A Confession...

...I am a pack rat! Those of you that know me well, have probably heard stories of the letters from high school that I still have...notebooks full of letters from RJ and close friends...crazy, I know, but I save everything! So, as I've been unpacking, I've been finding some pretty cool stuff. I had a box of cards from college that I was going through the other day. Most of them were from my 21st b-day, but there were also some from Christmas...there was one that stood out to me...

It was a Christmas card from a random guy that was in my bowling class (yes, I said bowling...I took it twice...not because I failed, but because I needed 2 PE credits and that was one of the easiest ways to get them!). Anyway, I do not remember this person at all...which is another reason this card stood out to me...his name is Matthew. And, as most college students do when you meet someone new...we must have discussed our majors and what we wanted to do with our lives, which, of course, meant that I shared with him that I wanted to be a teacher...here is what he said about that in the card...

There is no doubt in my mind that you are going to be a wonderful teacher. One of my first impressions of you was that you had an unconditional compassion for humanity in general. I don't see that in many people, and it makes even a cynical guy like me think positively about the future.

I don't share this to boast, but instead to ask myself 2 questions...

1. Do I still exude that unconditional compassion for humanity? I sure hope so. I think that people who know me would say that I am compassionate...I hope that people that first meet me can see this too...that is the type of person I want to be. It is easy to be hardened by circumstances and the world around us, but I hope that I always keep the joy and compassion no matter the situation.


2. If he (or anyone else) met me today (after being in the classroom for 10 years), would they still think/say that about me and my profession...would I seem passionate about what I do or callused by the parts of it that are less than appealing...like upset and/or hovering parents, discipline issues, paperwork, etc etc... It is easy to say right now since I am on a summer break, but my goal for the coming year(s) is to show compassion and passion to my students...that I will be a catalyst to their being driven to learn...math and life lessons.

The Closing

RJ and I went to Fort Worth on Sunday to clean the house and then go to the closing on Monday. It was a lot more emotional for both of us than we had anticipated. First of all, it was weird to see the house without any of our furniture in it. It reminded me of when we first bought the house and we didn't have anything in it for a while! Then, while cleaning each of the rooms (especially Aidan's), my mind was flooded with memories...as I vacuumed the back right corner of his room, I couldn't help but think of all the times I rocked him in the rocker that used to be there...then I moved to the other side of the room where the changing table was and I thought of all the times he laid there to be changed and also of his first night home when he sprayed both of us plus about a six foot perimeter of the changing table and of his first "bath" at home which happened on that table...it was truly overwhelming and my emotions took over. Fortunately, memories are things we can take with us...that is what I keep reminding myself...

So, we got it all cleaned up and went to sign the papers...the title company gave us a random cheese server and our realtors gave us a bottle of wine as thank yous for doing business with them...so, as RJ said...we walked in with a house and out with a platter and bottle of wine! Then we went to eat at Sushi Sam...the same restaurant we ate at after signing the contract to buy the house...then we drove back to Cedar Park. It was a somber trip back and seemed to last forever.

While it was sad to go through the motions of giving up the house, it is a good feeling to have that part behind us. We can now focus on the house here and getting everything in order here. I hope the new owners love our (their) house as much as we did. I know we are going to love our life here even more.

The Move

Well, we're here...all back together again! The movers came on Saturday...you should ask RJ about that experience...it was interesting! But, they got all of our stuff to the new house, and that's all that really mattered. The house was a wreck, though, with too many things to stuff into this house! So, my mom and Gene kept Aidan one more night for us so we could try to make some sense of the mess. We were at least able to get his room and the playroom ready. So, they brought him over on Sunday after his nap and Sunday night, we spent the first night here as a family. It was a great feeling to be back together again and even greater this morning when RJ left for work and we were able to tell Aidan that daddy would be home tonight!