You Spin me Right Around!

Navigating through life sometimes feels like a fun house maze.

You know you need to go to the right and so you do that for awhile until you come to a fork in the road, then left feels good so you go that way.  Then right, left, sometimes a u-turn, and on and on until at some point you reach your destination.  And even then, once you reach your destination, at some point a door will swing open and you'll start another trip down another path to yet another destination.

From ground level you don't have the perspective as someone standing above the maze does or someone with a map, so it is sometimes hard to know which way to turn and when it seems you are taking the long way around you have no way of knowing what type of obstacles you avoided by doing so.

Sometimes some really crazy stuff happens like a blast of air shoots up from the ground and blows your dirndl up over your head.  Or maybe that just happens to me?

These past few months have felt a lot like a crazy fun house.  Just when I thought I knew what my path was supposed to be, something pops up and changes it.

By April this year it looked pretty clear that I was going to volunteer for the rest of the school year and start applying for positions again next year.  Things were going well, I recognized all these fabulous benefits of not working and I was content.

Then I get offered a job.  Oh new plan.

Over the next few weeks we found out Gabe didn't get into TAG, the chances were good for me to be rehired next year at my school, and Gabe could likely transfer and go to school with me.

Great plan!  I like it!  In fact I liked it better than the me not working next year and Gabe going to TAG plan.  Fabulous!

Then Thursday I got a call inviting Gabe to TAG.  There was a student who declined their position and Gabe was next up.  

Wait a minute.  

This isn't the plan!  

I felt like I would have to choose between me working next year (if I get hired) and Gabe going to TAG because logistical problems seemed insurmountable.

After a lot of pondering Matt and I decided to accept the TAG position.  We felt like this opportunity for him was great.  We would have some time to work out the details and spend some more time trying to decide what is best for everyone, including my potential for working next year.

I talked to the teachers I worked with Friday morning and asked their opinion about TAG and explained the problem with getting Gabe to and from school if I kept working.  Holy moly! Within 30 minutes I had a ton of new information about the program, strong opinions confirming that we should have him in TAG, and some very viable solutions to my logistical problems regarding transportation.

10am I called and accepted the TAG position for Gabe.  

10:05 I was reassured that if I continue to work next year at this school, Gabe can be bused from his school to mine and then come home with me.  I don't have to worry about any type of child care for him for regular school days.  What?! 

10:15 the teacher I work for got a call from the principal asking her to double check if I want this job next year because she thinks she can just give it to me without me competing with other applicants.

And to that I took a deep breathe and said "so this is the new plan?"