Only One Week Left

It is hard to believe all that has happened in the past few months. Time has gone by so quickly for me that I didn't even realize I hadn't blogged in all this time.

December 2007
After my birthday and the exams, I somehow got myself out of the grading hell I had gotten myself into. Fall semester was rough in that regard. It was also rough because I didn't hear anything back from the schools I had applied to or talked with during National Conference, and things were pretty quiet on Dr. J's front as well. But we had a wonderful time over the Christmas break finalizing the plans for our wedding and spending time with family. We addressed and sent out invitations, picked out flower arrangements, booked a lighting vendor, The hardest part was that over the course of four weeks, we probably spent about three of them on the road, primarily traveling to my Hometown for meetings and appointments. But the time together was wonderful and it was one of the best Christmas breaks I've ever had.

January 2008
And then, just like that school started again. I've never felt less prepared to teach a class I've already taught before. Although I had the luxury of just teaching two sections of my Major Course that I love, I was teaching it as an Accelerated Course--an eight week course formatted much like a summer class in the start of the spring semester. So I was teaching four days a week for three hours a night. Talk about draining! t was hard to stay on top of this class as it moved so fast, but by the end of January, I think I had gotten the hang of it. And despite all of our best efforts, I found myself in Hometown or some other travel destination just about every weekend. Unfortunately, January also brought the arrival of rejection letters from schools as well as several letters that indicated the programs did not receive the funding to go further with their search. By the end of the month, I was tired and extremely uncertain of how life would be after this short semester of teaching was over.

February 2008
Then last month, everything went into accelerated mode. My mom and my best friend threw me a wonderful bridal shower to start off the month. Then the next week, I was invited to participate in a special alumni program at my alma mater. I had a wonderful time, but felt a bit funny trying to give advice on how to negotiate the "real world" when so many things in my own life were up in the air. But of course, while I was away, I got my first invitation for a campus visit and a phone interview--both of which are close to where Dr. J works in River City! The prospect of us being close definitely helped propel me through more wedding planning and more intense teaching at the end of the month. But it also opened up the reality that I was going to have to negotiate how and when I might leave my position here in Gorgeous City. As I prepared for interviews in River City, Dr. J received two invitations as well--one in the same Midwest city he interviewed last year and one in the Northeast. All of which opened up a new conversation about the possibility that we'll both had to relocate.

March 2008
Which brings us to the present. During the last week of February and the beginning of this month, Dr. J and I went on our first campus visits and both went very well. He has already received several emails asking hypothetical questions about how much time he would need if given an offer and if he would be able to get an answer before we went away on our honeymoon. The institution is very well aware of our relationship and immediately wanted my CV and they are planning a meeting for this Monday to discuss my work! Depending on what they come up, it looks increasingly like we'll be moving to the Midwest. We had our hopes up for such a possibility last year, but this time it seems all the more real. The amount of information they've provided him with already (about grants and other goodies he could use for his research even if he didn't go there) has demonstrated beyond measure their interest in him and in me. I also had a good interview at a teaching institution near where Dr. J teaches currently and feel fairly comfortable that we will have a Plan B. Our second round of campus visits is scheduled for next week right after the wedding.

Yes, finally, the wedding is less than a week away now. We will finally be husband and wife! The best thing about my campus visit was that I got to see Dr. J. It has been about a month and our anticipation and excitement for our marriage has just been growing exponentially. It was wonderful to spend our last weekend as an engaged couple together. We went on a date and had a wonderful night talking about our future and making some of our first decisions together as a family. In everything that's happened this year, the ups and downs, I've found myself thanking God over and over again for my husband--I couldn't imagine doing all of this for anyone or anything else, and I can't imagine having gone through everything that happened this year without him.

I'm tired. I have final exams and papers to grade and final grades to submit. I have to start packing for our wedding, our honeymoon, and just my time away from here for a few weeks. I have a seminar to attend this week, and work to do for my department and my independent study students. I have wedding details (such as a seating chart) to send off. I am probably about to have the most tiring week ever--and I couldn't be happier!!

I'm getting married!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!