tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55511429656252364502024-03-08T14:16:15.297-08:00A Temporary Blog on Applying to Grad SchoolThis blog will last from October 2009 until I find out how my applications are received (approximately March of 2010). In October and November I will mostly enlighten you with vocab words, math reviews, analogies of interest, and other academic fodder as I study for the GRE. Later on I’ll get boring as I make endless to-do lists, hash out essay ideas, writing samples, and statements of purpose, and other such fun activities. But in the end you'll get to see how it all unfolds. Welcome!Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-46205752898464129022010-08-14T13:59:00.000-07:002010-08-14T14:01:17.260-07:00My Final Post<span style="font-size: large;">Just for fun wish list for going back to school:</span><br />
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<strong><u>To Have</u></strong><br />
<ul><li>A bike for me and dw, and kids bike seats on the back of each of them</li>
<li>A helmet</li>
<li>Good bike locks for each of us</li>
<li>A laptop (I am crazy for the new lightweight Toughbook covertible, but hey, I'll even settle for a netbook...just something hopefully reliable I can use for notetaking and school work)</li>
<li>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002FQJT3Q?ie=UTF8&tag=atembloonappt-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002FQJT3Q">Kindle</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=atembloonappt-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002FQJT3Q" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /> (did you see the new Kindle is out and it is finally supposed to be readable in sun?)</li>
<li>A printer (turns out there is a charge per sheet for printing things out at school these days...phooey!)</li>
<li>Some clothes I feel comfortable in (time for the every-15-year wardrobe update that I can never afford LOL)</li>
<li>A fix to those little plumbing and electrical issues, etc., in the house that we can tolerate, but that we can't leave for a renter</li>
<li>And if I am getting really dreamy...maybe an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002C7481G?ie=UTF8&tag=atembloonappt-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002C7481G">iPad</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=atembloonappt-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002C7481G" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></li>
</ul><br />
<strong><u>To Shed</u></strong><br />
<ul><li>Our second car</li>
<li>My broken laptop</li>
<li>My house for 9 months out of the year</li>
<li>50 pounds</li>
</ul>Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-64506827325452001112010-08-14T13:31:00.000-07:002010-08-14T13:46:09.747-07:00Closing Out This BlogSo 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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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. <br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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I am still actively blogging, as I hope you are already aware. I am blogging on religious leadership here: <a href="http://religiousleader.blogspot.com/">http://religiousleader.blogspot.com/</a>. <br />
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I am also starting up a small business as a parenting coach, and you can find out all about that here: <a href="http://aparentcoach.blogspot.com/">http://aparentcoach.blogspot.com/</a>. 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.<br />
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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!Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-40589122448919183982010-04-24T21:18:00.000-07:002010-04-24T21:19:12.258-07:00Future BloggingSo I am going to keep this blog up until I get through decisions about deferment and my negotiations at work. Meanwhile, I've started what I think will be my next blog: <a href="http://religiousleader.blogspot.com/">religiousleader.blogspot.com</a>. Enjoy!Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-78376005145052863912010-04-20T12:58:00.001-07:002010-04-20T12:58:30.295-07:00My SchoolI will be attending Yale Divinity School.Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-58187286696211197132010-04-19T20:39:00.000-07:002010-04-19T20:40:58.549-07:00The Negotiation DanceSo I am in this awkward phase of the process. I've picked my school, communicated my decisions, and now am waiting to hear back (hopefully I'll hear back) when the schools receive the letters. But the most uncomfortable stuff is at work. You'll recall I work in a non-ordained ministry in a congregation.<br />
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First, I've requested a deferment with the school, and now I have to figure out if I am going to be starting school this fall or next fall. Still, I had to open up a conversation at work about the future of my employment. I work in a field in which it can take a year to hire, so advance notice is really helpful. In some ways it would be better to just be submitting my resignation. Instead, I am conversing with them about whether me working on a limited/part-time basis would be mutually beneficial, and if so, under what type of arrangement. All the while, I am holding up the possibility that it might be best for one or the other of us if we part ways. <br />
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At times, the conversation feels highly generative, mutually supportive, frank yet compassionate, and productive. Other times it feels, well, laced with distrust. I've only been there a few years, and have come to be there after my predecessor served the congregation for 25 years...soooo, we are just settling into our relationship with one another, and now I've thrown this in the mix. They took a bet on me, and they won't get their full returns no matter what way we dice it...no matter what, I am going to be there for at least a handful of years shorter than we all anticipated at the starting gate, and probably much shorter than that.<br />
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Here is what I am struggling with tonight. The congregation is in the midst of a big ministerial transition as is, for another reason, and they've been handling it really well. I worry that I will become the "safer" outlet for that anxiety, and yes, my ego is slightly involved because whenever I am going to leave, I'd really like it to be under conditions in which people can still see the good things I've done over the last several years. I am not sure I am going to have that experience, however, because in this negotiation dance, I can already feel the tidal wave of congregational anxiety is right behind us.<br />
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(P.S. Just to make things a little harder, tonight I also learned funding was cut for a position we were adding to my department...as expected revenues have not surfaced. This is TOUGH stuff!)Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-51096667726149393122010-04-16T21:30:00.000-07:002010-04-16T21:30:23.037-07:00...And a funny little note...Tonight I am watching a video of interviews with "visionary ministers" who have led congregations through significant growth. Among the faces I recognize on the video (both the ministers and the congregational and denominational leaders listening and reflecting back the conversations), I personally know a fair number. It makes me think how many mentors I already have as I enter into this period of concentrated formation.Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-91646771111827362452010-04-16T21:12:00.000-07:002010-04-16T21:12:58.983-07:00OkaySo letters are out to all three schools...albeit missing the official paperwork and deposit money for the school I have chosen. I'll name the school on this blog officially next week.<br />
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This was such a tough decision, but now that it is made and letters (as hard as they were to write) are on their way, I am feeling eager to prepare for the future. It is a lighter feeling, and one that dances joyfully with gratitude, even as I struggle with the next set of decisions on the table. <br />
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Thank you, God, for bringing me to where I need to be now. I am listening, following, and submitting, as I wait to know what you will have me do next. Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-6229368214409971262010-04-12T10:42:00.000-07:002010-04-12T10:42:47.928-07:00Decision MadeI have made my decision. I am ready to move forward. Now I have to communicate to all schools including the one whose offer I am accepting. I think this will be a more difficult step than it seems it should be, as the act of closing doors is always a sad and slightly scary thing to do (What am I missing out on? What <em>could</em> have been my experience if only...?). Once I share my decisions with the schools -- which I hope to do this week -- I will post more.Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-1015306092030981872010-04-11T20:48:00.000-07:002010-04-11T20:49:01.547-07:00Very NervousI am really fumbling during this time of decision-making, which only exaserbates my anxiety about tomorrow's meeting at work, during which I will discuss with several key people my decision to go to school and the resulting decisions about my work. I have done a lot of preparation (have just a bit more to finish tonight before bed), so I should feel ready, but the butterflies in my tummy are going strong!Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-36072849322821649642010-04-05T22:42:00.001-07:002010-04-05T22:42:55.247-07:00Feeling GratefulI head to bed tonight feeling such gratitude. For all of you in my "real life" crowd who participated in my email discussions and my "solicited advice" telephone conference tonight, I am so thankful.<br />
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I took everything each and every one of you said to heart, whether you said a lot or a little, and whether you spoke about logistics, about the different educational opportunities themselves, or about the spirituality of this decision. <br />
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After the phone call tonight, G. and I had a long heart-to-heart. I still have not arrived at a decision, but I feel much more clear. We also began to visualize a plan for housing/etc. that will hopefully prove useful wherever I attend. Please keep your fingers crossed that we find as we proceed that these plans are do-able.<br />
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As I mentioned on the phone tonight, I will not be making a final decision until the 15th, but I will keep you posted. Thank you again so much for your time and thoughtful questions and responses to the decisions before me.Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-90556743861320886732010-03-26T20:54:00.000-07:002010-03-26T20:54:52.245-07:00Why Does My Wife Not Want to Be a DJ?I had the most brilliant idea tonight. See one thing we are worrying about right now with me going back to school is money. I really want (and quite possibly will need) to reduce my hours at work in order to go to school. But there is NO money to spare as is, so G. is really going to have to start earning more. Currently she is doing childcare in our home, which is working out okay, but it won't be enough to cover our behinds when I go down in hours. <br />
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So tonight I was talking to a member of the church I serve, and he was explaining to me how he got into DJing as a side business. He stumbled upon it when he needed to recoup some money that he lost when he bought sound equipment for a band he was in that broke up shortly after. He picked up one extra piece of equipment, DJ'd a few gigs for free, and batta boom, batta bing, he had himself an easy way to make a few extra hundred dollar a month. He doesn't do weddings, as he is a teacher by day and keeps to the more low key gigs (things like kids parties and school dances LOL). He gets all of his jobs via word-of-mouth and his initial investment was a couple thousand dollars, but he said that his charge is generally around $400. Apparently he knows some folks who DJ at weddings for up to $1300 per job. You have to be GOOD to charge that and still get jobs, of course (personally I think that is a total rip off to charge that much), but I was amazed when he said that his friends use the same equipment he does.<br />
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So I thought, "Aha! That is a crazy great idea for G!" We could invest now from our tax refund (assuming we are getting one, but that is another story...my efile has now officially been rejected twice and the reasons given make NO sense), and G would have a great job. She LOVES music, she LOVES chatting with people, she enjoys the party atmosphere. She doesn't like being "in front" of crowds, but having interviewed a bunch for our wedding a number of years ago, I know that some DJs are billed more as entertainers and some more as masters of music...she definitely qualifies for the latter. I have a fair amount of confidence she could get jobs here with the number of folks we know, but I am even more confident she could get a ton of jobs out where her parents and her sister lives. She has a lot of good networks down there, and I know she'd LOVE the excuse to head out that way on a regular basis. (And heck, when I am in school, maybe the student network would be another good source of jobs.)<br />
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At $400 per job she could make $1200 a month with only three jobs. Meanwhile, it wouldn't likely interfere with classes or work for me, and would really reduce concerns around the cost of childcare that we have as we look at her returning to a more traditional job. At this point, she can't earn enough to pay for both kids in care, let alone extra on top of that. Which means we wouldn't put the kids in care and instead both of us will end up with twice the work (I with school and she with a new job). And as a DJ, she could even keep doing childcare in our home if she wanted. The business side of being a DJ, as it was described to me, sounds easy enough, and I could take care of a lot of the business stuff.<br />
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So why doesn't G want to be a DJ? Right now she is out on a job for her sister. She worked a 15 hour day priming an apartment that she is going to paint tomorrow in another 15 hour day. She is making $500. Not bad for a weekend of work, but two 15 hour days like that is really hard on all of us. I spent all day today working (including attending a church function) with two kids under foot. She is going to get home late Saturday night, which means she is working right through my normal crunch time as I get the church set for Sunday morning. How are we going to manage when I have the stress of homework for school on top of it all? Knowing how sore she was tonight from painting, I am surprised she didn't feel the least bit tempted by my idea. Instead she balked at the idea of being responsible for people having a good time. <br />
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I wish I had half G's knowledge about music. If I did, I would jump at my own idea in a heartbeat ;-P.Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-45554153530985440192010-03-22T21:41:00.000-07:002010-03-22T21:43:01.283-07:00Great VisitThis won't be long. I just arrived home from work a little while ago, and I am exhausted. Totally exhausted. Today I spent most of the day over at one of the schools. It was a great visit. (And by the way, G. came with the kids and joined me for part of the afternoon, and she loved the school.)Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-38200549611556993232010-03-20T23:15:00.000-07:002010-03-20T23:18:24.913-07:00The PendulumMy poor wife! Every day I go to her and say, "You know, I think I've figured out where I should go [for school]," and I name a school and give her 100 reasons it is the best fit for me, and then all day I'll be researching and figuring stuff out about the school. And she'll try to be supportive and research and figure it out with me, and we'll start to form some kind of idea of how it might turn out. We'll talk it over, and I'll feel a little more at peace, and...<br />
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...then the next day I start all over, <strong><em>but it won't be the same school</em></strong>. And round and round I go.<br />
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It's becoming predictable, and my darling wife is clearly growing weary. She's at the point now where I will say something to her in the middle of the day such as, "This is what I think we'll do about [our family's schedule, etc.] for this school," and she will just nod and smile so as not to engage me too much. I think she's hoping the school visits will be the end of it. The last visit is just before the first decision is due. Eeeks!<br />
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Honey, I know you occassionally read my blog, so let me just tell you how much I love you, and how dear I think you are to be so patient, supportuve, and engaged. I am so lucky!<br />
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(P.S. to everyone else, can I just say how awesome "G" is?! You know how I know that she reads my blog? Because the day after I posted that I wanted to go to sleep for a month, she let me sleep in and gently told me I had been heard and that she knew how overwhelmed I was.)Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-9044364197053668212010-03-20T08:48:00.000-07:002010-03-20T08:48:42.774-07:00An Explanation of Blog ChangesI added some pay-for-clicks ads to my blog because, well, I am going to need money anywhere I can get it now that it looks like I am going to pay books and fees a couple times next year (aside from the bigger stuff). The plus side is that I get to share some book recommendations with you through an Amazon widget! But I still half-feel that I need to apologize for the extraneous content. So take this as my apology.Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-62286020484590057402010-03-14T19:31:00.000-07:002010-03-14T19:31:52.064-07:00Advisement Conference CallSince I began receiving school acceptances, a sense of dread has accompanied all celebrations. Saying yes to one offer means saying no to the others when there are so many reasons to say yes to each. I am, in a word, overwhelmed. <br />
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After considering hiring out my life decisions for a while ;-), I finally realized that I could take advantage of the fact that I am surrounded by a network of really smart people who have my best interests in mind. While I ultimately have to make this decision on my own, from my own gut, I can first seek guidance and wisdom from these people I trust.<br />
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For this reason, I am planning a conference call of advisement! I am very excited, and if you are in my circle of "in-real-life peeps," I hope you will plan to join me. I so very much appreciate collective wisdom of family and friends. I am taking votes for dates and times (perhaps a Saturday, evening EST), and I'll be sending out an evite soon. Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-48560624702126151552010-03-13T06:07:00.001-08:002010-03-13T06:07:37.813-08:00Presidential Scholarship!Forgot to mention that one of my acceptances included a Presidential Scholarship!Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-40634956934252111392010-03-13T05:28:00.000-08:002010-03-13T05:28:11.083-08:00Funny PyschologySince last night's notices, I have been compulsively re-writing my essays in my head...from a school to which I was admitted. The essays were good enough, but they could have been great if I only had written them now and not then LOL. Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-83962238866343619192010-03-12T15:25:00.000-08:002010-03-12T15:27:02.401-08:00More NewsCame home tonight to more news. One acceptance (waahhhooooo!) and one rejection (the rejection didn't feel surprising...this was the school with which I had difficulty in the application process, and they hadn't been sympathetic). I feel very happy about my acceptances, and completely 100% overwhelmed by the decision ahead. I have no idea how to make this decision. It feels impossibly difficult. I want to go to sleep for a month.Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-26374144240499134862010-03-11T21:43:00.000-08:002010-03-11T21:55:30.140-08:00WowI got my fist acceptance letter today. Wow! Just wow.<br />
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The grad school applicant's secret fear: If I get accepted to multiple schools, how will I make a decision? I chose each of these schools because I wanted to go. It's a secret fear because it feels like saying it outloud would ginx any possible acceptances LOL, and it also sounds like an outrageous hope. Still...Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-11497328783986125542010-03-11T21:33:00.000-08:002010-03-11T21:33:45.562-08:00WeirdI received an email regarding my FASFA tonight. It said my corrected FASFA was available online and to my schools. I haven't yet finished my taxes, and thus haven't yet sent in a corrected FASFA. Huh?Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-19059109899879768192010-03-08T06:00:00.000-08:002010-03-14T23:05:30.394-07:00Pondering Motherhood and Grad SchoolHere is a post I started yesterday but finished tonight...<br />
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I am sitting on the deck at the home of my mother and father "in law." My kids are playing in the sun, and we are all soaking up some much-needed vitamin D. Even as I write this, my daughter has climbed on my lap and is taking in the moment with me. It's a beautiful day!<br />
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My daughter K's birthday was on Thursday, and now I have two <em>four-year-olds</em> in the house. I think back to last February, and remember that we had just found out for certain that she would be with us forever. When K's birthday arrived, we were still insecure in our reality, emerging from nearly three years of regularly having our life turned on its head while we road the roller coaster of K's case. And yet here we are, a year later, with a solid place to stand. K is here for good, and is now a happy, healthy, active, bright, and precocious little girl. She makes up complex imaginary games. She reads at a young first grade level...heck, she read her own birthday cards this year. She says things like, "that is not an option" and "I think that would be appropriate." She ice skates, and I am pretty sure she is about an inch away from learning to swim. <br />
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As M and K approach kindergarten, and I work on these grad school applications, school is a big topic around our house. Today we were taking a walk, and as we went by the school where M used to attend his therapies (he now attends elsewhere due to problems there with the school therapists), he said "Mama, that's my old school! I am going to go kiss it," and he ran up to the building and kissed the front doors. The kids still love school, and M is proud to attend several (church school, Montessori school, and his therapy schools). K calls the ice skating rink her "skating school." But it goes beyond an enthusiasm for school, as those positive associations with school are in fact positive associations with learning. They have a voracious appetite for information and for skills. I hope they never lose it.<br />
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I remember my father going to school when I was a kid. I have a vague memory of going to a class (?) with him when I was about K's age. I remember the look of the lecture hall, though I don't remember going in. I remember sitting outside the room with at least one of my siblings. I don't have a context for the memory, so it is probably inaccurate in numerous ways, but accurate or inaccurate, it is nonetheless something I have carried with me now for many years. It has undoubtedly become a part of the stories that shape me.<br />
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I have been thinking about this lately, about how formative it was that my father went to school during my early childhood. I don't know the details, nor how he did it with a family: four kids, a wife, a dog (at least at one point), and a job. Maybe because he finished school while I was still quite young, I remember him as having been fully present in my childhood. I remember a lot of family time with both my parents around...probably even more than my own kids get now. So my memories of my dad going to school are very positive, and I have no doubt that these memories have influenced my drive. <br />
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I also have memories of my mom returning to school for a period of time. When I saw my mom do it, the work looked fun. She was motivated. I remember in particular a class she took, and a study-buddy friend she made in the class who she would invite over to the house. I think I might actually have my mom's textbook from that class. <br />
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When I start to worry about how I will juggle it all, I think of my parents and the gift that I can give my own children just as they gave me. By watching my dad complete his schooling, I saw that possibility in myself, and I saw a reason to do so. By attending school now, I have the potential to do the same for my kids. I have thus involved my children in my decision to go back to school from the very start. They were involved in the conversations between me and my wife about which schools were a "good fit." They have celebrated each of my visits to schools and looked at the schools online with me. They have been there through readings of my application essays, as I tried to help myself edit by reading outloud. They quizzed me with my flashcards when I was studying for the GRE, and they cheered me on through testing. They have been forbidden from entering my bedroom for a couple hours at a time while I have sequestered myself for "application duty." <br />
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I know this is going to be a busy few years to come. It is going to involve a lot of work and surely some heartache. I also know that as I do this, my children are watching. They are discerning in their own minds what work is worthy, and how much effort it deserves. They are gathering information about our family's values, our approach to life, our optimism. They are gathering information about differences between my wife and myself, and how we support and question one another in pursuing wildly different paths in life. My children each have unique, individual challenges, but I can control the example I set. It is a privilege and a potent power I have to be able to influence my children through my own action as they grow. May I be worthy.Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-7509720309895704892010-03-06T11:37:00.000-08:002010-03-06T18:23:08.361-08:00Andover Newton UpdateI received a personal phone call from ANTS yesterday. Bless them! They wanted to let me know not only that my application packet had been sent to the admissions committee but that they were going to try to rush things so that I get my answer by March 15th when I hear back from the other schools. This is another school for which the admissions process has been a pleasure, and it reminds me of one of the reasons I chose the school. That is, this is a school in which ministry is embodied throughout. I remember calling my father, very excited, after attending the school's open house late last winter/early last spring. What had impressed me was the level of genuine hospitality exhibited throughout the day. I thrive and learn best in an environment in which study and practice are well integrated. As "radical religious hospitality" is a special interest of mine, the hospitality exhibited at the open house -- if it reflects the school as a whole -- is a particularly exciting thing to have observed (even if my father had a more moderate assessment: "it sounds like they ran a really effective open house"). <br />
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I did re-read my application essays yesterday, having had the perspective provided by relief from the pressure to work on them. I worry about those essays because they are the least cohesive of all my essays, partially because one of the elements I used to tie together my other statements I left out of this essay. I also see other ways I could have/should have explained why I chose the school. On the other hand, I really like some aspects of the essays that were unique to this school, and I was glad for the opportunity to write about those things. <br />
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Overall, I am feeling good, even if a bit worried about my delay on my last school application (MLTS).Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-85936333300579683622010-03-02T23:17:00.000-08:002010-03-02T23:18:34.281-08:00"Real Life" EducationSo I am having one of those moments when I feel slightly out of step with my congregation. I've noticed that as I walk in service together with them, that there is a rhythm to our shared work. Even when we come across a landscape through which we have to muddle our way, there is a rhythm to the negotiation of unchartered waters.<br />
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But somehow recently I got just a half-beat off from the rhythm. I think it started a couple of weeks ago at a board meeting, and its just flowed right into everything else. Time to focus on my own spiritual practices so I can come into rhythm at least with myself. If I am not in a rhythm with myself, there is no way I can be with my congregation.<br />
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This is life. It is messy.Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-69971669157098874822010-03-02T23:09:00.000-08:002010-03-02T23:09:56.504-08:00Puff Puff Choo Choo...the Little Engine Chugs AlongI am pleased to say that I completed my ANTS application tonight. I do have to email them my essays tomorrow. Hard to let go because I know the writing isn't 100% yet, but I've gotten to the point where I need to finish something. I could spend a lifetime on these essays, really. I think I've also decided against submitting supplementary material to the school, which was not the decision I expected to make. I feel that by submitting only what I have already submitted (along with the essays in the morning), I will have a "tighter" application packet overall. I don't want to dilute what I have submitted.<br />
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My YDS financial aid applicaton is also complete and submitted, but I have to submit a copy of my taxes and W-2s via fax ASAP (note to self: tomorrow I also need to submit M's birth certificate to the charter school for which we entered him in the lottery).Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551142965625236450.post-28318958885459617112010-02-23T23:04:00.001-08:002010-02-23T23:04:31.223-08:00Financial AidI was reminded today that deadlines are fast approaching for many financial aid applications! Yikes. I haven't been doing anything about that. In the next couple of days I will get my taxes done so that I can update my FASFA application, which I've fortunately already completed using last year's taxes as estimates, and complete a YDS internal financial aid application. If I work fast enough, I may be able to get some other applications done for scholarships. Unfortunately, however, because I have been so behind on my final two school applications, I have forced myself to juggle a lot of other balls now as I silmultaneously apply for schools and aid.Masasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00783902610798734846noreply@blogger.com0