The Painting And Finish Of The Fish! And The Answer To The Call...

 A loaded week of activity and blog-worthy events!  Ah,  where to start...

How about the stuff I that has pictures?   

  I have finally finished the fish!  I put the last coat of clear coat on him tonight and he is now officially DONE!   Whew!  That seemed to take forever.  And at some point, I think I was ready to just call it done no matter how the final painting went.  But now that I evaluate the pictures,  I think it turned out pretty good.   ( All things considered!)   Sure, it may not look as realistic as the original inspiration photo,  but no two fish look exactly alike anyway,  so I think I'm in the clear. 

So now I have a little free time to begin a new project:  The folding of another Oriental Dragon!   

It is the year of the dragon, after all.   And I have not folded a really complex model in a while.   Tonight,  I worked on some foil paper to perhaps begin the initial "pre-creasing".  

It could take several days to complete... or maybe longer!  ( Depending on how I feel after work each day.) Hopefully, it will not take as long as this last fish did.   

Oh!  I got a promotion to VAS at the Zebra today!   ( Valued added Services)  VAS is the department that takes the printers apart and adds components for certain customers.  Sometimes it is a cord for a European country.  Other times it is software for certain stores.   Either way, 

I get to be a part of it beginning in March!  With an increase in pay!  ( A nice cherry on top.) The extra bucks will come in handy and I might not be tempted to work so many overtime Saturdays in the future. 

I actually have a full weekend to myself this weekend.   I should clarify and say that I really mean an open Saturday.   No work,  No Cheryl...   Just me with the ability to do what ever I want.  

 Long run?   Possible! 

 Folding paper?  Most likely.  

Uninterrupted laundry and basement cleanup?   Sounds pretty good to me.  I know with so many options,  the day will fly by,  but I will try to enjoy it as long as I can. I may even sleep in!

And finally,  I accepted the Call to Shoreland Lutheran Highschool.  

It's kind of a big deal.

Now I know what you may be thinking!  "Why did he not lead with such an important development?"   Well,  had I started with the acceptance to Shoreland,   Everything that followed would have sounded small and insignificant.   And I have all of those pictures for the blog!  

But seriously,   I am going to become a teacher again.   After many years of basically giving that life path up! And yet, here I am....

I took Wednesday off to visit the school and meet the people who called me.  Not only was I blown away with the facilities,   but they were very interested in my experience in Limnology.    It appears that there is a section of land that floods every year and, in an effort to control the forces of nature,  they are going to work with nature instead of against it.  Meaning:  They are creating a wetland environment to help control the water  variability.  A series of small ponds leading to a marsh with larger settling ponds.  Throw in some prairie restoration along the way.   All of this to keep the baseball field and future building projects high and dry!  Sounds like a Win/Win to me!

Best of all,  the project offers a real-life ecosystem teaching tool right outside their back door!  A classroom custom made for nature... BY nature!  And for all of the students that want to get their feet wet ( literally!) Add in the bonus of getting funds donated to them by various special interest groups that would love wetland restoration in urban settings.  Non-Government schools are always short on cash, since they rely on tuition and donations rather than government tax hikes. With this financial help,  instead of the flood control costing money,  it could actually pay for itself!

And right in the middle of all of that... is me!  I get to be a part of that!  UNBELIEVABLE! I still think I am dreaming.   My mind is already racing with all of the activities that we could do in that area.   Plant identification and studies,  live animal captures, small aquatic invertebrates capture and catalogs, water qualities charts, fish  and amphibian identification.  seasonal observation of the changing water temps and habitats.  Just to name a few!  There are so many things to do that I feel I should begin working on them all now!    It will be like working in my own personal playground.

Did I mention that this offers a unique pairing of my two polar opposite skills?   Teaching and Fish and Wildlife!   I thought I had left the classroom for good and would instead, pursue a career away from kids and towards trees, fish and animals.  And here I am with the almost perfect marrying of the two.   Did I mention that I think I am dreaming?  How is this possible outside of a dream? 

There are no coincidences.   Only God's hand guiding us through life.  God has made this possible for me.
Through some of the darkest moments and some of the most depressing situations,

God has given me everything to lead me back into the light.  And I am so humbled and grateful for it all.  

I think it is a cliché to quote "Amazing Grace"   But I find the lyrics fitting at this point in my life.   

"I once was lost, but now am found.   Was blind, but now I see." 

God has called me back.  And I hope and pray to give back as much as I can to everyone around me.   Because every second counts.