Saturday, October 20, 2012

Update from the Lewis Family!

The past few months have been absolutely crazy. 

There have been several times that I wanted to post something but never had the time. Details about our wedding. Life as newlyweds. Transforming our apartment little by little into our "home" instead of a place we stay. And other random events. But life has just been too much.

In the past two months:
We got married. 
I started back to school along with working about three days a week and teaching two days a week. 
I met my step-brother and step-sister for the first time and, in turn, have gained an entirely new family.
Ray and I have been adjusting to raising a teenage boy. (Which could be a million blog posts on its own.)
Our car died.
We purchased a new car.
Ray started coaching women's basketball at a college. 
We have been trying to settle into a church. 
I found out my cat has to be put down soon.
Ray has had crazy medical stuff going on with his kidneys, including two minor surgeries.
I've lost touch with close friends and am not sure where to begin to repair those relationships.
We have been traveling almost every weekend for the past month to various family functions.
And, in the daily chaos of trying to work, go to school, teach, help Lelan adjust to living with us, taking care of a husband, paying bills, I am trying to keep our home running smoothly.

It has been so crazy that my professor actually told me I had too much "life" happening.
I couldn't agree more...


I originally typed the rest of this blog yesterday and talked about how envious I was of the people who have a moment to enjoy life. And how I wished I could just spend time being instead of running like a crazy person. But then last night happened...

I got off work. Ran home to check the italian beef I made for Lelan and Ray, grabbed a sandwich, and took off to go chaperone the fall dance at the school where I am observing. I had no idea what to expect, but I was excited to see my kids outside of the classroom.

Little did I know just how great the experience was going to be.

At one point they did a dance where all of the girls threw one shoe to the center of the floor. In order to find a partner for the slow dance, the boys had to pick up a shoe and find the girl to whom it belonged. Some of the boys grabbed the closest shoe, while other boys grabbed their "girlfriend's" shoe. But my heart absolutely melted at one of the students we have with special needs. He ran to the floor, grabbed a shoe, and took it to one of the girls in his class. When she said no, he threw the shoe, ran back and grabbed another one, again, taking it to the same girl. He repeated the process multiple times until she went and pointed out her shoe for him.

If you ever wonder if there is good in the world, I believe that moment exemplified it. The excitement that was on his face, the smiles from the students around them, and the tears in his mother's eyes as she watched from the group of chaperones... It was priceless.

And, it made the rest of the evening completely worth the time out of my day. To see the giddiness of the girls and to watch the boys try to be cool reminded my why I am living through this crazy time. It was a moment that made all of the headaches and frustrations with school and the tiredness from having to work to pay for school seem insignificant compared to the end goal.

But most importantly, it was a moment when my to-do list took a break, and I got to actually enjoy life instead of watching it pass by through the lens of my overbooked planner.