to come hungry to her party.  We did.  Anyone who knows me knows that I can put quite a bit down.  It was so yummy!  I also took a cupcake to go!  :)  We knew we needed to get headed back because of the impending storm.  We could see it coming from a long ways off.  It got scary black and started blowing and raining around Traer.  I was scared.  I was almost to the point of tears.  And the wind was blowing.  Finally, we drove out of it.  I was glad to be back at Dustin's and not have to worry about the storm anymore.

Now, I'll have to wait just a little bit longer before I can get my car in to get my AC recharged.  I'll blog about that reason later.  :)  So, for a little bit longer, I'll deal with that windblown look!

Hakuna Matata

I foreshadowed to me being an emotional wreck this week, and it has rang true.  Honestly, I've cried every day about something.  I've cried because I don't want student teaching to end, in a way.  I'm going to miss these kids like it's nobody's business!  I've cried because I want to go home.  Don't get me wrong, I love living with the Abrahamson's and appreciate all they've done for me, but I'm ready to live with my own mom and dad, play with my dog and wander around back behind again.

This week was interesting and I have felt like I've been all over the place!  I haven't been teaching and so after weeks of that, I just hardly knew what to do with myself.  I have been observing in other schools and classrooms, so I hardly knew what my kids have been doing.  I also had an afternoon where I went back to the school where I had an interview.  I'm also ended this week on Thursday instead of Friday.

On Tuesday, I went to the high school to observe.  One of the students had a soundtrack for The Lion King.  Naturally, I was singing along with him!  Then Hakuna Matata came on.  That song is true in the sense that we shouldn't worry, but in the bigger sense that we shouldn't worry because God has things taken care of and we need to trust in Him.  At this point, I was trying to make a decision about a job offer.

I was able to go to the high school where I was offered a position.  The building reminded me a little of my high school with the rich history of the building itself.  The principal gave me more of a tour and then he left me with the lady who I would be replacing.  It was so good to talk to her and get a sense of her job and the role they were asking me to fill.  After a long talk with her and a sinking feeling that this was not what I wanted, she took me to the SCI room.  My mood totally changed and I was happy in that room.  My heart is in SCI.  I knew then that I could not take this job.  I did ask for a little more time to think and pray before giving a final decision.

As I was on my way out, the lady I had been with for the past half hour came back to me.  She grabbed my hand and said, "I noticed you had the word 'pray' on your bracelet.  That's all you need to do right now.  He has the answer."  WOW!  Seriously!?  How incredible is that?!  As I left fighting tears, I couldn't wait to get to my car to really cry and pray.  As I went to Dustin's house, I continued to cry and pray and realized that I would have to turn down the position.

After praying, I felt more at peace about my decision and was able to talk to Whit, Dustin, and my parents about my decision.  After continued prayer, I feel more renewed in the job search.  And in the wise words of my friend Alison, "Well at least you know that there are people out there that will hire you." 

So now, I'm back to filling out applications and sending out resumes.  And all the while, I'm praying and saying, "Hakuna Matata," because, after all, it means no worries.

if it is teaching...

The last 2 months have been quite an adventure being at the junior high level.  I love this age a lot, but then I remember how I was just beginning my awkward stage.  The kids at this level are able to have deeper conversations...sometimes.  Other times, it's great to laugh and talk about the goofy things that happen to them and to me when I was that age.

Yesterday, I had an interview for a Special Education position at the high school level.  I have never had any field experiences involving high school students.  One of the questions they asked me was what my biggest challenge would be if I got this position.  I honestly stated my lack of experience at the high school level.

I feel like, overall, the interview went well.  I answered all the questions after a slight pause.  I answered all the questions with confidence and truthfully.  I didn't feel nervous at all.  I was given a tour and met the very nice secretary who welcomed me warmly.  The building is old and new and reminds me slightly of high school.

Throughout my interview, I referred back to my current student teaching placement.  I referenced my students and the various things I do for them on a daily basis as well as the gains they have made in my time there.

Thursday is going to be so bittersweet.  Thursday will be the last day that I will banter back and forth with one of my students about who needs to "Watch it!"  Thursday will be the last day one of my students will ask me if we're cooking that day.  Thursday will be the last day I will be able to tease one of my students about his dislike for George Strait music.  I joke with him and tell him he's going to come asking someone to play it on Friday after I'm gone.

Never did I think that I wanted to be a teacher until my senior year of high school.  Now, I wouldn't have it any other way.

We have different gifts according to the grace given us. ...if it is teaching, let him teach... 

-Romans 12:6-7