The Spring is a Lie

Happy Spring, from the Great White Midwest! It certainly doesn’t feel like springtime around here, and there’s no sign of it in the foreseeable future. Oh well, that’s Ohio weather for you. This is the view from my back sliding glass door taken just a few minutes ago.

I missed my ten-year OD anniversary back in December, but there wasn’t much to update. There still isn’t, but I don’t like to let this thing sit idle for too long.

I’m in the home stretch for my master’s degree. I submitted my thesis (all 90 pages of it) to my committee last week and have gotten feedback from 2/3 of them. One said, "In general, I liked it better each time I read it," and another said, "Engaging read. Impressive contribution to the field!" So that’s encouraging. My defense is scheduled for the beginning of April, and then I’ll be graduating at the end of April. I’m so ready to be done! I’m almost certain I won’t be pursuing my Ph.D., so it will feel good knowing I’ll never have to do homework again! Not that I’ll stop my personal development and learning, but it will be at my leisure. For instance, I’m currently reading "The Advantage" by Patrick Lencioni and I’m learning so much from it that I can’t wait to apply in the workplace.

The job search isn’t going very well. I haven’t been called in for many interviews and those I have been called in for haven’t resulted in anything. Currently, Bobby is encouraging me to only apply for jobs that will utilize my education and advance my career. I don’t want to be a secretary again, but if I go too long without a job, I may have to do that again until something better opens up. Once I graduate, I can apply for adjunct teaching positions, so I may try that while I’m looking for full-time work. Regardless, it’s very nice to have such a supportive husband who wants the best for me and encourages me to reach for the stars.

Speaking of Bobby, I have been praying that he would be blessed for being such a good provider for us. My prayers were answered! He has been working hard on overhauling his company’s website and they recognized the contributions he has been making. Each year, the executive team chooses a handful of people who have made a difference in the company and sends them and one guest each on an all-expenses-paid retreat. The year before Bobby and I met, he got to go on the retreat which was held at a resort in Indiana around this time of year. This year he was chosen for the retreat, so he and I will be going to a resort in Orlando, Florida later this spring! The company is going to pay for our airfare, our hotel room, all of our meals and adult beverages, and spa packages for four days and three nights! We’ve scheduled a couple’s massage, and I’m getting a facial with a soothing peppermint scalp therapy, and a whole body seaweed wrap. We had the option to go on some excursions, including Disney World, but they were only one-day tickets and since I’ve never been to Disney World, Bobby said we’ll have to go sometime when we can spend more time in the park. I’m perfectly fine with the spa weekend! I’ll be done with my thesis so I’ll be able to read some books that have nothing to do with emotional intelligence or crisis response. I’m so looking forward to lounging by one of the many resort pools or relaxing in the spa with a magazine, not worrying about APA format!

Later in the summer, I’ve organized a Habitat for Humanity build day in honor of my little brother. It will be a chance for his friends and family to get together near the anniversary of his death and remember him while giving something back to the community. I’m looking forward to that.

Then a few weeks after that, Bobby and I will be going to the lake where my little brother died. His family had been vacationing there for years before we met. Then his mother got married the first summer we were together, and then his brother got married the second summer, then his stepsister was very pregnant the third summer, and we got married the fourth summer. So this is the first summer that no one is getting married or is too pregnant to travel. Bobby’s mom and stepdad rented a large chalet on the lake and we’ll be staying there with a bunch of Bobby’s family, enjoying some boating and other water activities. I’m planning on getting a group picture at the Habitat for Humanity event, putting it in a sealed glass bottle with a letter, and dropping that off the cliff into the water where Ryan drowned. I think it will be a little bit of closure and a way for me to feel close to him.

What else…? Oh, I’ve been volunteering in my sister-in-law’s (Bobby’s brother’s wife) first grade classroom since January. I sit at a little desk out in the hallway and help the kids get caught up on homework they may have missed while sick, or I do reading tests with them. I was a little wary about it at first, but after the first day in the classroom I had so much fun and look forward to it every week. The kids are really great (they call me Miss Megan since I have the same last name as their teacher and it would be too confusing for them to have two Mrs. So-and-So’s) and they are so funny at times! There’s even a little girl who comes up and gives me a big hug whenever she sees me. I’ll definitely miss volunteering when I finally get a job. In fact, I decided that if I ever become the leader of an organization, I’ll offer time off to do volunteer work in the community.

Hopefully there won’t be five months until my next update!