Getting Personal: Part 3

cont'd...

ON PEACE:
I recently found this quote and love it:
~ Often the things that we judge to be bad are simply events we are not enjoying in the moment – without any regard for the blessing that change can bring in the long run.~

As a result of being thrown outside of a comfort zone, some beautiful things have been born that would have otherwise not been conceived of. And I can see them now. Here are a few:

Watch Me Draw!
We started a company (an extension of our friend Alex’s company) that we’d always been interested in, but never previously had the time to expend. While it’s not making us rich at this point, it has been a beautiful addition to our community and the lives of our children. It’s been a thoroughly positive experience all the way around.

My Education
The comment I get the most is “how do you find the time or energy to do everything you’re doing!”. And my answer is: necessity. When something goes from a want to a need, life changes. Since the economy was horrid and our company was slowly growing, I immediately began looking for options. After an immense amount of work and effort, I had completed my CA teaching credential. I’ve subbed a ton. But there are no benefits/insurance/retirement that come from subbing. And after learning that 250 other people applied for the same local teaching job I applied for, I realized I needed to take it to the next level. Again, NEED.

Enter into the picture, my Master’s degree. I began searching for possible itinerant teaching positions. I loved the flexibility that came with pulling students out of their classroom for special care, rather than being locked into one room for 8 hours. Plus, specialists are not thrown around to-and-fro nearly as much as a non-tenured teacher: stability. I was drawn over and over to the type of itinerant position that Tiffany does for the SLC school district as a Teacher of the Visually Impaired. After hours and hours of extensive research, I realized there are only two schools in all of California that offer the degree.

Long story short, and lots and lots (and LOTS) of blind-faith moments later, I am accepted into the Orientation & Mobility Master’s degree program through San Francisco State University (a mere 215 miles away from here).

About Orientation & Mobility
I have chosen a VERY specific niche. And for reasons I can’t explain, I have been pulled there. Scary? Yes. Intimidating? Yes. Long drive? Yes. Peace? Yes.

I attended an orientation yesterday for the program. I took Tucker to San Francisco with me so he could see the world that will be mine once a week for two years. It was overwhelming and exciting. I will be learning brail. I will be spending hours and hours navigating around San Francisco with a blindfold and a cane (and a guide). I will be working with the deaf-blind. I will have the opportunity to visit the Helen Keller Center in New York.

I feel the natural pull of being ME and being a MOM. I think that pull is universal and there are no absolutes. It is finding the balance that is right for my family and my kids. I loved my mom’s advice when she pointed out the importance of me including my kids on this adventure. It would not be healthy to do this and try to smooth it all out so it doesn’t effect them AT ALL. Because then I would be denying them experiences. I want to take them to San Francisco on occasion. I want to teach them about my cane, my blindfold and how to properly approach a blind person. If I include them in my journey, then I’m simultaneously teaching them.

My goal? To have a job that is secure, flexible, has the option of part-time, and service-oriented.

ON TUCKER’S NEW JOB:
In our effort to “be still”, it has often seemed ridiculous to me that we haven’t picked up and moved anywhere in the country that we could find a job for Tucker. But I have very carefully interpreted what “be still” has meant for us. Tucker has grown Watch Me Draw from home and what a blessing that has been because I was able to student teach AND long-term sub. Sure, we have been dirt poor. But I had the belief that it wasn’t a permanent condition. And I’ve tried REALLY hard to focus on the non-monetary blessings that were unfolding (which is reeeeeaaaaalllllyyyy hard when lack-of-money feels so all-consuming).

Financing took an even bigger dive this summer, which initiated another huge spread of the resume and job applications for Tucker. For every 60 sent out, maybe one interview is requested. It’s been quite devastating.

But one such request came from a company called Medical Billing Technologies in Visalia (about 15 minutes from here) when we were in UT this summer. “Can you interview this week?”. Tucker was able to postpone the interview until we returned. (And looking back, I’m so glad this wasn’t a deal-breaker for them!) . Matters became serious when he enthusiastically called me immediately after this first interview. This wasn’t just any old filler-job…this was a job to really pursue and fight for! A BLESSING! That began a loooong three week wait filled with a second interview, a hope for an offer, then an offer, a counter-offer, more waiting and….finally…an official job!! We are so thrilled. Salary, commission and benefits. Stability (for now)! And a genuinely good, productive, compassionate company.

We’ve reflected so much on this job in the last few weeks. First of all, it is a position that is brand new to this company. It would not have been available or possible until NOW. Right now (the right timing). And, although Tuckers years of business experience were a match with the requirements, what really drew them to him was his past 18 months of working directly with principals and superintendants for Watch Me Draw! This position requires that sort of exposure. Little did we know that we were being prepared for this. In so many ways, we can look back and understand that this job is so much more than “lucky”. It truly is a result of a belief and a vision. It was ready to be led to us if we were sure to “be still” and make choices along the way and not reactions to the pain and confusion.

Here is a brief description of the company:
More than one million children in California lack health insurance, and the company’s chief goal is to link eligible children with available health care services. In addition to promoting general wellness and development, these services improve the ability of children to attend school and their capacity to learn.

Medical Billing Technologies Inc. serves school districts, county offices of education, community colleges, public health departments and community-based organizations, helping them to participate in four federally funded reimbursement programs administered by the California Department of Health Care Services. With MBT's guidance, these entities receive more than $40 million in reimbursements annually.


This is a healthy next step for us. By no means do I think our trials are over. But I feel that we’ve reached a new plateau (thanks for the analogy mom). We’ve climbed and climbed and now we can rest for a bit on this semi-flat ground we’ve reached and prepare for the next set of rocky trials life will throw around. I am thankful for momentary experiences of peace and humility. And I am particularly thankful to our families for the emotional, temporal and physical support they offer. Our family is a divine extension of God in our lives.