Excerpts from a letter to Tabbi and Oegie:
Exhilarating news! I conversed with a guy at my church upon the inducement of one of the priests, and he told me about his workplace (He’s a social worker) and told me to go on in and fill out an application! Consequently, the very next day I did as he bid me. That Thursday, I received a call and set up an interview for the next Monday - that Monday being yesterday!
Talk about jitters… this was my second actual interview ever, my first having been for the Ranch! I went in, and had to fill out forms to acquiesce to the retrieval of my criminal background, and to fingerprinting. Then came time for the interview itself! Thankfully, I relaxed after a few questions, particularly as most of the questioning was related to my experience at Friendship Camp - and who can be tense when talking about the Ranch? I also learned much more about the job that I am applying for.
Myposition would be as an on-call aid. As such, I would go to the different group homes for the developmentally disabled that Thresholds operates, and help the group home managers, or simply be there as another body in case of an emergency. I would basically be the warm-body-present situation, but what a wonderful opportunity for reflecting on the word, or working on French! If on second-shift, however, I would get to engage with the members in different activities, both educational and fun. Some would be in-home, and other activities would be field trips or outings. Second shift involves helping the members to make their own dinner - what an opportunity to use my love for cooking!
And it gets even better - as an on-call aide, I can pick my own hours! The home managers will call me if they have a need for another person to work certain hours, and I can say yes or no. As well, I can call the homes and ask if they have any available hours. This means that my week at Episcopal Summer Camp, even if I get this job, is secure. And to make it even better: If I don’t schedule any hours for the week of the third Friendship week, then I can come volunteer at the Ranch again! I’ve already sent an email to Malcom asking to come back for that last week. How amazing, as I hadn’t even dreamt of finding a job that would let me take two wees off in a row!
Admittedly, these same reasons (and others) can also make for negative, unsatisfactory aspects of the job, but I’m determined to make the best of it. How amazing how God that I finally found a job after over 3 months of looking, and it turns out to be the best match of job of any that I looked at! This will allow me to work with the developmentally disabled - and I didn’t even realize how much I love them until I volunteered at Friendship - and it gives me social work experience. Pray for me, please, that I get the job offer… Vicki said that she would call me later this week, and that is all that is left to wait for! Once I get the offer, then I can start training, and soon after that, working!
It will be stressful once the fall semester starts, trying to balance school, four clubs, and this job, but I believe that I am doing everything for the right reasons, and that all of them are beneficial and good. I feel like I am being led where God wants me to go in all of this… now all I need is to learn to lean on him ever more, so that I can get my homework done in more timely fashions that I have ever been known to do! What a blessing this will be.
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For some of my more “mundane” moments, I’ve been playing around in the kitchen a little more. I made a peach/raspberry/blueberry pie a couple days ago, and while I wasn’t satisfied with the crust, those who ate the pie were quite appreciative and complimentary. A little before that, I made my own pasta! That was fun, and I was surprised with how easy it was to do. I ended up getting bored with the tedium of cutting all the little strips for noodles, so I simply tore it into pieces, and I loved it like that! The resulting “rag” pasta was amazing for holding sauce. Yesterday, I made my own gazpacho, and while it’s not really gazpacho-like, it is delicious and full of fresh veggies, and otherwise good and wholesome.
Yesterday there was an amazing thunderstorm, with crisp lightning flashes and impressive thunder pealing throughout the city. I swear that it’s been a long time since I’ve heard a thunderstorm that powerful, that majestic. As soon as I tore myself away from our porch, I looked up Job, starting in chapter 36… I always read that in every storm, as it truly summons the beauty and power of the storm for me. One of my favorite memories from Episcopal Summer Camp last summer was when a thunderstorm started right as we laid down for rest hour, and so I read aloud from Job as my girls lay on their beds, listening to the thunder roll overhead. The only sorrow that tinges my joy and reverence at these storms is the hearing of the sirens that go roaring by, or the sight of the fire truck that streaked down State last night, flashing and blaring. My heart goes out to the storm’s victims - but still I sit in awe of the storms.
I got to play soccer with a few friends and a few strangers on Sunday afternoon, and that was a delight. It was crazy how oppressively hot the sun was on that day, and a couple people had to stop for fear of overheating, but it was a delightful time otherwise, and it was good to get out and play a sport again. And after all, I can’t escape the heat, as my house isn’t air-conditioned. I’ve been eating ice cream and frozen fruit and other such things as though they were parts of a balanced diet.
I also went to the Gerald R. Ford Museum with the friends from soccer, maybe a week ago? The museum had free entry - and more importantly, fee cake - for the ex-president’s birthday. In addition, it also had a fiber-art exhibit, which was of interest to all the artists, and myself as my mother’s daughter. One of the more interesting things was a progressive collaboration, in which 16 artists each did a piece, but they were all connected. The second artist received the first piece, and made their art in response. They then sent their own piece - but not the first - to the third artist, who did likewise. As such, each artist was only exposed to the artwork directly preceeding thiers. It was thus interesting to see the continuation of artwork around the room, as each piece connected to the one before it. Most interestingly, the last piece of artwork looked as though it could have easily been connected not only with the one directly preceding it, but also the very first! In this manner, the artwork seemed not a line of work, but rather a continuous loop! Some of us have decided that we would do our own progressive collaboration, and I have tentatively agreed to take part in it - but what medium shall I choose? Glass, fabric, or food? We shall see…