Saturday, May 24, 2008

Lovin' the Lou!

I am still alive and well and in Saint Louis! My life has been so crazy, I haven't even thought about blogging. But now I'm spending most of my unemployed life on my sister's couch in her apartment, so I've once again found time ;)

On Pentecost, my sister and her boyfriend came to pick me up at the convent. We barely fit all my stuff in her Honda Civic. Josh and I both had boxes on our laps. How much stuff can you acquire in nine months at a convent? Clearly, the vows of poverty were not for me :)

It was a bittersweet moment as you can imagine. I'm horrible with goodbyes. I just like to give hugs and get out of there. But I also had a feeling I will see them all again, so it didn't feel like goodbye. I really love the sisters and they've been so good to me. I have a feeling I will always keep in touch with them. They will always be a part of my life.

And so began my weeks of couch sitting, unfortunately. I had applied and sent resumes to every Catholic high school in the diocese, as well as parishes, as well as parishes in schools in other dioceses too. I had some interviews, but alot of the schools want people with teaching experience, which is understandable. I try to explain I've done plenty of catechetical instruction with youth ministry, but maybe that's just not where God wants me...though summers off were sounding ideal!

I have a good prospect with a youth ministry position, though, here in Saint Louis. I've had 3 interviews with them already and even met some of the teens this week. It seems very similar to the parish I was at in VA before entrance- lots of families and very active. They also seem to have a very solid youth ministry program in place which is ideal for me since creating a program was kind of a struggle, though I'm glad I had that experience in VA.

I shouldn't say it's been all couch sitting. My sister and I have some quality time together drinking wine and watching our favorite reality shows ;) I've also been really blessed to meet some awesome young Catholics here in the diocese, so I've gone out to a couple events and a party or two. Today I'm meeting up with my friend Amanda who is from VA but lives in the Lou now. It's Memorial Day weekend, so there's lots going on!

One of the difficulties has been the uncertainty of if this is really where God wants me. But I lived with uncertainty for the past 9 months! God has definately taught me how to embrace the unknown and love mystery this year! But with it there is a peace. And I've had lots of time to pray these past 2 weeks as well.

My sister and I have had to share one car, which is easier said than done with her crazy schedule and my interviews. I finally rented a car the past 2 days so I could go socialize a little on my own. I can now openly express my love for Enterprise rental. They were who I worked with in the diocese of Arlington to rent all my mini-vans for retreats and such. I always I had the cutest sales reps and they are always so sweet! But this past week sealed the deal for me and my love affair of enterprise. My new friend at the rental place upgraded me to a convertible this weekend and yesterday was beautiful! I rode around with the top down all day and got a tan!
Convertibles make errands fun! I may consider getting one....when I get a job. And some money.

Thanks friends for keeping up with me and the blog! This was intended to be a blog about my experience with postulancy, but I may blog about the aftermath for a while! Love you all, thanks for your prayers!

Peace,
Julia