Sweet, Sweet Life

Life the past week has obviously been crazy with the new job! However, I have fully enjoyed my time back in Indiana so far! I am mentally exhausted from everything, but wanted to put out some sort of update. Here are a few random and interesting facts that have hit me recently and has continued to remind me how sweet life is!

1. 1. Last night was two of my very good friends’ wedding day. Of course this meant a wonderful reception with about 60 of my closest friends dancing the whole night away. Needless to say, we had an amazing night. Before the night even began, a bunch of us went to Dunkin’ Donuts before the reception started. Did you know that you can get 5 donut holes for $1? And, you can mix and match flavors? Awesome, right?

2. 2. My new apartment is just great. Every day I look out the huge slider door in the living room and I see a Blue Heron.

3. 3. I have the best friends in the world. No, seriously, I do. They always make me laugh, and we have so many amazing memories that will keep us laughing for hours. And the best thing is that every time we see each other we make new memories so the list just keeps on building! I don’t want to know how boring my life would be without these girls and guys.

4. 4. True Fact: At every dance I have ever attended, prom, homecoming, and wedding receptions, I always somehow get a bloody toe/foot. Before the reception last night I actually wondered to myself if the same would happen at Christen and Spencer’s reception. Well, during Cupid Shuffle Danielle stepped on my toe and there the blood came! I would blame this bad luck on myself, but Danielle also stepped on Emily’s foot too, so it can’t be me. J

5. 5. My fifth graders are just great. They consistently make me laugh!

6. 6. I am currently obsessed with the song “No Diggity.” Hahah. It is ridiculous and I am pretty sure the song came out when I was in ninth grade or something, but I love it!

7. 7. Tomorrow is the first day of classes at Huntington University. This is the first year in four years that I will not be attending the “Stance” on campus tonight. My friends and I were talking about how this is kind of sad that it is all over and we are now watching others take our spot. But, we all thought it was pretty great that on the weekend where we would usually all be getting ready for classes to begin, we were still together enjoying a wonderful weekend together as adults.

8. 8. It hit me last night that I find so much joy out of seeing my friends’ parents. I think I am actually old enough to start to appreciate these adults in my life who have been there now for years watching me grow, just as they have their own children, my best friends. It was refreshing and felt like home last night when I saw Mark’s parents, Chels and Christen’s parents, Courtney’s parents, and so on. It was great to be able to laugh with them too, those people who in my years down in Indiana have been there for all of us in some way. And it was great to look at all of them and remember just how many times Mark’s mom made us all wonderful meals and had the best Super Bowl parties and see Courtney’s dad and hear him make some ridiculous joke again.

9. 9. I love oatmeal. I really do. I eat it every day at least once. I put a lot of extra stuff in it such as: cranberries, chocolate chips, blueberries, yogurt, granola, honey, and so on. Not all at once of course, but I consider oatmeal my thing…you can even ask my friends and previous roommates. Make it yourself with those ingredients in it. You can thank me later.

10. 10. Since I just brought up oatmeal, I will tell you that my mom makes the best homemade granola in the entire world. She made it all the time for me and my friends in college. They have all been telling me how much they miss my mom’s granola so when my parents come down for Labor Day weekend they are bringing some for us all!

11. 11. I think I found the key to keeping up your metabolism: dancing. You may not believe this, but it is true: I love eating and drinking pop (which has a lot of calories). I was told that in your early twenties your metabolism slows down. Here is the thing though; I promise you that if you turn on your music for at least a half hour a day and just dance, you will start to feel a difference. And, I mean dancing is fun and music is great, so you don’t even feel like you are working out. I have been dancing every day for the past five years and I think it’s the greatest thing ever.

12. 12. You should read the book, The Help. It is wonderful. I am seeing the movie this week and I cannot wait!

13. 13. Just booked my plane ticket to Florida for Christmas! I cannot wait to see and spend time with all of my southern friends!

14. 14. I seriously love all of the people I work with. They are so fun and a joy to be around!

15. 15. I got a new job, a new car and a new apartment all within three days. I feel like I signed my life away during that time!

A New Era

So here I sit in my hotel room in Huntington. Weird, huh? It’s sort of crazy to me because for four years this town has been home, and there is something sweet and yet sad about turning off of Highway 24 into town. Sweet because every corner and street holds a memory that can only be made during your college days. Sweet because yesterday once I got into Huntington I couldn’t wait to drive back to Johnson’s Junction to get an 89 cent cherry coke and as I was pulling out in my new car, I ran into Kevin Keske and we kept staring at each other until we realized who we each were. Sweet because I got to spend quality hours last night with amazing friends I have known now for years at the good old Oak Street house.

Sad because as I passed the campus, I realized on Sunday I wouldn’t be attending the annual beginning of the tennis season pizza party. Sad because this would be the first year in four years that I won’t be counting down how many more chapels I need or have to eat the food at the DC. Sad because I will no longer have to worry about getting a parking ticket from Barry when I leave my car parked out in the culd-a-sac in the middle of the night. Sad because right now from my hotel window I have the view of the Huntington North High School football field and can see the team practicing and can hear the band playing and it brings back so many memories from what seems so long ago yet just yesterday. And this year…it’s time for someone else to live out those days.

I guess after graduation I flew right off to Florida and didn’t really even think about anything else. Now that I am back seeing what used to be my life, I feel that pang of growing up. I am so excited about the next phase, but for the first time in forever I am no longer the student who can stay up until 3 am. I never really thought about the fact that it really is all over.

But here is the thing: real life has begun. Real 22 year old life. You know the kind; sticking to a strict budget, finding free entertainment with your friends who, just like you, are just starting out. And although the glory days of college is over, there is something to be said about living off of cheap macaroni and bad coffee. Something thrilling that after all you invested in college you are finally able to be set free in this crazy world.

So that is where I am tonight, somewhere starting out in this crazy world as a 22 year old who believes the world is really at my feet…it just may be more expensive than what I thought it would be.

Remember all of my waiting I wrote about last? Well, although it was not a full time job offer like my mind had planned out, I do believe it is where I am supposed to be. I got the call to be a long-term substitute for the class I student taught in during the spring because my teacher is going to pick up her baby in Ethiopia! I am so excited to be back at Roanoke Elementary and to be able to have a classroom of my own for three months. I had to book it down here Wednesday (yesterday) to start teaching today! It has been one heck of a crazy ride this week…stressful for sure, but hey, I have been waiting for a job so I am not going to complain.

Tonight after my first day of teaching after the rush of moving quickly back down to Indiana and realizing my summer is done, I got a call from some great friends that they were barbequing chicken in their backyard. Umm…of course I would love to come! Let me tell you, there is nothing better than eating barbeque chicken and grilled corn on the cob with six great friends talking about all of the weird men we have known who have blessed us with wonderful stories to share with each other in the Indiana heat after you have had your first day in your big girl job.

So here is to my early twenties and to being in the real world…for real. New car, new living, new job. Here are to the endless weddings coming up, car payments, and learning how to cook actual meals. Here is to nights like tonight where instead of studying for finals we are talking about our new jobs and begging someone to just help them paint their bedroom a new color. A new era.

Bring it on.

Waiting.

In today’s day in age, people wait for nothing. I am the worst at this. I like to be on the move and know the next step or plan. I am spontaneous for sure with the little things, but with my actual life? Some sort of layout would be great. That’s not how life works, and I am glad. How boring it would be if we knew every next thing that was going to happen, and the practice of having faith would not have to exist.

When I got back this July, I knew it was time to devote myself to finding a full-time job in the area where for the past few months I have felt such a strong calling. I knew it was going to be difficult, and nearly impossible, but I kept feeling like I needed to try and just have faith. Okay, no problem; or so I thought.

My first couple of weeks back I began making some hard decisions. Suddenly I recalled back to the days when the hardest decision I had to make was deciding when to take History of the Western Civilization or where to spend my Friday nights. Now, as if out of nowhere, I needed to decide how to actually spend my real adult life. Those first few weeks home I turned down two jobs. I know many people will gasp at that statement, but it’s just the truth, and if you too believe that we are called to be in certain professions than you will understand why I had to say no. But it was not easy. In fact, I always thought it would be awesome to have to tell a future employer that you were not accepting, but it actually is one of the most stressful things I have ever had to do. When the offer came along, it seemed too good to be true, and I was wooed into all of the ‘stuff.’ Sure, I could potentially love it, but something inside of me kept telling me that it wasn’t the right one yet. I would share the opportunity with those closest to me in Florida and we would research it together. The appearance of the job seemed charming, and when you just come out of college and realize everything you own is actually your parents, a job offer like that is too good to resist. Yet, why was I having such doubts?

When I came home and had more time to think logically about it, I still could find no real reason why I should say no. I began praying hard about it. I wanted want God wanted, but I was deep down hoping He wanted me there. I mean, hello, God, check out the salary and all of the stuff they are including! Don’t you want that for me? This was one of the first times in my life when I really needed an answer and did not know what to do.

One morning I was talking to my mom about it when she told me that I just need to have patience to wait for the right opportunity. I was almost mad that she even suggested that. Wait? Really, mom? How do you expect me to wait for some ‘opportunity’ that may never come along when as of now I have no job and no promise of getting anything close to this again? She told me to enjoy this time of waiting. My response was that I would be able to enjoy if I knew come September I would be employed. Hah. If only it worked like that.

As I continued to struggle with myself and my lack of faith, I knew that I was not going to receive any sort of miraculous job offer again if I wasn’t able to just let it go and trust. In this moment of understanding, which came of course at about 1 in the morning one night, I made one final plea with God. I told Him that if He wanted me to turn down this job offer (which I reminded Him was a really good offer) then He needed to let me know by the next morning because I needed to let them know. In my hour of desperation, I sent out a mass email to a few of my closest companions; the ones who know me the best and who would be straight up with me. I quickly explained my situation and told them to get back to me ASAP. Little did they know that I was hoping in one of their responses would lie God’s ultimate answer for me.

I was hoping for some miracle when I woke up. You know, I thought I may wake up with the right answer on my tongue or feel somehow rejuvenated and excited. Nope. I woke up feeling even more confused and unsure, and most assuredly, I felt sick of waiting. I was about to just do what felt safest to me. Safe to me meant accepting the job. It was good and it would earn me a living plus some. I would have stuff and I would be able to finally tell everyone that I have a plan for my life this year! Here’s the thing though: God sometimes does not take us along the path that seems so safe to us, and sometimes we have to go through times of waiting so we can learn to lean on Him. And at that point, I just felt frustrated. I was making big girl decisions on dating and where I would move and whether or not that would be a good choice, and all that time I wondered why in the world everyone else was getting jobs right where they wanted them and never had to make any decisions about relationships and boyfriends and moving away from them like I had to do. What in the world? You could say that that morning, I had no faith.

So there I was, vacuuming the kitchen, when I finally decided it was time to make my decision, even though I still didn’t know or understand. Somehow I knew that I needed to say no because this was not where I was supposed to be this year, but yet I wanted that safety. Before I made the call I checked my email, almost forgetting about my desperate call to help the night before to my friends. And there it was for me, my answer. One of my friends responded with the most honest and thoughtful answers in which she thought of me and what would be best for my life. Here is some of what she said that gave me the answer I needed to hear that morning:

“But from my opinion, I don’t see you interacting in that job. And I know you would want some place to go…like STARBUCKS!! Do they have one of those? And honestly…I think you NEED to be VERY SURE about this before doing it! This is a big step and a big opportunity but if you’re having doubts and feeling scared, I would say no. Erica, only YOU know (well, God) knows what’s best! Just please be confident in your decision. I don’t want you to regret it because you deserve the best! I love you, Erica! Let me know how things go!”

Man, that email came at exactly the right time. And as I called and denied the job, as hard as it was to understand why God did not want me there when it all seemed pretty good to me, I had an ultimate peace after it was done.

And so, more waiting. I still am not totally sure why God shut the door on that or why it is taking Him so long to show me where the opened door is, but I do know that I trust Him. I may not know why in September or even in January, but someday it will all make sense, and soon enough His plan will begin to unfold; I just need to wait for it.

Surely anything I get is going to be a miracle and something I can tell you for sure I did not do on my own. I am simply going to enjoy the journey and trust, even when I feel blind and confused, and even left behind, because I know that there is a perfect plan out there, and that sure does take a whole lot of pressure off of me!

As I prepare during this season of waiting, I am constantly reminded of this beautiful verse I found way back in August, 2008:

“Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.”

–Psalm 27:14

And as for now, I am taking this time to write a lot more. I know I haven’t posted, and I’m not exactly impressed by what I have gotten down on paper just yet, but I wrote a children’s story! My friend is going to put together some illustrations for me and I even got a connection to a publisher! Trust me, if I get it published you will know J I guess God does know exactly what He is doing…without the wait I would not have time for one of my greatest passions.