Superficial Joy

I have been waiting for today for weeks: Pack-out Day, I call it. I coordinated and scheduled and hoped and prayed it would all come together and then expected it to fall apart. I'm so happy to report that I was wrong! It did NOT fall apart! The packing crew was scheduled weeks ago for today (Sunday, the 18th), and they called to confirm on Thursday (the last day of the Israeli work week) for 8ish a.m. on Sunday. That took care of the stuff that I am shipping, but what about the stuff no one bought and that isn't going back to Idaho with me? A coworker who has been in Israel 35+ years hooked me up with 

 Although I know without a doubt that leaving Israel now is the right thing to do, there is sadness in moving out of a place I've been for 3 years. In a grand paradox, the year I am leaving is the year I feel the most at home here. I no longer struggle to pump gas, ask for help or push my way to the front so I don't get left off the bus. I know how to get cash at the ATM, I know my neighbors and how to get to church each Sunday on the bus.  As I am writing this, I am on my final train trip hone from work. I have not felt super connected to a lot of my coworkers, but the bonds I did make are deep and strong. Two of my closest friends left last year. This year I made some new friends but the person that I walked through all three years with was Mark. I call him my teaching partner even though he taught a different grade. We started in the middle school the same year--the year of Covid. It was a terrible year made bearable by trudging through it with him.  The Israeli countr...

 I am delighted to announce that I will be working at Riverstone International School in Boise, Idaho, next year! I will be back in Boise in July to begin the school year in August. Boise, Idaho

 The results are in: Benign!!! I've been back in Israel since Sunday, late afternoon. I was fine through Monday afternoon, realizing nobody was working in America until 5 p.m. my time. I figured the doctor would call that night and I'd leave my phone on in case she did. However, I fell asleep at 7:30 that night but awoke at midnight--too groggy to realize my phone was in airplane mode. There were no messages when I turned it back on.  Tuesday I took a nap from 4-7 p.m. and called the doctor after Bible study ended at 9. I was super nervous. Nothing yet. Please keep in mind I am utterly exhausted at this point and ended up crying on the phone to the nurse, who said she would call the imaging center to check on it and call me back. I never heard back from her. I slept from 9:30 until 2 a.m., just in time to watch TCU get trampled in the National Championship game. When Wednesday rolled around I got to keep busy because it is our long day at work. I was beginning to wonder if som...

It is 2:19 a.m. in Tel Aviv and the jetlag is in full swing. I awoke about 30 minutes ago and about 2 minutes later I knew I was up for a while.  A few minutes after that I realized my phone is in airplane mode and I wouldn't have heard the doctor call if she did. My whole body started to buzz as I felt anxiety wash over me. Would the doctor leave a message? What if she called since I went to sleep at 9:30, overcome by exhaustion and there is a message to call back? Worse, what if there is a message to call back quickly? Would a doctor leave such a message? I was down the rabbit hole. I needed to turn on the phone to stop the madness in my head (does anybody remeber the " Stop the Insanity !" lady? I think of her yelling every time I say 'Stop the Madness' even though I am misquoting). Airplane mode off. No messages. Luckily if she did call with results there is no evidence. Thank you, God! That would drive me crazy all day--I'd have to wait until 5 p.m. for ...

 The sterostactic biopsy was scheduled for Wednesday morning at 10:30 and I was to arrive at 9:45. My mom agreed to go with me although no one was allowed to go with me to the procedure (like my friend Kelli who held my hand and talked for 45 minutes straight when I had an MRI). I felt calm but as I did each task I got a little more nervous. Mom and in front of the ARA Imaging clinic When the nurse called me back I immediately told her I have some questions I'd like to ask the doctor before we do the procedure. She cheerfully  said, "no problem." We sat down in a little office and she asked first what my questions are, so that she could tell the doctor and he could get ready to talk to me. I told her my concerns and she stepped out to relay to the doctor. The one question she did  answer was, Is this guy a good doctor?  Her response was reassuring: "I love him! He's the one she would pick to do a procedure on her." After she took my vital signs we walked to...

Outside the Bullock Museum, Austin I was exhausted after the diagnostic mammogram which, usually less than an hour in total, turned out to be a 5 hour extravaganza. When I got home I burst into tears and had a good cry before I could even get out of the car. I started praying for calm and peace.  More than the results of the biopsy I was freaking out about the procedure itself. Although the doctor and nurses assured me I would only feel the first numbing shot of the local anesthetic, I didn't believe them. Several times in the past I have been told the same thing, only to feel a lot of pain during the procedure. Despite my best efforts I would find myself worried about how I would react to the pain, if I would feel more than the first shot, if these people were trustworthy, if this doctor is good, etc.  I told my parents the news over a dinner of grilled catfish and they did not seem overly concerned--which helped me so much, I think. Wanting to please them gave me a sort of "...

After my screening and diagnostic mammograms this summer, the radiologist recommended that I get a diagnostic mammogram every six months to watch a cluster of calcium deposits they found. Six months out would be early January, so I wanted to get it done in the US while I am here for the holidays.  Since my two states are Idaho and Texas, I wasn't sure if I would be allowed to get it done in either place, despite having full insurance coverage in the United States. The place I called in Dallas would not accept me since my home of record is Idaho; after an angry post on Facebook my dad emailed me the number for ARA Diagnostic Imaging in Austin. They seemed to have no problem at all with my being from Idaho.  I got all of my stuff in order, signed up for MyChart via the link they sent me and thought I was good to go. Of course, I didn't have everything I needed. I learned that a referral is not the same as an order. An order signed by a doctor clears you for the x-rays in the sc...

 Here is a sample from news outlets tonight as we, the people of the world, mourn the loss of Her Majesty the Queen. (I have access to channels in a bunch of different languages). The new Prime Minster speaking on the death of Her Majesty God Save the King

The last segment of my whirlwind summer was FRANCE!  My friend Zena invited me to join her some of her hiking friends on a week-long trip to the Alps in the south of France. WOW! I have always wanted to do this! Zena!! I took the train from 3 nights' rest in Geneva, Switzerland, to Lyon where I met my 7 newest friends! Together we got to Veynes where we were met by our guides. The following 7 days were absolutely amazing! The women I was with are all retired and know each other primarily from a hiking group. We hiked from lodging to lodging and because of the drought several of them had no electricity (apparently the electricity is hydro-powered). It was fantastic to be unplugged for a week. With the exception of lunches in the high mountains, we didn't get a signal.  I turned off airplane mode long enough each day to keep my 200+ day streak on Duo-lingo alive! Here  is the trip we did and here are a few snapshots of the week--just know that the pictures don't do it justi...