Today marks the end of Ivan’s first week of full-time work at Valley Christian Schools (VCS). This week has been crazy to take in on a lot of levels. First, being at VCS at all is an answer to more prayers than we can count. Looking back to February, we began to realize more fully the long-term status of my situation, which led to fearful contemplation of where we would end up after Ivan graduated. The miraculously ideal situation in which we find ourselves now never crossed our minds. Not once. So, to say we are still in awe of living 5 min away from my parents (and Kaiser!), 10 min away from both Ivan’s job and church, plus Ivan’s new status of full-time music teacher, which has always been his dream…is an understatement. I never thought “awe” could be an understatement, but I’ve been corrected 😉

So what does this look like on a practical level? Ivan will have regular school teacher hours during the week, as well as working with the VCS marching band on Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons. As we’ve mentioned before, my brain is not a fan of any sort of change in routine, so getting used to  a different schedule (and less Ivan) is still proving tricky. But, thanks to some promptings from therapy (writing out the day’s activities during breakfast is life!), as well as lots of forethought and love from both Ivan and my parents, I can honestly say at the end of our first week that it went better than expected. Thank you, Lord!

Mom has once again stepped forward to save the day as therapy chauffeur and activity planner, as well as sharer of plenty of yummy dinners so “Chef Ivan” can be off-duty many nights. Thanks, Mommie!

And this last paragraph is for you, Ivan! I can’t thank you enough for throwing yourself into your new job whole-heartedly, yet bearing with me as patiently and sweetly as you always have. From keeping up with all those chores that I still can’t do, to helping me plan my days at home, to comforting me and calming me down when my brain acts up…you’re off to an amazing start! This new teacher gets an A+ from me ❤