D-1: 1 Wow, 18 Pows
In my weekly Bible study in high school, we would begin with sharing our Pows and Wows - lows and highs for the day. Since it's been a few weeks since I wrote, I'll start there:
WOW - job offer
Last week I took a whirlwind trip up to Indiana for a job interview at my alma mater, Concordia Lutheran High School. I taught Tuesday morning, left school at noon, got on a plane at 2:40, landed at 10:00 pm; taught a group of students at 8 AM Wednesday morning, spent the day in interviews and touring the building, then got back on a plane at 3:20 pm; three flights and a thunderstormy drive home later, I got home at 1 AM Thursday morning. Then went to work at six hours later. Friday afternoon I got the offer to teach AP English there. We are still working out the details, but I am super excited to accept what amounts to my dream position - I loved that school when I went there, loved it in the eight years since, and am blessed beyond imagining to be able to teach there to support my family.
POW - goodbyes
Of course, this means I had to formally resign my wonderful teaching position I've had the last three years. It was not a surprise for my principal, department, or students, but still sad to formally draft the letter and start cleaning out my classroom in earnest.The English department planned a little goodbye dinner to send off me and the teacher next to me, who is moving for her husband's promotion. Two other English teachers are changing departments in the school, and our department head is taking the head librarian position...lots of changes for next year.
POW - nap strikes
In his new-found mobility, Spartacus has decide sleeping is for the birds. The last two weekends he hardly napped more than 30 minutes at a time, and has routinely been going to bed around 10:30...
POW - no packing
As a result of lack of baby naps and working full time, we have gotten next to no packing done, because it's hard to pack with a crawler. He's really into electrical outlets, the wine rack, and Annabelle's kongs. Thus far we've boxed our books and taken the pictures off the walls...that's the only indication we are trying to move.
POW - lease is up
Our landlords put their house on the market in March. Happily for them, an offer was put in and accepted a month later. This means when our lease is up May 31, we need to be gone. Due to the near-constant rain the past few weeks, the lawn is crazy. Due to the lack of packing and the fact that I'm still in school, I really don't know how we're going to manage this move. I only have to be at school on Friday morning so I'm hoping to leave Spartacus at daycare (another POW - we love that daycare and I hate leaving it) until the last minute so we can try to pack the entire house Friday afternoon. I just don't know when we'll get everything done.
POW - army
I got lots of sympathy for my last post about Hubster's army woes. He heard from our representative's office, who told him, "It'll be resolved in a few weeks." He went to the Inspector General who told him they'd get it resolved - and we seemed to make more progress in a few days than in the last eight months since he filed paperwork. Today he heard from the G1 - the contact at the Pentagon - who said it could be "weeks" before we get an answer. Weeks. This news hit us like a speeding train. It makes me want to throw up. This means that I will most likely take the dog, boy, and moving truck to Indiana and leave Hubster here, with no job (his unit already replaced him, expecting him to leave), no house (lease is up), and no clue as to when this will get resolved. I don't know if I should move home and then fly back to be with him, or what we should do. If he is stuck down south all summer, he could very well miss...well...everything. He is going to miss the beginning of summer Greek at the seminary, which means he loses his chaplain endorsement from the army and the ENTIRE PROCESS starts over. He will miss Spartacus' first steps while living in an Econolodge, not knowing when he can come home. He will miss Fourth of July at the lake. We were planning to be packing and leaving this place in our dust, and our family will be separated because some bureaucrat can't be bothered to sign a piece of paper in his inbox. It's one thing to miss milestones because you're deployed or training...something vaguely associated with a mission. But this? It's so unacceptable. So many tax dollars wasted on this bureaucratic...gah, it makes me want to swear.
Poor Spartacus is probably not sleeping because he can tell something is up; the tension in our house is palpable, we are so stressed about this move. If Hubster hasn't heard anything by the end of July - about the time he finds out if he was passed for promotion again - we've decided to cut ties to the army completely. The army claims it takes care of families, but we have spent eight months in limbo with no definite answers as to where we're going next.
WOW - We at least have a wonderfully supportive family and church. I am going home to stay with my parents for some time, so I don't have to worry about where I'm going to live. Hubster will continue to get paid throughout however much time he needs to stay, so at least we can afford housing for him. And at the end of summer, something will be resolved...it's just hard to be a teacher and somehow I find the end of the year more stressful than any of the previous 178 days combined!
WOW - job offer
Last week I took a whirlwind trip up to Indiana for a job interview at my alma mater, Concordia Lutheran High School. I taught Tuesday morning, left school at noon, got on a plane at 2:40, landed at 10:00 pm; taught a group of students at 8 AM Wednesday morning, spent the day in interviews and touring the building, then got back on a plane at 3:20 pm; three flights and a thunderstormy drive home later, I got home at 1 AM Thursday morning. Then went to work at six hours later. Friday afternoon I got the offer to teach AP English there. We are still working out the details, but I am super excited to accept what amounts to my dream position - I loved that school when I went there, loved it in the eight years since, and am blessed beyond imagining to be able to teach there to support my family.
POW - goodbyes
Of course, this means I had to formally resign my wonderful teaching position I've had the last three years. It was not a surprise for my principal, department, or students, but still sad to formally draft the letter and start cleaning out my classroom in earnest.The English department planned a little goodbye dinner to send off me and the teacher next to me, who is moving for her husband's promotion. Two other English teachers are changing departments in the school, and our department head is taking the head librarian position...lots of changes for next year.
POW - nap strikes
In his new-found mobility, Spartacus has decide sleeping is for the birds. The last two weekends he hardly napped more than 30 minutes at a time, and has routinely been going to bed around 10:30...
POW - no packing
 |
| Pretty much our whole house looks: Babies. Boxes of books. |
POW - lease is up
Our landlords put their house on the market in March. Happily for them, an offer was put in and accepted a month later. This means when our lease is up May 31, we need to be gone. Due to the near-constant rain the past few weeks, the lawn is crazy. Due to the lack of packing and the fact that I'm still in school, I really don't know how we're going to manage this move. I only have to be at school on Friday morning so I'm hoping to leave Spartacus at daycare (another POW - we love that daycare and I hate leaving it) until the last minute so we can try to pack the entire house Friday afternoon. I just don't know when we'll get everything done.
POW - army
I got lots of sympathy for my last post about Hubster's army woes. He heard from our representative's office, who told him, "It'll be resolved in a few weeks." He went to the Inspector General who told him they'd get it resolved - and we seemed to make more progress in a few days than in the last eight months since he filed paperwork. Today he heard from the G1 - the contact at the Pentagon - who said it could be "weeks" before we get an answer. Weeks. This news hit us like a speeding train. It makes me want to throw up. This means that I will most likely take the dog, boy, and moving truck to Indiana and leave Hubster here, with no job (his unit already replaced him, expecting him to leave), no house (lease is up), and no clue as to when this will get resolved. I don't know if I should move home and then fly back to be with him, or what we should do. If he is stuck down south all summer, he could very well miss...well...everything. He is going to miss the beginning of summer Greek at the seminary, which means he loses his chaplain endorsement from the army and the ENTIRE PROCESS starts over. He will miss Spartacus' first steps while living in an Econolodge, not knowing when he can come home. He will miss Fourth of July at the lake. We were planning to be packing and leaving this place in our dust, and our family will be separated because some bureaucrat can't be bothered to sign a piece of paper in his inbox. It's one thing to miss milestones because you're deployed or training...something vaguely associated with a mission. But this? It's so unacceptable. So many tax dollars wasted on this bureaucratic...gah, it makes me want to swear.
Poor Spartacus is probably not sleeping because he can tell something is up; the tension in our house is palpable, we are so stressed about this move. If Hubster hasn't heard anything by the end of July - about the time he finds out if he was passed for promotion again - we've decided to cut ties to the army completely. The army claims it takes care of families, but we have spent eight months in limbo with no definite answers as to where we're going next.
WOW - We at least have a wonderfully supportive family and church. I am going home to stay with my parents for some time, so I don't have to worry about where I'm going to live. Hubster will continue to get paid throughout however much time he needs to stay, so at least we can afford housing for him. And at the end of summer, something will be resolved...it's just hard to be a teacher and somehow I find the end of the year more stressful than any of the previous 178 days combined!
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