Vida. Risa. Amor.

A lot changes in one year.  Today I'm thinking about all the different changes that my family and myself have been through and realize there are huge parts of our lives that I haven't bothered to write about. 

A year ago at this time I would have been getting ready for work...though I would have been panicking of what to wear because I was nervous about standing in front of a medical class of 60 highschool students.  This class was 89% female; 16 & 17 year old girls.  So I found out quickly that they really check out shoes, if you share your gum, what you wear, jewelry, if you smell nice, and how you wear your hair.  My oldest daughter is in their same age group, and I am impressed to say their generation isn't entirely materialistic.  They're mostly good kids, with a lot of hard things going on in their lives, and have the surprising ability to see right through you and know when an adult is legitimately real or not.  Around October I didn't feel so scared from coming out from behind the desk so much, and they figured out I was pretty cool and told me so.  I loved sitting on the floor and helping them with their projects...and they liked my drawing & whistling.

So that was a year ago, and I had thought that I would be back to work there again when the new school year started up a month ago, but maybe because of a turn over in administrators, and teachers, I am still left waiting, and wondering.  There was a lot that I really liked about that job.  One of the best things about it was that it was only 4 hours a day and I had weekends, holidays, and summers off...it really worked with my family's busy schedule.

And in the meantime I have applied to approximately 15 different jobs.  I'm still waiting and wondering, though fully in the project mode since we all know I am incapable for sitting still for long...even if it's 105 degrees.  My summer "bucket list" of making a garden is really coming along.

Another change is both my girls have switched teams recently.  We've become a very athletic family and my daughters are very passionate about their different sports; Josie in soccer, and Lanie with softball.  It was a hard decision for Josie to leave a team of 3 years to switch to a different one, and as the parent it was hard to leave too, since there were a lot of friendships formed on the sidelines together.  There's good things to say about both teams, but the one thing we knew that mattered the most for Josie was the realization that she wasn't going to get any better unless she was challenged and played at a more competitive level.  It's the beginning of the new season now with her new team, and so far we hope it was the right one. 

Now that my Lanie is 13 1/2 already, (what?), and because she couldn't continue to play for her 12U softball team anymore we had to find a new 14U team for her to play on.  The tryout process takes thick skin, and is truly one crazy ride, because the area where we live in Arizona has become extremely competitive for softball.  Tryouts are also a very humbling experience for a 13 year old to have to go through, and I kind of felt like her agent checking 43ft.com every day for new tryout postings of about 25 different teams in the area.  Lanie carries herself with a new confidence she didn't have as much a year ago, and the number one team she wanted to make, asked her to join.  It was probably the best news of the year for her, and I am so happy she can continue to grow with a great group of coaches and girls.

With my four in sports again, my family's schedule has already taken over the calendar.  And though I am still waiting and wondering if I will find an opportunity to earn some extra money soon, I figure there must be some kind of awesome reason I am gardening by day and taxiing by evening instead of working right now.

...I guess I'm just a wondering woman. ;)