An Unexpected Gift, 28 December 2013

Today I am recovering from Christmas!  Thanks to my blessed FIL and Mrs. FIL, the kids had a sleepover with them last night and I slept until 9:00 this morning.  Heavenly!  Now, after hot tea and a toasted bagel, I'm back under the blankets, still in my flannel nightgown (no photos forthcoming).  I can think of few better ways to recover from the flurry of planning and socializing that characterized this year's holiday!  (Okay, let's be honest: a bungalow on a white-sanded beach or a cabin in snow-bound woods could probably be even more restorative than this, but both of those involve driving or flying, plus rental fees, so I think I'm good with the current scenario.)

While out to a delicious New Orleans-style dinner last night (thank you again to the FILs!), Jay and I discussed how we can prevent next year's Christmas season from being as thoroughly exhausting as this year's was.  We came up with a few ideas.

1. Keep the house more orderly going into the hosting season to prevent a sudden loooooooooooooooong to-do list of chores.
2. Spread out the various family events.  Three Christmas celebrations three days in a row (with book-ending celebratory weekends) was just a bit much.
3. Pester gift recipients for their wishlists and do the shopping (preferably online) before December.
4. Apply for, be interviewed for, and accept any new jobs before mid-December.

I'm sure you nodded to yourself as you read the first three, possibly glazing over a bit at how predictably generic they are, but you may have been caught a bit off-guard by the last item.  I shall elaborate.

Jay read a book a number of years ago that described three main kinds of labor: Wage, Reproductive, and Domestic.  For the first years of our marriage, Jay and I were both engaged in full-time wage labor (working for a monetary income).  When we decided to start having kids, I shifted to part-time wage labor and full-time reproductive labor (growing a human being is a 24-7 job!).  Once we had two children, I transitioned into full-time domestic labor; some call this being a stay-at-home-mom, others call it being a homemaker, and my favorite is the title my parents gave it: Domestic Engineer.

I've used this cartoon in a post before.  I like it.  :-)  Although to be clear, I don't daily wear skirts and heels. And I don't drive a station wagon.

The above paragraph is a fancy way of saying that I have not had a money-paying job for over five years.  Jay and I are definitely at peace with that, because we place high value on all three kinds of labor, and this has seemed the best way to do things for our little family.  But starting January 2nd, I will have a money-earning job!

No, I'm not "going back to work" full-time (just 17 hours a week), and it's not even a permanent position.  I will be acting as Interim Music Director at a local church for three or four months while their leadership looks for a permanent person.  It will involve directing their small adult choir through rehearsals and Sunday mornings, teaching two 1/2-hour music classes to elementary kids once-a-week, and selecting and leading songs for two worship services per week.  This is a super opportunity for me for many reasons!

In the first place, this has come at a great time.  Those 17 hours a week include the weeknight/Sunday services, so my other prep time will fit neatly into the eight hours per week both my kids are at class.  In the second place, this is so great for me is because it is a temporary position.  I'm not ready to commit to a long-term wage-job, and Jay and I aren't ready to make decisions about whether we'd move our family to another congregation.  (While I'm working at this church, Jay and the kids will continue to attend our "regular" church family; it would just be too disruptive for the kids to switch congregations, and Jay and I are still very much "at home" there.)

A third reason this opportunity is perfect for me is that--unfortunately--the situation with the church's previous music director has been messy, and there are wounded people left in the wake.  One of the things they want in an interim director is someone who will enter and gently love on their congregation.  And you know what?  I'm really good at loving on people.  I'm not tooting my own horn here, it's just acknowledging that through my various life experiences, God has given me a growing capacity for compassion and tenderness.  This is not to say that I won't be extremely challenged and stretched through this time, but I think I'm coming into it with a background that prepares me well.

Another reason I'm so excited about this opportunity is that it is a paying music job.  Paying.  Music.  Don't get me wrong...I enjoy all the volunteer-music I do, but there is something incredible about being given money to use the skills I've worked so hard for (I have a Bachelor's of Music degree; for the whole long scoop on my history with music, grab a coffee and read about it here).  I am so excited about taking time to plan, produce, and participate in music on a consistent basis!  And I'm getting paid, too!!  WOW!!!

I'll try to moderate my music choices, heehee

Not gonna lie though...I'm nervous too.  Logistically, everything I've done in my few alone-time weekday morning hours will have to find other slots while I'm involved with this new job.  Emotionally, I'm coming into a somewhat volatile situation and I'm not sure what interpersonal dynamics/demands will be like.  Mentally, I'll be stretched by a new church service format and by the weekly kids' classes I'll be teaching, especially.  And this will certainly be challenging spiritually.  (My observation has been that when someone is in a ministry-type leadership position, they tend to get hit with a lot of life difficulties, from home plumbing problems to kid behavioral issues to health crises etc.  These things could be attributed to any number of factors; perhaps simply the added strain of leadership creates extra tension; but I believe that there are very real forces of good and evil at work in the world, and when the good is moving forward, the evil strikes back.  Star Wars, the Matrix, and a lot of other "epic" stories seem to tap into this idea.)

So yes, I'm really thrilled at this opportunity to use my music skills, gain new experience, meet new people, and be stretched as I love and learn.  The timing and the nature of it feels like such a gift from my loving God, even if it did enter my life in a particularly crazy month.  I'm thinking a little eggnog and television with my family just might be a great way to wind up our celebrations before this new whirlwind hits the first week of January.  A couple more mornings of sleeping-in would be great, too.

Happy New Year!