And we have lift off!

Today was Paul's last day of work as an employee of the State of Utah's Department of Services for People with Disabilities (at least I THINK that's what DSPD stands for!). He was so stressed out the last few days trying to get done in 3 days the amount of work he usually leaves for the last 2 weeks of the month. I was stressed the last 2 days trying to SQUEEZE in one more doctor appointment here or another dentist appointment there! We definitely needed to maximize on the last couple of days of State benefits. We will definitely be missing our $20 per month premiums for health insurance!

So what's next, you ask? Starting tomorrow, Paul will now be doing contract work for the State of Utah's Department of Services for People with Disabilities. Did you notice the subtle difference there? He doesn't have his own contract, so he'll be working for his friend's company/contract, Keystone Advocacy and Supports, doing pretty much EXACTLY what he's been doing for the last 3.5 years! But what the change boils down to is this: Paul will bring home about the same amount of money, but instead of working 160 hours per month, he'll be working more like 50 hours per month (give or take more time and money depending on how many clients he works with). This will open up Paul's life and schedule to allow him more time to 1) parent our 3 boys and save us $$$ on babysitting! 2) become wicked fast at swimming, running, and biking so he can do awesome in his half-ironman race this summer... and for the record, his race is over 4 times the length of the one I'll be doing in 2 months... I want to barf just thinking about it! 3)golf 4) if weather is not permitting #3, he'd like to go skiing sometime. 5) keep our house away from the edge of it's current state of utter self-destruction and 6) hmmm, oh yeah, the most important one, go back to school to get a degree in counseling.

With today approaching, I thought about where we were in life when Paul got this job in the first place. It was the summer of 2005 and we were living in Burley, Idaho. At the time, I was working full-time and Paul was home taking care of our 2 preschool-aged boys. Andy was 4 and Canon was 2. Back then, we had just switched places completely. I remember that from the moment I took the job at the hospital, I didn't do one single load of laundry (aside from folding it). Paul took amazing care of us, and to my shame, he did "my job" WAY better than I did. It was only for about 5-6 months that we lived this way, and by the time it was over, we were ready to switch back! Early in the summer, Paul applied for this job as a "support coordinator" and we came down for an interview in American Fork. Weeks and then months went by and we never heard back from them, not even one of the infamous rejection letters we eventually came to expect. Amazingly, in September we got some news about a crisis in Paul's family, and even more amazingly, one week after getting that news, Paul was offered a job in the Spanish Fork office, placing us just miles from his parents in Mapleton. Even though we loved our friends and family in Burley, we knew the Lord was moving us to Springville for a purpose. Within 6 months, ALL of Paul's siblings ended up moving closer, putting us all within a 20 mile radius of each other. Cool huh? So, Paul moved down here in mid-September, leaving me to finish up a 2 week notice with both boys in Burley. It was a really tough month, but what do you do? From the get-go, Paul enjoyed his job. He's enjoyed his co-workers, his consumers, and the beautiful balance between office time and out-of-office time. He also enjoyed the good benefits and having every holiday off. What he didn't enjoy? The fact that there was no view of advancing his career (or his pay) with the state. He put in 3.5 good years, but needed to jump off the treadmill that is the government and actually hit the road running, so to speak.

So, things will be a little different around here. We haven't done it yet, but still need to sit down together and delineate our roles in our marriage and family so the lines don't get too fuzzy. Paul did already make it known that he doesn't want to cook. I don't blame him there! I really dislike cooking, but since it's something I can handle with my current schedule (which won't be changing until summertime), I'll continue to take charge of keeping the family from starving!

My feelings on the whole thing? Peace, hope, and optimism with a little dash of concern thrown in! I'm hopeful that with Paul being home, it will take the edge off the chaos that we've been experiencing since I picked up that fourth contract with Merit Academy. I'm sure this will add some stability to our kids' lives and schedules, especially with baseball season coming up. Canon has been the most ready to no longer have a babysitter. Charlie on the other hand often asks to go to Britton's (our babysitter's son) house on the days he and I are home together... I must be boring. I feel peaceful and confident about our finances, mostly because he WILL still be bringing home the bacon (and for the first time in our marriage making more per hour than I do!). I'm also confident in the safety net that my job provides.

I'm excited about him going back to school in a direction that will lead him to a successful place. For years, Paul has talked about going back to get a masters degree in something. But in what? And when? And where? And to do WHAT? When he recently suggested counseling, it all made sense. That "stupor of thought" just went away! But my first question was, "Are you sure?" Followed by, "Do you really want to sit there and listen to people whine and complain about their lives?" He understood my concern, but answered, "I just feel like I've been lead to this." And he has. With all of the experiences he's had with his employment over the last 10 years, Paul will be an AWESOME counselor. He also already has contacts with a couple of therapy niches in which he'd like to try and help fill the current voids.

So, as of tomorrow, we get to redefine "normal" again! Changes like these are never easy, but now that we know that we'll never have a "normal" (old definition of normal) week again, we just get to move forward. I'm so excited and look forward to seeing what "Chapter 5" will bring to us! The first 4 chapters have been pretty gripping and I'm a big fan of the author of our book!