keeping up

Well I'm definitely not doing a good job of that on here but that's life right now.

I'm currently working 7 days a week. I hope I'm not repeating myself here. I work as a receptionist at Massage Envy 5 days a week. One great perk about this job is getting a free massage once a month. We have over 30 therapists so I need to get to know each of them and what they're like as a therapist so I can recommend them to clients who come in. It's a stressful job for numerous reasons but not horrible.

Beyond that I am tutoring 5 kids. 4 students are through a company that is getting grant money for helping out students because of the No Child Left Behind act. These 4 are all in elementary school. They get 34 hours before the end of April but I'm learning quickly that I don't really like working for the government; there's a lot of paperwork that has to be filled out exactly how they say. My 5th student is in 8th grade at private school and, really, he's my favorite. I think it's because there's no restrictions with him, his mom is great, and I really like him too. With all those, 7 days a week is my norm right now.

With working that much I'm learning to take things as they come. I think I used to know how to do this but kinda forgot when we were in FL and life was easy and comfortable. I'm learning to enjoy each day for what it holds and not let little things ruffle my feathers. This is not where I want to be in 5 years, let alone the end of this year, but it's where I am today and so I'm working on giving my best with each job I go to. I'm also learning about the instability of living here. No matter what industry you're in, you're really not promised anything. Even in education, I could get a job this year but next not have one because I would be at the bottom of the totem pole. This is different than anything I've experienced so far and makes me rethink life and what God's asking of me. I know Danny's industry is unstable. Even if you're good at what you do and get called back time and again, there are still going to be periods where you don't work and have to look like everyone else. You are not promised anything out here.

With all this instability I'm praying about teaching. I know it's what I'm called to do but I'm beginning to wonder if I'm supposed to be back in the classroom. I'm enjoying tutoring for the most part and feel like the relationship I have with each of my students is already much better than any of those I've had in the last 2 years teaching a classroom full. It feels like life is supposed to be different here and I'm just trying to figure out if that's true, or what that looks like, or I'm supposed to stay on the same track I was on before.

Going back to Danny, I haven't seen him in a week and a half. I'm thankful for this because he's working and making contacts. I don't love it though and I'm excited to have him home again. He could be back tonight but we're hoping he'll stay on until Oct. 3. He's a Production Assistant (PA - thanks Joffrey:) on a show where they do eliminations. That simply means that as the contestants get eliminated they also send home some of the PA's because they don't need them anymore. So far he's proven himself I guess. He's quickly learning the rules of working long hours and being away from home. When he left I just had to remind myself that this is only the beginning. I'm sure there will be times when he's away for longer periods, especially if he gets to work on a feature at some point. All new things to figure out as they come.

Overall we're doing well. We're paying bills which feels good. We're involved in church and really appreciating the relationships that are growing there. We're enjoying the area that we live in and the proximity of downtown. I'm thankful really. I'm glad we're here and thankful for the challenges we're learning through. More and more I realize how comfortable we were in the past 2.5 years. If was nice and there were times I thought we weren't comfortable, but being here makes me realize how much we had. I'm glad to be learning things again though and walking through life with a firm grasp on the one stability I know, the Father. I'm realizing more and more that without Him, none of this is possible, and He truly is the only stable thing.