When We Became Three

Do I think I will remember the crisp details from the day I birthed my first child until the end of my days? Of course I do. Am I aware of the way time begins to blur the crisp details of even our most important memories? Painfully so; but I suppose that’s the blessing and curse of aging. The beauty of written word is the way it allows you to step back into both the best and worst moments in history. For me, this is one of those “bests” for which I know one day down the road I’ll want to be able to bring those blurry details back into focus. 

Happily Hitched

When I moved back from Alaska, I had really hoped I wouldn’t fall behind with this blog, but here were are in February and it’s been awhile since I’ve touched base. Things have been going well, with nothing crazy taking place. I have been working hard to get my wellness accounts up and running in an effort to share my journey with others. It’s something that is near and dear to my heart and something that I am passionate about! I continue to pray that it will be an outlet that continues to grow, thrive, and bring me happiness while at the same time helping others in their own wellness journeys! 

Giving Thanks and Talking Traditions

2014- My mailed tree

It’s been a little while, but oh what things I have to be thankful for in the time since I’ve last written. I’ll catch you up with a quick little recap before getting to the traditions talk! The last few months have been quite busy for Sam and I as we’ve settled in to lower 48 living again and recovered from moving and wedding preparations. We’ve enjoyed a lot of time spent with family and friends, have traveled a bit, celebrated some weddings, and had some adventures. As for work, I accepted a long term building substitute position in a school close to home, with kids who keep me on my toes and bring me a lot of laughs throughout my days. I started a new venture in my writing and wellness journey and began a new instagram/blog focused on wellness and have been enjoying learning new things, trying new recipes, and sharing my journey with others; visit www.sapdak.com if you want to check it out! Sam and I are itching to set down some more roots and are praying that we’ll be settling into a house of our own by summertime. Thankful is an understatement and I just feel overwhelmed with gratitude as I write this, because while I want for things and daily life is not without it’s challenges, I live a life filled with many good people and countless blessings. 

Faith & Rainbows

The 1st Ryan Rainbow

Maybe this is your first read or maybe you’ve been around the blog with me a time or two. Either way, as I transition from bush teaching to living in the lower 48 again, I have been trying to decide what my posts should focus on. Writing continues to be my main outlet for emotion, expression, and creativity so I knew I wanted my posts to continue on after my Alaskan adventure ended, but what should I write about? I could, and probably will, discuss my current employment status and stories, as well as daily struggles and triumphs. I could update readers on my endless mission to own ALL the dogs. On and on, there are things I could update people on. But those things don’t always have the depth or breadth that I want to delve into as I write. So this often leads me to just keeping up my personal journal and letting my poor blog gather dust on the interwebs. 

Letting Go

A new "first day" with my pup! 

In a quiet Alaskan village, school started today. My kids found their way into new classrooms with new teachers or new groupings of students. While I will always call them my kids, they officially became someone else’s today. While some of them likely ran to school, others probably waited until the last minute to enter the doors. Ready or not, they found themselves at the start of a new year. As for me, for the first time in 20 years, I found myself without a classroom. Whether as a student or teacher, I have had a first day of school every year for all but 6 years of my life. Though some found this feeling after graduating high school or college, this is a new one for me. 

That's a Wrap!

I did it!! 

Although my usual posts tend to be on the long side, I am going to attempt to make this one short and sweet. Today has been a long day and it brings to a close a long month which followed a long month (and year) before that. Needless to say, I am a bit tired and ready for a break. Luckily for me, today brought with it my very last class as a graduate student and I can officially say that I earned a Masters of Education degree in Educational Leadership and will soon possess a “Type B” administrative certificate. This past year was challenging and trying, but today allowed me to reap the benefits of my long year of study! Congratulations to the other 20 members of “C9” (the 9th cohort to pass through this program), it has been my pleasure to study alongside you and I wish you all luck in your future endeavors!! 

Leaving Home

One last village walk,
 on our way to the plane

This is a tricky one for me to write about as the reality of leaving Nondalton has not set in yet. Our last days in the village were packed with final visits, walks, and last minute packing. When I say last minute, I mean down to the wire, plane was coming and we were finishing up our packing and cleaning. Talk about stressful! I tried to soak it up as much as I could, and of course the last night at home brought the gasping-for-breath-ugly-crying kind of tears, but it still didn’t feel as if it were really happening. It still doesn’t. I am friends with quiet a few women from the village and am able to see their pictures, and it seems just like any other summer. I’ll finish up in Juneau and head back to the East Coast for a visit, just as I did last year, and then head home. Except this summer it will be different. This summer, home will become somewhere new. New buildings, new views, everything new. All of those things are exciting because it’ll be a new chapter, but oh how bittersweet it is to bring a close to this current chapter.