On Friday night Dena and I used a $75 gift card from Leadership McLean County to spend a long evening at Jim's Steakhouse. I hadn't been there in some time, so it marked a special occasion worthy of celebrating eight months of busy volunteer work by eating pricey red meat. My gift card shopper was wise, it was just enough to cover the three of us with a decent tip and (appropriately so) no dessert. Rosann had reached a milestone in her legal proceedings as well, and as the anniversary of Dena and I dating approached we were in high spirits.
It was a record-setting tutoring week as I crossed 40 hours for the first time. Added to the 10 hours at Heartland, and I'd worked my first 50 hour week in years. As I thought about it, I remarked to Dena that it was the first 50-hour week I'd worked enthusiastically since 2001. That summer I put in a ton of work developing as a young supervisor up until Dad passed away in the fall. The conscious decision to work normal hours fit well with a job for which I had abilities but not true gifts. Now that I'm plugged into my best skills through this job, I've been all in.
One student submitted a testimonial that in 8 weeks of working with me his grade had risen from 49% mid-semester to 75% at the end! It's as much his and God's work as mine, but the teamwork feels incredibly rewarding.
I underwent a physical as part of qualifying for substitute teaching. I am physically fit with a resting heart rate of 54 beats per minute. And apparently a mild case of anemia which would explain some of my tiredness and would be explained by my low-iron diet. Which is one more reason to be grateful for the steakhouse gift certificate. The givers must have known me better than I knew myself.
Condo clean-up day was a success, Dena worked her tail off while I was tutoring a load of 7 students.
The raspy-voiced priest uttered a phrase during Mass that stuck with me: "Be who we are called to be." Rosann commented over dinner that I seemed really happy. And why not? A teacher is what I'm called to be, and I'm in the process of becoming more and more of one every day.
Although I didn't audition for any shows this spring, I'm still glad to have Community Players Theatre almost within walking distance of my house. Spring flowers cast memories of Spelling Bee and Hairspray with amazing casts and staff and scripts and music, creating still-fresh memories. Even today when the band is walking up the aisle to receive Communion on Sundays, I find myself singing "Nicest Kids in Town" as if I'm prancing onto the stage for the first time in Hairspray.
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