Window

"Hello world!"

This was the greeting my Humanities professor used to give each time he walked into our classroom of 40+ students my freshmen year of college.  Our small classroom full of students barely constituted the "world," but we nevertheless couldn't help but grin at his greeting each morning.  He used to pull out old records and randomly play classical tunes throughout class just to keep us on our toes.  Vivaldi.  Mozart.  Bach.  I could tell he loved his job.  I bet he's retired now, soaking up some serious Vivaldi on a regular basis.

I'm not sure where I was going with this.

Oh yes.  Hello world!

That's right.  World.  Seeing how this blog is open up to the whole world (wide web), I technically can justify that greeting.  Though in reality, I am fully aware of the fact that there are a total of three people who might actually read this post.  (Hi mom!)  I'm okay with that.  It's been three months since I last updated.  It's been four months since I've written about something other than Kenya.  I'm a bad blogger these days.

So bad, in fact, that my dad made me promise him a few weeks ago that I would at least write one paragraph on this here blog.  So.  Here I am.  Writing a bit more than a paragraph.   I'm not so narcissistic to believe that anyone really needs to read an update from me, but I would love to look back on this time in our lives and see what the Lord took us through.

And boy is He taking us on a journey.

Life around the Teach and Tickle home has been a bit crazy for the past few months.  School started back again.  I'm teaching (and hence, grading) more.  I hate grading.  There. I said it. Love teaching.  Hate grading. Schedules are a bit crazy.  Budgets are ridiculously tight.  But that's not the reason for my absence on this blog.  The primary reason for my absence are all the big changes that are brewing in the realm of dentistry.  After seven years as an associate working for another dentist, Joey has made the decision to branch out and start his own dental office.  This venture holds equal parts excitement and fear.  I can't overstate that last sentence.

Super long story short ---  The Lord closed a door and opened a window.  Now we are trying to figure out how in the world He wants us to climb through that window.  It seems so high and out of reach right now.  Sometimes I look at the window and wonder how in the world we can fit through it.  Sometimes  I can't see what's on the other side of that window.  Sometimes I just want to wallow inside my box with a window and shake my fists at the empty walls.  Sometimes my eyes are so filled with tears that I can't even see a window.

But my God doesn't see boxes with walls, windows and doors.  He sees the big picture.  He sees the process, the refining, the ministry, and the growth that will come out of our obedience when we finally climb out that window into His marvelous light.

Lord willing, we will see glimmers of that marvelous light when Joey opens the door to his new office sometime in the next several months.

Until then, you may expect my presence on this blog to be somewhat sparse as I have the great honor of helping and supporting my husband in the bazillion decisions leading to his grand opening.

Some of those bazillion decisions were helped along a couple weekends ago when a dental supply company sent us to New York City on their dime, just so we could see their showroom.  We took advantage of that opportunity and made a long weekend of it, taking in the sights and having a great time with Joey's brother Jeff and his wife Rosie.

We stood in Times Square, walked along Broadway and Wall Street, saluted the Statue of Liberty, mourned at the World Trade Center site, hoped for a flash mob in Grand Central Station (didn't happen), climbed to the top of the Empire State Building, listened to Rosie's new album (knock-out, by the way), and watched a sky-writing plane spell out "Last Chance" in the sky above Jeff and Rosie's apartment.  (Wild.)

Then we drove to Scranton, Pennsylvania to visit the dental equipment showroom.  (We didn't run into Jim and Pam, although I am sure we would have instantly become BFFs had we had the chance to meet them.)  All in all, it was a super quick but fun and informative trip.

Our camera managed to take zero excellent photos, but here are a few:

from the patio rooftop of Jeff and Rosie's apartment with the skyline of NYC in the background

the statue of Liberty in the distance

my favorite "statue" in the forefront

Times Square

This shows the excitement side of starting a dental office. 

Thankfully, I don't have a picture of the fear side.

It's a big world.  I'm so thankful for a window. Pray for us as we climb through that window.