The Longest Weekend ... EVER!

Friday began with my boss calling me into his office to tell me that due to "strategic reductions," he would no longer need a full-time assistant as of the end of May. Happy Friday, right?! I was totally shocked. Predictably; I had been running late and instead of taking the time to put on shoes, I wore flip flops to work. Boss was so kind to assure me that the change had nothing to do with my abilities or performance (in my head I added 'or flip flops'). I was totally teary over the news but did not cry. Hooray for being a grown-up. Boss also was beyond thoughtful in working to make another position here available to me. I still need to decide about this...more on this in a few paragraphs. It was a crazy day to get this news because I was extremely busy getting things settled for the Parent Association that was in town this weekend. So I didn't really get time to process it much.

I spent Friday night and all day Saturday with the Parent Association. It was fun... what can I say? I love taking care of details and I am a super schmoozer. Be assured; these are things my Mom is phenomenally proud of. When I am a parent maybe I will think the very same things these men and women do now, but there are a good deal of their concerns that have never even entered my mind. I think this is a good discussion- how different ages look at life and responsibilities and money and technology, etc. The spectrum is so very wide.

At each Parent Association get together, we like to have a student leader come and share about their group and perspective. This meeting an RA was going to come, but it fell through so I ended up sharing from my previous experience. That was actually such a blessing to me. Suddenly I was telling stories I had not thought of in awhile and reflecting on lessons learned that had been filed away this past year. It refreshed me not only to call to mind all the ways I saw God's faithfulness in those 2 years, but also reminded me how much passion I have for spiritual formation and student development and residence life. (I was actually looking at RS/RD positions last year before this job opportunity came up). The other position that is available to me is working more closely to this world. This vein of work also dovetails nicely with what I would love to do in the future- give people rest, coordinate details, etc. I will still be continuing to pray about it- but right now it looks like a go to me.

Friday also held a super amusing visit to Dr. Hockey. The blog could not do it justice, so ask me sometime in person and I will tell you the whole story- demonstration included. (A $50 value, absolutely free if you call in the next 10 minutes!) hahaha. :) If this is any indication, the beginning of the story involves me asking him if he makes art, him telling me he draws a little-comics and plays the guitar, and then me knocking the roll paper off it's holder and sending it rolling across the room. Awesome.

Kaitlyn had cleaned like crazy while I was working on Saturday. She made the place sparkle with her "woman's touch" however, it had not gotten rid of this mysterious odor coming from near and/or around our fridg. (PS- "mysterious odor" is an awesome thing to search for on google) This may be too graphic for those with weak stomachs, but to me it smells like urine and chicken broth. NASTY basically. Nothing smells funny in the fridg or freezer. We pulled out the fridg and Pine-Sol-ed behind it even; and still it smells. 2 thoughts I have are a dead mouse in our wall- ick! or something funky with our washer/dryer that sits on the other side of that wall. Hopefully the landlord will come look at it soon. That night Amy, Kaits and I went out to McCormick and Schmidt's. They have the best spinach and artichoke dip I have ever tasted. The three of us were all pretty impressed with our heads: my hot (high school free) hair, Kaitlyn's flower band and Amy's hat. Maybe we got hollered at by a man in a van as we walked across the street. "How you doing?" hahahahha.

Oh my word- this blog is getting to be as long as my weekend. hahahaha.

Sunday I had the little ones for church. I had prepared a lesson and stuff but didn't realize A.)how young some of them are and B.) how long I should prepare for. At one point one of the little children knocked a glass table over and a potted plant spilled all it's soil on the carpet and then all 8 children were running through it. My "helper" bit off the marker point and spit it out on the carpet also. hahaha. Teaching FAIL!

After church I had a long talk with Jolanda. She offered that if things should change now or in the future even more with my job or finances, that I could always come stay with her. She told me a bit of her testimony and how no one had ever offered her that in her younger struggling years. Can I just say that God's grace is truly incredible?! Jolanda's life is such an example of that. In the moment, I didn't realize what a big deal it was but as I left I was crying. Crying because I had just experienced from her a sense of stability and support I never expected outside of my blood relatives. I knew that if I asked my church for help in any way, they would take care of me but for her to offer independent of my desperation was more assuring than I could handle. That longing to be taken care of which I usually blame on not having a husband was suddenly completely taken care of by Christ's Body. Wow! Being a part of the church has turned my world upsidedown... How I wish everyone could experience what it means to be part of God's family. Realistically, I'm not concerned about not having a place to stay or anything right now, but just to know that somebody's got me just in case. That is so comforting. So so so so comforting.

Sunday was full of friends! I went to Alli's for a delicious lunch and time to catch up.
Then went with Scott and Joe to a burrito place for dinner. On the way we saw a man who looked like Sherlock Holmes board the bus- tweed suit, hat with feather, round glasses, red beard. Good times! We also saw a Mariachi Band. The boys totally had "pant envy."

OK, I think that's all. That's enough anyway right?... hahaha.