Rainy Day

 

On Wednesday I was supposed to go to a meeting with Dorene for one of the kids I’ll be treating at 1:00. I had all morning to make sure I was completely prepared to make the drive there. Since I don’t know the area at all, driving to schools has been a little daunting. I did everything I could think of to ensure I would get from point A to B. I looked up the address on the school website, got a mapquest map, studied the map, set up my GPS, and made sure I had numbers in my phone just in case. The drive to the Lincoln school was a little over an hour, but I made sure I had thirty minutes to get lost. There was no way I was going to mess up this first meeting.

Well, I get into Lincoln and go to where the GPS directed me and I end up at the district office. I thought it was a little weird because I was almost sure Dorene said it was an elementary school, but there was no way this was wrong so I waited. 1:05 rolls around and I know something is wrong because Dorene said she’d be early. I go in and ask someone and, sure enough, the school is somewhere entirely different. Great, I was twenty minutes late to a meeting which all the child’s teachers, parent, other therapists were at. It was terrible walking in with everyone starring at me like that. Dorene was super nice about it though. She was very understanding and said it happens to everyone. I’m guessing the first week or so is going to be a lot like this, until I figure out where all the schools are.

Anyway, yesterday there was a forecast for rain and you know what that means? No work for Brian!!! This would be our last chance to have a rainy day off together as yesterday was his last day working for Lawnscapes (unless if he decides to work for them next summer). We enjoyed a very relaxing and quiet day together here at our little apartment. Days like these are nice, but not my favorite. When he has a day off, he loves to do things like sleep, watch t.v., sleep….and I tend to get pretty antsy as the day goes on. That might be partly because this is what every day is like for me until work picks up more. So, when he’s home, I have all these big ambitions to have a day full of big things to do. I have to watch myself when  I start to get bored that I don’t get snappy. But, other than being boring, yesterday was ok. We don’t have much groceries in the house (I was planning on going today) so we used a gift card and went to Red Lobster for endless shrimp. We both walked out of there gripping our aching bellys. Never eat four helpings of buttery shrimp.

So, today is Brian’s first day at Student Teaching. He will be at Low Point-Washburn Elementary for the first part of the semester and Metamora high school for the next. It’s exciting for sure.

First day of work!

I’m going to LOVE this! That’s what keeps going through my head. Monday was my first day at my new job at Tri-County Special Education Association as a Physical Therapist’s Assistant. It was awesome.

One reason it’s awesome is just the sense of being a professional, a real adult professional. I can’t believe I’m no longer a student and knowing that I worked hard for  this degree, set goals, and reached them feels wonderful.

Other than that, I love the people I’m working with. The Physical Therapist I’ll be working under is so sweet and a really good mentor. The other PTA’s, one in particular, are the kind motherly types. One of them is always smiling. I’m convinced she couldn’t say a mean thing about anyone if her life depended on it. The other is more serious, but in a fun, dry humor type of way. That’s the PT department, but the rest of the people there, the Occupational therapists, Speech Pathologists, Psychologist, secretaries etc. are also all very nice people. That’s what gives the office a great atmosphere.

It’s also very professional at TCSEA. Things are done efficiently and ethically (it helps that the director is a strong Christian).

Anyway, Monday was only an office day. We had two really long meetings and did a lot of paperwork, arranging the office, sifting through equipment, and, for me, getting to know the computer system and meeting people. And, for the rest of this week, it’s up to us whether we want to come in or not. I’m going today to join Dorene, the PT in a training for one of the kids I’ll be working with, and I’ll probably go tomorrow to look up charts and get organized. Next week is when we’ll really start seeing kids.

I’m not nervous. I’m going to be under the supervision of one of the PTA’s (the smiley one, Jennifer) and Dorene for the first 5-6 weeks (or however long is needed, I don’t think I’ll need more than 3 weeks to get into the swing of things) so, really there’s not much pressure on me. They know I’m a new graduate and, although I’m more familiar with the school setting than most, there is a lot they don’t teach you in school about pediatrics.

What I’m most excited for is to meet the kids I’ll be working with. I’ve seen Mom and other therapists in schools develop this bond with their students that is quite amazing. I’ve even experienced it myself when I had a clinical rotation at the school Schramm in Pekin. It was so hard to leave those kids; they taught me so much every day. They are not blessed with good bodies and good minds like we are. Some are deformed, too weak to perform like normal kids, some cannot speak, some cannot move but are aware of their differences, but they go on and learn to enjoy life. I’ll never forget the way one of the children lit up every time his therapist would walk in the door. He loved her and that love gave him joy. These kids are amazing and I just can’t wait to begin working with them and growing relationships with them. I really do feel passionate about this job, something I never dreamed would happen.

Shedd Aquarium

 

Last Saturday we planned a little trip to Chicago to see the Shedd Aquarium. I’d never seen it before and we had a really empty Saturday. I love how we have absolutely no responsibilities like pets or kids right now. If we want to go on a trip we can just go. It’s so fun being a grown-up :).

We left pretty early to try to beat the crowds a little. There was still quite the line to get in.

We ended up paying a little extra for the all access pass. With only two people, it really isn’t that much of a splurge. I’m glad we did too, we got to see all the special exhibits, a 4D show, and the Aquatic Show.

The dolphins were my favorite. They really were playful! They would swim upside down, dart in one direction for no reason. I could have sat there for hours.

One thing I wish I could have seen was the belugas, but, the funny thing is, Brian hates them. He can’t stand to look at them. I’m not sure if this is some kind of childhood fear that never matured or what, but he wouldn’t go near their exhibit.

Below is the Aquatic show. This was just about the last thing we did.

We had to wait about 20 minutes from the time we sat down till the show started and Brian was so tired he started to doze. I’m glad we came early, though, for the seats filled quickly and completely.

So, that was a fun day. This last week has been a great one! Brian’s bosses (they’re all related) all went on vacation and the only other employee’s wife had a baby over the weekend, so he got called off on Monday.  Usually with this job he gets quite a few days off throughout the summer due to rain, but not this year. So, it was good to have the day off. Anni came over with Jessica, Bethany, Hannah, and Shelby and we made a Mexican lunch and played a game. Brian isn’t a fan of having my girl cousins over. His family is witty and the conversations are meaningful. With this group of girls (three of which are blond), according to him, “Everyone is spouting off whatever is on their mind and no one knows what’s going on.” That’s something he’s going to have to get used to. I’m terrible at saying things that make perfect sense all the time.

Tuesday, his bosses got home late from vacation, so he got another day off. We were pretty low on groceries and didn’t have enough coffee in the house, so I asked Brian if he would walk with me to the Casey’s about a half mile away. He didn’t want to at first, but once I explained what I’m like without coffee, he hopped right up. Later, Grandma Pfister invited us to her house for lunch. Donna was there along with a few other relatives. It was a great lunch!

On Wednesday I went home for the day.

Yesterday I took it easy and alternated between practicing the piano and guitar. I read a book for a while, watched a little T.V., did laundry, and met Mom and Donna for lunch. To put a cherry on top of a really good day, Brian came home from work early due to the rain.

So, today is my last really free day before I begin work. I’m sooooo excited. Monday can’t come soon enough.

Here are some pictures of our house:

Our living room.

The hallway

This is the guest “bedroom” which is lacking furniture. Really its just a storage room.

This is our bedroom. It looks nice from this view, but that’s because you can’t see the hideous wallpaper on the left side wall.

It feels more and more like home everyday. I truly do like it here and feel so blessed for it.

Mrs. Schwind

How dramatically life can change.

Sometimes I can’t believe I’m actually married. I dreamed of this ever since I was a little girl and liked to play Mommy and Daddy with my cousins, and now it’s for real. We aren’t play pretending anymore. And, it’s amazing.

So, I was going to let the blog drop. I didn’t have time and didn’t want to keep up with it anymore. But, now that I’m living an hour away from the Lake, I’m spending much more time reading Judy, Rachel, Nathan, and Michelle’s blogs just so I can feel at least somewhat in touch with the family. Which brought me to the decision to get back into this online journal of everyday life because, I honestly want the family to be involved in my life. (Just because I’m on the other side of the river doesn’t mean I’ve fallen off the face of the earth!)

First I want to go back to the wedding day.

The morning of July 1, did not find Ryan and Steven looking very bright, but they forced some smiles anyway.

Anni, my amazing, wonderful beautiful sister spent hours on these boquets. They were perfect.

Last minute stiches.

OK, I love this picture. It’s so classic it should be in black and white. Ryan was teaching Steven how to tie a tie. Isn’t that just precious?

Weddings must bring out the craziness in all of us. Here Sarah S. just attacked Jessica out of nowhere and then they hugged!!! What? Yes, that’s right, they hugged!

This is right before leaving for the church and we all thought their shorts/boots combination was just so stylin’.

Getting ready in the Sewing room was so fun!

There are more pictures on Facebook, but these give the gist of it.

Also,  http://rsauder.photobiz.com/cart/event_select.cfm?eventID=1069162 Our wedding pictures!!!

These are the only pictures we took on our honeymoon. I already have a million pictures of Gulf Shores and I just didn’t feel like taking pictures. It was a great trip, though. The strangest thing was to be able to do whatever we wanted without worrying about a group.

Since then, I went with my family and Donna (my mother-in-law) to the Browns-oakridge zoo to hold the baby tiger, Sarge.

Other than that, life has been very quiet for me. Once we got back from the honeymoon I had to really buckle down with the books to study for my State Boards the next Tuesday. That week I studied every day for about 5 hours. It was really stressful and long quiet hours home alone didn’t help. (At that point it didn’t even feel like home yet even) The worst part was dealing with the government with my name change. In order to take the test you have to have two forms of ID. They were picky on what these could be. Drivers license, passport, credit card, social security card, student ID, and voters registration card. Since my name changed, I didn’t have any of these and I had one week to get them. Have you ever tried to get the government to move quickly. It doesn’t happen. Which left me the day before the test balling and scrambling to get something that would work. Four phonecalls to the testing center assured me that a voter’s registration card would work. So, we ran to the Eureka Courthouse and got one.

The day of the state boards. I’m as nervous as I’ve ever been as I hand the lady my two forms of ID. “I can’t accept this” she says as she hands back the voter registration card. I don’t think she realized the utter cruelty in those words. I explained the situation and she did end up letting me take the test, so all’s well that ends well I guess.

And, in case you’re holding your breath, I passed! I am officially a Licensed Physical Therapist’s Assistant!

I feel so grown up. A college graduate. Married. Living in my own home. It’s all so wonderful. And not so wonderful at the same time.

I’m going to share an honest account of what this past month has been like. I don’t mean to complain or give the impression that I’m unhappy. Past all the superficial stuff I’m am overjoyed at my current life situation. But, here’s the thing. Work doesn’t start until August 13th. So, every morning I kiss Brian goodbye and then I’m alone in this quiet little apartment for hours. It’s just not something I’m used to. Back at home, there was always somebody, my brothers, Anni, Mom and Dad, the pets…but here, it’s just me. And that’s been a really hard adjustment. I’ve been able to get out with other people sometimes, but I just can’t seem to schedule in enough things to do. No matter what there are still empty hours.

Well, this doesn’t do much good for our relationship. Poor Brian comes home everyday from his landscaping job hot and exhausted and I’m all full of energy and dying for his attention. Being the oldest, I think I developed some bad habits of teasing growing up, because I’m having teasing withdrawls. That added to my incredible need for attention is not good for a tired working man. His patience has been amazing, but even the kindest of people can’t put up with that much. I’m learning though.

It’s also interesting the way the dynamics of your relationship changes between going from being engaged to married. When we were engaged, whenever we got together there was no question that he wanted to be with me. We drove enough hours to prove it. But, now, living together, there are some times when one of both of us just wants to be left alone. Deciphering when that is is rather difficult.

And, the absolute hardest thing about getting married and moving away is being away from my family. I’ve cried more in this past month due to missing them than I’ve ever cried for one thing in my life. I love my family. They are amazing and we all had (have) such a close and loving bond. I know they are still alive and I am still alive and we can communicate easily enough, but it’s not the same as living with them and being involved in their everyday life, events, struggles, joys, etc. And, I love Brian, I love being married; I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world, but I also miss my family incredibly much.

On the other, more joyful hand, I absolutely adore Roanoke! It’s Mayberry here, I just know it. Literally, everyone waves at you as your driving or walking. Every other house is some friend or relative of the Schwind’s and if you bump into someone you don’t know, it won’t be a long conversation to find a relation. There are no “bad areas of town”. Our neighbors are all over the age of 80 I believe, which makes our neighborhood a very quiet one. We are also just down the street from the nursing home. The church is amazing. I’ve felt very welcome here and not a bit awkward, though it is a struggle to learn names.

So, its all good. One good thing about all this empty time is having the time to spend on things I wouldn’t normally do, like learning to play the piano. Brian is teaching me. And, I’ve been able to spend a lot more time with God. Learning more about Him and developing a closer relationship with Him has been awesome and has certainly made this crazy time of changes much easier.

That’s all for now. I’m going to clean our little house (it won’t take long) and then post some pictures of it, so stay tuned.