Work

Like the Seasons…

Categories Family, Happiness, Love, Papa Bear, Special People, Work1 Comment on Like the Seasons…

This is an open letter to my husband, Sean:

I know most days we find ourselves caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. Most mornings our alarms buzz us out of our dreamlike state and propel us full speed ahead into our day. It’s a blur of brushing teeth, getting ourselves dressed, and then making sure the boys are ready to take on their day too. I’m downing coffee and toast while simultaneously packing up lunch boxes, gathering backpacks, and divvying out vitamins and allergy medicine for Liam. Through all of this there are brief exchanges and pleasantries, but I know I never give you much more than a hug, goodbye kiss, and a salutation to have a wonderful day.

After the boys are safely at daycare, goodbye hugs and kisses sending us all our respective ways, I often find myself reflecting on the way the morning unfolded. Many times, I lose myself in thought replaying certain parts of my morning like a particularly adorable giggle from Atticus or a Liamism that made me laugh out loud. In those moments, I wish I could rewind the day and freeze it long enough to have time to exchange an embrace with you that doesn’t feel like time is working against us. To enjoy more than a brief pleasantry and instead give you something more monumental to hold on to and carry with you throughout your day.

By the time I pull into the parking lot at work, reality sets in and the marathon race begins. It’s a blur of students, parents, emails, and meetings. Each brings a sense of accomplishment, but few opportunities allow me the time to pause in my day and send you a text message telling you I’m thinking about you, am looking forward to seeing you later in the day, or am sending you my love.

By the time 4 o’clock rolls around, the whirlwind of homework, dinner, bath time, and bedtime dictates the direction of our evening only leaving opportunities here and there to exchange pleasantries about our day. Then I’m out the door for a run and you’re often still trying to knock out work after the boys are down. As our own bedtimes quickly encroach on our quality time, I often find myself wishing there was simply more time in our day. More time for the little things like enjoying a glass of wine, duking it out over a game of Scrabble, or cuddling up to watch a great movie.

After we’ve both given our best to everyone else in our day, we often are too exhausted or mentally drained to give our best to one another. I say this not out of spite because in my heart, I know we both have the best of intentions. Between parenthood and demanding professions, it’s a reality we’ve both come to accept.

With that being said, however, I need you to know that I love you with my whole heart. I love seeing your eyes light up when you’re with the boys. I love watching you lost in thought as you pour over your computer. I love clinking glasses with you and enjoying a glass of red wine in your company. I don’t always give myself opportunities to pause and say thank you for how hard you work to provide for our family. I may not always give you the best of me, and I’m sorry for that. Please know that even when I fall short, I have the best of intentions at heart. I find peace in knowing that some of the stresses we carry with us every day  are like the seasons; with time, they will change because our workload will lighten and our role as parents will shift as the boys get older and are more independent.

In the meantime, I’m hopeful an open letter written with love and sincerity will bring a smile to your face and joy to your heart. After all, Papa Bear, I love you to the moon and back!

All my love,

Heidi

New Beginnings

Categories Family, Goal setting, Happiness, Opportunities, Success, WorkLeave a Comment on New Beginnings

My career as a school counselor began three years ago at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic School, a small inner city Catholic school in the heart of the Fifth Ward in Houston. It was here that I developed a comprehensive guidance program and built a rapport with my students and their families. I could have never prepared myself for the joy that came from helping others academically, socially, and emotionally. It was a difficult school to walk away from; but when a new opportunity knocked, I answered.

Two years ago, prayerful intentions led me to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School where I continued to grow as a school counselor. With an open heart and an open mind, I found my work incredibly rewarding and very quickly grew to love the faculty, students, and families. My days were brighter because of elementary students’ bright smiles and hugs. My heart was happier because of the joy that came from coaching cheer and track; a position I took very seriously as I suited out for practice just like my athletes and led them in workouts around the track. I challenged myself in many ways professionally- leading accommodations meetings, advocating for students with learning difficulties, and meeting the social and emotional needs of many, including faculty and staff. Professionally, I was happy, fulfilled, and content.

Then on the Friday of my first week back at work, I received a phone call from the Director of Admissions at St. John XXIII College Prepatory High School. They had a school counseling vacancy and expressed interest in having me come by for an interview. I found myself immediately torn. I loved the work I was doing at St. Elizabeth but recognized the tremendous opportunities for growth the new position offered. Despite the conflict I felt, I knew I at least needed to interview for the position because I didn’t want to leave myself carrying around any “what ifs?”. My first interview went well, which led to a callback from the principal, and second interview with him. By midweek, I was offered the position, and knew I had a significant amount of soul searching to do.

After prayerful consideration and several heart-to-heart conversations with my closest family and friends, I decided that this opporunity was too good to pass up. The timing was far from ideal; leaving my current position less than a month into the new year and taking on a new role in a new school later in the game. Nevertheless, I’m eager to embark on this new journey and challenge myself professionally in new ways.

A few weeks ago, my post focused on the adage, “everything happens for a reason.” God put this new opporunity in my lap for a reason. This did not happend by accident. My principal notified the faculty and parents about my new position this afternoon. I’m incredibly grateful for his support and look forward to what the future holds. My last day at St. Elizabeth is this Friday. I will take the next few days to say my goodbyes and prepare for this next phase in my professional life.

So here’s to new beginnings, moving forward, and embracing the adventure that lies ahead. Thank you St. Elizabeth Ann Seton for the tremendous opportunities. You will forever have a place in my heart!

Difficult Decisions

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In life, “there are no accidents!” “Everything happens for a reason.” These adages may seem overused and even a little cliche, and yet they can truly be poignant in their own right.

I bring these well-known quotes up today because a very unexpected opportunity recently fell into my lap. I’ll elaborate in more detail in a future post, but I’m not in a position to publicly address this opportunity just yet. Now I find myself discerning over a very important life decision that up until last Friday wasn’t even on my radar. When I find myself face-to-face with a difficult decision, my first instinct is always to leave it in the hands of the Lord. He, after all, put this opportunity in front of me in the first place.

Decision making is something I struggle with even in the simplest of situations. “Should I order the French toast and bacon or the blueberry pancakes and sausage? Hmmm!” The last time I found myself pondering my breakfast options certainly wasn’t going to have life altering ramifications. So now faced with one of the biggest professional decisions, I find myself teetering a tight rope of indecision.

The aforementioned quotes I found on Google images last night encompass a wide array of the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that are weighing heavily on my heart. In revisiting this theme of difficult decision making, two quotes resonate the deepest within me and are pushing me to accept how this all fell into my lap in the first place.

“Making a big life change is pretty scary. But, know what’s even scarier? Regret.” I know I have to follow my heart and my intuition on this, but that doesn’t make the decision I need to make any easier.

“Sometimes you have to do what’s best for you and your life, not what’s best for everybody else.” This final quote reverberates loudly all around me because in my work as a counselor, I’m often acting off of what is best for everyone else.

So in the next few days as I discern, pray, and ultimately finalize an incredibly difficult decision, I will continue to circle back to “everything happens for a reason.” I ask that you please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I turn it over to God.