We're halfway there! (Also, Happy Birthday, Seth!)

 

It was the loveliest Halfway Christmas celebration, our seventh one! 

As Christmas music played throughout the house and the Yule log burned on the TV screen, I was once again so happy that, thanks to Shulamith's daughter Kennedy when she was barely three, our family created this pretend holiday. The first was in June, 2017.  

It's the perfect way to gather in late June and experience a tiny taste of Christmas when we are halfway there! There isn't much stress to this holiday. I set up my little Charlie Brown Christmas tree. We draw names ahead of time, and everyone buys a present ($20 limit) for the person they draw. We eat good food, drink lots of Diet Coke (like every other day), open our one gift each, listen to our favorite Christmas
music (Neil Diamond, of course!), and sometimes play games or watch a Christmas movie.

Of course the gift opening is always the most exciting part, and this year was no exception. Here are some highlights:

In addition to "Halfway," we also added Seth's birthday to the celebration. He was in Japan for five weeks in May and has been working nearly every day since he returned, so we missed his birthday June 14th. Glad for the chance to finally celebrate our favorite Seth!

Happy birthday, Seth! And Merry Halfway Christmas to all!

I now have an enemy in the neighborhood. Forever.

I saw an Instagram post recently that said, "A girl in fourth grade once called me a B**** and made me cry. Recently, on my college break, I mentioned to my mom that I was meeting this girl for lunch. 'You're having lunch with HER?' my mom replied. 'I don't like her. Don't tell her hello from me.'"

Rarely has a post resonated with me more fully. I am exactly that mama bear! Seriously, don't mess with my kids. 

But the other day, someone did. Badly. And, fair warning, my claws are out.

Shulamith teaches a livestream broadcast class on Thursday evenings. She was upstairs teaching her class, and her kids were outside playing. Swen accidentally left the gate to the backyard unlatched, and their 90-pound Aussie-Shepherd/Poodle escaped. His name is Woof, and let me tell you about him. Woofie is a very nice dog. He's kind, gentle, and protective of the people he loves: his family and close friends. But he's not a fan of other dogs. He tolerates Waffles because they grew up together, but other dogs? No! So Shulamith always, always keeps him on a short leash.

When he escaped Thursday, it happened that a man was passing by with his three little white dogs all on leashes. Woof attacked. Fortunately, the man was strong enough to kick Woof in the face, so no harm was done to his little dogs. No harm was done to anyone. 

And that should have been the end of it. 

Instead, the man proceeded to scream obscenities at the kids, enough that Swen ran upstairs and announced, "Mom, you said only to interrupt your class for an emergency; well, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!" Shulamith excused herself from the broadcast and ran downstairs to find this man still screaming about the incident. She immediately apologized, asking repeatedly if the guy's dogs were okay. A neighbor from eight houses down the street was also there, kindly making sure the kids were alright, but when he saw Shulamith come out, he left, assuming the two adults could handle their business without his interference. 

But this guy was not an adult. At least not emotionally (he is in his mid-20s). When he saw Shulamith, he shifted his abusive language from the situation to her, personally, calling her every foul name you can imagine. He even attacked her religion saying, "Oh, I can see by your clothing that you're one of those awesome Mormons. Great!" The screaming and swearing went on so long and was so loud that the neighbor who had been there earlier heard it all the way from inside his house and came back to make sure everything was okay. Kennedy was so scared that she ran inside crying and called her dad: "A man is screaming and screaming at Mom; I'm afraid he's gonna hurt her!"

At some point, Shulamith texted me what was happening, and asked if I could come over and finish teaching her online class. "Uh, I'm still with Heidi, and my hair is in foils, processing." She'd forgotten about my hair appointment. I felt so helpless! I couldn't leave with my hair in foils, so I had to sit there and visualize this man screaming at Shulamith and scaring her children, and I could do nothing at all to help. The best text message ever came about 20 minutes later: "Matt's home."

Relief flooded my body!! One of the best characteristics of people who enjoy awkward, uncomfortable situations is that they have the amazing ability to stay calm under pressure. And that is a super strength of Matt's. Before he arrived home, the guy had escalated to the point that he called 911 to report Shulamith because she "wouldn't cooperate." 

"911, What's your emergency?

"A dog attacked my dogs."

"Is anyone hurt?"

"No."

"Then, again, what's your emergency?"

"The dog's owner wouldn't give me her dog's shot records. She wouldn't cooperate." (Shulamith had told the guy Woof is fully vaccinated, but she wasn't sure exactly where the records were; she would need to look for them.)

"Is anyone in danger?"

"No."

"So what's your emergency?"

"She isn't apologizing sincerely enough."

"Uh, okay. I'll dispatch an officer when one has time."

By now this had been going on for over an hour, and the guy was still out of control, but Matt was there to respond calmly. "I understand that you're heated, but can we calm down and talk about this?" None of that worked very well until the police officer finally arrived and guess what? The guy had a sudden personally transformation, quit screaming, and behaved respectfully.

The officer took statements from everyone: Shulamith, Matt, the neighbor, and the formerly-screaming guy. In the end, the officer decided the guy was guilty of disorderly conduct, and later that evening, went to his house and issued him a citation. So really, turns out the guy called the police on himself! Karma?

Either way, I now have an enemy in the neighborhood. Forever.

(Note: As we've reflected on this the past few days, we realize that the incident had nothing to do with Shulamith, Woof, or the guy's little dogs. There are so many triggers that could be at the root of it: past trauma, mental illness, substance abuse? We'll likely never know. But we're trying to extend grace best we can. Shulamith is succeeding better than me. No surprise.) 

Coolness! (And why my dog is ruining my life)

Five years ago, Seth was 17 and my final child in high school. He was approaching his senior year, and I was feeling all the feels. It's not easy for me when my children grow up and leave home. I don't like it. I'm happy for them and so proud, of course, but I miss them terribly. So that summer, I made a promise to myself that I would enjoy every single second of Seth's senior year and that nothing would distract me from that time with him. I kept that promise. Seth and I had so much fun! I cherished every choir concert, every awards ceremony, every late-night conversation, every decision we discussed, and of course, both high school and seminary graduations. I even followed his Vocal Ensemble performing group all over the valley! We did all sorts of other fun stuff together (movies, Lagoon, restaurant meals), and just like his older siblings, he evolved into one of my closest friends. 

I've never been great at saying no to my kids, especially when their requests are reasonable and within my power to provide. "Why say no, if you can say yes?" was my motto. But obviously that "reasonable" stipulation flew right out the window with Seth, the baby, the capstone kid. And somewhere in his last year home, he decided he wanted a dog. He talked about it all the time, until finally, I agreed. "I'm not gonna buy an expensive dog, but if you wanna go rescue one from the Humane Society, we can." He did!

This is Waffles. The dumbest dog on the planet. Half Golden Lab and half Chinese Shar-Pei, he's also the goofiest looking dog. But Seth loved him and still does. So why was this not a "reasonable" decision on my part? Because I knew full well that Seth would leave home after graduating, and who would be caring for this dog? Me!! I would be. Less than two months after turning 18 and graduating, Seth left for Paraguay for two years. Paraguay! Then he returned for a few months of COVID quarantine before moving to Orem for college. Waffles became my dog. And can we just say that he is about 1,000 times more in love with me than I am with him. We can. In fact, that's probably an understatement. The dog is obsessed with me. 

He's also ruining my life.

When we first brought him home, home was Angel House, where he had a large, fenced backyard to run freely. He could be outside much of the time, and when he came in, he generally lay on his designated bed in the corner of the family room. Now we live in a townhome, with a tiny back porch, which I paid $1,500 to enclose in order to keep Waffles home. Does it work? Nope! He digs himself out underneath the fence and prances around the neighborhood just so he can get his picture on the Bringhurst Facebook page, captioned "Whose dog is this?" IT'S SETH'S DOG! That's whose dog it is. Ugh!

Second, he sheds like a maniac. Goodness, it never ends. Blond fur everywhere. I only allow him in our finished basement, because no, I can't deal with his shedding all over the upper two floors, but this only works partly, because when we're in the basement, his fur gets all over our clothes and then spreads upstairs. Yes, we have lint rollers. Yes, we use them. No, they never get all the fur.

Finally (and arguably most significant), Waffles broke our air-conditioning unit. Yep, he sure did. This last winter, the coldest one in our 12 years in Utah, when we let him outside on the back porch to go to the bathroom, unbeknownst to us, he chose to do his bathroom business against the air-conditioner, apparently enough to successfully corrode its aluminum fins and copper coils. How much does a new unit cost? $6,000. Awesome. 

These are the reasons my dog is ruining my life. But allow me to seek out the grace in this situation. That's where the coolness comes in. After the coldest, snowiest winter (which I actually enjoyed), this has been the coolest spring and early summer ever. So, so nice. We can still walk comfortably any time of day; those morning breezes and evening rain showers create perfect walking weather. We are loving it!

Also, it's cool enough that I'm still not uncomfortable in my non-air-conditioned house. Let's be clear. I like to be comfortable. At all times. I don't like to be too cold. I don't like to be too hot. I don't like to carry heavy items. I don't like to be blinded by the hot sun. The list goes on. By now, in a typical year, I'd be dying. But this lovely year, the cool temps, breezy days, and evening thunderstorms have made it so, windows wide open and fans on, I am just fine. 

I know it won't last. Summer weather will come sooner than later, and I have no idea what I'll do then; really I don't. But for now, grace abounds. As I sit on my bed upstairs and write, a gentle breeze flows softly across by body, and I am comfortable. And happy.

....even though my dog is ruining my life.

Stanley vs. Simple Modern: A very scientific study

I never win prizes. I never win anything. Remember how my skillset is woefully limited? That's probably why I never win anything; I even suck at rolling dice. But last Wednesday evening I was at a party, and by some serendipitous act of nature, I won one of the best prizes: a brand new Simple Modern 40oz Tumbler. 

Wow. 

Anyone who knows me, knows I love Diet Coke. It's just the best drink ever created. What if there were a cup that would keep my fountain Diet Coke ice cold for long periods of time, the ice not melting? That would be perfection. So a couple years ago, when I heard about the Stanley Tumbler which claimed to do just that, I was intrigued. When I learned the cost of said tumbler, I was aghast! Seriously? $40-$50 dollars for drink container? 

Then Shulamith and Seth gave me a Stanley for Christmas. Worth. Every. Penny. I eventually bought a second one, just so I'd have two. Stanleys are game changing. They have a nice handle and comfortable grip. They hold 40+ ounces of fresh, sparkling Diet Coke, and they keep it cold forever. Okay slight hyperbole. Probably not forever. But a long time. Even in a hot summer car, Stanleys keep your Diet Coke ice cold for hours. 

But what about the competition? Like is there any competition? The answer is yes! The company Simple Modern makes a tumbler similar to the Stanley, so similar that I feel like its label should include the words "Compare to Stanley," like store brand products do in grocery stores. 

In the picture above you can see them side by side, the Stanley on the left and the Simple Modern on the right. I decided to do a very scientific study to compare the two and determine which is better. I've been using my new Simple Modern cup for the past four days, and I'm ready to reveal the results!

Here is the very scientific comparison of the Stanley and Simple Modern tumblers on several criteria:

Weight: Empty, the Simple Modern cup weights slightly less than the Stanley, 1.0 vs. 1.21 lbs, respectively. Filled, though, I don't even notice the difference. Result: Tie

Grip: Both are easy to hold and carry, with a comfortable grip. Result: Tie

Lid: The most obvious difference I've noticed with the Simple Modern is the lid. It screws easily onto the cup, but goes deeper inside than the Stanley does, enough that I had a flood over the top and out the straw the first couple of times I used it. Note to self: Don't fill the Simple Modern all the way to the top the way you can the Stanley. Winner: Stanley

Straw: I have two Stanleys, one with a spill-resistant straw hole and one without. The spill-resistant one definitely spills less than the original, but the Simple Modern cup is nearly spill proof. It has a tight seal around the straw, so even when the cup tips over, very little liquid spills out, if any. Winner: Simple Modern.

Price: Stanley -  $40 - $50. Simple Modern: $20 - $30. Winner: Simple Modern.

Overall, you can't make a wrong choice here. These products are excellent, and I'm glad I have both. I will use them well. 

I never win prizes, but when I do, I win good ones!

Oh yeah. Mother's Day. I almost forgot.

Mother's Day was kinda dwarfed by our trip. That was not the plan. We carefully scheduled our flight to arrive home at 10:30 p.m. Saturday. We would get a good night's sleep (assuming jet lag wasn't too bad), and wake up Sunday morning refreshed. We could attend church with our families, followed by a relaxing afternoon and dinner. Eli and Amanda volunteered to get all the food together and bring it to my house. It was a great plan.

But then, as noted in the previous post, our flight was 2.5 hours delayed out of Rome, causing us to miss both our subsequent connections in Toronto and Chicago. Ugh!! We were told that the earliest we could make it to SLC would be 3:30 p.m. Sunday, and probably not even then because that flight included a 40-minute layover at Dallas/Ft. Worth, which is not nearly long enough even if the flight were on time, and none of our flights had been on time thus far, so...... 

We were so discouraged. Shulamith's kids were literally counting the "sleeps" until her return. My kids maybe weren't counting sleeps (Amanda, were you counting sleeps?), but they definitely wanted me home for Mother's Day. But God is a God of miracles, big and small. And late Saturday night, as we approached the American Airlines customer service kiosk and met two angels in the form of ticket agents, well that was a tiny miracle. Tiny, but meaningful. They handed us boarding passes for an early flight the following morning that would land us in SLC at 11:00 a.m.

We would miss church, but we would be home for the rest of Mother's Day, and indeed we were! There were a couple other fun glitches, including lost luggage that contained my van key zipped inside, leaving us no way to get home from the airport. Eli graciously came and picked us up. 

We were home! After an amazing trip that we will never forget, we were home. Shulamith told her kids she was going to hold them all day, and I think she did!

After we dropped her at her house and drove around the corner to mine, I told Eli I was scared to go inside. I'd been gone 10 days, and I typically do at least 10 hours of home maintenance/cleaning in 10 days, so I expected a disaster. I asked Eli how bad it was, knowing he and Amanda had come over the day before to drop off the food. He was cool as ice: "Uh, I don't know, Mom. Not great?"

I braved up and walked inside. I immediately smelled the lovely scent of clean, you know, that amazing smell of freshly wiped counters, mopped floors, shiny appliances, dust-free furniture, sparkling bathrooms! I was shocked. A lovely rose in a vase sat on the counter with a note from Eli and Amanda explaining that they did some cleaning, so I could return to a happy home. They know me well. It was truly the best Mother's Day surprise. Thank you, Eli and Amanda!

The afternoon was relaxing. I unpacked, showered, and read a book. Once everyone arrived, we ate dinner and just chilled. It was good. I had three of my five kids with me physically, but Seth texted a sweet message from Japan, and Luke texted from Maryland. I know it sometimes sounds cheesy and melodramatic when moms talk about their kids, but that's because language is limited. Motherhood is divine, and it's hard to capture its fullness in words alone. 

So I'll be just as cheesy as the rest of them and tell you that these five people are my whole world. They are my heart. They are the reason I breathe. 

In case you don't know all of them...

This is Dr. Luke Erichsen. He is a psychologist for the Maryland Public School District and a dad to one daughter. He is also the one who made me a mommy!

 

This is Shulamith Webster. She is my only daughter and my BFF in the whole world. She is a full-time mom to three and starting in August, a half-day kindergarten teacher!

This is Isaiah Erichsen. He is world traveler, avid Utah Jazz fan, and political activist. He works as a software engineer and IT specialist for Cvent. He is also the smartest person I know.

This is Eli Webster. He is a 4th grade teacher, horror movie lover, and dada to one little girl (who is basically his twin). His kindness knows no bounds.

This is Seth Erichsen. He will be a senior at UVU this fall, majoring in sociology and criminal justice. He loves music and movies and Japan (where he is right now on a month-long study abroad). He is funny and smart and cares about everyone.

When in Rome....(and Barcelona, Cannes, Florence, Lucca, and Pisa)

If you decide to take a Mediterranean cruise to six European cities, there are some absolute do's and don'ts. You're welcome.

Do:

Take pictures of yourselves trying to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

• Watch other people try to do the same thing.
• Laugh a lot

Don't: 

Expect edible food on the cruise ship. 

• "Cooking for 4,000 people isn't easy, but even I could make some Kraft Mac & Cheese for everyone."  -Shulamith, in response to the gross food on the ship. 
• Here is an example. This is supposed to be potato soup.

• Enough said.

Do:

Plan to eat almost all your food in the local restaurants, NOT on the ship.

• In particular, don't miss the French pastry in Cannes.

• Or the legit pasta in all the Italian cities.

• Google how to get shrimp out of the shell.
• Try to do it.
• Laugh a lot.

• Try the Italian Gelato. 

• Mixed reviews on this one.
• Shulamith loves it.
• I think it's meh (Give me some Handel's or Cold Stone).
• Try it and judge for yourself.

Do:

Enjoy leisurely dining.

• Dining in Europe is a process. An event. No one rushes. This is partly because servers aren't desperate to turn tables as fast as possible to earn more tips (see next "Don't" below), but also just the culture. We spent around two hours each time we ate at a sit-down restaurant.

Don't:

Tip or Trip

• Okay, this was mind-blowingly awesome! In Europe, they have this crazy amazing system where restaurant owners actually pay their employees, rather than forcing the customers to do it. For real. Tipping isn't even a thing. It's neither required nor expected. What a concept! 

• In all the cities we visited, narrow, cobblestone streets (barely wide enough for their tiny smart cars) separate the tall buildings on each side. In most places, there are no sidewalks or any type of provisions for pedestrians and no defined lanes of traffic or lights. We were sure we were gonna trip on one of the uneven, jagged cobblestones and fall, then get run over by one of the speeding cars weaving in, out, and around us. They may take their time dining, but they seem in an awful hurry when driving. We escaped unscathed, but barely.

Don't:

Expect to find Diet Coke anywhere (except on the ship).

• Europe (just like South America) has gross Coke Light and even grosser Coke Zero but no Diet Coke! Ugh. We're convinced they've never tasted it, or they would surely love it and offer it everywhere. 
• We had caffeine withdrawal headaches by the second day. 

Do:

Exercise coping skills. Think flexibility. Breathe.

• Drink as much Diet Coke as possible while on the ship (early mornings and late evenings). 
• Make friends with the bartenders, who will recognize you as the only two adults on the entire cruise ship who don't drink alcohol; they will begin filling four glasses (two each!) of Diet Coke the second they see you approach.
• Pack ibuprofen. 
• Head straight for the nearest McDonald's the second you walk off the plane in the United States.

Do: 

Visit the gym on the ship after sitting on airplanes for 12 hours in order to get those important steps.

Do:

Expect bipolar weather.

• After four days of relentless, blinding sunshine, if finally rained! Pretty much all day when we were in Lucca and Pisa. 
• This is partly why that day was my favorite.
• But also, the Leaning Tower is just way cool. 
• Pack an umbrella and enjoy, because the next day it will likely be all sunny again. 

Do: 

Breathe in every last ounce of the beauty of the many languages, the culture, artwork, religion, history, and Greek mythology. Ahhh!

• Everything is so old and so big. I felt small in comparison.
• La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona was our introduction to the primary religion of Europe, the Roman Catholic Church. 
• This is a picture of part of one of the giant doors. They are made of stone carved into names of Biblical characters, including "Jesus" multiple times, and each time, "Jesus" stands out physically from all the other names. How much do you love that symbolism?

• I don't know tons about this religion, but after seeing the devotion that shines through their churches, their artwork, and (most importantly) the sweet sister nuns, whom we saw praying so faithfully and earnestly, I know one thing for sure:
• They love Jesus very much.
• Just like I do.
• And that fact unifies us with them, and with the entire Christian community. 
• They might have the theology all wrong, as might we!
• Because who really knows how much we're getting right and how much we aren't.
• But the God we worship is bigger than theology. So much bigger.
• My time in Europe, especially at the Vatican, which was our final experience with the Catholic Church, did much to strengthen my testimony of the savior, Jesus Christ.

Don't:

Ride buses in Rome. Just don't. 

• Very mean police guys will target you as unsuspecting American tourists and extort money from you.
• It's awful. 

Don't:

Schedule your flight home the day before Mother's Day if you want to be home for Mother's Day.

• Our flight out of Rome was delayed 2.5 hours, making us miss our next two connections out of Toronto and Chicago, respectively. 
• After we stood in a very long line for a very long time at O'Hare, United switched us to American Airlines, with a flight the next day (Mother's Day) that went through Dallas and wouldn't land in SLC until late that afternoon. We would miss most of Mother's Day.
• We hadn't seen our families for over a week, and yes, we wanted to be with them on Mother's Day.
• Sad, tired, and extremely hungry, we made our way to the American Airlines customer service desk to pick up our boarding passes, when we discovered two agents who had already signed out (it was after 10 p.m.) and were about to leave.
• Their kindness and help provided the final miracle of our trip.
• They found us a direct flight from Chicago to SLC leaving first thing Sunday morning. 
• We would be home at 11:00 a.m. So, so grateful!
• We both shouted and jumped for joy, literally, right there in the airport. 

Do:

Stand out on deck in the rain and wind, and let all your senses be awakened. 

• We were literally all alone on the deck because everyone else took cover from the wind and rain.
• Why would they do that? 
• It was beautiful.

Do:

Travel with your best friend, who cheerfully agrees to handle all the logistics, all the things you don't like to fuss with.

• Shulamith booked all our flights, arranged our off-ship accommodations, shuttle services, and a bunch of other stuff I can't even remember.

Do: 

Post a blog about the trip, and include random photos at the bottom.

Cuz I really like being right.

 

Thursday night, we celebrated.

The celebration was ostensibly in honor of Shulamith and her new job, but I'm claiming it also as a celebration of me. Being right. Cuz I really like being right.

A few months ago, Shulamith began to consider a career path adjustment, returning to the K-12 public school system. Eleven years ago, after teaching kindergarten for four years, she "retired" in order to do more important work: Swen! After Kennedy was born, she picked up a night class at Salt Lake Community College, teaching developmental reading and writing. College adjuncting is a decent gig for a mom; I can attest to that, having done it for the past 25 years at five colleges in three states. But it has its drawbacks.

Unlike in the K-12 system, in order to get paid in the summer, adjuncts have to work in the summer. There is also a 6-week period in May and June when we don't get paid at all. Eeeeek! And most annoying, our schedules change every semester, so three times a year. Enrollment always governs course offerings, and enrollment is this giant mystery that administrators can only guess at solving. 

So basically, there is no job security whatsoever in adjunct teaching. 

That said, I have somehow always had classes when I wanted them; the system has worked for me, but it is stressful. "Will I get the classes I want, at the times I want, at the campus I want?" "Once they're offered, will they make?" Generally, classes don't run with fewer than 10 students. Stressful, yes.

By early spring, Shulamith decided to pursue returning to K-12, with several firm requirements. (1) She would accept only a half-time position. (2) It would be in the Jordan School District, so on the same schedule as her kids. (3) It would be very near her home. She applied for all the jobs she found that met those criteria, but as you can imagine, there weren't many. Most teaching jobs are full time. There are only three schools close enough to where we live, and one of those is where Eli teaches, and district policy prohibits relatives from working under the same supervisor. It didn't look promising.

Then, about a month ago, she saw a posting for a half-time kindergarten position at Mountain Point Elementary, our neighborhood school where her three kids attend. What??? Is this even possible? She applied that very day.

And the waiting began.

One week went by, then two. After three weeks, Shulamith was 100% convinced that she didn't even get an interview.

"Obviously, they don't want me. They didn't even interview me," she declared.

"I disagree," I replied. "These things take time. There are any number of reasons they haven't reached out to you yet."

"Nope. They don't want me."

That very day, we happened to be standing in an aisle at Smith's when her phone alerted her to a call from Mountain Point. This is not unusual. Because of Swen's T1 Diabetes, she gets calls from the school all the time. He's going low. He's going high. He bolused for lunch but now says he doesn't want to eat most of it. And on and on. But this time, the call was different:

"Hello, Shulamith? Hi! Your kids are all fine. Swen is good. We're calling to invite you to interview for the half-day kindergarten position."

Uh huh. Who was right? Just sayin'.

Her interview was a week ago Wednesday, and she thought it went great. She also thought they should offer her the job that very day, even though they told her quite clearly that they were doing more interviews Friday and would make a decision by "early next week."

"If they really want me, they'll call today."

"Uh, no they won't. They told you they have more interviews Friday. They for sure won't call until after Friday," I argued.

"Nope. If they really like me, they won't wait till Friday. They'll want to wrap this up today."

They didn't call that day. Or the next. Five days passed, and suddenly, it was "early next week" already. Still no call. By Wednesday, Shulamith's hope was fully extinguished. It had been a full week since her interview.

"They obviously don't want to hire me, but I wish they would at least tell me that. Send me one of those form letters about how they had 'so many qualified applicants' but decided to go a different direction."

"I don't think that's necessarily the case," I dared suggest. "It's possible, sure. But it's also possible there was some internal glitch in the process that slowed them down. I really still think you'll get it."

"No I won't!" She was adamant. 

Positively convinced she didn't get the job, she decided to widen her search. She found a half-time kinder opening at charter school near our neighborhood and applied. They called her that very day, interviewed her the following day, and offered her the position on the spot. 

Now what? This job met most of her criteria; it was half time and near her house. But it was not in the Jordan School District so not on her kids' schedule, and also, charter schools pay considerably less than public schools. I told her she needed to email the principal at Mountain Point right way, explain that she had another offer, and ask where they were in their hiring process. 

Literally ten seconds after she hit "send" on that email, the principal called her. Guess what? There was a minor glitch that slowed them down. (Really? I never would have thought of that.) Since Shulamith's interview, they secured funding for an additional kindergarten position, so the principal was working to restructure and shuffle positions internally before moving forward. But she definitely wanted to hire Shulamith, so much so that she offered her the job right then on the phone.

Two job offers in the same day. Not bad.

I am so happy and excited for her! How cool that she gets to be at her kids' school! It's only one more year that all three of them will be there in grades 6, 4, and 1. The following year Swen will go to middle school. For sure this will be a year to remember.

Thursday night, we celebrated.

The celebration was ostensibly in honor of Shulamith and her new job, but I'm claiming it also as a celebration of me. Being right. Cuz I really like being right.