Moving on...

Well, Matt is done with teaching as a career.

A few months ago, the administration at his school told him that they were holding his contract, due to some “concerns” about his lack of relationship skills. So, Matt went into high gear, making all requested efforts to change his approach to relationships (with both kids and colleagues). As he always does, every effort was sincere and an outpouring of his true feelings, he was just showing it in a different, unnatural-to-him way. In any other setting (i.e., not a private, Christian school), his efforts would have been applauded and respected. In this environment, it was almost as though those changes fell on deaf ears. The fruit of his labor (we thought) was that just a couple of weeks ago, they offered him a part-time position for next year. Today, though, they changed their minds (based on nebulous, undefined “feedback”), and have chosen to not hire him back.

What changed between then and now?

Who knows! That’s the frustrating part! They gave him no concrete change from TWO WEEKS ago to now. They used dumb Christian-ese like “God is leading us in this direction”. I’m going to call it what it truly is: BULLSHIT. I don’t use that word lightly. But, that’s what’s happening here.

For some reason, the administration has a picture of Matt in their head that isn’t true. I know that it can take a while to understand Matt as a person. Believe me, I’ve experienced it myself. But, c’mon! All it takes is a little effort, a little willingness to show grace, love and compassion, and you’ll get to know Matt – the real Matt. It’s not really that difficult.

Alternatively, the administration could be using this as an opportunity to cut back on their operating expenses, and it has nothing to do with Matt as a teacher, worker, employee at all. Of course, they didn’t say that, but they might not want that getting out into the world at large that they are struggling financially.

So, we’re moving on. Matt will probably try to go into catering, which he is passionate for and excellent at, and we’ll try to live the life that God has intended for us.

We do have so much to be thankful for! I have a full-time, benefits-laden job that will give us enough income to live on, and some to put away in savings. We are in Columbus, where cost of living is cheaper, and we have family that would be able to babysit while Matt goes on job interviews. We have the option of keeping Matt as a stay-at-home dad for a while…
We’ll see. Obviously, this is where God has placed us, and we’ll grow where we’re planted. Gosh, I’m full of terrible clichés today. Sorry.

First day down... ?? to go!!

Friends!

Today marked the first day that I had at McGraw-Hill, as referenced in my previous post.

I had a very good day -- the benefits alone might be enough to keep me wanting to work there forever! -- but I am very tired. It was good, though. Very good. AND, I can make my hours basically whatever I want (within reason), so I may be spending more time with Isaac than I originally thought. YAY!

Basically, the company is great, the job seems totally doable, and I am amazed that I am actually working there.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, friends!

Transitions

Lord knows, I'm no good at transitions. Life is hard enough when routines are well established and life is allowed to just happen. But, when a transition comes, it's very difficult for me to deal with. One of the reasons I hated the college time in my life was due to all of the transitions (different semesters, summers back at home, etc.).

And, now, we're approaching a huge transition. And, I'm scared. I may as well admit it, right? I'm nervous, at least, if not fully scared.

I'm going back to work - full-time - after being at home with Isaac for the past 9 months. I'm trying to think about ways that I can be a great mother in the 3 hours/day that I will be seeing him (and full weekend days, of course!), but it's going to be difficult, I think. There will be lots of firsts that I will miss. I have to come up with some kind of plan. Any ideas would be appreciated.

So, God has given me this huge gift of being a stay-at-home mom for just about as long as I could handle it. And, now, we've gotten the huge gift of a serious, career job for me that gives me an opportunity to advance in my career and move up the corporate ladder, etc. So, we'll be financially stable, with great benefits, and we may even be ready to buy a house in a year or two. Crazy.

I know that this transition will be difficult -- that's what transitions are, anyway, right? -- but, I think we can do it. We have to do it, so we will do it, but I think we can weather this transition and be stronger on the other side.

Please pray for us.

Ice Storms

For the past two days in Columbus, we've been under very icy conditions. Tuesday, we received about an inch of ice. Look at these crazy pictures!

Our front stairs on Tuesday - with 1/4 inch of ice! And, it was super-slippery!

Can you see the ice coating this fence? It's crazy!

Matt cleaning off the new car! We weren't going anywhere, promise!

Then, today, we had less than an inch of snow, but it looked like it would be more. I took a picture, but now I just think it's pretty.

The view in front of our house... Look at that road.

I'm a little scared to go anywhere tomorrow, but I've decided that Isaac can't stay in for another day. So, we're going to the library. It's not too far, and it's accessible via highway and main, downtown streets. So, it should be okay... It's a bit scary, though, especially since the car accidents.

I'm feeling for all of my friends and family in Illinois. It sounds like it is insane up there. And, then, in Massachusetts, it sounds like they've gotten waaay more snow than they usually do. I guess it's a good thing the snow can be dumped in the ocean... right?

Accidents do happen...

Some of you may have heard that Matt an d I both got into car accidents on Friday... Well, here's a few more details and some of how we've been processing the situation.

Friday was a snow day for Matt, so he didn't have to go into work. He decided to go in and pick up a few things (his laptop, etc.), and since I had an interview at noon, I asked him to bring Isaac (he really was just picking up a few things).

The way there was great -- Matt had literally no problems driving to work. He picked up his laptop, he talked with co-workers, he showed Isaac off to everyone... Everything was normal.

On the way home, everything was also normal, until he came to a slow stop at a red light. He slid on some ice, and swerved so that he wouldn't hit the car in front of him (thank God!). Instead, he hit a pole.

He was able to drive home, and except for feeling really, really bad, there was no emotional damage. Yes, Isaac was in the car, but Isaac was completely fine. Completely.

Fast forward an hour. I have a job interview at 12 (for a work from home opportunity). I decide to go, because this is an important thing, even though it is 20 minutes away, and even though Matt had just gotten into an accident. Probably a bad idea, but we'll get to that later...

Anyway, Matt secures a borrowed car for me (my brother and sister-in-law's), and off I go to my interview. I drive cautiously. Honestly. Then, approaching a red light, I brake, and my brakes aren't working. I look to swerve, but there's a car in the other lane. So... I crash into the car in front of me. And, I make him crash into the car in front of him. I know, right? So, we wait for a long time for the police to come. They write me a ticket, and I feel horrible. The car that I was driving is in pretty bad shape, but the rest of the cars are mostly fine. Just some fender and muffler damage on the car in front of me. I don't get to the interview, and I can't call, because they didn't give me their phone number, just an email address.

So, I call my brother-in-law (Karl), and I explain the situation. He is so gracious and wonderful. He comes to pick me up, and get the car towed. He starts his insurance process, and I go home to Matt and Isaac.

So, that's pretty much the whole story. And, it's horrible. Awful. Matt and I feel so bad. Neither of us have ever been at fault in an accident, ever. Neither of us have even really been in accidents, ever. It's the worst day of our lives (even thinking about it now, I can barely think of a worse day scenario... Sure, if someone died or was diagnosed with a really bad disease, that would certainly be worse, but that's about it.). Matt even mentions that he would love to be taken to heaven...

We're in a decent place emotionally right now. We're focusing on getting a new car, because our car is probably going to be declared a total loss. So, there's always something to do. And, Matt's handling it all.

For my brother and sister-in-law, I don't know what their situation is. I don't know if their car will be declared a total loss. I feel awful, horrible regret. I wish I hadn't decided to go to the interview. I wish I had rescheduled. I wish a lot of things.

I feel a bit like Mr. Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. I made a huge mistake, and I'm feeling it for the first time in my life. I have also majorly inconvenienced my family, and while they're being awesome about it, I feel so very bad.

So, that's the story. Crazy, isn't it?

Winter...

I'll be honest, I usually love winter. I love snow, I love bundling up, I love it all...

This year, though, it seems to be eternal winter. Granted, we had a very warm few days just a couple of weeks ago, but winter is so difficult when you have a small child. Really hard. Seriously, there's only so many times that you can play with your own toys and go up and down the stairs before everyone gets a little stir crazy.

I've tried to cope. I've tried to find indoor activities (free) that we can do... And, they really are great. The library downtown has an amazing playroom that's very well stocked. I go to Bible Study and baby laptime at the local library. I babysit Max and go to Target as often as possible. I've tried to connect with other people.

I hate to admit it, but I've failed. I'm beginning to hate winter.

Although, now that I have a Zoo pass, I may be inclined to like winter again. I know it sounds weird, but the Zoo is great in the winter! Really great. As long as it's not too windy.

Here's a picture that I shared on Facebook that shows how much Isaac and I love the Zoo...

So, maybe there's a way to salvage winter, yet. I sure hope so, because there's a long time until it's over.

Resolve

I keep thinking of very clever things to say on Facebook or Twitter, but I've had very little inspiration for this old blog.

I've decided, instead, that I will write down those clever, little things to post here. I promise they will be about Isaac a lot. Sorry in advance! :oP