There Is A Time For Everything

The Here and Now

We live in a beautiful spot and I look forward to the weekends when we will be able to explore and enjoy - just as soon as I feel like I am getting on top of school work - which  is not yet. Although I have taught for so many years, this school is new to me. It has different routines, different expectations and different students and parents. Having said that, although we are unique, there is nothing new under the sun. There is nothing anyone can say or do that hasn't been said or done before (Ecclesiastes 1:9,10) and that goes for students and their parents. This is not a bad thing. For me, it is quite reassuring as it means that lessons we have learned in the past, can be applied now. If that doesn't make sense, I'm not going to elaborate or else it will become too 'deep'. And I want to enter another area of depth....

As noted in my last blog post, Dave's father passed away last week. This morning, very early our time, before even the sun was up, his life was celebrated by family and friends in the US. Someone posted it to YouTube so I got to watch it. Dave's dad was a godly man, a man of integrity and people shared how he had touched their life. Dave's eldest son got up and spoke since his dad couldn't be there. That made me cry. It also made me smile as James recounted a memory of his dad and also shared that Dave had respected his dad, my father-in-law. 

I looked through photos, trying to find one of Dave's dad that I could share on this page. As I looked through them, it brought back a lot of memories. I first met Dad at his 90th birthday celebration, just over 6 years ago. I also met the rest of Dave's family. Only 6 years ago?! So much  has happened since then. Back then, I had taken a short video clip of a salmon farm and it showed salmon trying to swim upstream and trying to jump over obstacles in their way. I was reminded that sometimes we need to be like the salmon and swim against the tide - just like Dave's dad had to do at times. 

I thought of how we celebrate the life of someone who has passed away. We did the same for Dave back in 2011 and my family did the same for my mum back in 1999. When it comes to grieving and 'how to' grieve, I don't think there is a standard way to do it but it is important to acknowledge our loss and recognise how that person impacted our life. When my mum passed away, my son was not quite seven years old and yet he seemed to know how to grieve. He wanted to be able to say goodbye to mum before she passed away and he did. A few days later, after the funeral service, my sister found him crying in a corner and hugged and cried with him. When he was ten years old, a friend of the family was helping him clean his room and came across some Autumn leaves and suggested throwing them out. Nathan replied that he wanted to keep them as he'd picked them up with Nanna on their walk around the lake. 

Sometimes we need to be open about our grief and pain and not try to keep a stiff upper lip, especially with our closest, loved ones. This week, I've been engaged in teaching and trying to keep up with what needs to be done and in the back of my mind, has been the loss of Dad. At the same time, we've been here for not quite 3 weeks and are adjusting to a new climate, new lifestyle and needing to make new friends. Being here, means also we had to say goodbye to friends at our last place and that is a 'loss' too. We also still haven't been paid our bond back and I don't get paid until the end of next week so we've had to count every cent and that's been stressful. 

During PD week, we were asked to think of a time when we were very happy and what the circumstances were around that. For every happy moment I thought of, it was also tinged with hurt. For example, if I thought of a happy time with Dave, I also remembered that he passed away and I came back to Australia. If I think of this beautiful place that we are now living in, I am also reminded of the place and friends we left behind. So, to be honest, this weekend as I dwelt on the mixed blessings, I grieved. This took Andy by surprise as I had tried to be positive, keep it to myself and had not really shared with him what my state of mind and heart was. 

Well, time to be positive again and look forward to the week ahead with my lovely class. Even though I've had to work hours outside of school time, I have enjoyed it. It is a lovely school to be at and my colleagues are helpful and friendly. Andy and I are in a good place to be. 

Ecclesiastes 3

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

Another time, Another Place
Montana, USA

A New School Year

On the eve of a new school year with a new class, I find myself sitting quietly beside my husband who is reading and our dog, Milly, who is sleeping on the slippery, white floor without a care. No longer do we have to cajole her to come and venture on to the slippery tiles, she comes in order to be close to us. Today is Australia Day and it is also Andy's birthday. We have had a quiet day but we did have chocolate cake with freshly whipped cream to celebrate. We also had yummy lamb kebabs. 

Last Thursday, there was a school orientation and I had my classroom set up ready to meet my new students and their families. The majority of the parents told me their child was talkative so I seem to have a chatty class this year. That's OK - I can cope with that. Tomorrow will be a day of getting to know my new students and also setting boundaries with them. I am looking forward to the year ahead with this new class at this new school as a new teacher. The last week or so has been full on preparation for the new school year, including PDs, information sessions, classroom preparation, curriculum planning and reading the school policies and procedures. A lot of it all comes down to common sense, making sensible choices and ensuring the safety and care of students and staff as well.

We have almost finished unpacking but still have book boxes unopened. We need a couple of bookshelves. I still need to unpack and set up the double hammock that I received as a gift from the staff/school last year. We have not yet received our bond back from our last rental place which should have been here two weeks ago! We really would like to have that money back asap and I'm not sure what else we can do to hurry her up in getting it to us.  

I have talked with a few of my friends from last year and I do miss them. We had built up some strong friendships and had some fun times. At the same time, we are making new friends here and looking forward to settling down. The other night I was thinking, "I'm getting too old to start again/make new moves etc" and told one of the teachers that they are stuck with  me now.

We still haven't celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary as that was the day we were driving here but we hope to soon  - after I've gotten into the groove of teaching and working here. There's a lot of wonderful places to explore! Andy has taken Milly for walks but one of the things she loves the best, is splashing in her pool. A neighbour recently told Andy that when we are not here, she barks and one of my friends at school has loaned us a citronella collar that squirts citronella out each time a dog barks. We haven't used it yet as I still haven't got around to buying the battery. Andy told the neighbour that this has been a big move for Milly and she's gone from having half an acre to running around in to a smaller space. The neighbour wasn't upset and it was good to find out so that we can do something about it.

As for having fun.... Unfortunately, I've been focused on getting all my work done and this has included working on the weekends, days off and evenings. As our weekly lesson plans have to be submitted by the last Friday of each week, this should mean that we can do fun things on the weekend. The school has 'touch football' teams that play in the local community comp so Andy and I have signed up for that. Andy has also started training with the senior (over 45's) AFL team. Last Friday night at the staff and families dinner, a group of them played barefoot soccer so of course Andy joined in. A couple staff members were impressed with his fitness level.

On a sad note, Dave's dad passed away last weekend. I find it very hard sometimes, to deal with being so far away from my family over there, at times like this. I can not go and give them a hug, cry with them or even share some beautiful stories with them. I have such admiration for Dad and the godly man he is. He told me stories of his time in the war and he had a smile that warmed my heart. Last Friday, when I was trying to do some work, I found it hard to concentrate. I told the school principal and he was sympathetic. I am so thankful that our principal is warm and caring towards all his staff and students. He seems a humble man whose desire is to see his staff grow and be the people God created them to be.

Well,  I'd better go and get a good night's rest so that I can be my best for my class tomorrow. Thanks again for your prayers, friendship and support. We have so much to be thankful for. Please remember to hug your loved ones, call them, let them know you care because you don't know what tomorrow holds. We can make plans but they don't always happen the way we think they should. Trust me. I can give quite a few examples of plans not working out the way I had hoped. I can also counteract with blessings I was given when the road was tough. 

P.S. If you are new to this blog site and want to read more, click on "The Garden Trail" heading or see the archives to the right of this page.

New Adventures

We have moved into a new area and the first day of my new job begins tomorrow. 

We arrived last Tuesday night and have mostly unpacked. I have learned how much I rely on a fridge! I missed not being able to have cold water and cold diet coke in such a warm climate. On our first night here, we slept on an air mattress on the floor. Having seen a cane toad earlier in the evening, I imagined cane toads jumping on me during the night and was relieved when the bed was assembled the next day.

We are learning about a lot of new things. The first major thing we had to learn about was cane toads and dogs. Cane toads can kill dogs if a dog tries to eat it. We have not seen Milly attack, nor try to play with smaller animals such as mice and birds but on the other hand, we didn't want her to get close to a cane toad so we have given her a place to sleep in the laundry at the moment. That required another challenge for Milly as she hates white, slippery floors. Not only do we have those tiles throughout the house, we also have them on the front porch. Andy made up a path for her from the side door, using an old towel, her bed mat and a new mat we got her and finally coaxed her in at night, before the toads came out. 

The next morning, we were relaxing on the front porch enjoying the warm weather and a gentle breeze when Andy opened the gate to the back yard. Milly came out and wanted soooo much to be with Andy that she put her front paws up on the porch. He backed away a little and you could see her stretch towards him. Finally, she came up and laid down at his feet. It was very cute. That night, she came into the laundry without any cajoling and we didn't need to give her any treats. She is learning though, that the laundry is her night time place. Andy has also taken her for a couple of walks around the town in the late afternoon when it is cooler. 

Another thing I have learned, is how to deal effectively with midges. Midge bites are worse than mozzie bites and the itch lasts longer over days without going away. Although the brand of anti-itch gel I use works effectively with mozzie bites, I found it less effective with midge bites. Last night I took out an ice-pack and put it directly on the bite and it numbed it for quite some time. I've had to reapply it but it's definitely not as bad. 

Last Friday, I went and took a look at my new classroom, got my key and met a couple teachers. Although I haven't finished unpacking all my teacher stuff at home, at least I have an idea of what the classroom size is. I have a million-ish questions about classroom procedures, school expectations, day-to-day routines and am feeling a mixture of excitement, anticipation and nervousness. I have taught in different schools with different 'cultures' and one thing I already I know I appreciate about this school is that it seems like there are clear expectations as well as an 'order' to how things operate. This coming week is student-free and the new teachers will also have 'induction' meetings which will be helpful. 

This morning Andy and I went to our new church. A few of the teachers were there and we had already met the pastor and his wife when we were here before Christmas. I have been involved in small churches and small towns for most of my adult life but have also appreciated the anonymity of being in a larger place that I've had recently. Andy has not experienced a smaller church/town in his adult life so again, that will be something we will both need to learn to adjust to. 

The sermon was based on Philippians 1 and was talking about how we need to allow Christ to transform us. Verses 9-11 says: "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."


Well, it is raining tonight as it has been for most of today but at the same time, it is still very warm. Rain is a good thing. Now that I am done here, I need to go and pick out what clothes I will wear tomorrow and figure out what I will take to school. I think that I will leave my classroom things at home until Tuesday - after I've had a chance to figure out what I might need the most. There is a staff uniform but this week we can wear smart casual.

Here I go - may the next chapter go well.