Diving In?

Trey Smith

Over the past 6 months or so, Della and I have done a lot of soul searching. We've questioned the wisdom of owning our own home and we've come to the conclusion it's probably not for us. While Della enjoys her job as a care provider to elderly folk, the sometimes strenuous nature of the work is taking a toll on her physically. In general, we've been examining where we are and where else we could be.

During this time, my brother Sean began exploring possibilities through AmeriCorps VISTA (something I have been suggesting to him for years!). He ended up applying for several positions and was recently selected by a program in the Kansas City Metro area. He began his year of service this past Monday.

Sean, of course, suggested that Della might take a look into AmeriCorps. In looking at the opportunities here in Washington state, she found one, in particular, that really piqued her interest, the Washington Reading Corps (WRC). WRC members tutor young students who are having a difficult time with learning to read. With 7 years of experience as an Assistant Teacher in the federally-funded Head Start program, Della decided these positions were something she would like to pursue.

The timing of her decision was a bit off of the typical AmeriCorps schedule. She began to look seriously at opportunities about one month AFTER most sites had made their selections for the 2012-13 year. That was okay by us because we realized we have a lot of things we would need to get in order before taking this plunge and so she began the application process early for the 2013-14 year.

She eventually applied to a program that serves school districts in the Columbia Gorge area (on the Washington side). We didn't expect to hear from them for several months. To our utter surprise, they contacted her two weeks ago and she has an interview scheduled for Monday. Even more shocking, they still have several openings for THIS service year!

So, we may be diving into this new world a lot sooner than we anticipated. If selected for one of the open AmeriCorps positions, Della's start date would be January 16, not September 1 (as we had planned for). Talk about a shock to the system!

Putting this situation in Taoist terms, we're prepared to go with the flow...even if that flow has a few more rapids than we were expecting.