Passover Update

 

My stomach is full, I’m appreciating my freedom and life seems pretty danged good at the moment.

The club-shaped, lopsided bandage weighing down the ring finger of my left hand may indicate differently, but that is a mere kitchen accident that will heal quickly. Hopefully. Besides the slice of finger-pad now missing from that finger, though, life is good!

I’ve officially accepted a job position with NOAA, working as a project manager for the Systems Branch of their Office of Satellite Operations in Suitland, MD. I’ll begin working in July, meaning that a move up to the DC region is imminent.

Before all that, though, comes a brief scratch to my travel itch: I’ll be heading to Sri Lanka, via Istanbul, in the beginning of May. Five weeks there with my Israeli friend Beny and Finnish friend Jutta will be followed by a short week in Turkey, then I’ll get home June 15th, just in time to hug the parents, pack my things and move to DC.

Prior to leaving for Sri Lanka, I will take my last PRAXIS test. The first three, competency tests in reading, writing and arithmetic, I took back in early March. I scored quite well on the math and reading sections and will find out my writing score in a few days. At the end of April, I will take a pedagogy test for grades five through nine, and so I’m studying diligently for that. Once all these (hopefully passing) scores are in, I’ll be able to apply for the DoDDS program.

Tonight was the first night of Pesach, or Passover. My maternal grandmother flew in from Miami and my brother and sister-in-law drove up from Atlanta. It was a grand feast and felt very much like tradition, although I missed last year’s seder. The past few days have been packed full of cooking, planning and reacting to slicing my finger.

Mid-March saw me in Colorado Springs, CO, visiting my good friends Joe, Jeff and Eric, and then in Duluth, MN, visiting family. It was a really nice trip, getting me out and about and making me consider myself in new ways, as well as reconnecting me with much-loved individuals.

Ongoing activities to keep me busy include volunteer teaching English in an ESL for adults class in Durham once a week; helping my parents with odd jobs around the house; gardening in the folk’s veggie and herb gardens; keeping to a decent workout routine daily; studying for the PRAXIS test; planning for Sri Lanka; and all the other minor matters that take up time and energy.

Life is good and the month of April promises to be one of routines, nice weather, anticipation and planning.

Hag sameach, and may we all remember that freedom isn’t something to take for granted.