Welcome to the first post from my new house!
You should feel privileged to be experiencing this…. I know I do. 
So, now the modem’s working. I’m getting ready to make sure the wireless works…because if it doesn’t then I shall be sitting in a pile of boxes until the office is put together!
Then I’m going to start painting the bathroom I think…
It’s definitely been an interesting week! Last Sunday started the move, with probably about 1/3 of the stuff in my apartment. I now have Internet, phone and satellite at the house, but no TV, because I can’t move it by myself and we ran out of room last weekend!
I’m taking a load of stuff over today and then will likely spend most of the afternoon and evening painting, before I head back to the apartment.
For all of you that have asked, Oscar seems to be adjusting well. He loves being able to play in the yard, because oddly enough, he loves grass!
I need to make another quick trip to Lowe’s on the way across the river, so I’m out for now.
Tomorrow is closing! I still don’t know what time closing is or how much money I’m supposed to bring….
Makes sense to me. How about you?
Do you trust your friends to a fault? or, do you trust the moment?
By the moment, I mean what is happening around you. No matter how much people think that they know their friends and family, there is always the ability to suppress and hide areas of life that the [owner] doesn’t want others to know about.
Face it, we have all done or said things that we don’t want people to know about. Some of us even continue to do these things on a regular basis, despite the embarrassment or shame that they may bring to us!
The way I look at it, is that we stop asking questions. If you stop asking questions, you stop learning. People and relationships are always evolving and changing, so why should we want to stop learning about the people around us? Your friends and loved ones deserve your love and respect, but they also deserve your ability to offer constructive criticism and identify areas that they in turn need to make changes in. Without asking you may never know the reason(s) behind words or actions. Making assumptions can destroy lifelong bonds and keep new bonds from ever being made.
Step out of your comfort zone and trust someone, but don’t be afraid to continue learning at the same time.
“Our minds have the need to “know.” When we don’t know, we make assumptions - they
make us feel safer than not knowing. And we are pretty much always
making assumptions. We assume that we know how someone is going to
react to us. We assume that our efforts will or will not be successful.
And not only do we believe our assumptions about what other people are
thinking, but then we end up taking those assumptions personally and
even end up resenting the person. To avoid assumptions, ask questions.
It takes courage to trust the present moment, to allow other people to
be exactly who they are, and to let life unfold according to its own
plan… and it avoids a great deal of suffering.“
Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements [agreement 3: Don’t make assumptions]
A week ago, I bought a new (to me) house in Marion, AR. Now, for those of you that don’t live around this area, please don’t freak out on me! Marion is still considered part of the Memphis Metro area, so I’m not moving far. The house is about 25 miles from where I currently live, but it is only 2.5 miles from my office!
I thought that I’d put up a few pictures, so everyone can see the basics.
The front… shutters will likely be painted a maroon color sometime after I move in.
Living room of course…. first of order of business will be to paint/replace the mantle and then crown moulding will be put in living room and dining
Kitchen and dining room already have custom tile, so wainscoting/beadboard(below chair rail) will be done first with the crown moulding. Eventually, the kitchen will be completely redone.
Kitchen’s not bad. eventually cabinets will be replaced or refinished (depending on my time commitment and price), countertops will be replaced and stove and dishwasher will be replaced.
Not much to be done in the bedrooms. One is bright pink, so it will be painted immediately. Eventually, I’d like to replace the carpet with hardwood, but that isn’t on the top of my priority list.
The back yard! This is only a small portion of the yard. The house is on a large corner lot and it’s about 1/2 acre.
Anyone is welcome to come visit (and help move :-P) after I get settled or before I get settled. But be warned, if you come before I get settled, you might be unpacking boxes and hanging pictures!
Back to work after almost 2 weeks of vacation was a lot easier than it has been at past jobs. Of course though, this was the first year in 3 that my vacation wasn’t spent overseas, so that definitely makes a difference too!
Many of you know that I just spent two weeks with my parents in Nevada and Northern California. For those of you that were not privileged to know that information, after my trip to Zambia was canceled for this summer, I was given the opportunity to join my mom and dad on vacation. I figured “Why not! It’s a cheap way to get out of town for a few days”.
So, I thought I might catch you up on our adventures and let you know what’s been going on. I’m going to try and separate it out by days a little, but I don’t know how successful I’ll be… please forgive me in advance!
Day 1
Not much happened today. After work I drove the 6 hours to mom and dad’s to arrive around 12:30 AM.
Watch for coming posts…
I’m officially licensed! I passed the ASWB licensure exam this morning with flying colors. All the studying for the last 3 months and the nervousness finally paid off.
Maybe now I can catch up with the rest of my life!
Working in the mental health field, I often listen to people talk about their lack of feeling…. whether it be for self, others or anything at all. It worries me to see a child filled with hatred for self and others and not be willing to try and help themselves. It’s one thing to not understand that someone can help you, but it’s a completely different thing to refuse help when you know it’s out there.
What ever happened to people having hopes and dreams and working towards them and rejoicing in the idea that you’ve done something to help others or to better yourself? Or in knowing that you’ve put in a hard week’s work?
THE INVITATION..
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for,
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love, for your dream,
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own,
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic,
to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself;
if you can hear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul;
if you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty,
even when it’s not pretty, every day,
and if you can source your own life
from it’s presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
and still stand on the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“YES!”
It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up,
after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone,
and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or
what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you, from the inside,
when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments
For those of you that don’t know, May is National Mental Health Month. This year the focus is on “Getting Connected”, whether it be with family, community or mental health professionals (if necessary).
So, join me in celebrating mental health. You can celebrate good mental health or if you’re like me, you can celebrate the lack of it!
C’est la vie
Yes, I know…. many people have been asking me why I haven’t been keeping up with my blog. So, here are my excuses:
1. The last 6-8 weeks at my previous job, I was working about 65-70 hours per week. This didn’t always include the 1 1/2 hour commute (each way).
2. I was tired.
3. I couldn’t think of much to write, because I wasn’t really doing anything besides working.
Hopefully, in the coming weeks everything will level out and I will be able to begin writing again on a more regular basis.
Once again, God has shown me His faithfulness and provided me with a new job! Obviously, that means no more 3+ hours of driving every day… no more frustration, because I have so many clients that I can’t provide the appropriate care… and of course new people, new training and new clients.
I will be doing basically the same type of therapy with children and families as I have been doing, but just with a different company. The entire process of finding the position, interviewing, and starting, has been a confidence booster for me. The people that I was working with (not company wise, but between companies) are now co-workers and acted as wonderful references for me, both formally and informally. I miss my clients, especially the little ones, and their smiling faces and even their occasional temper tantrums.
In the next few months, I am going to begin looking for a house again, with the idea of buying a foreclosure that hopefully won’t need much work. My trip to Zambia for this summer has been canceled, due to finances, but because of the cancellation I will be going on vacation with Mom and Dad in June/July. We will be traveling to Lake Tahoe and Sequoia National Forest in Northern California for about a week. I’ve never been to either place, so it will be an adventure. This trip is partially in celebration of Dad’s 70th birthday, which was yesterday.
Out for now!
Wow! What a week…
I know it’s been a while, but I’ve been astonished at how much time seems to fly by when you’re working 50-60 hours per week.
Thank you TN weather! I now have hail damage to my new car…. Later
So folks, I’m sorry about the delay in posting… Despite the promises to keep things updated, sometimes life gets a little hectic!
To catch everyone up in an expeditious and uniform manner since the last update.
Monday, July 23rd - offered (& excepted) a children and family therapy position with a company based out of West Memphis, AR. Start making plans for the move back to Memphis
Wednesday, July 25th - packed my car and headed for Memphis to find an apartment.
Thursday, July 26th - signed lease on my apartment.
Friday, July 27th - headed to San Antonio, TX to pack up my apartment there and move back
Saturday, July 28th - arrive in San Antonio to find that the locks had indeed been changed on my apartment and, after entering the apartment, that the power had been turned off, with the apartment complex saying “We don’t know who did it and we don’t control the power (it’s a co-op)”. Needless to say, everything in the freezer was rotten and the whole place was absolutely nasty. What should have been a fairly easy move was terribly hideous and disgusting.
I ended up staying with my friends Sara and Scott 3 nights until my dad arrived in San Antonio. Plus, the move was moved up a day!
Sunday, July 29th - Sara and I started cleaning the apartment and dragging crap out.
Monday, July 30th - Sara and I continued packing and cleaning the apartment.
Tuesday, July 31st - Sara and I continued packing and cleaning. U-Haul ended up being a 28 foot truck, instead of the 22 foot truck I ordered and it broke down. Picked Dad up at the airport. Loaded the U-Haul with Scott, Sara, new friends from SA and some people I had never met!
Wednesday, August 1st - Headed for Memphis with Dad driving the truck!!!!! Yipppeeee!
Thursday, August 2nd - Arrived in Memphis to a new apartment that doesn’t smell like dead people! Unloaded the U-Haul
Saturday, August 4th - went shopping to replace mattress, box springs, couch and love seat.
Monday, August 6th - Started my new job!
So, I’ve been back in Memphis for almost two months and I couldn’t be happier. I love my job, although it’s exhauting and crazy! I’m doing what I’ve wanted to do for a long time and I’m back in one of the places that I call home… I couldn’t be happier at this point!
Life is definately good right now and I’m enjoying being back with friends and closer to family. I missed being able to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and just another day at work with my friends. Now, I can focus on the important things in life, like midnight conversations in the driveway…. sushi dinners…. new babies…. laughing together instead of over the phone and giving a hug when someone needs it!
So, if you think I sound a bit spastic, I probably am! The coffee consumption has increased due to my work hours, but I’m also much happier than I have been for a long time. I prefer it that way… especially in comprison to the neurotic and apprehensive way in which I was living.
Now, I’m going to unpack a few boxes since I still need to find my DSM-IV TR.
Well, I got a job! Finally…
August 6th, I start with a child and family therapy company in West Memphis, AR. I will be a school based child therapist for the time being.
I’m currently in Memphis, trying to find an apartment that’s available to move into in a week. I’ll be leaving for San Antonio in the morning and will arrive on Saturday afternoon. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday will be spent packing up and loading the moving truck. Wednesday my Dad and I will head back to Memphis and will arrive on Thursday, to unload on Thursday night!
It will be a crazy week, but I’m excited to be going back to Memphis. I can’t wait to start my new job and be working with a population that I’m excited about and want to work with!
Ever lived in a town (recently) where you can leave your car running, with the dog in it…. to go in the store? I haven’t since I was very young.
…. where there’s only a one screen movie theatre? and one pizza place, that’s next to the movie theatre (and you can take your pizza in to the movie with you)?
…. where the county prison only has 10 cells and a drivers license only costs $10?
…. where currently, the two restaurants that serve breakfast are both closed (for vacation and remodeling) and all of the old men are ticked off, because they don’t have anywhere to hang out before working in the fields?
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