Death by Christmas Bulbs

Depending upon the circumstances, my sense of humor can multiply by the minute, or my patience can quarter by the second. Living in the bush provides daily opportunities for both, constantly testing my ability to find the silver lining. In this case, I couldn't help but laugh hysterically, knowing there was nothing else we could do.

After a week away at a special ed. conference, I had piles of laundry, and little time to catch up on household chores and lesson plans. I still had a week's worth of homework to grade, and what seemed like a months worth to do between the three courses I am taking this semester. I was overwhelmed and interested in one thing, and one thing only, as my 10:00pm bedtime approached: sleep. I decided that I was going to call it quits and carry-on with the endless work in the morning.

I climbed out of the recliner and headed towards the bathroom to complete my evening routine before climbing into bed. As I hit the lights, I saw a flicker in the dark, windowless bathroom and nothing else. Go figure, one of the most exhausting nights since our move and I can't complete my nightly ritual or morning ritual for that matter, until the bulbs have been changed.

I called my 6'3" husband into the bathroom, begging him to utilize the gift of height God gave him and change the bulbs. We were stocked with energy efficient, compact fluorescent bulbs in the pantry, that we haven't been able to use since the move. I bounced down the stairs, knowing the quicker I retrieved the bulbs, the quicker I could hit the hay.

Low and behold, after making it all the way to the first floor, my husband hollered from the one above saying there was no use. I began thinking about all of the things that would prevent us from fixing a damn light bulb, knowing it doesn't take an electrician to replace a light bulb. Lefty-loosey, righty-tighty, right? Not in the mood for nonsense, but lacking the ability to control myself, I bickered back asking if he needed a woman to do the job. Needless to say, he wasn't amused, and by the time I made it to the bathroom, he held the 24 inch fluorescent tube he unscrewed from behind the fixture.

I was in awe that teacher housing, about 350 miles from the nearest Lowes, installed fixtures that required fluorescent tube bulbs. Knowing we had tube lighting on the underside of our cabinetry, we thought we'd be able to interchange them. But of course, what's better than installing "one size fits all" fixtures with fluorescent tube bulbs? Installing a different sized fluorescent tube bulb in three different locations. There was no hope in replacing the bulb that night.

We donned our resourceful hats and decided we could handle a temporary fix until talking to the maintenance guys in the morning. We survived the evening by "installing" two twelve-foot strands of white Christmas lights, held at the seams where the walls met the ceiling. The only thing more redneck than the Christmas lights in the bathroom was the duct tape that held them there.

Sadly enough, the strands still hang on our walls as the school doesn't provide the awkward bulbs, and we'll be sharing the Christmas spirit until Amazon decides to send our shipment. We can only pray that the moisture-sensitive duct tape holds, as the steam builds in our morning showers!

Maybe this is why I'm having a hard time feeling like spring's on its way?

Much love,

Brie

Looking Ahead

The pups are fine and have transitioned into having a sibling in the house. Daisy seems to love it out here. She has plenty of things and people to bark at outside. While she still loves going outside, she loves coming inside, too. The neighbor's dog loves barking, and has Daisy feeling a little sheepish to keep up. I'm happy she's taken a backseat to having that talent, but I wish she'd go nuts some day when other people are trying to sleep so our neighbor would know how much it stinks listening to someone else's dog go crazy.

Work has been great. While progress is slow, and sometimes seems nonexistant, I can tell my students are comprehending more of what they read and becoming more independent to complete their work. I don't know if they're making the connection with the relevance of their work, but I haven't lost hope yet.

I'm starting to fall in love with this village and the people in it. I can't tell you how much I enjoy hearing one of the lunch ladies call me "smiley" every day. She may not know my first name, but I'm glad she acknowledges my smile every day. But then again, why wouldn't she notice a smile, she's feeding me! In addition to the nice people, I'm starting to love the sunshine that peaks over the horizon in the morning, and sets a little later each day. It's a sign of hope that the one year we thought would be the most difficult for us as individuals and as a couple, is halfway over, and we survived. We're stroger than we thought, which is a pretty empowering feeling.

With that said, Brandon and I have agreed to sign another contract with Southwest Region School District if one's given. We're looking forward to the close of this year, and the new year approaching. As for the summer, we'll be flying home on May 20th to spend the summer with the likes of you. It's nice having something to look forward to on a daily basis. The first half of the summer, we'll be living with Jim and Dee in Ankeny. Brandon will be working from home for the summer so we can maximize the time we have with each side of the family. The second half of the summer, we'll be living in Wisconsin, to enjoy the time we have with my parents and siblings.

Meanwhile, we're doing fine and sending our thoughts and prayers to Bryce, Andrea and Kalee, as Andrea and Bryce overcome a scary, sickfilled weekend. Our love to you three and a half! We'll see you in May!

Brie