Monday, May 23, 2011

A Settling Down Place

I have once again managed to forget about my blog.  This time, it's been a solid month since I decided my ideas were worth writing down.  However, I will say it has been a super busy month.  During the second half of April and first half of May several of the wrinkles in my life seemed to just iron themselves out.  It's funny how I can let myself stress and stress and stress about things totally out of my own control (i.e. finding a job, finding more hours in the day), when I just need to let go of the situation and know that there is a divine plan for my life.

I would say that I'm always a pretty happy person, but in the last month or so the stars have aligned in a way that has brought me some extra happiness.  For example, after months of going to interviews, filling out applications, and stressing that I would never use my college degree, I got my first teaching job.  It's at a great school, and I cannot wait to start!  I got to see my future classroom last week, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about how to organize it.  On a bittersweet note, I also cleaned my metaphorical "life plate" and decided to quit my daytime job.  My house has never been so clean and my laundry has never stayed so caught up!  Creating an environment of order (and having just a few extra hours in my day) has such a way of cutting down on stress (especially for a major Type A personality like myself).

I read a quote by one of my favorite young adult authors, E.L. Konigsburg, just the other day.  It said, "happiness is excitement that has found a settling down place.  But there is always a little corner that keeps flapping around."  This image kind of perfectly describes how I feel these days. I'm so happy about being in a settling down place.  I think about my new job or my future students or quality time spent with close friends and that little corner of excitement comes back around.  But the thing is, I think my excitement is geared toward the settling down.  I guess, in a way, my "middle place" is getting ready to change again.  Good thing I have all summer to figure out exactly where I stand all over again.