Adjustments

We knew there'd be some adjustments to make when we felt the Lord calling Patrick to join the Army. The obvious ones of course, like being separated for the longest time in our marriage, me living with my mom, Patrick being under constant pressure, neither one of us being in control of anything, doing what the Army wants us to do...

Now that he's gone for training, I've become aware of some adjustments I didn't plan on. You know, the silly ones like learning how to spend the day when you are a teacher and school is out for summer. Not only is school out for the summer, but I have no job to return to in the fall. How weird is that? For the first time in our marriage, or in my life for that matter, I don't have to get nervous a few weeks before school starts. This problem has plagued me since childhood. Like clockwork, as a student and as a teacher, I have always become sick a few weeks before school. This summer, I don't have that to dread. I didn't look for a job for next year because I know I won't be able to fulfill the length of the contract and I wanted the flexibility to visit Patrick and other family during this time. What I didn't fully realize is that now I have nothing to anticipate. How am I going to spend my time? I've been told that the more busy I stay, the faster our time apart will go by.

So far, I've been LAZY. I'm cutting myself some slack, as this is really my first week to have time to do anything. It's the first week we've actually been settled long enough to waste time. To my credit, I have managed to do Mom's yard work and help her plant some new flowers. I also got an oil change and a car wash. I think that's pretty productive. Mom and I are making a trip to Arkansas to visit my grandparents. After that trip, I'll be living on a schedule. I've found that it's the only way I can be productive.

There are other adjustments to make, of course. I'll probably be letting you know about some of them as I go. For now, I'm just settling in to life as a bum. I'll keep you updated on that!

On another note - I did get to talk to Patrick Tuesday night after his plane had landed in Columbia, South Carolina. His group was waiting for the bus to take them to Fort Jackson. I haven't heard from him since, but I know that God is watching over him. I expect to hear from him next week or the next.