Kevin is off auditioning for the symphony chorus in our new city. He has been diligently teaching himself an art song for the past few weeks and sang it for me before leaving. He sounds great! I’m a bit jealous of this opportunity that he’s seizing, but with a due date in early December, a need to complete a semester’s work in an abbreviated time period, and LOTS of adjustments this year, I promised myself I wouldn’t make any major commitments not related to school or childbirth so… I encouraged him to seize the opportunity for his personal growth, for the opportunity to make musical connections, and… well… just because he wants to and I think he should do things that make him happy. I’m eager to hear how the audition went. I pray this works out for him. And if it does, perhaps I’ll join him next year.
After church today we rather impulsively decided to try out an intriguing “meat and three” restaurant not too far from home. It seems it is primarily open on weekends; it seems to be closed most times we drive by. It was certainly a filling southern meal… and it involved biscuits so that made me happy. We picked up a Sunday paper on our way to lunch in order to look for things to do with Kev’s parents when they’re in town this week (rather, for Kev to do with his parents as this is the last week of French class and I’ll be in class or studying for a final for much of their visit) and to look for job opportunities for Kev. We found a few more intriguing possibilities for him. I’ll do an employment update in just a moment, but first… after coming back from lunch I did something I used to often do on Sunday afternoons, but haven’t done in a long time. I clipped coupons. I don’t know why I find doing this so satisfying, but it was a childhood treat and I still enjoy it today. I can’t believe how relatively stress free Sundays are now. Ah…
On the job front- Kev was surprisingly bumped up for an interview with U.P.S. this past Friday. It was a good experience. He thinks he could be happy working there, but… the compensation just isn’t what we need. He’d have to find another job and then would be constrained by his time commitments to U.P.S. It would be a good supplemental job to whatever else he finds, but not a good primary job. So… he’s going to tell them tomorrow he doesn’t want to be considered just now, but would appreciate his application being kept on file. He’s working on applying to the city schools as a substitute teacher (subbing two days a week would yield the same pay as five days a week part time with U.P.S.); he’s going to follow-up with several of the folks to whom he’s applied and some of the ads from today’s paper; and he’s going to start looking into temp agencies. I read some blogs of business owners bemoaning the lack of good workers… well, I’m married to a good worker, who is open to doing a wide range of things, who has a pretty wide-range of background experiences… I think he would be most employer’s dream come true. So… I hope some employers wise up and pay attention when he applies.
I was getting a bit anxious about his lack of secure employment, not because of our financial situation, we’re o.k. at the moment, but because one of my classmates urged me to start looking for child care NOW and to get on waiting lists, etc. It is hard to look for childcare when you don’t know what needed hours of care will be nor what income will be available to pay for said care. I just did a bit of research on-line though and think we’ll have options. So I’m going to take deep breaths and trust that things will continue to fall into place. It would be great, I think, to have an in-home care provider (as in, in our home) for at least the first year. It seems like Craig’s List might be a good way to begin to seek such a care provider out, there are folks posting on there now, offering their services, who sound like good possibilities. I hope the same would be true should we be looking in December… There is a child care center around the corner from our house that provides infant care… it is worth checking out… and we will… eventually.
I don’t know what it is about my brain that needs for certain pieces to fall into place before other pieces are explored. This approach led me to some difficulty in securing a midwife. If I had started searching for a midwife as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I would have been able to interview folks and take my pick, but I ended up going with the first available caregiver I found as all others were booked up. I feel good about the care providers we’ve found, but… I think there’s a lesson in this.
I’m procrastinating on reading Bonhoeffer’s dissertation. It has been a much more challenging read than Discipleship. I have only one chapter left, but that chapter is about 100 pages long and is the heart of the book.
I think I’m going to make some cookies for a discouraged classmate (who happens to be celebrating a birthday today) and I’ll read a bit as the dough chills…
I like open Sundays. A LOT.
praying for good results for Kevin, soon, and for your settling in. Open Sundays….hmmm.