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Back to College…Again!
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Well, ya’ll, I did a thing!
I started college again this semester, working toward my B.A. in Art, a Dual Licensure for Special Education and Elementary Education! 🎉
Now, if my last college experience is any indication of how this is going to go, we might be here a while. It took about 5 years to earn my associates. At this rate, I might be teaching my future students’ grandchildren. 😂
But in all seriousness, I’m excited about this next chapter.
When I look back on my homeschooling experience, one of the things that stands out the most is the joy of watching those little light bulbs turn on in my girls’ heads. When something has been frustrating, confusing, and seemingly impossible, and then suddenly… CLICK! They get it!
Seeing their eyes light up when they finally understand a new concept is one of the most rewarding feelings. Even better is watching them go from feeling frustrated and defeated to feeling proud of themselves. That moment when they realize, “Hey, I actually CAN do this!” is priceless.
Those moments have stuck with me, and they’ve helped me realize how much I love helping children learn. It’s not just about teaching them to read, write, or solve math problems. It’s about helping them believe in themselves, especially when learning gets hard.
And that is something I want to carry with me into my future classroom.
I hope—nope, let me correct that. I PRAY that one day I’ll be the kind of teacher who helps children see their own potential. The teacher who encourages them when they want to give up, celebrates their little victories, and reminds them that struggling with something doesn’t mean they can’t learn it.
Destany wears many hats–mom, teacher, student, blogger, artist, and hard-working woman. Every child learns differently, and I want to be someone who helps them discover what they’re capable of, even when they can’t see it in themselves just yet.
I know this journey won’t always be easy. There will probably be late-night assignments, mountains of reading, moments when I question my life choices, and at least one occasion when I’ll wonder why I thought going back to school was a good idea. (Future me, if you’re reading this while crying over an assignment, please remember why we started! 😂)
But I believe this is a path worth pursuing. If I can help even one child feel more confident, capable, and excited about learning, then all the hard work will be worth it.
So here’s to new beginnings, lots of caffeine, and hopefully earning that degree before I’m eligible for retirement!
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Overwhelmed: Operation Brain Shutdown
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What do you do when you’re overwhelmed?Because apparently my strategy is walking in circles because I have so much to do that I don’t even know where to start. Laundry? Dishes? Work? Homeschooling? Cleaning? Emails? Remembering why I walked into the room?WHO KNOWS?! 🤷♀️One thing I’m working on this week is using a checklist. There is something oddly satisfying about seeing a ✔️ next to a task. It’s like my brain physically needs to see it to feel accomplished.Even better, once I check one thing off, I feel a little more motivated to tackle the next thing. Soon enough a few tasks have been completed, and I feel like I’ve actually got it together!Spoiler alert. I don’t. But “fake it ’til you make it baby!”Another thing I’m trying to remember is to take at least a little time for myself each day. When you’re constantly taking care of everyone and everything else, it’s easy to forget that you need a break too.
Less troubles? Add bubbles. Maybe it’s a bubble bath. Maybe it’s going for a walk. Maybe it’s sitting somewhere quiet for five minutes and pretending nobody knows where you are. 😂
Whatever it is, give yourself permission to take a breather.You don’t have to accomplish everything in one day. Just keep checking off the list and celebrate the small wins.ÐΡ♥3 responses to “Overwhelmed: Operation Brain Shutdown”
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This is a great reminder of how so many wives & moms feel every day. And a great reminder for self-care. Thanks
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Some day an old Geezer without any flowers may just cross your path and hand you a cup of tea. I do not know what flavor of tea it might be, but you can rest assured it will be one of Bronwyn’s favorites from her double top secret tea stash hiding place. (She has yet another one for her chocolate collection). I just got your blog appearing on my computer, good reading. We do not get out of the retirement community often ,(the Wrinkle Ranch), but perhaps on our next trip it will be time for tea and crumpets. What’s a crumpet?
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It’s so true! It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day that we forget to pour into ourselves, too. We have to remember to fill our own cups before our kids come along and spill them. (lol) –Destany
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When one door closes… Maybe check the other one
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Well… sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to. Apparently, life didn’t get the memo that I had already decided how things were supposed to go. I recently applied for a job at my kids’ school, I really wanted. Helping children with special needs, being on the same schedule as my kiddos, it all sounded like a dream.And then… I didn’t get the job.Was I disappointed? Absolutely.Did I briefly wonder why I wasn’t good enough? Of course. Because apparently that’s one of the first places our brains like to go when something doesn’t work out. But after the disappointment wore off a little, I started thinking about something important:When one door closes, maybe check the other one. I tried; I put myself out there. I took a chance. Sometimes success isn’t getting exactly what you wanted. Sometimes success is having the courage to try in the first place.
Another door always awaits after the door you wanted to open stayed shut. It may even be painted blue with a white flower. My wonderful aunt reminded me of this when she told me a story about something similar that happened to her years ago.She once really wanted a merchandising job. It paid well, sounded fun, and she had every reason to believe she was going to get it.And of course, the job went to someone else.And to make it even more frustrating, the person who got the job happened to be best friends with the department manager.Needless to say, she was hurt and disappointed. She had prayed about the job and really wanted it.Instead of sitting around thinking, well, I guess that’s it for me, she decided: “What do I have to lose now?” I LOVE that question.She went straight to the editor of her community newspaper and said she wanted to write for the paper. She even brought a sample of her writing.The editor told her there weren’t any openings.So… another closed door… or so she thought!But two weeks later, the editor called and had a job for her. Not only that but eventually became a Senior Staff Writer. And get this—she ended up making more money than she would have made in the merchandising job!Then the economy crashed, the merchandising job disappeared, but her writing job continued. What a plot twist!The job she was upset about not getting wasn’t actually the job she needed. God had something else in store. I think that’s something I need to remember right now, too.Maybe I didn’t get the job at my kids’ school because there is something else waiting for me.Maybe there’s another opportunity I haven’t even thought about yet.Maybe I’ll look back six months from now and say, “Ohhh… THAT’S why that didn’t work out.”Or maybe I’ll just continue applying for jobs and drinking entirely too much Dr. Pepper while I figure it out.Either way, I’m trying not to let one “no” make me believe there won’t be a “yes” somewhere else.Because sometimes we get so focused on the door that just closed that we forget to look around and see if there’s another one standing wide open.So, if you’re dealing with a disappointment right now, I hope you remember this: You didn’t fail because you didn’t get the outcome you wanted!You proved to yourself that you were willing to take a chance and that’s something to be proud of.I’m going to keep trying. I’m going to keep looking. And I’m going to trust that if one opportunity wasn’t meant for me, maybe there’s a better one coming. Sometimes a closed door isn’t a dead end. Sometimes it’s just God saying, “Not that one, try this instead!”And honestly…I’m going to try to trust Him on that one.Even if I have to complain a little first. 😂❤️4 responses to “ When one door closes… Maybe check the other one”
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Amen to that Destany! I think we’ve all had those disappointments but GOD knows what we need and we may need to wait.
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OMG!! You are a natural Dez!! I am beyond proud of you. This definitely is God using you to help others. I bet you too could write a book or two. I loved this blog and feel you are gifted in this area. You are a tool for helping others that might be feeling ‘Not good enough”!! You are truly Amazing.. Will be praying for that right door to be open for you Sweet Mama!! Love you to pieces.. 🥰😘💕🙏
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Amen!! God works in mysterious ways! Sometimes I wish it wasn’t so mysterious, but He teaches patience in the waiting.
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Oh thank you so much! That means a lot!! Who knows what the future holds! Thank you for the prayers, they are much appreciated. Love you too.
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Do Things Scared
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If one door closes, we never know if or when a second one—possibly with double doors and fancy wood carvings–might open. Welcome back to my “Getting It Together” blog—where I attempt to take my own advice instead of just handing it out like Halloween candy.
This week’s lesson? Do things scared.
I have a bad habit of not pursuing things I really want because I’m afraid of failing. Somewhere along the way, I convinced myself that keeping something as a possibility is better than risking hearing “no.”
What kind of backwards logic is that?
Definitely not the kind of mindset I want my kids growing up with.
So, this week’s challenge is putting in an application for a job at the school my girls will be attending next year.
Now, one of my kiddos informed me that she would be “totally embarrassed” if I became the lunch lady. Not because she has some deep-rooted issue with lunch ladies. Nope. Simply because I would be the lunch lady.
Apparently, serving tater tots is fine. Being related to the person serving tater tots? Absolutely not according to my tween council.
The way I see it, if it doesn’t work out, then it probably wasn’t where I was supposed to be. But if it does? I’d never know unless I tried.
So here I am, practicing what I preach, doing the scary thing, and hitting submit. Because sometimes the only thing standing between you and a new opportunity is the courage to risk hearing “no.”
And if I get the job? I reserve the right to occasionally wave awkwardly at my kids in the hallway just to keep them humble.
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Getting Help
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I feel like most self-help books and blogs are written after someone has magically gotten their life together. Meanwhile, I’m over here wondering if matching socks count as a personal achievement.
If I waited until everything was perfect, I’d never get started. So instead, I thought I’d take you along for the ride from the very beginning. Every week, I’ll pick one thing to improve and keep working on it until it becomes a habit. Baby steps, because apparently becoming a whole new person overnight isn’t realistic. Who knew?
This week, I was trying to figure out what I could fix. (And no, giving up soda is not currently on the table. 😅)
One thing that had been weighing on me was homeschooling. Between work, school, parenting, and the hundred other things life likes to throw at me, I felt like I wasn’t giving my girls my full effort. I kept trying to do everything myself until I finally had to accept a hard truth: I am not superhuman. I do not have six arms. And unfortunately, I cannot add extra hours to the day.
I realized it’s okay to need help.
So, you know what we did? We applied to a school we’d heard amazing things about.
The girls were terrified about the placement tests. My youngest was so nervous she didn’t even want to take hers. But around here, we do things scared.
And guess what?
They both passed and were placed in their grade levels!
Turns out all those years of stressing, second-guessing myself, and wondering if I was doing enough paid off. I may not have all the answers, but this week reminded me that sometimes asking for help isn’t giving up—it’s giving your kids what they need.
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The Day Time Slowed and My Heart Stopped
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Hello all!
I’m Destany—single mom to two beautiful, smart, and just-the-right-amount-of-sassy girls who are officially entering their tween era. (Pray for me. Send snacks.)
I’m a small-town girl who’s done a little wandering but always finds her way back home—mostly because my family is here, and let’s be honest, I wouldn’t survive long without them. These days, life looks like working three jobs, homeschooling my little nuggets, and trying to keep everything from completely falling apart… all while juggling mental and physical health like it’s some kind of extreme sport. I’m actually writing this “About Me” in between jobs, so if it feels a little chaotic—that’s on brand.
At one point, I lived in this beautiful little town in Washington. Think cool weather, endless rain, and more greenery than my Arizona soul knew what to do with. One day, I needed to run to the gas station (as one does), so I pulled up my maps and set off down these winding roads lined with red cedars and Douglas-firs, country music playing like I was in a movie.
Then—plot twist.
I glanced down at my map for a second, looked back up, and saw what I thought was a black rope in the road. Naturally, I swerved… but not enough. Time slowed down, my heart stopped, and suddenly that “rope” turned out to be a downed power line… now tangled in my axle.
Cue the chaos.
There was a loud boom, flames started licking up the side of my van, and I did what any reasonable person would do—I threw it in park and yeeted myself out of the vehicle, trying to land with both feet together like my life depended on it (because, apparently, it did).
Next thing I know, I’m sitting in the back of a firetruck, rain starting to fall, watching firefighters peel a melted power line off my car like it’s a bad DIY project. They told me I was lucky to be alive.
And honestly? They weren’t wrong.
Moments like that have a way of waking you up. It’s so easy to get stuck in survival mode, buried under the day-to-day chaos, forgetting how fragile and wild and incredible life really is.
Now, don’t get me wrong—I’ve got a lot to work on (hot mess is a lifestyle at this point), but I’m ready. Ready to heal, to grow, and to write the next chapter of my story… probably with a soda in one hand and a kid yelling “Momma!” in the background.
Thanks for being here—this is going to be a ride.
We’ve heard so much about you so it’s great to finally meet you! Loved your story. You definitely have a talent for writing!
Oh my gosh!!!! I absolutely loved reading this! U are so witty and funny and a wonderful writer I cant wait to read the next one! Ps glad yr alive lol!
This is so awesome! Very fun, entertaining and not overly long. I cant wait to read all your posts!
Destiny, I absolutely love your writing & getting to know you. You have a writing style that makes me smile and can relate. Keep up the good work!
Oh how exciting! Thank you so much for the kind and encouraging words! Thanks for reading. –Destany
Thank you Dom. MY ADHD brain likes to keep it short and sweet, haha, thank you for reading! –Destany
To Shay from Destany–Thank you seester! That means a lot. (heart) Love you to the moon and back! P.S.S. Glad you’re alive too. (lol)
To Kathy from Destany–Oh you must be one of the amazing prayer warriors from Bronwyn’s bible study! I appreciate it so much. Pleasure to meet you as well, thank you for reading!