The Ends and Beginnings of Things

Ends

Well, I was thinking about it this morning, and today is the first day of my last week at My Gym. I will only get to go to each of my shifts one more time (for a total of 5 more days of work.) Today is the day I have to start saying goodbye to all my friends under 7 years old. Today and Monday will probably be the hardest days. Today is the last time I will see my little child prodigy, Mia Mojica. That girl has taught me so much about what it is to be kind, generous, and true to yourself. Her and I connected better than any other student during my year and a half at the gym. I feel completely invested in her life, and it will be so hard for me not know what she grows up to be, how successful she is, or not to be there to help her though her hardships and lessons to be learned. This must be how school teachers feel at the end of each year (except I really will NEVER see any of these kids again.) Days when I would come in upset, hurt, angry, whatever, she would be there with her smiling face, so genuinely excited to see me, and it would turn my whole day around. Is it weird that some of my best friends in California have been under the age of 6? All I know is that I will miss each and every one of them and their own little individual personalities, accomplishments, and attitudes.

Working at My Gym has taught me so much about myself; who I am and what kinds of person I really want to be. I could not imagine entering into the stage of my life where we are thinking about children without having first had these experiences. My child development degree definitely helped a lot, but there is no match for being in charge of 35 children, ages 3 and up, in a highly active environment. 2 kids too much trouble?? Pshhh, give me 8 and then we'll talk. How do other people have kids without having learned about them first? I am not scared to have children anymore, I KNOW Ellis and I will be expert parents, there is nothing we can't handle, whether it be dogs or kids. I can only hope other people are able to gain the knowledge and experience I have working at My Gym before they bring their own little terrors into the world, haha. One day I will have my own children and I will forget the hurt I am going to go through this week. But until then, thank you each and every one of you My Gym kids for being one of 250 reasons I get out of bed in the morning.

Which brings me to the teachers, my true best friends, my whole world here in Cali. Bri, Kristin and Alyssa, thank you for being my BFFs. Every girl needs another girl to vent to, cry to, laugh with, paint your nails, and drink wine with. And you girls were it! I love you both so much and I WILL fly you to AK to visit me.

AJ, Lorna, and Deanne: I could not be more thankful to you for opening your hearts and minds to this weird, awkward girl from the sticks up in Washington. Thank you for giving me a place to belong, to learn and to grow. Thank you for teaching me, more than just about kids. You have been my role models and mentors. Lorna, thank you for this amazing opportunity, you and My Gym have changed my life and I will forever be grateful for that. You've taught me so much about being a mother, wife, and business owner. I truly hope some of your success has rubbed off on me.

Beginnings


The aforementioned above is not meant to evoke reactions or to be melancholy, just appreciative. I would hate to send the message that I am not 100% completely excited and READY to move out of this state and to Alaska. There will be so many new things starting. First of all, I've never taken this long of a road trip. It's almost the entire vertical length of the North American continent, and I should be spending about two weeks in a car. But I am so excited! We have stops planned along the way for tourists attractions, scenery, and just overall enjoying the journey to our destination.

Once we get to AK, this will be my first entire fishing season on a boat. I'm pretty nervous, but with how well the two weeks went last year, it should hopefully only take a little getting used too. Then its time for a new house, new location, new weather, even new light and dark schedules. Everything I am completely ready and willing to enjoyably experience. I'll get a new job, and Ellis will finally be able to work through the Winter at what he loves, dog training. Our clientele list will start building, and before you know it, we have our rehabilitation center and our dreams are coming true.

Overall I feel like these two years in Cali have been such a learning and growing experience for both Ellis and me. It has been NECESSARY in order to really get where we want to be in life. But now that time is coming to a close, and i am sad and a little anxious about change, but right now is the time our life as an independent married couple starts to really get on track. The last thing I want to say is:

Thank you Lord, Thank you Jesus. Thank you for all the experiences, good and bad, that have led Ellis and I to the ground we stand on firmly now. You are the rock, the inspiration. Your glory is what makes all things possible. This extremely bumpy road you've lead us down was the right path the entire time, and now we're at the brink of paradise!

This Easter

First and foremost, Happy Easter! Sending love to all my family and friends!

This Easter is a little different for me, and it has definitely been a blessing in disguise. Recently, Ellis and I have had to cut back quite a bit to make our financial ends meet, so that has mean a lot of sacrificing of the extraneous parts of our life. Because of this, coupled with the fact our closest family members are in Washington, we decided to take this Easter as a simple day to ourselves to be able to remember what the holiday is actually about: Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sins and rising again so we could live forever with Him. So today's plans consist of sleeping in late, spending family time in the morning, making a breakfast at home, then probably going on a local hike or to the dog park to let our furry kids enjoy the day as well. I truly feel like the circumstances leading up to this have taught me a lesson in some perspective, that I needed to learn, or at  least be reminded of again.

 For example, this is the first year in my life I haven't dyed Easter eggs. I've always been a stickler for traditions, but honestly, I didn't even think about it this year. It was just so out of the question in terms of frivolous spending that it never even crossed my mind. The surprising part to me is that the fact that I actually forgot about one of my "beloved" traditions. After some thinking and some piecing together of a couple other hard things going on in my life,* I've come to the conclusion that even though on the outside I felt like I was really making a change in not being so focused on "things of this earth", my mental state has been just as burdened by these wants and desires the whole time. Without as much money to go out and do things out of the house, I have been learning how to entertain myself with what already exists in my life, even the thoughts in my head (blog time!). However, extra time around the house means more time on the internet, aka Pinterest. I love the site but I have been daydreaming too much about what I want and desire versus focusing on what I already have and how that should make me happy. I am glad to be working on changing my mental state regarding this. But even what I've already done, really making an effort to correct the way I think as well as simplifying what material things I do need in my life, I feel humbled and grounded, and in a sense, cleansed. But that is what Easter is all about right? Rebirth and renewal.


*One of the hard things just happened last night. Someone went fishing in an uncovered fish tank, and we had to say goodbye to my beloved Mr. Beta. My first fish, been with me for almost a year and a half. His fins competed with those of show betas, and he was my most personable fish. He recognized me, showed off for me, and was tough as nails. Here's to you Beta, hope you can swim freely and eat all the little guppy babies you want in the big fish tank in the sky.

Have You Ever "Googled" Yourself?

So I thought I'd start this thing off with just a simple post to get something up here.

Being married has had many many advantages and funny moments, but probably one of my favorite occurences is when I introduce myself to the kids at work. At the beginning of each class we have a circle time where we go around and learn everyone's names and ask them a different question every week. Sometimes we get to ask them what their full name is. Let me tell you some of the responses I've heard could win thousands of dollars on a TV show. (My life is so blessed!) Anyways, I always start things off, and it never fails, after introducing myself as Kathryn Elyse Gugel, giggles and belly laughs commence. I even get a few funny looks from the parents. Needless to say, there is always someone who asks, "...like the website?" or my personal favorite, "Have you ever Googled yourself?" (snicker snicker). Not that I mind any of this, in fact I have to admit I like the extra attention. Yet the best part for me is seeing the kids' reactions when they find out "Ms. Kate" has such a silly last name. :)

And yes, I've Googled myself.