Life will never be the same again. Soon.
This wasn't the plan.
The original plan was, live in Merville forever, the girls will study in Assumption San Lorenzo, the boy will study in Xavier. Mike will be the primary breadwinner, and I will stay home as long as we don't need the extra income or until I find work that I really want to do. And I mean really really want to do.
Then we heard of Xavier Nuvali, I told Mike I would infinitely prefer for Ramon to study there than in San Juan, just to avoid the crazy traffic. Then we heard that employees of Xavier Nuvali get the benefit of free tuition for their children. So Mike said, if Ramon will study in Nuvali, then I should work there. And I'm all, SURE! For free tuition, I will do anything they want. Staple papers, photocopy tests, encode scores. Whatever! I probably won't like it, but for my family, I'll do it.
So that was the plan. Stay in Merville, but when Ramon starts school, I will work there and we will do the daily commute together.
Late last year, Mike was hinting I should already apply in XSN this year so that I could be in Xavier a year ahead of Ramon. I'm like, but... do I HAVE to? I want to be able to get out of bed at 10AM just a little bit longer!
In January of this year, Mike suddenly says, why don't we MOVE to Nuvali, transfer all our kids in Xavier there, and you will work there and then all our kids' tuition fees will be free? Why not indeed? I'll be honest, the idea filled me with fear. So much fear I couldn't sleep that night. Move to the province? And miss out on movies? What will we do for date night? Will I ever see my friends again? How can we uproot the girls? They will have to leave their friends too? And won't this be the end of their future in ballet? I tossed in bed for hours, until I finally got up and typed all my fears in the little memo app on my phone. When I finished, my terror receded, I calmed down, I imagined what it would be like to move, and just before I fell asleep, I began to feel excited.
A few days later, Mike was scouting for lots and houses in the Sta. Rosa, Laguna area. I blew the dust off my resume and tried to find out to whom I should send it. Because let's be honest. For three free tuitions, I would clean bathrooms. I would literally do ANYTHING. The following week, Mike got home and said hey, why don't we transfer our girls THIS COMING JUNE? They don't have to start school there only when Ramon does. They would need to catch up on learning Chinese anyway, so the sooner they transfer the better. I was like... isn't it too late? Wouldn't applications be closed by now? But I supposed it wouldn't hurt to ask...
Fast forward. After some family visits to Nuvali, there were obstacles, emails, strings pulled, minds changed, permits filed, loans granted, application forms, tests and interviews and lines at government offices, etc etc etc. And after almost exactly FOUR MONTHS to the day when Mike suggested we move, I started the daily commute to Nuvali. I've been going back and forth for a week and a half now, employed as a full time Elementary Christian Living Education teacher. AND I LOVE IT.
I never met a more enthusiastic, passionate bunch of educators. They are so happy everyday, they welcomed us new teachers like we've known each other forever. They have taken on the gargantuan task of forming not just the best students and human beings in the Philippines, but on the planet. And how they are going to do it is HARD. Naloloka ako! Everyday I learn little by little how MUCH they put into the work that they do and am daunted, but it excites me so much that MY KIDS ARE GOING TO BE LEARNING THIS WAY. They are not only going to conquer the world, they will make it a better place because they will be taught by these people I'm kilig to say are my colleagues. Honestly, I'm not sure I'm worthy, but I'll do my darnedest to meet their expectations and become a teacher. I don't feel like I am a teacher yet. But I'm beginning to believe I will be.
Our lot, which we now own, is no longer just a patch of grass, it is a square-ish hole in the ground, slowly being filled with hollow blocks and cement that will, within the year, become our new home. In June my daughters will join me on my daily commute as we go to school together to learn and teach. This is our transition period. When we've settled into the future new house and left this current one behind, the change will be complete and life will never be the same again.
I still don't like waking up with the sun. But from our first visit to the campus, back in January, and I saw the clear vision of Mt. Makiling from one of the upstairs art rooms, I literally fell in love with the place. And when we got to briefly take a peek into the Oratory of St. Francis Xavier, and pray beneath the gorgeous stained glass windows, I knew this was God's plan all along. I've been saying for years, I didn't want to teach, I especially didn't want to teach Chinese kids. Now I'm immersing myself in lesson plans and learning activities, I'm excited to meet my students, I want to learn Chinese. I can't wait to start wearing a uniform! It is ridiculous but true! I'm looking forward to moving there and never have to deal with daily traffic ever again. Fresh air, wide open spaces... I can't imagine a better place to raise a family. And guess what. They're building a cinema there as I write. Date night is saved.
Ever since my teen years, when I never could decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, the prayer of my heart has been, Lord, show me Your will. Reveal to me the plan You have for my life so that I may follow it. I felt Him answer when he pointed me towards JVP, and I met Mike and eventually we married. When I became a stay-at-home mom, sure I was happy and fulfilled and mornings were spent in bed. What more could I ask for? But I always had a feeling there was something more He meant for me to do with my life. Finally this year, after 7 years a doña/palamunin, He has shown me the path he wants me to take. It is a path that will lead me back to Him, and allow me to bring many many children closer to Him as well. I feel so honored and blessed because it seems God finds me worthy of being His voice to the students of Xavier School. And I feel like I'm going home to the Jesuits, as I have always and only worked in Jesuit (or Jesuit-affiliated) institutions ever since I graduated from college (it seems only they would hire me. Haha!).
I go to bed so early now. I never watch TV anymore. I've driven more these last two weeks than the past seven years combined. But amazingly, I'm happy.
We had a plan. But now we're following His Plan. And it is infinitely better.