A Whole New Wheel Deal

            Yes, this really is a new post.  I know that it’s been over a year since my last entry, and if I could go back in the space time continuum and not get so far behind on posting - I would.  All the typical excuses for my lack of writing like these: “I’ve been so busy”, “I have so much to say that I’m overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin”, and “Nobody reads this thing anyways, why post”, could be used.  Although all of those lines are true (except for the last one of course), they’re pretty pitiful excuses.  Many have told me I should write more, and I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t felt guilty for ignoring The WD.  So in the spirit for the looming holiday season why not get a jump start on New Year’s resolutions and start writing on a regular basis again?

            Like most 22 year old recent college graduates I feel like my entire world is changing and I’m not quite sure how to keep up with the change.  Before my long absence from you all I was connecting the final dots on my student teaching plan.  The university I graduated from is in Nashville, and the school district where I student taught is in Central New York.  My university was willing to allow me to student teach out of state, however I was responsible for all the arrangements - something that I was not aware would be so tedious.  Yet it all worked out.  I ended up student teaching in two classrooms; first with my former fifth grade teacher in her class, and then in a second grade classroom with “the fun teacher” (at least that’s how I remembered her from when I was in second grade).  It was a truly shaping experience, and although I’m not exactly drawn to the idea of teaching in the traditional classroom sense, I wouldn’t have traded my time there for anything.  I can’t wait to relive some of those memories and reflect on the lessons learned through these entries.

            With student teaching came a move – back home full time to the house I grew up in.  What has been one of the most interesting things about living in the college dorms is that within my one room I can almost completely tailor it to meet the needs of me and my chair and not worry how those changes impacted others.  Also at school many daily tasks were just different, like doing laundry in the big laundry room.  Since there are several washers in one room the machines are smaller than the typical family sized washer.  With the smaller machines I was able to reach all the controls and down to the bottom of the washer – thus I could actually do my own laundry.  I didn’t fully appreciate the ability to not have to depend on others till I came home.  (Not to say my parents weren’t more than happy to do my laundry, I just hated waiting for laundry day to wash my most often worn hoodies)  My parents have always done pretty well trying to make our 1850’s house work as best for me as they can.  Recently our washing machine of 24 years finally went kaput; it was replaced with a front loading machine – enabling me to finally do laundry independently at home for the first time.

            This spring I crossed another hurdle in my quest for independence – I purchased a brand new 2011 Dodge Caravan that is currently in Phoenix, Arizona being modified.  Driving has been a work in progress since the day I went to the DMV to take my learners permit test as a 16 year old.  As anyone who needs special modifications for driving will tell you, they aren’t cheap.  New York state has a program that assists those who need modifications, however in order gain any funding you must follow their process (even if it doesn’t always make sense), and jump through what seems like hundreds of hoops.  Now over half a dozen years later I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.  It’s funny, I made an appoint that’s a month away and for the first time I thought “hey if my mom can’t take me I could drive myself”.  It was an exciting realization.

            In May my family and I trekked to Nashville for the final time (at least for school related reasons) to participate in graduation activities.  It was a blur of a trip, not only was I graduating but I needed to do several presentations about my student teaching experience.  I tried to connect with some dear Nashville friends while I was there but I must say, my brain was pretty scattered at that point and although I was there, I wasn’t really “there”.  I think everyone has moments in their life when the craziness seems to overwhelm you, much like a computer just freezes when there are too many applications running.  When I first went to school in Nashville in 2007 I never anticipated that city so far from everything I knew ever feeling like home.  However when we pulled out of the school gate for the final time my heart (and my tear ducts) told me that this city had indeed become a home to me.  Never would I have thought that I could survive living on my own, hundreds of miles from home – yet it did.  Making it through four years of intensive learning is a great feat on its own, yet I feel like simply living and surviving was a greater accomplishment. 

            Although I’m currently jobless (I can’t get a job until I have a way to get there.  COME ON VAN GET HERE!) I still have a sense of busyness to my life.  I’ve been working a lot in our church offices with my mom who’s needed some extra help there.  Also I’ve been watching my now 18 month old nephew a few days a week while my sister works in the emergency room at a local hospital.  Watching my nephew gives me that feeling of “I never thought I could do this, but I can, and I can do it well”.  Anyone that has young kids or spent lots of time with wee ones can testify that they can be challenging to fully abled bodied people, so to know that I can successfully care for this tiny person is a pretty big accomplishment.  As the youngest in my family I never got the backstage pass to the childhood development from infancy show, so this experience is not only one that fills my heart with an immeasurable amount of love, but it also fascinates me.  It is truly an interesting experience watching someone discover your disability - I think he’s even helping me discover new things.

            Well I just glanced down at the word counter and I’m over 1000, which means I should wrap this “Welcome Back” entry up (and perhaps begin a new one).  Again, please accept my deepest apologies for my unscheduled absence.  It certainly wasn’t that I didn’t think about writing, I simply didn’t even know where to begin.  However now I’ve taken the first step – I hear that’s that most difficult part.