Moving forward

My last night over the Saloon.  I thought maybe I'd get away with a quiet night. WRONG!  The base is turned up and all I hear is thump-thump-thump-thump. I have some cleaning left to do and more to load in my car tonight. Tomorrow the caretaker is going to come check the place. Then I am driving to re-introduce myself to my stuff in storage. You can't imagine how nice it will be to have my own furniture, kitchenware, etc again. Oh yes and my OWN BED! I think I've missed that most of all.  

I guess the locals needed to send me out in "style". It has been interesting leaving here and the reactions. They feel abandoned and rejected. What can you do but what is right for you. It is an interesting place.

I wish I could report more new and exciting stuff. All I know is I have more cleaning, packing, and then unpacking to do in the next few days.

Wildlife

I drove another carload to my new home. On the way back it seemed like wildlife was greeting me around every corner. From four bucks to wild horses. I saw a wild horse with a colt that was pretty cute. The weather has been wonderful this week. Our mornings are humid and our evenings a thunderstorm with a refreshing rain.

I feel like I am pretty close to being done with moving. My plan is to move everything left to one corner to get a real feel for how much I have left. After I finish that the cleaning spree begins.  This change has been good so far. I've been welcomed back to the community by so many people. At my current house moving is made more difficult by the very steep set of stairs to my apartment. I carry stuff down and feel like I have noodle arms. Then after driving to my new place... I am like why does this seem so easy? Well because it is two steps into the house. I saw one of the parents of students in the town I am leaving and they told me good luck, thanks so much for everything, I could tell they were really wishing me the best. That was really nice. I am getting some anger from other folks. I guess in a way it is a compliment that they are mad I am leaving.Well I think it is time for a rest.

WIDE AWAKE!

I made a mistake... I drank some tea to stay awake to clean and pack. Now I have that age old caffeine problem of my eyes are open wide and the rest of me...wants to rest.  I guess I'll keep working till I crash. G-nite... soon, I hope.

Update: After a cleaning, packing, organizing caffeine induced spree. I decided to take a trip to the dump at 1 in the morning. Where else can you go to the dump at 1 a.m.  I didn't see any jack rabbits but saw a couple rats. Icck.  I also  interrupted parking teenagers or parking grown-ups. I didn't investigate.  I realized on the lonely road to the dump I turned my blinker on to turn into the dump. Made me laugh I don't know who I was letting know I was turning, a rat perhaps?   The bar is still thumping and it doesn't sound like they're slowing down much. I am though I think the caffeine  high is gone. A shower and my pillow.
G'nite.

In Style

Well this town is sending me off in style ...ahem.  The stoolies are in their seats loud, and proud, and a lot annoying. Someone brought out their  horn on a street above and started blowing it. They only know one note and it isn't a well played note.  When it gets this rowdy I expect a little nonsense.

I took another load over to my new place today. I am getting to that place in packing where it is odds and ends of this and that.  I had a couple of little helpers today. I may have things in strange places throughout my kitchen but they are "put away". It will be an adventure finding out where exactly my things are.

There seems to be so much to remember while moving, changing addresses for everything, etc that I think my brain is a little mushy tonight. I  don't see myself having an early night based upon the street noise.  I think part of the nuttiness is that after being soo hot we had thunderstorms come through which cooled it down to reasonable temperatures. Apparently for some that means go to the bar, as if they need an excuse. I just keep telling myself, that soon I will have houses for neighbors not saloons.

Timing moving.

So it is the second week of living gluten free. I do notice a difference and everyday I feel a bit better. It has been easier than I thought in many ways to live gluten free. What is amazing is how many everyday pantry essentials have gluten in them.  From salad dressings, soups, broths, mixes and more. Once I started reading labels it really is scary how much I was eating that I didn't realize. I don't eat bread much or things with bread (unless I visit north) that I really thought I didn't have that much gluten in my diet. I was wrong. Anyhow, every August I have my week of cooking preparing foods for my freezer to live on when the weather gets cold, school gets crazy, and I come home all tuckered out. This is going to need an overhaul as well. I am collecting new recipes. It will be way easier to manage this living closer to a grocery store. 

I am realizing this move will bring life back into balance. I haven't had that balance here in my current location. There has been so much good about it and I have learned so much. Overall this living situation hasn't been healthy for me.  Physically and mentally.  So that makes the move easier to do.

Speaking of moving the part of this state in which I live is all out of U-hauls right now. Apparently a lot of people are moving out of here instead of into here. Not sure that is good. It makes moving last a little longer than I'd like. I am trying to get my apartment packed up. It sounds like my apartment may be available tomorrow. I am crossing my fingers. I plan to take a load over from my apartment in my car. If I can't leave it at my new apartment I can leave it at a friends house.  So that will work.  

I am wondering why I am moving at the hottest time of year. The news is saying avoid strenuous activities during the hottest part of the day. Uhmmm I think moving is classified as strenuous.  So here I go another U-haul in my future. As I continue going through my gluten free life and find any yummy recipes I will share.

Changes

Sometimes change occurs very quickly. Although, I am not sure in this case it was quickly. I have been asked and asked again, and again... to come back to the district I worked at before. I really didn't want to make that decision when I was exhausted from the last school year. After taking a long break and meeting with the principal again. I talked it over with many of my favorite people who have my best interests in mind. It came down to the realization that what was keeping me here at this job probably wasn't going to last long term. I also realized health wise it probably wouldn't be good for me. Once I decided I started crying not because I will miss the place but my heart is so attached to the students here and I will miss them. Once I made the decision life began to move rather quickly.

My friend offered to come help me load up and move my classroom "stuff".  He brought over his car and trailer and we had my car. We loaded it all up today and drove it to my new workplace 2 1/2 hours away. It was sooo amazing that the janitors came out helped us carry everything in and then will move it into my new classroom when they finish cleaning it. I was SOOO surprised by their willingness to be so helpful. I was very thankful and grateful. I can't even begin to explain what a unique experience this was  after the last two years.

I looked at a possible rental today and depending on what "the boss" or the landlord's wife says, I may have that lined out. I have had such a warm welcome back to this town it really made me feel like my choice was the right one. I know it will have its struggles, ups and downs, but I have pals there to commiserate with.Teaching one grade level... so weird.

Many of you have donated books to go to the rural school I've been working at and I want to assure you that I left a lot behind. The next teacher will be in a wayyyy better position than I was when I started. Hopefully, it is appreciated. I did some of my paperwork today at the district office. I just have to wait to get my "release" letter from this district before I can be "official". The school board met tonight so hopefully they approved that. They posted my old job today so that is a good sign.

There is a little sadness about leaving such wonderful kids but there is a lot of excitement for meeting new ones  and meeting new challenges.

In other news when I was up north I was enjoying the yummyness that I normally don't get to enjoy, like pizza, burritos, sandwiches with fresh ingredients, and all sorts of deliciousness. The problem was my body wasn't really enjoying it and I began to feel worse and very lethargic. I won't share all the glorious symptoms, no one wants that. ;). After analyzing the situation and realizing that I ate a lot of breads that I rarely eat. I have said for a long time I don't really feel well when I eat grains especially really heavy thick breads. I decided to go of gluten in an experiment to see if it was the culprit. I've only been off gluten one week but every day I feel better and things are closer to "normal". So I don't know if I have an allergy or intolerance but I think I will be living gluten free from now on. If I can quit soda I can do this right?   It will be much easier to live gluten free now that I am moving closer to a grocery store.

Anyhow, I will keep you posted on what is new and exciting.

Boost!

I've been thinking about the ways that people help you get through life. Sometimes it is a little thing, or a big thing, or even  invisible. Sometimes you get help that you may not ever learn about. This has been on my mind because I've been thinking about the variety of ways people helped me get through college, finding a job, continuing education and more. That support in the variety of ways it came still means so much to me. I've thought about many times how I can kind of pay it forward so to speak. I haven't come up with a brilliant idea yet but it often occurs to me that even a little boost can really encourage a person.

I've had some amazing, positive, encouraging people in my life. What I value even more is those who speak to me the truth. Ahh yes it hurts at times, but those people I value so much more because I know they care enough to help me do what is right.   Anyhow, I know many of the people who helped me  along the way would not want anything in return.  So I am going to keep pondering this idea of how I can "pay it forward" in whatever small way I can.

Judgment

The question is... Is judgement a sin?

There is almost an agenda of  "judgment" in this land. Using the verse from Mathew 7 as their sword of righteousness when one should cast judgment upon someone.  It doesn't say not to judge, it says if you do judge you must also judge yourself by the same measure. In Leviticus 19:15 it says in righteousness to judge thy neighbor. So what does that mean?  It clearly says to judge thy neighbor but only in righteousness. If judgement was a sin every single judge in this land would be in terrible trouble. And  oh yes "Judgement Day". It is called judgment day, the day we are judged for our sins.  Hmmm, would God not want us to do what he does himself?  Okay back to judgment in righteousness. Righteousness according to Merriam-Webster means to act in accord with divine or moral law.  So if we are judging with divine law we are using the scripture as a foundation to make judgements.John 7:24 gives similar instructions "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."   Did that verse tell us not to judge? Nope it was instructing us to not judge the appearance of another but judge if they are using righteous judgment. In other words judge whether  they are using the divine law to make their judgments.  

Okay I've said judge quite a lot. So  again according to Merriam-Webster means:
to form an opinion about through careful weighing of evidence and testing of premise.  To form an opinion. Okay we can form an opinion and make a judgment but it must be using righteous judgment or divine law to make that judgment. In the  old testament it gives rules for judges in their official capacity to follow so they can make sound judgments. There are also times in the old testament God asks Ezekiel for instance to judge Jerusalem to show her all of her abominations.  

So back to Matthew 7:1 Judge not that ye be not judged. 
If I am judging someone with righteousness or according to divine law. I better have the understanding I will be judged for the same thing, by the same measure. I also must have all of the facts to make the judgment.

So go forth and Judge Righteously. Every day we have to make judgements to keep safe, to keep away from things that may harm us, or take us away from what is righteous.  In Malachi 3:18 we are told we will have to discern between the wicked and the evil. We will have to recognize and identify those who follow God and those who do not. We will be responsible for that judgment.