Two Years Later
We are fast approaching our two-year benchmark here at CMA (and for those wondering - we aren't planning to leave yet). This blows my mind. How has it already been almost two years?! How is it that so much has happened and yet it feels like no time at all has passed?!
We say we live our lives in dog years here at CMA. For every one year our friends and family live in the States, we live about seven. And we also say it's a vortex, because the opposite feels true simultaneously: for every one year we live here, it feels like seven have passed us by in the States.
I hear life is kind of a blur when you're raising kids. The whole "vortex" and "dog years" thing makes absolute sense to me in light of this, because down here we get to be the proxy moms and dads while these kids are away from home. It's tough to parent 12 teenagers at once! That's probably why God made people so they don't have 12 babies at a time. We also unfortunately missed that period of time from about two to eight years old when God made sure kids were cute enough that we wouldn't want to murder them when they were butts. Now our kids are just butts, and not so cute. We still love them though. So much. They have their moments ;)
A few updates: You may have already heard this one, but I am stepping down from my position in January. One you may not have heard yet, though, is that Jon was recently promoted to the head of his department! This is really exciting news for us.
Sometimes you never know the reason why things happen. Sometimes you question how you got to where you are today, and why. What happened? One minute we had just gotten married and the next minute we've been living on a tropical island for two years. AHH!!!
In full disclosure, when we initially decided to pursue our jobs at CMA, it was exactly just that: a decision. We were presented with an option to either come down here or not to come down here, and we chose to do it! Neither of us felt like it was our "calling" to work at CMA. There were no flashy signs; we never had some great moment where we saw the heavens open up and heard a booming voice say, "THIS IS YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE." We didn't hear it in a whisper, either. We saw nothing before us but an intellectual decision fueled by dreams we've both had for most of our lives. It made sense to go, and so we did!
We may not have known it back then, but we now both feel strongly that we were presented with that option two-plus years ago for this reason: Jon was MADE for this job that he was promoted to and now gets to do, day in and day out. He loves it. It's so hard, but it caters to his gifts and he complements the role perfectly.
If you don't know Jon at all, you should know this about him: there is a right way to do things in his mind, and he always wants to do the best in all aspects of life. You could say he's competitive, and that would be true. He's competitive with those around him, with himself, and with the status quo. Always reforming, always seeking to do things better.
Well, all of that stuff is his job now! He gets to make decisions that will ensure that the therapeutic department of CMA is always growing, always moving towards the future, and always on the cutting edge of best practice in the field. So that's awesome!
Annnnnnnnnnd I still have no idea what I want to do with my life, but because we chose to come down here, I'm in a very unique position that I am able to dial back on some of my responsibilities to the ministry and explore some of those unanswered questions for myself. And for that we are both beyond grateful.
If you are interested in hearing more about our ministry at CMA or want to chat about anything, really, feel free to contact us! Continuing on in the spirit of full disclosure, neither of us are the most amazing at long-distance communication. Jon is much more consistent than I am; howEVER!!! This is a goal I have for myself to work towards, so please feel free to hold me to this by reaching out anytime you want to. If I don't write back right away, be as annoying as you like until I respond :) LOVE YOU ALL!!!
Lindsay
