SMALL STEP FORWARD
She requested spaghetti with tomato sauce for dinner. It was simple enough to make and I had just enough garlic left to make the sauce. Fire-roasted crushed tomatoes I use during the winter months but prefer fresh tomatoes in the summer months. Fresh thyme and oregano, bay leaves, salt, and a spoonful of cane sugar was all which was needed for seasoning. Topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, the spaghetti made for a good meal tonight.
Saffron completed her homework before dinner. The last page of math homework had her figuring out how many loaves of bread were needed for sandwiches to be made for 23 classmates plus the teacher. If each loaf consisted of 16 slices but the end slices were not used, how many loaves of bread were needed? How many slices were left? Saffron meticulously drew loaves of bread with lines representing the slices. She is a visual learner.
After homework and dinner, we left to look at a house near her school to rent. My lease on this townhouse is up next month and I have been looking at houses to rent for the past two months. Rent prices are outrageous in the Austin area but at the moment I am unable to purchase a home so renting is my only option.
The house is an older house but was updated last month - new appliances and backsplash in the kitchen, paint, and new wood laminate flooring on the first floor. I was surprised to see no microwave and happy because I never use one. The refrigerator is one of those with French doors and the freezer on the bottom. But the main thing for me was the backyard as the children would have somewhere to play. Saffron immediately climbed onto the porch swing on the backyard's covered patio. It remains to be seen if I get the place as homes go rather quickly, particularly near schools.
We are making a small step forward with a new place to live. The other step forward is employment. I received a call this morning from an agency I had signed up with last summer. Last night I thought about calling them to inform them of my return from overseas so it was quite the coincidence they called me on the same day I planned on calling them.
The lady informed me of a potential full-time position but needed to check on flexibility. A flexible schedule where I am able to be home by the time the children get off the bus at 15,00h two weeks out of the month is what I need. Finding an employer willing to accommodate such flexibility is the challenge.
School is cancelled tomorrow due to 'hazardous weather/road conditions'. At the moment, near midnight, it is 1 degree Celsius and raining. The wind is howling and I wonder how soon until we no longer have to go out donning a jacket and winter boots. The year is moving forward and many changes will take place before the year's end. A positive attitude, perseverance, and a lot of patience are in store for us as we take small steps which will lead us to big changes.
