The Texan Adventures of Jesse and Kelly
So, it looks like we will be moving in down the road at the Mandolin Apartments. Our floorplan is absolutely lovely with a built-in desk and bookcases, a kitchen window, laminate wood floors and a separate utility room for our washer and dryer. Take a look!
Here you can also see pictures and a 3-D tour.
Please pray for us- these next couple days of moving are going to be very stressful!
Every since last Friday, our lives have been turned upside down. Since there was a huge mixup at Village Green with our apt. paperwork (the girl who handled our case was actually fired for how messed up she made everything) Jesse and I were switched to a different apartment # than we had originally signed up for. Now, back in July Village Green had seemed like the ideal solution to a few criteria- it was a nice place to live and we liked the location of the 2 units they originally had available. However, the one they randomly assigned us after this huge mixup was in a location that neither Jesse or I liked. It was also on the opposite end of the complex from the Unruhs.
And, of course, they told us this just days before the Unruhs were supposed to move in. I saw the location of the “new” unit and didn’t like it, but held my tongue, lest I disturb the living situation we had created and longed for ever since the Unruhs and us moved our separate ways. Friday night, however, was the first time JESSE had ever seen it- and he was none too pleased, to say the least. This tore me up. I usually think that if just I have a problem with something, it’s because I am being picky and need to grow up. But if NEITHER of us was pleased, then what were we to do?
So our battle with Village Green began. At first, I asked them to give us a different apt. unit. Of COURSE the only ones they had available were much bigger, and much more expensive- about $200/mo. more expensive!! I asked them if they could meet me halfway on the price, lowering it to just $100/mo. more than we were originally supposed to pay. Instead, they only bumped it down to $30/mo. less.
Now, the process of GETTING any sort of answers to my questions was also hellish. I called 5 times a day for 4 days straight and not once were my phone calls returned. I was hurt and offended by this, as the mixup was entirely their fault and we were supposed to move in just 5 days!! Priorities, anyone?
Despite the fact that Jesse and I have been missing the Unruhs terribly all year and wanted to live next door to them, our hassle with the office and the lack of suitable options induced us to look at another apartment complex down the road, Mandolin Apartments. Originally, I had not given them a look because there two bedrooms were a little out of the price range that the Unruhs were willing to pay. But since we were running quickly out of options, I gave them a look online. I absolutely LOVED their floorplans, and since they were only .5 miles away from the Unruh’s apt., Jesse and I went to take a look. We loved what we saw, and put a deposit down.
As you might imagine, the Unruhs were put out by our decision. They wanted us to live in a place that we liked, but they were also grieving at the loss of having us within a 5 min. walking distance. Being as stressed and busy as we were, Jesse and I failed to do the damage control needed for a change of this magnitude.
Now, the nice thing about our friendship with the Unruhs is that we all feel comfortable being as honest as we need to be. This kind of openness and honesty is what enabled us to live problem/issue free for a month in a 1 bedroom apt.
The bad thing about this honesty is that often-times I can dish it out, but I’m not as emotionally tough about taking it. On my way to work yesterday, I got caught in HORRIBLE traffic so I decided to call Courtney. And she let me have a good dose of this honesty.
When I finally got to school after 2 hours of driving, the stress of having just spent 1/2 tank in gas, of moving in 3 days, of not knowing for sure WHERE we were moving, and of having Courtney chew me out sent me over the edge. I walked into school shaking all over and bawling like a baby and spent the whole morning talking things over with Bryan in his office while Fr. Jared subbed for all my classes.
Here’s what one of my high school girls made for me:
Jesse and I talked on the phone for a little while at lunch, and I decided to cancel all of my piano lessons for the evening and have a sit-down talk with the Unruhs about what to do. Jesse was unable to come as he had class until 10pm. After 2 hours of talking, all the issues were aired in a non-emotional or threatening way, and we were able to understand each other better.
I was browsing on St. Seraphim’s choir website today, when I ran across pictures of all of us, taken a few weeks/months ago (can’t quite remember…:). It’s always weird to click on a page and suddenly see your face! Here they are, in case you want to see.
My friend, Jenny is on the bottom left in black. You’ll probably recognize her from other pictures she’s been in on this blog.
In this picture are my other two St. Seraphim friends, Karen (with the curly hair) and Heather, of which I KNOW you’ve seen lots of pictures:)
Having worked at several preschools teaching piano lessons, I feel like I have come to see at least a few of the different types. There are your average “daycare” preschools, which are usually cheap and full of 20-somethings who are constantly yelling at the kids. Then there are “discovery” preschools, which are actually a more glorified version of the daycare preschools, only with more expensive toys and better paid teachers. Lest you think I’m joking, the one of these that I taught at had a “Hollywood” room with costumes and pretend video cameras, a 50’s “diner” that they ate snack and lunch at, a “Theater” room with a big screen tv, and an indoor jungle gym. Then there are the Montessori preschools, which are very expensive and are only focused on discovering the child’s unique strengths and abilities.
St. Peter’s Preschool program, I’ve found, is not like any of the above. It is not uncommon to see all 6 of them, trailing like little ducklings after Miss Annie, who used to be the secretary for the school but switched to being their teacher when the school couldn’t find the right person. Today, Annie was taking them all into the chapel to “sing songs to Jesus”, a fact which they were wildly excited about. Yesterday, they made bead jewelry together at craft time. The day before, Annie taught them how to make cookie dough. It was strangely fascinating to watch, and I felt as though I too was being drawn towards them as they crowded around the bowl, learning to crack eggs and measure sugar. I’ve also seen Annie play number and letter games using hopscotch, teach them how to “be fairies”, and play Charlotte Church for them as they’re napping. The school also has a bunch of tiny harps on which they have taught all the kids to play “Jesus Loves Me” in unison. As far as motor skills, Annie helped them learn both dexterity and service by having them shine Mr. Smith’s silver Civil War toy cannon. For recess, they catch bugs in little cases so that they can look at them up close.
Now, some of the more academically rigorous preschools could look down upon this and critique it, but perhaps its because they have missed the point entirely. School should be for teaching you to be a whole soul, healthy and balanced. So often, kids are infused early on with the idea that life is intended for the sole purpose of getting you to your next destination. Preschool is about preparing you for Kindergarten, grade school is about teaching skills for middle school, middle school about making sure you actually survive high school, high school for getting into a good college, and college for getting you a good job. What they end up passing on is a sense that life should revolve around accomplishment and evaluation. They train the actions without ever reaching the heart and teaching about the essence of life.
When and where are we supposed to learn about life, in all it’s innocence and simplicity? It’s easy to learn your ABC’s, but once you forget how to find joy in life, you almost never regain the ability. Done well, preschool can be the most valuable and formative part of one’s education, because it can either make or break your view of the world.
Perhaps we should all go back to preschool and never leave.
They say that how your desk looks is a reflection on the current state of your life.
So it begs the question: What has become of my life? My once clear and un-obstructed desk is now cluttered and full of reminders of all the work I need to be doing right now.
Then again, as you can see, it is cluttered with the Ipods of my students (which I did NOT confiscate, they are so that so I can upload the E-Book mp3 version of Longfellow’s “Evangeline” poem being read out loud), my Norton Anthology of Classical Literature, “Composition in the Classical Tradition”, and Crider’s “The Office of Assertion- The Art of Rhetoric for the Academic Essay”. I also have several coffee mugs, pictures of my husband, little sister and god-family, and tissues for my allergies (which have to be the one thing I HATE about Texas!). Oh, and duct tape and glue. Not sure what they mean!
Yup, that’s pretty much an accurate reflection of my life right now!
Maybe I should actually rename this: Reason #450 that I love living in the Bible Belt.
Do you ever have this experience? Where you are on your way home from work and your gas light turns on, but you have absolutely no motivation to go fill up? You say to yourself, “I’ll do it tomorrow, on my way to work” (or in my case, on my way to the carpool-pick-up-point).
But then morning comes and you take way too long in the shower and making your coffee, and all of a sudden its 6:45 (yes, AM, I get up EARLY now!!) and you’re running late.
This is what happened to me this morning. I actually had to drive myself this morning, because Bryan called last night to let me know that he was LEAVING at 5am this morning. Not waking up, LEAVING. This is not normal, he just has lots of relatives from Houston staying indefinitely with him, and can’t get any work done in the evenings, thus necessitating early morning work hours at school.
Anyways, there I was on my way to work, and I had no gas. When I say, “no gas” I mean, NO GAS. As dangerous as this was, however, I desperately wanted to get past a few heavily trafficked spots that only get worse the closer it gets to 8:00. So I set off, praying for the best. As I continued driving, the little line that says, “EMPTY!” rose higher and higher above my gas line, and a little sign on my dashboard that says, “REFILL NOW!” began to blink incessantly, as if pleading me to stop being so stupid.
But the minute I got past the bumper-to-bumper sections of highway, I was in a not so good area of Fort Worth. Regardless, I had no choice to pull over.
As a result of living in LA, I am usually pretty careful about where I pull over for gas. After all, in LA this is sometimes a life or death issue. So I was pretty nervous about having to pull over in this “rough patch” of Fort Worth, even at 8 in the morning.
I got out of the car, and immediately laughed. This run-down, sketchy looking gas station, in the middle of the poorest, roughtest section of Ft. Worth, had the Newsboys blaring from their overhead speakers. Inside the window of the station was a Jesus Freak sticker.
As scary as it is hearing “The Breakfast Song” and getting flashbacks to junior high, it was a nice change to hearing “ghetto-make-your-mama-cry” lyrics and worrying about getting shot.
I guess I haven’t told a lot of you, but at the very last minute I decided not to enroll for my class at UD this semester.
I arrived at this decision for a variety of reasons. First of all, looking at things from a scheduling standpoint, our semester will be particularly crazy this fall. I am not only dealing with 1 fulltime job and 1 partime one, but both Jesse and I are becoming very involved at church. Jesse “serves” at the altar every Sunday and teaches Sunday School, while I sing in the choir every Saturday and Sunday. That’s right, I sing in the choir! Not typical for me, but I love it. I’ve even started taking voice lessons for fun from a music performance prof at SMU. Jesse is also very busy as he is full time at UD along with teaching 3 classes at “Flexing Poplars”.
Add onto our “normal routine” the fact that we are moving in 3 weeks, are in Tim and Hope’s wedding, and have a god-child on the way in 2 months, and I suddenly realized I was crazy to be filling my ONE-NIGHT-A-WEEK-OFF with a 3 hour class.
And it got me thinking about the way I’ve lived my life thus far. As many of you know, I have always been a sprinter. No, not the running kind, the scheduling kind. If I have free time on my hands, I feel that I have done something wrong. For example, I graduated from high school in 3 years while playing Varsity sports year-round, maintaining a 4.0+ GPA, and participating on Student Council every year. I graduated Summa Cum Laude from college in 3.5 years while getting married, working fulltime, and going to Europe twice.
To say these things isn’t always a proud moment for me. Yes, I like to be motivated, but there is a huge part of me that has always envied those who were content to slow down, who weren’t terrified of the future. What I mean is that I was always so focused on my future goals that I was scared I wasn’t doing enough in the “now” to get it all accomplished. Sometimes motivated people are just frightened that if they slow down, they will cease to know which way is up or down!
I was convicted of this for the first time, sad to say, when I went to confession with my priest. Normally, confessions are meant to be private, but there is a small part of this particular one that I would like to share. I confessed that I had not felt merciful towards others in the least lately. When someone got in my way in the store, I would suddenly feel a small outburst of ferocious anger towards them in my heart. If someone cut me off on the freeway, I wanted to smash my car into their bumper, despite how little sense it would make. And, despite the fact that Jesse is almost always going out of his way to do things for me (he says he even plays a game called, “see how much housework I can do before Kelly notices”), the minute he messed up in the slightest I was incensed. “What is wrong with me?” I asked. “Why am I so incapable of showing God’s love towards others?”
Usually the priest doesn’t say anything until the end of your confession. Even then, sometimes they say little to nothing at all. This particular time, however, Fr. Joe said a lot. He started by saying that this type of “lack of mercy” is very common in someone who is so focused on the future that they cease to function in the present. They are so goal motivated that they are constantly living for the future instead of enjoying the now. As a result, they cease to really “see” the people around them. It’s very hard to have mercy when you cannot see people and their faults for what they really are.
Fr. Joe didn’t tell me that I needed to cut activities out of my life, he just challenged me to think about this fact. And it got me thinking. It seems that I am very often doing one of two things. A) I am borrowing from the future for the now. This is where my problem with finances comes in. I have gotten better, but I have always had a problem saving money. I definitely have the “I need this now!” complex that Dave Ramsey is always condemning. Or B) I am borrowing from the now for the future. I am so focused on my goals that I will make my life insanely busy and, if I dare say, miserable, all so that I will be one step ahead in the future.
And I’ve gotten so used to one of these two things that I have never learned to enjoy the present.
And it would be a shame, I realized, if I couldn’t learn to do that now, of all times. For the first time in my life, I LOVE my job. We also have wonderful friends available to us, a wonderful church that we are heavily involved in, without the responsibility of children yet. This is probably the happiest I have been in a very long time!
So the question doesn’t become, “Could I do a class too?” Sure I could. I somehow always seem to make time. No, instead the question becomes, “why would I want to ruin this time by being over-committed?” I need to remind myself that UD will be there, next semester, when I am not getting the hang of a new job or moving to a different city.
Please pray for me as I embark on this new experience of “living in the present” instead of borrowing from it!
About a few days ago, Brian (again, our principal at St. Peters) warned us that this Friday we would have visitors- ten teachers from a neighboring classical school, to be exact. Occasionally, they get Fridays off and use it as an opportunity to visit and learn from other teachers in the area.
So there I was, a teacher of only 2 years, leading a discussion first on Medieval Provencal Poetry and then on Book 18 of the Iliad, with 8 of the 10 teachers sitting there watching. And I was nervous.
My first class on Medieval Poetry turned out a little weird. There was an image in one of the poems describing someone’s heart being “submerged” by their love interest. I tried exploring this “submerging” image by asking them questions about what to do if you are supposed to save someone who is drowning. Apparently no one had ever taken a lifeguard class. Or if they had, it was a scary violent lifeguard class. Their solution to saving a drowning person was to knock them unconscious in order to restrain them. Yeah, not such a good idea!!
And then came by 9-10th graders talking about the Iliad. And they hit the ball out of the park. Whaddya know?! We were having a discussion about why it was the Greeks and Trojans were so intent on saving the bodies of their fallen comrades in connection with the type of dignity that Homer tries to restore to the soldiers by describing such gory deaths so beautifully. I had sent them home last class with a type of pull question to answer in their notebooks, basically asking them to think about the connection between soul and body.
I don’t know why I should have been surprised, but they actually went home and thought about it! And for a long time! So we ended up discussing it for the first 1/2 of class. The teachers who were visiting were completely shell-shocked and scarcely stirred the entire time. I don’t think they had ever seen a group of 8 high schoolers work so hard at a question before. It was a beautiful sight to see:)
I was doing some research for my music class in one of my off periods yesterday and I came across two things that I wanted to share.
The first is a video clip of a violinist playing Paganini’s Caprice No. 24. In case you haven’t heard of him, Niccolo Paganini was probably the greatest violinist who ever lived. Some of the pieces he composed are virtually un-playable for anyone else. Even then, it’s still hard to find a violinist who can play them WELL. I used to listen to this song as a kid during my four years of violin lessons. Seeing this clip, ESPECIALLY the end, however, made me realize that listening to this piece and WATCHING it are two very different things! Again, I was overcome by how extremely difficult it is to play anything from this composer.
Also, remember back when I posted about a girl named Connie who was the Runner Up on Britain’s Got Talent and had a CD coming out soon? This is her first single- you will not believe that she is only 6!!!
I just received my first paycheck today from St. Peter’s. I am going to go and do the Money Dance now.
“…….moneymoneymoneymoneymoneymoneymoneymoneyMONEY!!”
You so wish you could see this right now. You’d probably make fun of me for the rest of my life. But first paychecks are important, right?
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