A Phone Conversation

The woman on the other end had a thick accent. Although she was difficult to understand, I eventually caught on that she was doing a background check for a potential employer. She stated: I am calling to verify that David ___ graduated from "Homeschooled" on (date). Then she asked my name and position at "Homeschooled". Apparently, she never noticed that we share the same last name, and therefore, I am his mother.

Hmm, you think the company uses cheap labor from India?

Later~

Several companies are vying for David's attention. Today he had two lunch dates, both wanting to employ him. His second lunch date was at Ruth's Chris. Poor guy.

Jared's new job!

Around the beginning of the year, Jared decided he needed to apply for a job on the local police force. We weren't thrilled about the schedule or the possible dangers of the job (or the no beard requirement - I almost cried when he shaved it off for first time in 10 years!), but the starting pay was decent and we knew we could adjust our family life to accommodate Jared's work schedule. In late January, he easily passed the preliminary test and obstacle course, and then prepared for a 2-month wait to see if he would advance to the next round.

An unexpected phone call came later that week. Jared had sent his resume to a benefits enrollment company last fall, but despite several friendly phone calls, it seemed nothing was going to come of it. The phone call came out of the blue: "We just created a brand new position in the company. Can you come in for an interview this Friday?"

As the hours ticked by that Friday morning, I was simultaneously worried, excited, and trying not to get my hopes up. Even if the interview went well, our experience told us it would probably be weeks before they would be ready to make a decision. Finally, Jared called. "They unofficially offered me the job. I should get an official offer this afternoon."

The overwhelming, undiluted joy and excitement (and relief) I felt at that moment puts it squarely on my top 10 list. (You know, in there with moments I will remember forever like driving away from the church after we got married, holding my newborn boys, realizing I was on. my. own. at college, catching the first glimpse of Notre Dame in Paris)

The official offer did indeed arrive, followed by the offer letter. Jared started his job on February 14 - a great Valentine's Day gift! - and quickly acclimated to his new position. He is in charge of computer and printer hardware, as well as training and enrollment supplies. He spends most of his days fixing printers, installing printer drivers onto laptops, fixing people's computer problems, and shipping things all over the country.

The boys had to adjust to Daddy's new schedule. He used to spend the morning with them before work (his schedule at the bookstore was noon to 8 pm) but now he's gone before they wake up and home in time for dinner! The commute seems long for someone unaccustomed to typical rush-hour traffic, so we are looking at apartments in an area that's closer to his office but still no farther from church than we are now.

A week after he started the new job, he did get a letter from the police department saying he would not be continuing in the application process. Oh well! We only needed one job offer, and we are happy with the one he got.

Early Spring

We got a little taste of spring last week. The temperature was nearly perfect, the sky was bright blue, the cherry tree was clothed in clouds of pink. So sorry it didn't last long. We're back to cold winter temps.

Poor Little Head

OUCH! The little one took a tumble head-first into a metal door jam at church...and came up bloody. We tried to put a towel on it to contain the bleeding, but he fought and screamed and shook his head hard. Blood flew everywhere ~ something like a sprinkler spraying back and forth.As friends mopped up the mess on the kitchen floor, the hallway carpet, the door jam, the walls, and the refrigerator, we ran to the car with wads of paper towels; his face was covered in blood and pouring down more by the second. Off to the ER, a four-hour wait, and then four dissolvable stitches in his forehead.

All is well now.

It Takes Two to Tango!

"Slow, slow, quick, quick" -- various permutations of those words echo through my mind throughout the week. My beautiful bride and I are taking ballroom dancing lessons. We started in February and are now in our second month of Thursday night group lessons. Our instructor is a young lady from Bulgaria. Although she is no older than her thirties, if that, she will sometimes refer to us 50+ year olds as her children.

Foxtrot, waltz, tango, and a few others are the dances we've been learning. It is fun but definitely challenging. It is one thing to learn the sequence of steps in my mind, but quite another to get my "legs to remember" each step. It reminds me when I first learned to ride a bicycle; it was very unnatural at first. We need to practice more during the week, so sometimes we practice in our cramped spaces at home. We are looking forward to warmer weather to practice on our large patio.