The end of this school year had some big transitions for our team…..as a follow up to one of my previous posts which caused some light concern by some of our tribe, here is our news. I was just hired by Ferndale School District for the following year to be a school counselor at Eagleridge Elementary…..after 8 years without school counselors, I am excited they have “seen the light” and value that elementary counselors can bring, especially with prevention and awareness of mental health concerns and general crises at that level. (When asked what Nooksack would be like without a school counselor, after the initial huge eyes and wide mouth awestruck expression, some answers included “CHAOS!”, “I’m pretty sure it would just burn down.” “The bullies would just run amok!!”). I get to work with some amazing new counselors and staffs at Ferndale AND my commute got a whole lot shorter, saving our family some general quality time at home versus in the car and on the road (5 minutes versus 40 minutes – when will I listen to all of my podcasts now?????).

This decision was not easy for me to make and already after a week with no students, I am missing them terribly. I ADORED my staff and my students and had a lot of support and leadership within my career at NV – making my mixed emotions big on the last couple of days of school. I got to sneak this epic school-wide selfie in (complete with our whole staff and parents in attendance that day).

This decision meant some heartache for WonderBOY as well since he will be no longer attending the only elementary school he has known. This was hard for him to leave his friends, beloved teacher and anticipate a new school in the Fall….so my Mama heart hurt knowing that my adult decision impacted his “felt safety.” We are both ready to take on this new challenge with all the feelings and anxieties along the way.

WonderGIRL completed middle school (all the applause and all the exhaustion here) and is off to HS in Ferndale as well (already part of the plan after we moved in February). Although this 8th grade year was a tough one for so many reasons with WG, she finished amazingly with her Breakout project on Foster Care. The amount of time, energy, and personal vulnerability she poured into this was awesome and she scored well (not surprising….she’s quite the charmer) on her final presentation!!! Here she is at their 8th grade celebration showing off her work.

Thank you for your prayers, support, hugs, and jelly bellies during this time where I personally struggled with crazy feelings of self-doubt, guilt, and anxiety – I truly feel like God is orchestrating this move in so many ways…..placing this amazing house in our path to be followed with job openings the very next school year. This simple decision of “saying yes” and doing that trust Fall into his plan has worked out for me time and time again along this winding journey of faith and personal growth and I am hopeful it will continue to do so this summer and beyond.