Thank You Father God! With one plan, You’re blessing me, my nephews, my husband, my parents, and my brother and I’m sure the blessings spread beyond what I’ll ever know.
It’s been a week and a half since I started coaching my nephews. They’re 7 and 10 and were not succeeding in a traditional brick and mortar school. I’m not here to bash teachers, there are good and bad apples in every barrel, but our education system is broken.
I’d moved back to my hometown and was happily married. My husband and I were attending a vibrant church with a loving Celebrate Recovery program. I was working in child protection and we had more than adequate income and good health insurance coverage. My husband was teaching me to hunt and I’d discovered it was fun to share his passion and I was reasonably good at it. I envisioned us spending the rest of our lives loving each other, family, and forever family (fellow Christians). I thought I was going to work right up to retirement. All I wanted was God’s will for my life and I was asking him for a different job.
The vertigo came on suddenly, taking me by surprise. At first, I was just frustrated (I hate to be sick, period.) I thought I’d be back to normal in a few days. That hasn’t happened. My health is preventing me from working and has basically turned me into a shut in. I hate it. I have no income. I had to give up my position with the state because I couldn’t pay the health insurance premiums. I can’t do normal things like house cleaning, grocery shopping, and personal care like I used to do; I have to find ways to accomplish these things with the help of family. I felt like I wasn’t contributing to society.
Because I haven’t been able to work for four months, the idea that I might serve as a Learning Coach appealed to me. I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to do it, physically. I want to be reliable. After much prayer, much talk with my mother, and much research, I decided to commit to trying it out.
Whoo boy! My nephews are delivered to my home four mornings a week. (I can’t drive right now.) They’re always smiling and happy to arrive. They each have a laptop and a seat at my dining room table and I sit between them while they do their online classes. (Movement is a trigger.) I clarify what needs to be done, answer questions, and try to keep them on task. We eat a light, easy lunch: sandwiches, pizza, leftovers, etc. They don’t seem to notice when my symptoms get bad. I hold still when I can, wall walk when I have to, lie down briefly when needed, and smile. So far, so good.
I’m blessed. I get to contribute. Even better than that, I get to spend time getting to know these marvelous young men. I get to experience a wide range of emotions, including love (the younger nephew loves to hug and tell me he loves me, so sweet!), amusement (oh my gosh, they’re funny and the older nephew is exploring his gift of humor and testing what makes people laugh), boredom (yes, there are those moments when they’re both engaged in their lessons and I’ve nothing to do but wait), frustration (why can’t I find what I need easily on the school’s website?), fearful (can I handle this?), exhausted (sometimes I almost fall asleep during breaks and I’m not as productive on the weekends), grouchy (side effect of health issues and I try to keep it to myself), joyful (I love these guys!), optimistic and proud (it’s an amazing feeling when you realize they got a concept they were struggling with or are learning how to be students).
My nephews are blessed to be taking online classes with teachers that are assigned to them, using technology to learn in a world that is technology-driven, with an aunt who loves them sitting next to them giving them tons of attention and love, and a family who loves them and works together to give them the best we can.
In just a week and a half, I’ve been so challenged and I’ve learned so much about my nephews, my family, teachers, and myself. I can’t wait to find out what will happen next!
No comments:
Post a Comment