Tag Archives: rest

Diggers, Laryngitis, and Joy

The route that I take to and from work each day has been under construction for months, and each day on the way to and from work, it has caused me delays. At first, I was very tempted to complain about the inconvenience. But each time I have felt the temptation to complain, I have heard my Keilan-boy in the back seat cheering on the “Diggers!” and “Cranes!” and “Work trucks!” and I am challenged to once again find joy in my journey: even when it is under construction.  This morning on our drive to childcare and work, we were able to avoid a messy looking stretch, and while I let out a sigh of relief, Keilan let out a moan of disappointment as we turned away: “Mom, no! Not turn. This way: diggers!” I assured him that there would be more road construction ahead, that delays were still coming; and I laughed to myself as I determined that he was the only one in all of rush hour traffic who would be appeased by such an assurance.

It is the beginning of another school year; and along with a classroom full of rambunctious first graders, I was also gifted with their germs. Though I thought I had built up a decent immunity to elementary-age illness over my career in education, my year away must have weakened my immunities because after only three days with students I came down with a horrible sore throat and headache. I am currently on day 5 of this particular bug, and while I am actually starting to feel a bit better, I have no voice. When I got up this morning, I didn’t think much of it. I assumed that it would get better as the day progressed. However, by the time I dropped the boys off at their childcare provider’s home, I was barely able to tell her about their early morning antics. At school, the decision was made to find me a guest teacher and to send me home. It took a little while to get things settled, but I had my lesson plans pulled together and was handing my class off to another teacher a little before 10:00.

As I left the building, I was feeling irritated that the day was working out the way it had: it is never easy to miss a day of school, and it seems there is a potential for an absence to be particularly detrimental this early in the year. But as I started my drive home, I could picture a certain little two-year old of mine in the backseat cheering on the construction crews, and I decided that I could choose to admire the “diggers and cranes” of an unplanned day “off” instead of getting caught up in the inconveniences and discomfort of laryngitis.

So, today, I am finding joy in laryngitis and road construction.  Maybe laryngitis is God’s way of telling me to slow down and rest for a day; maybe this is a little  scheduled maintenance, some construction that was necessary to the successful completion of my journey.  But in spite of questioning “why” I have laryngitis, I will choose instead to find joy in this time. Rather than simply wish the inconvenience and discomfort away, I will choose to enjoy the rest and to be grateful I can pick my boys up a little bit early today for some extra family time tonight.  Maybe we can even take advantage of the extra time by driving through a little more road construction than we need to on the drive home tonight 😉

This Guy Inspires Joy :)

This Guy Inspires Joy 🙂

Welcome to my journey.

Welcome to my journey. Journeys, by definition, are about movement, passage, and progress. While a journey should take you from one point to another, the journey is not just about the point “you were at” or the point “you are moving towards,” but rather it is about all the little points along the way where “you are.” Today I find myself on a journey; and while I’m proud of where I have been, and I have some clear goals for places I’d like to arrive at and things I would like to achieve; this blog is simply a glimpse into the place where I am.

Where am I? Well, I am married to my best friend, and we have two incredible little boys: a 2 year  old and a 2 month old. I am spending my 11th year in education not in the classroom, but rather as a full-time mommy and student.  I decided last year to take a sabbatical leave from my teaching “gig” to finish my dissertation and gain internship hours towards my principal and superintendent licensures.  Once it was granted, I learned that I was pregnant, and over the summer our nanny quit…so, now I am a full-time student and a full-time mom.  By definition, a sabbatical is a period of rest. So where am I? I’m resting 😉

As I look at the list of things I hoped to accomplish this year, “rest” would not appear to be on the top of my priority list. However, it has been my intention to take a rest from “normal” life, and to make this year a productive one where I don’t take my daily schedule for granted…I will not get up every morning and go to work at the same time, and that will be ok. Some days I might be more mommy than student, and other days the scale may tip the other direction, and I am going to “rest” in knowing that both will be ok.  This morning, I woke up with the all-too-common feelings of panic about what I should do first or how I’ll ever get it all done, and I was reminded of Philippians 4:6&7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  So I will continue to “rest” in the peace that God gives. I will rest in knowing that I can trust God to figure out the details as Proverbs 3:5&6 states: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart an learn not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”  As much as I may plan where I think I am going on this journey of life, I have found that God’s plans are greater than mine, and when I trust in him to lead me, I am reassured by the words of Jeremiah 29:11, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

So where am I? I’m here!  Currently, I am sitting on the couch cuddling with my 2 month old while my 2 year old naps.  I have wanted to start a blog for some time now to help me remember and share all the little moments along my journey; so today I decided to forego vacuuming and to dive in. What will tomorrow bring?  What do I see for the future of this blog?  I’m not certain of the details, but I am certain that I will choose each day to “rest” and to find joy in my journey.

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