Life As We Know It
I haven’t been very good at writing recently.
So much going on, so many thoughts…
But an inability to write has remained
Is it possible that so much is happening
So much is overwhelming
That the thoughts of it all just totally take over
And I can’t get any kind of words out
This “inbetween” stage is hard because there are no real inbetween stages in life
We are constantly going and moving
And Father God is teaching us something in it all
So I search through all the dirt and grit
To find those jewels
Those treasures
That I can hold onto
And that make this striving feel worthwhile
Short details on the various areas of our life:
Steve’s dad continues to be ill. Not sure how much improvement there is. He knows who we are when we visit the hospital so that is comforting, but he is very confused and tired. His mobility is by no means back to 100%. He had two small falls over the weekend at the hospital as he seemingly tried to do too much. He had a CT scan yesterday showing some swelling which led them to do an MRI today. Visiting hours are 2-4pm and 6:30-8:30pm each day. Steve, Ruth and I try and attend one each day, with amazing friends and beautiful congregation from St. Germain’s church going to the other hours. He is still on the Orthopaedic ward because of the broken bones. We are hoping he will move to the Oncology ward as soon as possible to get treatment for the tumour/cancer more effectively.
Steve’s desire to be a teacher continues. He is currently in ‘Plan A’ – getting a Full Time job with a primary school willing to put him through his GTP (graduate teacher programme – paid on the job teacher training for a year). He will keep going with this until the end of next week, and if there is no luck, he will move onto his ‘Plan B.’ He has been contacting dozens of schools via email and telephone. He is so organised ordered and courageous in it all. So proud of him and inspired by him. Today he had a look around at a school ahead of sending in an application for a Learning Support Assistant role at a local school. He really liked the school, and is hoping to get an interview.
My future plans have two paths. Path one is getting short term employment so we have money to live on. Last week I sent out/delivered my (very pretty) cv/resume to several female clothing stores in the city centre. Had some news/feedback for a couple saying there were now no vacancies or only 4 hr contracts, but I have an interview with one tomorrow (Wednesday) which is just a part-time role, with the potential for more hours at their store, or one of the other branches in the city. Not sure which one will be the right one, but hopeful Father God will lead me.
Path two is getting onto a social work masters course. Path two splits into two separate plans [the Millers are loving their plans at the moment!!]
‘Plan A’: Step Up to Social Work starting Feb 2012, paid masters course with Sandwell County Council (West Birmingham). I have made it through the first stage (review of the 2700 applications) and now my application is with the Sandwell County Council for them to review. I will find out by the end of the month if I have made it though to the next stage [interview/assessment centre day].
‘Plan B’: traditional Social Work masters starting Sept 2012, unpaid masters course with (hopefully) the University of Birmingham. I am completing my application, and have to write a one page personal statement on why I want to do the course, thoughts on social work, past experience etc. The deadline is January 15th, but I want to get it in mid October to give myself the best chance of placement.
We have visited friends and family in Bristol and Oxford and look forward to visits to Burnley, York, Boure and St Neots from Thurs-Sun. Lots of driving, but lots of fun with people we spend far too little time with.
There is lots of other boring admin involving driving licenses, visiting doctors and dentists, and various other things. The only exciting part is I had my eyes tested (it had been 4 years since I last had them done) and discovered my left eye has got weaker and my right eye is over compensating for it, but that is putting a strain on my eyes so I need to change my prescription. I am sure there is a spiritual lesson in there somewhere. Plus side – there was a ‘2 for 1’ offer on glasses, so my two new pairs will be arriving soon. Very excited from a stylistic point of view.
I wish I had in me more inspiring words.
They are there somewhere. Buried. Deep.
Please pray for us and all the various needs we have.
Also to throw in there, I need to have documentation of my school exams taken aged 16 & 18 which are in a file somewhere in my Oxford house. Despite 4 hours of searching over the weekend, we are yet to find them. Cost to replace them is in excess of £200 ($300), money we would prefer not to spend on something like that.
Missing our Texas people lots and lots.
Missing the sun too.
