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friends Rest and Relaxation Dear Friends and Family, Last time I wrote, I mentioned that I had finished the Spring Semester, and was working two to three days a week at the Food Court at the college. Well, that certainly didn't last long. Once summer classes began, hours were cut drastically at the Food Court. I haven't worked all summer long. Every week I have checked my e-mail, hoping beyond hope that I would be on the schedule for the next week... every week, my inbox has been empty. I also mentioned that I was looking for a second job, something just for the summer, so I would have some sort of income. I wanted to find some sort of babysitting job. I didn't pursue anything at a regular business, because I knew I'd just be quitting at the end of August, and that I would need a week off for vacation and that I wouldn't be available in the mornings for two weeks because of my summer music class (a little more on that later). So every week for almost two months I looked in the Classified section of the newspaper of a local Christian Church; I pursued three or four babysitting leads. Nothing worked out. I forgot to look while we were on vacation (because I didn't have internet access), and after that it was July, and I figured it was so late in the summer that anybody who needed a babysitter already had someone. So I stopped looking. It's been very frustrating from a financial perspective; I REALLY need the money. Paying for school this past year has pretty much drained both my checking and savings accounts. In mid-June, Mom came up with a job for me. She's paying me to catalogue information from a huge stack of children's church magazines she has. So I have had a litle income over the past month, which has helped. I've enjoyed not having very many responsibilities this summer. Since I have remained jobless, I have been able to do practically whatever I want this summer. I have slept in nearly every day, spent many hours with my wonderful sister-in-law and niece, played with my little cousins, read my little heart out, spent countless hours on my laptop, and (most satisfying of all, to me) got a wonderful tan (which I'm still trying to work on). It's been a summer of rest and relaxation, and I've loved it. If I could have been paid for having a summer like this, it would have been absolutely perfect. :-D The last time I wrote, I also mentioned that my family was planning on taking a vacation together at the lake. We did that the last full week of June. It was simply amazing. This was the first year that the entire family went (Dad, Mom, Phillip, me, Jonathan, Shawna, and Coppelia). Jonathan found a house with five bedrooms that we rented for the week, with its own private dock. Every day (except for one) we were out on the boat. We would ride around for a while before anchoring for lunch, and then we would swim. After that, it was time for Coppelia's nap, so we would head back to the house. Laura - Phil's girlfriend - joined us for two days. One of those days, we did not go out on the boat. Jon and Dad went golfing, and the rest of us spent the time at the beach at the State Park at the lake. We loved being with Coppelia 24/7. On Friday, our last day there, Mom and Dad "babysat" Coppelia at the house while Jon, Shawna, Phil, and I went out on the boat for wakeboarding and tubing. It was very hard to leave when the week was over; we wanted more time with our family. It seemed like the week just sped by. Like I said, it was an amazing week. I wished that it didn't have to end! The summer is starting to wind down. Tomorrow, my one summer course starts. I described it the last time I wrote. It's a two-week intensive class, which means it meets Monday-Thursday for two weeks (an 8-day class). It's a music methods class, which means we'll be learning how to teach music in elementary schools. It starts at 8:30 and lasts four hours. I'm not looking forward to it, but I'm optimistic that the time will pass quickly. So my summer hasn't been very busy at all; it has, in fact, been downright boring at times (but that was probably my fault, because I did not look for more opportunities to fill my time - I stayed home most of the time and practiced being a couch potato - without eating constantly, of course). That's about to change, though, beginning with this summer class. This coming week will also be a little hectic. Tomorrow night I'll be attending a wedding shower for my cousin Emily; the wedding is the 26th of this month. Tuesday and Wednesday nights will be spent celebrating my mom's 50th birthday with family. Saturday I'm going to an out of town wedding. The week after the class ends (two weeks from now) is an annual fellowship week for my group of churches. We meet every night for a church service, and there are day sessions also. That Monday night, I'll be in charge of the K-2 children's church class. I've planned a lesson on Jonah. After that, things should be calm again until the last week of August, which is when the Fall semester begins. I don't want to think about that right now, though. :-D For now, I'm just going to get through this summer course and then enjoy the rest of my summer of irresponsibility. I hope that all is going well with you, and that you are having a safe, happy summer. My Last 5 Updates |
