Closing Out This Blog

So I will no longer be blogging on this blog, at least for the time being.  I do not know if I will return to make this blog into something else when I finally enter grad school for real.

In case anyone is wondering, I decided to defer enrollment at YDS by one year.  In the meantime, I have kindly been offered a one-class arrangement at one of the other schools to which I was accepted, and I will be dipping my toes in grad school life by attending that one class (which is held one evening per week) for the fall term.  I have registered for that class, and borrowed a few of the books required from the minister with whom I am working.  Fall term begins in early(ish) September.

In terms of my work and living arrangements, here is what has been established and what is still up in the air.  A committee met to look at my offers to continue working full-time, as well as their other staffing options.  They evaluated the situation, and decided to recommend that a search committee be formed and work on finding my replacement this year.  So I will be able to move to my school location and make a clean break.  I will need to find at least a part-time job in the new city in order to help keep a roof over my kid's heads and food on the table. 

The one painful thing that has occurred is that after the committee made its recommendations, the finance committee decided to recommend my replacement be hired at part-time to deal with finance shortfalls.  Since the whole conversation about me leaving was initiated because I couldn't work part-time, I am sure you can understand why this hurt me greatly.  That said, there were a number of factors considered in the original committee's recommendation to go into search, and that recommendation didn't stem from a desire to change directions, so I think what happened with the finance committee was largely that they backed into this position after it was determined I would be replaced.  I am working on letting that go.

We are hoping to be able to find renters for our home, but it is not looking particularly hopeful.  For this reason, we are also planning to save anything we get back in taxes in the coming year to cushion either a loss of rental income some months or a need to rent at a much lower amount than our mortgage.  I am not sure what we will do after the first year.  It may be that we attempt to sell the house as well, and just see what kind of offers we get, though we are reluctant right now to invest in preparing the house to sell it with the way the market is right now.  We will see.  I'm trying to just stay calm and take it one day at a time.

I want to thank the few of you who read this blog, who posted supportive messages, and kindly cheered me on when I thought I would drown in all this.  I also want to thank a few of you who took from your own money to make a donation toward the application fees and testing.  I simply would not have been able to apply without your help.  The money just wasn't there...that's a fact.  So thank you for your generosity because it made my dream of going to grad school come true.

I am still actively blogging, as I hope you are already aware.  I am blogging on religious leadership here: http://religiousleader.blogspot.com/. 

I am also starting up a small business as a parenting coach, and you can find out all about that here: http://aparentcoach.blogspot.com/.  If you are asked to login to see the site, it is because I have not yet opened for business.  I hope to be open within one month.  Please do come again.

My final post will be made momentarily.  It is really for my own purposes as an outlet.  Just for fun, I am making a wish list as I head off to school.  I know I am dreamin', but hey, that's what this blog has been all about.  After that, it is all serious business!