The "Only Available Parent"

https://www.pinterest.com/source/sdmilitarywife.com 
*as a disclaimer to the pic above, this also applies to the many men that are military spouses too! 
Recently there has been a lot going on in my life and the lives of my family members. My DH is a member of the military (that's about all we'll say there for security reasons), and my son is a 16 year old who thinks mom is his personal taxi... well okay, maybe he doesn't think that, but it feels that way sometimes! 

As a military spouse a lot of the time you are the "only available parent" for just about everything. Even when your spouse isn't deployed, or on TDY, or doing some sort of crazy military thing... the list goes on! 

At some point in our journey as a military family I just became used to this as our norm! Not that I liked it, it just is what it is. If our son had a parent teacher conference day, I usually went alone (or didn't go at all because, lets face it, I'm busy too and sometimes things just don't happen, even when you want them too). If our son was sick and had to go to the doctor, then I was the one to make the appointment and take him. If our son wanted to hang out with his friends, I was the one to help schedule between the parents and decide who's house was going to be bombarded by teenage boys! 

This week something amazing happened!!!! My husband took charge and became the "only available parent"!!!!

This is a busy week for me at work. Finals week for my high school students before we start a new block, and parent teacher conferences. I've been bogged down in spreadsheets, calls, and emails, and just plain old begging for students to finish their work. Meanwhile my son decides (like he really had a choice) to get a nasty infected ingrown toenail. It isn't the first one, and it probably won't be the last, but I had made a call for an appointment, but it was way out at the end of March (and I called in February... ugh!), but it was getting really bad and needed medical attention. 

I was contemplating how I was going to pull this off this week when my husband looked at me and said... "you know there is another parent in this family!" 

It took me off guard. I mean, I know he's here, but so many times he's just not available for this kind of stuff that I don't even consider asking! (Usually when I do his schedule is booked for the next five months, so I just stop asking!) 

So I gratefully handed this problem over to him and let him deal with the phone calls, the referrals, and the final judgement of Urgent Care over ER visit! 

It was a weird game to watch him juggle his own life, and finally find a good time to get our son seen, but he did it! (Not that I didn't think he could... its just... well I'm usually the "only available parent")

Sometimes as a mil spouse we get so used to doing things on our own, caring for the family, paying the bills, taking kids to appointments, playdates, you know... EVERYTHING... we forget that we have a partner in crime to help us. Sometimes we feel guilty because we know our spouse has just as much of a crazy schedule as ours, but it seems more important because... well the "freedom on which we sleep under" depends on them! Sometimes we just get in that super spouse mode and we forget... We Just Forget! 

So take some time to remember this week... even if you aren't a military spouse... that you do have someone you can go to, ask to tag team things with, and be thankful. There are many out there who do not have that ability! Those are my heros!  (Along with my husband of course!) 

A New Adventure, A New Life, and lots of feels!

So it has been a long time since I've posted anything new on my blog! Like... a really long time. 

A lot has changed in my life... some hasn't changed! Let me see if I can get you up to date on what is going on and then we can dive a little deeper into the new direction of my blog... I hope at least! 

A few years ago, after working tirelessly towards my bachelors in psychology, I realized that I was in the wrong line of work. I love psychology! Always will, but it didn't make my heart sing like I thought it would. It wasn't until my position at a Psychosocial Rehabilitation (a great big word for helping people re-enter the main stream after being diagnosed with a mental illness) that I learned I loved to teach! 

I didn't jump right into working towards getting my teaching degree, because I thought, what if I just like teaching adults??? So I went to my local public school and signed up to be a substitute teacher on my days off from my regular part time job! 

I ended up loving it. I quickly realized that I am not meant for elementary students (OMG... kindergarten and first grade teachers are amazing... I bow to you cuz you have it rough!). I found the most joy with Middle schoolers and High Schoolers. 

I took the next leap and found a program in my state for Alternative Program Teaching Certificates. Basically, if you have a bachelors degree you can teach in your field of study. Well what would a psychology major teach in a high school... if you thought psychology you are partially right. I can teach any of the social sciences.... that is Social Studies, History, Psychology, Sociology... and the list goes on. So I started the long drawn out process of becoming a teacher. Meanwhile I found a job at the local virtual school as a counselor tech so I could get my foot in the door to the education system! 

Let me tell you, that was about the best decision I ever made. It took me a year to finalize the whole process and be a certified teacher, but as soon as I had my certificate they were like, we have just the job for you... and I was thrown into the world of teaching. 

I love it! There are days where I pull my hair out and wonder what I was thinking, and there are days like today where I'm exhausted and so grateful that we get Spring Break off... but mostly I love seeing my students excel, learning something and I especially love the parents that say, "You changed my child's mind about history... they love your class!" 

So what is the moral of this story... 

Well if you are in a job that doesn't make your heart sing... keep listening! Your heart is waiting for you to hear where it thinks you should be. And if you hear that song... don't be afraid to jump. Take precautions, like I did, but make that leap, because you never know where it will lead you! 

So this is the beginning of my new blog... I'll share with you life tips, crafting tips, and of course some crazy military family stories (oh don't get me started)... and I hope you enjoy the craziness of my life as much as I have been!