Once Ryan came home from the trail, life became a blur. We were so blissfully happy to be back together again. Then we began planning our future.
August - We discuss building a tiny home. Yes, one of the ones you now see in three different TV shows. I turn 24. I get the best class ever. :-)
September - We begin preparing to build the house. Ryan joins the National Guard. Grad school is hard.
October - The house is in building mode. We almost get crushed by panels. Ryan finds out he is going to basic and then AIT for 6 MONTHS beginning in February (for those of you who've kept up, that's only a year after hiking the trail) in Oklahoma and then Texas. I began doing Beachbody workouts that changed my body forever.
November - It gets so cold outside, but we keep on building the house. Ryan comes to my house for Thanksgiving. Alabama wins the Iron Bowl! We reserve our reception venue: Tannehill State Park. We choose a date: October 17, 2015.
December - Work and school and dance are crazy! Ryan completes the outside of the house. We argue over the color of the front door (red or yellow). Red won. HAHA. Christmas is wonderful as always. I checked seeing Kelly Clarkson in concert off my bucket list.
January - Ryan prepares to leave. He begins working heavily on the inside of the house. Fixes up power. I start my third graduate school semester.
February - Ryan goes to Ft. Sill for Basic Training for National Guard. I can only write letters. I don't hear from him on the phone until later in March.
April - Ryan graduates from Basic Training. He moves onward to Ft. Sam Houston for AIT.
May - I complete my third year of teaching and receive tenure in my school district.
June - I visit Ryan in Ft. Sam Houston and begin wedding planning like crazy!
And that's just the highlights!
Monday, June 22, 2015
Patience
My mother always told me to never pray for patience. She told me that it would only lead to situations where I'd have to have a lot of patience. Well, I hate to say it but moms are pretty much always right. I don't remember the initial situation I prayed for patience. It could have been when I had to wait on my ACT results in high school or when I had a lot of school work in college, but I do remember the time I prayed for patience the most. It was back in 2012 right after I graduated from college. Like most college graduates, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with myself. I had a degree in elementary education, but I had no idea if I was going to be given the chance to use my degree. Would I be chosen to teach at a school or would I have to find something else to do? Should I be like all the other kids and run off to a foreign country to do who knows what? I wasn't sure. My fiance (boyfriend at the time) and I were in a hard spot as well. While he had a semester left in college, I had no idea what he was going to do once he graduated in December. It was a very unpredictable time and being the analytical person I am, I enjoy having a definite plan. So I prayed for patience....
If you can't tell from this blog, I've had to wait on a lot of things. Many of these waiting periods are due to my long distance relationship with my fiance; however, he's not the only reason I need patience. No, when I think back on the last three years I realize now that God wanted me to pray for patience. He knew that I was in a boat without a paddle. My crazy planner brain couldn't think my way out of any of these upcoming situations. I'd have to sit back, relax, and wait. It was going to be tough for me.
First of all, God wanted me to be a teacher. Not just any teacher. He wanted me to teach kindergarten. I realize that there are difficulties when working with all types of children, but kindergarten is by far one of the hardest age levels to work with. I didn't get this job right off the bat either. I had to wait and use my patience until the middle of August. I was initially called as a substitute teacher. Finally, I was given the job. The class was rough. My principal watched me like a hawk. If it hadn't been for this patience, I have no idea how I would have made it through the year. At this point in my life, the patience I had was weak. It needed to be strengthened.
Second of all, God wanted me to marry Ryan. He knew I needed him and than he needed me. God also knew that in order to be with him, I was going to need to become calm and gentle. 2013 had its own surprises though. Ryan announced that he was moving to Gatlinburg. What began as 6 months stretched into a whole entire year. Needless to say, my patience was wearing thin. It was very hard to be tested in so many angles of life.
In the midst of our 7 hour long distance relationship, I got pink slipped from teaching job. Crazy I know. Another summer of no plans. At that time I had no idea when Ryan would be ending his time in the mountains. I took about 3 weeks of time to not think about any of it. We went to Myrtle Beach and Charleston. I went to Destin with my family. At the culmination of these events I prayed for the patience to weather out anything that would come my way.
Well, I was asked to return to my teaching position later that summer. What a relief that was. I went into the interview with a plan. At least that part of myself comes in handy sometimes. I nailed it and got my job back fair and square. It was such a high! Kindergarten again. Year two, I was ready to do it well. August-October flew by seamlessly. I missed Ryan hopelessly, but my classroom was great. And then...I got my first student who did no know a lick of English. Oh my. Here it was. My patience being tested. Being strengthened. If at the time I had sat back and taken this as a gift, I would have done a much better job. This was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do in teaching. Little did I know, to date it would be my most rewarding experience so far.
And then the second reason for this blog happened. Ryan announced that he was going to hike the Appalachian Trail. I really don't remember when he officially said he would hike the trail. He talked about doing it for so long. I just gradually became more and more real. I won't lie to you. I fought long and hard about this. Ryan and I did not agree on him hiking the trail. I did not understand it mostly because I was scared. I wanted to be with Ryan, but I was beginning to wear out. He'd moved away and was now going to hike a trail for four months. When was this ever going to end? I was unaware of any plans being made for our future. I probably was not the most pleasant person to be around in the fall of 2013.
And somehow, Ryan still loved me despite all of that. This is the time when I needed him. I needed him to show me that he was serious. That he cared about me and wanted me to be a part of his life. But he was here to teach me how to enjoy the waiting. He gave me something to do. He proposed to me. I am very glad for the timing of this........
If you can't tell from this blog, I've had to wait on a lot of things. Many of these waiting periods are due to my long distance relationship with my fiance; however, he's not the only reason I need patience. No, when I think back on the last three years I realize now that God wanted me to pray for patience. He knew that I was in a boat without a paddle. My crazy planner brain couldn't think my way out of any of these upcoming situations. I'd have to sit back, relax, and wait. It was going to be tough for me.
First of all, God wanted me to be a teacher. Not just any teacher. He wanted me to teach kindergarten. I realize that there are difficulties when working with all types of children, but kindergarten is by far one of the hardest age levels to work with. I didn't get this job right off the bat either. I had to wait and use my patience until the middle of August. I was initially called as a substitute teacher. Finally, I was given the job. The class was rough. My principal watched me like a hawk. If it hadn't been for this patience, I have no idea how I would have made it through the year. At this point in my life, the patience I had was weak. It needed to be strengthened.
Second of all, God wanted me to marry Ryan. He knew I needed him and than he needed me. God also knew that in order to be with him, I was going to need to become calm and gentle. 2013 had its own surprises though. Ryan announced that he was moving to Gatlinburg. What began as 6 months stretched into a whole entire year. Needless to say, my patience was wearing thin. It was very hard to be tested in so many angles of life.
In the midst of our 7 hour long distance relationship, I got pink slipped from teaching job. Crazy I know. Another summer of no plans. At that time I had no idea when Ryan would be ending his time in the mountains. I took about 3 weeks of time to not think about any of it. We went to Myrtle Beach and Charleston. I went to Destin with my family. At the culmination of these events I prayed for the patience to weather out anything that would come my way.
Well, I was asked to return to my teaching position later that summer. What a relief that was. I went into the interview with a plan. At least that part of myself comes in handy sometimes. I nailed it and got my job back fair and square. It was such a high! Kindergarten again. Year two, I was ready to do it well. August-October flew by seamlessly. I missed Ryan hopelessly, but my classroom was great. And then...I got my first student who did no know a lick of English. Oh my. Here it was. My patience being tested. Being strengthened. If at the time I had sat back and taken this as a gift, I would have done a much better job. This was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do in teaching. Little did I know, to date it would be my most rewarding experience so far.
And then the second reason for this blog happened. Ryan announced that he was going to hike the Appalachian Trail. I really don't remember when he officially said he would hike the trail. He talked about doing it for so long. I just gradually became more and more real. I won't lie to you. I fought long and hard about this. Ryan and I did not agree on him hiking the trail. I did not understand it mostly because I was scared. I wanted to be with Ryan, but I was beginning to wear out. He'd moved away and was now going to hike a trail for four months. When was this ever going to end? I was unaware of any plans being made for our future. I probably was not the most pleasant person to be around in the fall of 2013.
And somehow, Ryan still loved me despite all of that. This is the time when I needed him. I needed him to show me that he was serious. That he cared about me and wanted me to be a part of his life. But he was here to teach me how to enjoy the waiting. He gave me something to do. He proposed to me. I am very glad for the timing of this........