Catching up!

I have not been terribly faithful in keeping up with this blog in 2012! The funny thing is that so much is going on in our lives that I can scarcely take the time to write it all down.  The last couple of weeks have been busy.  We travelled down to Waco to help my parents at their new place last weekend.  Brian and the boys repaired the roof and worked on a fence, and Jesse and I and my nephews planted trees and flowers with my mom and dad.  My brother did a little of everything, and my sister-in-law graciously carried us all to the store in her big pick-up truck and bought the kids candy and soda.  She is making great gains in being the kids favorite aunt! :)

Brian and Jacob repairing the roof on my parents' home.  I have a generous and godly husband and Jacob is growing into a fine young man.

Unfortunately, Brian over-exerted himself and wound up getting sick.  He ended up with an upper respiratory infection and had to take a couple of days off.  I didn't feel well this week, but mostly this was due to allergies.  Everything is blooming here in North Texas.  Winter is over. This is good news, but for those of us with seasonal allergies, we suffer.  Friday, I took the day off and drove into Dallas to take my English as a Second Language (ESL) supplemental exam.  Provided I have passed the exam, I will be certified to teach ESL, in addition to General Ed. and Special Ed.  In the district in which I work, it is highly desirable for teachers to be ESL certified, so I am essentially trying to 'hedge my bets' by getting this certification so that I can be hired.

It's been a fast and furious year already.  I can scarcely believe that Spring Break is next week!  I've always thought that school seems to shoot by after Spring Break.  Before I know it, school will be over!  I try not to think too much about what lies ahead.  I am certainly planning lessons and am making plans to do things over the break, but I am finding that if I think too much about the upcoming school year, I get frustrated and anxious.  I am trusting the Lord to guide my path.  I am certain that my hard work will not have been in vain.  I think part of relying on God for His provision with regard to a lead teacher job in the coming school year is not trying to anticipate what's to come. I've always been such a control freak that it's hard not to try to figure out what I'm supposed to do next.  Right now, frankly, there is only so much I can do.

One of the things I've been doing to cope with the new direction my life has taken is to listen to the career change stories of others.  I've been blessed in that I have a lot of colleagues who have made the plunge from one career to another.  Just as one person leaves one profession, another comes to take his or her place.  The encouraging thing about hearing these 'leap-of-faith' stories is that in each one, the person is happier after having taken the plunge.  I have met very few people who were dissatisfied after pursuing a new career.  What I have found is that the people who are unhappy with their profession were generally unhappy with life before their career change.  In those cases, changing careers won't fix your outlook on life; we have to look to the Lord for our joy. 

I have always been drawn to the success stories of others; of inspirational men and women who changed courses in order to find fulfillment in their career or who wanted to make a new life for themselves and their children.  It's nice to know that life can begin anew for some of us in our forties.  I anticipate that if I can go through all of the hard work and the challenges of the last two years, I might have yet another course change in the future.  The possibilities exist....

Many blessings,

Jennifer