Over the curb, and into the street, crashing into cars we go. When you roll off the hood, and into the street, you thank God for getting back onto your feet.
Like my little diddy? Since the adventure began, there have been some superlative climbs, and body crushing (b)lows. If you read The 20 Year Journey, you know that I moved to Florida in late June. I came to Florida by myself, with the help of some amazing people. I moved into a nice house then 2 weeks later I went back to Wisconsin to pick up my family. I missed them so much. There is something about remembering the last moment you had with them before leaving. My newest son, Jaxson, wasn't even a month old yet and I wasn't going to be there to witness that beautiful milestone. The last thing I remember of my interaction with Parker was giving him a long, hard, hug. As I walked towards the security check, I told myself not to look back. I did anyways. The last thing I saw was Parker turning back to mom and them leaving to go back to the car. I didn't get a final wave. It still overwhelms me to this day. Then there was Kristin. My partner in this beautiful journey. I had to leave her behind and travel over 1,500 miles to prepare our new life. I was leaving her with a very fresh 3 year old, and a brand new baby. God help her.
It was a whirlwind start here in Florida. I met tons of new people, found out what it was like to sweat standing still in the shade (why didn't I remember that from Texas?) and I was able to move our stuff in and get the bare necessities set up. Eventually the 2 weeks came and went and I was eagerly sitting on a plane, headed back to Wisconsin. I was welcomed back by a 3 year old running down the hallway yelling, "DADDY DADDY DADDY!" This was home. When you say, "Home is where the heart is." Well, my wife and 2 kids are my house, while the Lord is our foundation. Can't beat that.
Unfortunately, I was only able to spend a short time with them before having to travel by myself to Minnesota to prepare for my brother-in-law's wedding. I had the great fortune of creating a beautiful song with my best friend (and sister-in-law) from college. We performed it flawlessly along with other songs we prepared for the wedding. There will always be certain memories that stick with you, and a particular one came to me during the preparation of the song we created. The setting: a church balcony. The 2 musicians setting up and getting ready for their first practice together. Warming up went fine, some details about music needed to be hammered out, and a couple songs had been practiced. Out of nowhere a realization came upon me. I had not seen my sister-in-law for over a year. We had always been great friends in college, throughout my whole time at MLC, and here we were in the middle of summer, sitting in a church balcony, prepping music for a wedding. How did we actually get here? Obviously we flew from opposite ends of North America, but as you know with me, the question was deeper than that. During practice, I had to stop and say something profound. I had to make Becky realize I had this revelation. I looked at Becky, and I simply said, "Hi."
Now, that may not seem profound, but it was about the delivery. The delivery was nothing casual. It was not sarcastic nor was it a question. The delivery had appreciation behind it. This "Hi" was from the Freshman-year-of-College-Ian. This was 18 year old Ian, looking at 7 years out of college Becky and saying, "Isn't it amazing that we are still so close?! We just created a wedding song based off of 1 Corinthians, and now we are performing it in front of friends and family. Look at where life has taken us! I still have the ability to see you in person and simply say, 'Hi'!" If I recall correctly, Becky knew what the initial greeting meant, even though we had a solid hour or so with each other before I blurted it out.
That weekend was a great one. I was able to say my farewells to close friends and still have time with the in-laws and out-laws. It's always a great time being with the Strong clan. The worst part is always the goodbyes. This time it really was goodbye. We were taking the rest of our belongings to Florida. There was no more weekend planning or Dells days. This was it. We loaded up the car, prayed to God it would be smooth sailing, and that Jaxson would, for once, not cry in the car. Our supposed 22 hour car trip slowly crept into the 30 hour mark as we entered our driveway. We were done with being in the car, and thankful we all survived without getting too overwhelmed with our cramped space. While we were on the road, I played a certain song on that drive many times over. It was perfect for our setting. We were leaving everything and everybody we knew from the past 6 years in Wisconsin and we were in a strange land with not even a handful of people that we knew. The song I played was "Rivers and Roads" by The Head and the Heart. Here's how it goes:
Nothin' is as it has been All our friends will move away
And they're goin' to better places
But our friends will be gone away
A year from now we'll all be gone And I miss your face like hell
And I guess it's just as well
But I miss your face like hell
Been talkin' 'bout the way things change And my family lives in a different state
If you don't know what to make of this
Then we will not relate
So if you don't know what to make of this
Then we will not relate
Rivers and roads Rivers and roads
Rivers 'til I reach you
Florida has been absolutely wonderful for myself and my family. We are able to get out more and do things that our location in Wisconsin wouldn't allow us to do. We find ourselves able to go out and get more exercise at the beach, Sea World, or even walking around the mall, and still get home by lunch time. Kristin and I even got out and went on a date!
The people we work with at Peace have been amazing both in and out of school. I could truly call them friends and yet still be professional enough at work. The thing is that not many of us have family out here so we kind of adopted each other. That's the biggest blessing. Kristin has been blessed to have lived close enough to one of her siblings or her parents that we could take a weekend and go see them. I am used to the distance between my family, unfortunately. Coming out here and being able to create a close group of people and basically call them family is one of the greatest things to come out of this adventure in Florida.
But why did we move out here? Well, you can't really pinpoint an answer to that question. Right now, I would say it was to be able to expand our culture, do mission work, and challenge myself in my teaching. Wouldn't you know it, I got all of that and some. My ways of teaching have been challenged, just as I knew it would, and wanted it to be. I find myself teaching the same math lessons I did in Wisconsin but in a completely different way. As I explain a concept I find myself thinking, "Wow, I never thought of it like that before. Why couldn't I have taught it this way in Wisconsin!?" In my previous teaching position, this group of students out here would have been labeled as a misfit type of group. Out here, it's basically the norm. I don't think I've had what I would call a normal day of school. I don't think I ever will, and that is the best part. My teaching has grown by leaps with how I approach certain types of students, or situations. Don't get me wrong though, not every day is roses. Sometimes it's hard to find one good thing during the day that would save it from complete disaster. In a way though, there is beauty in that. I have had days where I completely failed the classroom. I've had days where, as a group, we realize it was a great day and we had tons of fun. We've had elation, sarcasm, and complete meltdowns. God is guiding my steps through all of this. Even if there are days where you have to stop and actively search for God's handiwork. Professionally and spiritually it has heightened my senses and made me question (in a good way) my approach to each and every day.
Over the curb, into the street, crashing into cars we go. When you roll off the hood, and into the street, you thank God for getting back onto your feet.
If you don't know by now. I've had some great things happen in Florida, and some downright evil things happen. While eating dinner, a teenager walked into my garage and stole my very expensive, and beloved bicycle. Then, 2 weeks later a car pulled out in front of my while riding my commuter bike home and I collided with him. My bike frame bent and I have had to sleep on the couch because the discomfort in my ribs is so great that the couch is the only spot I can sleep comfortably while not rolling around. I have had to teach through 2 weeks of sleep induced pain meds (while drinking coffee to keep me awake throughout the day), painfully bruised ribs, and a week of not being able to lift my hand up past my stomach. Obviously, a whole new set of challenges on top of the ones I have mentioned before. So how do you see God through it all? I've had friends monetarily help out; I have had a new appreciation for my time on earth; and I found out that if I lay a blanket on the couch cushions, it makes for a pretty comfortable bed.
It's been an adventure to say the least and I have survived, so far. I have missed old friends greatly. I long to see my family, and I'm grateful for the friends I've made out here. If you want a silver lining, I finally get to sleep in my bed tonight and I've prepped another bike for my commute to school. If statistics hold true, this bike should either be stolen or destroyed tomorrow, because for the past month, every 2 weeks, I've lost a bike. Let's just say, I'll be extra cautious. So,
Rivers and roads. Rivers and roads. Rivers 'til I meet you. (Listen to the song here)
Until next time, reader.
Like my little diddy? Since the adventure began, there have been some superlative climbs, and body crushing (b)lows. If you read The 20 Year Journey, you know that I moved to Florida in late June. I came to Florida by myself, with the help of some amazing people. I moved into a nice house then 2 weeks later I went back to Wisconsin to pick up my family. I missed them so much. There is something about remembering the last moment you had with them before leaving. My newest son, Jaxson, wasn't even a month old yet and I wasn't going to be there to witness that beautiful milestone. The last thing I remember of my interaction with Parker was giving him a long, hard, hug. As I walked towards the security check, I told myself not to look back. I did anyways. The last thing I saw was Parker turning back to mom and them leaving to go back to the car. I didn't get a final wave. It still overwhelms me to this day. Then there was Kristin. My partner in this beautiful journey. I had to leave her behind and travel over 1,500 miles to prepare our new life. I was leaving her with a very fresh 3 year old, and a brand new baby. God help her.
It was a whirlwind start here in Florida. I met tons of new people, found out what it was like to sweat standing still in the shade (why didn't I remember that from Texas?) and I was able to move our stuff in and get the bare necessities set up. Eventually the 2 weeks came and went and I was eagerly sitting on a plane, headed back to Wisconsin. I was welcomed back by a 3 year old running down the hallway yelling, "DADDY DADDY DADDY!" This was home. When you say, "Home is where the heart is." Well, my wife and 2 kids are my house, while the Lord is our foundation. Can't beat that.
Unfortunately, I was only able to spend a short time with them before having to travel by myself to Minnesota to prepare for my brother-in-law's wedding. I had the great fortune of creating a beautiful song with my best friend (and sister-in-law) from college. We performed it flawlessly along with other songs we prepared for the wedding. There will always be certain memories that stick with you, and a particular one came to me during the preparation of the song we created. The setting: a church balcony. The 2 musicians setting up and getting ready for their first practice together. Warming up went fine, some details about music needed to be hammered out, and a couple songs had been practiced. Out of nowhere a realization came upon me. I had not seen my sister-in-law for over a year. We had always been great friends in college, throughout my whole time at MLC, and here we were in the middle of summer, sitting in a church balcony, prepping music for a wedding. How did we actually get here? Obviously we flew from opposite ends of North America, but as you know with me, the question was deeper than that. During practice, I had to stop and say something profound. I had to make Becky realize I had this revelation. I looked at Becky, and I simply said, "Hi."
Now, that may not seem profound, but it was about the delivery. The delivery was nothing casual. It was not sarcastic nor was it a question. The delivery had appreciation behind it. This "Hi" was from the Freshman-year-of-College-Ian. This was 18 year old Ian, looking at 7 years out of college Becky and saying, "Isn't it amazing that we are still so close?! We just created a wedding song based off of 1 Corinthians, and now we are performing it in front of friends and family. Look at where life has taken us! I still have the ability to see you in person and simply say, 'Hi'!" If I recall correctly, Becky knew what the initial greeting meant, even though we had a solid hour or so with each other before I blurted it out.
That weekend was a great one. I was able to say my farewells to close friends and still have time with the in-laws and out-laws. It's always a great time being with the Strong clan. The worst part is always the goodbyes. This time it really was goodbye. We were taking the rest of our belongings to Florida. There was no more weekend planning or Dells days. This was it. We loaded up the car, prayed to God it would be smooth sailing, and that Jaxson would, for once, not cry in the car. Our supposed 22 hour car trip slowly crept into the 30 hour mark as we entered our driveway. We were done with being in the car, and thankful we all survived without getting too overwhelmed with our cramped space. While we were on the road, I played a certain song on that drive many times over. It was perfect for our setting. We were leaving everything and everybody we knew from the past 6 years in Wisconsin and we were in a strange land with not even a handful of people that we knew. The song I played was "Rivers and Roads" by The Head and the Heart. Here's how it goes:
Nothin' is as it has been All our friends will move away
And they're goin' to better places
But our friends will be gone away
A year from now we'll all be gone And I miss your face like hell
And I guess it's just as well
But I miss your face like hell
Been talkin' 'bout the way things change And my family lives in a different state
If you don't know what to make of this
Then we will not relate
So if you don't know what to make of this
Then we will not relate
Rivers and roads Rivers and roads
Rivers 'til I reach you
Comments
Post a Comment