Living the Dream

I just thought I’d post a little update since Janelle and I have been pretty scarce lately in our social circles.  The second semester is in full swing now and our schedule has hit full tilt as well.  Janelle is working full-time as a 3rd grade teacher and is a full-time student finishing her Master’s.  I’m student teaching, which means I am essentially working full-time for no pay (though my master teacher is great about getting me opportunities to fill in here and there as a sub for some pay) and I am also a full-time student. 

I am taking this week off to let my body recover a bit, but have been getting up at 4:40 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to work out.  Every morning I need to leave for work by 7 and Janelle by 8.  Most of the time I pick Belle up right after work and Janelle gets home around 5:30ish.  We eat dinner, play with Belle and put her to bed around 8ish.  Whenever we can, we cram in things like grading papers and lesson planning and getting our own schoolwork done.

It seems like we’ve all been sick the past couple of months pretty consistently, which has made us a bit more tired at the end of the day.  Yesterday and today have been the worst for me, but I think I’m starting to get better.

Some Saturdays I attend class for the first half of the day, and every Sunday we’re part of South Bay Church, a new church start.  I show up there at 7 to help with setup and leave around 1:30 when we’re all packed up.

Our schedules are jam-packed and we feel like we’re running in survival mode.  I think part of the reason we are sick is because we’ve sort of run ourselves into the ground.

It may sound like I’m complaining…and I may be.  This is also a world where busyness is considered by many as some kind of badge of honor.  We often try to one-up each other with how little sleep we got or how busy we are.  There’s probably some of that in this post as well.  I’d like to think, though, that I’m also posting this just to keep you updated on what’s going on with us and why you aren’t seeing too much of us lately.  We know this pace isn’t healthy but we also know it’s just for a season.

Come July we will both have finished our credential programs, Janelle will have finished her Master’s, I will have four classes left to complete mine, and we will have the summer to recover and look for work in the Fall.  The job market for teachers isn’t too hot this year but we are optimistic and know God will continue to provide one way or another.  It is a cliche thing to say but God really has provided for us in some pretty amazing ways since we’ve gotten married and He continues to do so.  We are pushing hard right now because we believe in the long run we are setting ourselves up to be able to live the kinds of lives we want and that God made us to live.

I recently made the mistake of complaining to a friend about my busy schedule and lack of time to myself and he said this to me: “you’re the one that fell in love and got married and started a family.”  Some days I have to remind myself in the midst of my physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual exhaustion: I really am living the dream.  I have a great wife and daughter, awesome family and friends, a good education, good health, and live more comfortably than 99 percent of the people who have ever lived on this planet.

So who am I to complain?

I’m Jackson, that’s who!