I am catching up on blogging now because I don't know when I'm going to get another chance in a while! This past week has been one of tons of emotions!
I've mentioned that Collin has been interviewing for different jobs around the state. With no luck. He has loved his Spanish teaching job, and of course head wrestling coach is a no-brainer, something he was born to do and is the best hands down. He has loved the moments of success in that as well. But for the past 1-2 years he has begun to get antsy, feeling like the time to move on might be coming. He dabbled in applying for some admin. jobs and even other teaching jobs over the past year and a half or so. But really, besides a teaching job in Utah that would have been exactly the same pay, same job, but starting over with a new wrestling team, he hadn't had anything come up.
Finding an administration job is something he has been planning on doing since a year ago. Not that he wasn't ok to stay at his current job for as long as needed, but he has really had this admin. thing on his mind. And I guess a big lesson I was reminded of here was, if there is something my dedicated, determined, hard-working, never-quitting husband wants, he finds a way to get it.
The process began for him in September, with getting approved (jumping through paperwork, interview, and test hoops) to even be able to apply for administration jobs. The hope for finding one in Utah fell through when he found out he had to also certify for education in Utah. So that left Idaho....not as many options. He began applying for admin. jobs in January. He had put his name in for a few before the wrestling season even ended. But he didn't actually get put onto any interview manifests until about 6 weeks ago. He interviewed for positions here in Boise, in Twin Falls, and in Pocatello. The interview process was SUCKY! I hated getting our hopes up and yet not all at the same time. I hated waiting for a phone call that would either tell us everything was changing or nothing was changing. I really hated seeing Collin dejected after he got turned down again and again. But if you know my husband....you know what doesn't kill him makes him stronger! (insert Kelly Clarkson belting here!) Through this process he worked harder and harder at his interview skills. He stayed after school to do practice interviews with his administrators (who were amazingly supportive through all this), he quizzed them on everything from what to wear to whether to shake hands with the interviewers. He borrowed these like 5" thick books with titles like "Interventions" and "Common Core" and studied and studied. Above everything else, we kept our prayers that Heavenly Father would let things work out for the best for him and our family, whatever that might be.
He finally interviewed for a position I originally wasn't even ok with him applying for! It was for vice principal/athletic director at Gooding High School. (I know some of you are google-mapping Gooding right now!) I was not ok with moving to a town that small. He finally convinced me that we could live in Twin Falls or at least nearby it, and once I found out there is a Target and a Jamba in Twin Falls I figured that was ok. :)
He interviewed for that job...... and after a week and a half of calls with the superintendent, principal, and others from that area, he went back to interview for a job as middle school principal. 10 minutes after that interview they called him and offered him that job.
We already knew he would take it.
I was initially really excited the night we found out he got the job! My dad happened to be visiting so he was there to share in the celebration. Collin was thrilled and also sort of unbelieving. I was too. But the next day, I was a MESS! Like, a serious mess! I got up, read my email, and started bawling. I cried like probably 30 times that day. I think it was hard going about everyday life knowing that we had this huge change coming but not having told anyone yet. There were good parts of the day.... getting to talk to a lot of family to tell them the exciting news, and letting it all sink in. But that evening I started calling my students' parents to tell them, and I would seriously set the phone down and bawl for like 5 minutes before I could call the next person. Some of these kids have been coming to my house every week for over 7 years! They feel like my own kids. Then with thinking about all my friends I would be leaving, and the young women and leaders I work with, so many ward members who have become like family over the past 6 years, not to mention some of my close teacher friends and especially my own piano teacher of 11 years, Del! I was seriously a mess. Collin felt bad. I was like, "it's ok, really..... just emotional." He was probably thinking I was crazy!
But that day passed, and the next one was better. I still teared up at a LOT of silly things, but not as much. I guess time helps everything, right! I think it also helped telling people in some ways. It's not like this was a death in the family or anything but really, I have lived in Boise pretty much my entire adult life! 11 years! I don't know anything else! Neither does Collin, really. We are nervous about moving somewhere totally new. But also excited. It really still doesn't seem real, I suppose it will a lot more once we start making some decisions about things like our house, where we're going to live, when exactly we're moving, and really once we start packing I'm sure it will get real quick!!!
I guess I will end this on a positive note..... this job is a HUGE blessing for our family. I have probably mentioned it on here before. We have been blessed SO much in so many ways, but also we have really been struggling financially. Not so much that we were like, totally broke, but just barely able to make ends meet each month. After a few years this was getting SO tiring. I also felt the burden on me. I knew if I took on more students, we would have a little more cushion each month. But that also would take me away from Ashlyn more, and I really felt like I needed to be home with her as much as I could while still working a part-time job. It was a tough balance. My plan for this coming year was to take on more students again, and pray it would all work out. Collin was doing everything he could at his job, they just had to freeze the payscale for so many years and with all the weird crap with having merit-based pay for a while and then not, and all the other political crap teachers constantly face, it was just covering our expenses. We really didn't want to start putting off the student loans we had been so diligent in paying off, but something was going to have to give. So in the financial aspect, we had been praying hard that something would change. Something.And it did. So that's a huge blessing. This new job's starting pay is significantly higher than what teachers in Collin's school district can cap off at if they reach the very top of the pay scale.
And Collin getting to leave behind a bunch of wrestling politics that are finally starting to wear him down isn't so bad either!
Everyone has been asking if I'm planning on teaching when we get there. I don't know. Not right away. I feel like just the thought of moving all our stuff into a new place and getting settled in a new town, wherever it's going to be, is going to be such a project. I hope I can find some students at some point, and already a lot of my colleagues have given me contact info for the music teachers in that area. So I'm sure I'll keep busy! ;)
Anyway, that got really rambly but I wanted to share my thoughts before I forget them with all the awesome, crazy stuff coming up. (EUROPE, BABY!!!)
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