~and they are more than worth it~

I made the journey from Grandfield to Newkirk yet another time today.  As soon as school was finished and the kids were safely where they should be, I headed north.  It seemed like trip number "gazillion" yet in reality it is only about the 8th one.  I made it safe and sound, miraculous when you consider the awful traffic that Oklahoma City has to offer during rush hour.  I praise God for it all and I know that my prayers are heard all along the way.  I wonder how many other drivers offer up a petition to the Heavens above that sound just like mine on any given day.
"Please God, help me!  This traffic is horrible today."
This never ending saga of not being able to call one place "home" yet for more than a couple of days at a time began in earnest on February 11th.  Mike and I moved into the tiny cabin at the local KOA in Burkburnett, Texas after our home in town sold less than 72 hours after it went on the market.  We lived there for a month, then closed on our house here in Newkirk.  Mike and Gus went ahead of me in order that he could begin work here.  I stayed behind, living in a nice camper at the KOA and then a motel that was closer to where I teach at Grandfield.  Basically only 3 more weeks remain of school which means that finally at long last all the drives back and forth will be finished.  As much as I will miss my students at school, one thing is for certain.

I'll be so thankful when school is out and these 450 mile round trip excursions will be finished.

I have learned a good plenty from this experience, and it has proven to be a period of much needed growth for me.  Having to live out of  a suitcase and a backpack for the past 2 1/2 months has taught me so much.  I've learned the value of simple things like having a plastic spoon in my purse and a styrofoam cup in my backpack in order to make a cup of coffee in the morning.  I began to appreciate having a plastic grocery bag in my car for all those times when I needed one to transport things back and forth.  You don't think about things like that when you have a house filled with your personal belongings, and they are always at the ready.  I saw how much I've been taking for granted.   Quite honestly, I had no idea just how much I really had before all this happened.

 Shame on me.

My heart has been filled with such joy at the kindness of friends who have been concerned about me and worried if I had a place to stay at night.  It has gotten quite expensive, this business of living basically on the road.   Since February we have been paying extra living expenses in addition to our own home.  People realized that and stepped in to help make accommodations for me so that I could finish the school year with my kids.  It's a humbling experience, truly it is.  Yet how thankful I am for the group of good folks who desired to help me carry my burdens and gave me the message.
"Don't worry about a place to stay.  We have you covered.  Just leave it to us.  We can handle it for you."
And handle it they did.

 Perhaps the greatest of things that I have learned through all of this is to appreciate my good husband Mike even more than I already did.  Things are not always easy in life, and we have surely had our share of ups and downs.  Yet through it all, Mike is always there for me and I am always there for him.  Realizing just how fast the 6 years since we have been married have gone, is a sobering thought.  Only the good Lord above knows how much time we, or anyone else for that matter, have left together.  

 My hope is to be ever mindful of that in the days and months that lie ahead.  
I have been most blessed.
On the last day of school I will say good-bye to these wonderful children.  I will know in my heart that finishing the year with them, no matter the cost or sacrifice, was the most important thing I could have done.  I have given a year of my life to them and they in turn have given a year of their lives to me.  I love them so very much.

 They are more than worth it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

As We All Hang on to Hope/Along the Road to Home

Image
The birds were singing in our neighborhood this early February morning.  The resident Northern Cardinal called out from the tops of the trees in our side yard to any and all who would hear it.  The Cedar Waxwing, House Finch, and European Starling joined in the chorus as well.  It was so nice to hear their voices as I stood on the front porch breathing in the fresh air.  It gave me hope that someday soon all the many birds will return as the weather and the calendar move closer to spring. We hang on to that hope. For the past month, during these horribly cold days of January and winter, I have been trying to get some spider plants to start in the south kitchen window.  Slowly I watched their roots develop, getting bigger and stronger every morning.  I knew it would be time to soon take them from the water and transplant the tender young plants into soil.  I wasn't really expecting to do it this morning, but the weather brought us more tolerable tempera...
Read more

From the plains of Oklahoma, along the road to home

Image
It's early, in fact it's 4:30 a.m. in the morning early, here along the plains of Oklahoma.  The house is remarkably quiet save for the once in a while snoring sound of Gus, our 7-year-old miniature Aussie dog.  I love the quiet and every chance I can, I sit in it and relish the gift of peace that it offers to me.  Soon enough the sun will arise, cars will wake up on the streets of our town, and children will venture up and down Magnolia Avenue on their bicycles as they yell back and forth to one another. The gift only lasts so long so I enjoy it when and while I can. Many years ago, I began blogging right before I left for the Bike Across Kansas in the summer of 2011.  Writing turned out to be something I really loved to do and so I continued during the summer.  In August of 2011, a really poor decision made while I was riding a bike ended up sending me to the hospital with a badly broken left arm and wrist.  The recovery was a long one, punctuated by nume...
Read more

~and I came here to stay~

Image
I learned something about myself as a teacher and a person during the first 3 days of school last week, and the something is this. "I have a plenty to learn." I have wanted to be a teacher for Ponca City Public Schools   for well over a year now.   I wanted to come here because I knew it would be a great opportunity to grow and change as a teacher.  With a quite limited number of years left as a public school educator, I didn't want to waste the chance to be able to help kids in any way that I could.  This particular district offers a tremendous amount of support to its staff who in turn are able to pass that support on to the children they teach each day.  I like that about being here, and it is a win-win  for all concerned. I definitely learned a lot during the first three days of school, and some of it was the hard way.  It's a humbling thing to be a veteran teacher of 40 years now and find yourself making mistakes that others who have bee...
Read more