Words for Warriors
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It was an adventure…”—Chad Garber, Wapsie Valley Superintendent
Above is not a silly pitch to impress my new boss, in fact it
is a common statement I have heard from Mr. Garber over the past several months. As I have gotten to know Mr. Garber he has
used this expression as he has explained different situations in his
professional and personal life. When I
found out I was going to have the opportunity to bring my wife, Lydia, and
young son, Ajay, into “The Valley”, I
soon realized that we would partake in the biggest adventure of our lives.
Livestrong.com and
I am sure many others list that the top 5 common stressors in people’s lives
come from the following categories: Family and Friends, Life-Changing Events,
Money, Work, and Health Issues. Here is
a quick breakdown of how these coincide with the first four months of our
family adventure.
Friends and Family:
Moving away from new and old friends, begging the in-laws to help us
move our junk (three times) and to let us and our wild child live with them at
a moment’s notice. Check.
Life-Changing Events:
Livestrong lists the first two
as marriage and pregnancy. Throw in
career moves for the both of us. Check,
check, and check.
Money: Anyone who has
ever sold a house, built a house, or tried to do both at the same time, can
agree here. CHECK.
Work: Career moves
for the both of us, while finishing up work at old positions. Taking care of a walking, gibberish-speaking,
teething, tantrum-throwing sweetheart of a little boy sure is work as well. Check.
Health: Thankfully we
are all in good health, but let’s consider, my wife is very much pregnant and
it has been 100 degrees from what seems like two months straight, this is not
good on her physical health and my mental health! Plus, I have about 15 pounds
of baby weight to lose from the first child, just so I can gain it all back
with the second one in a couple months.
This may be a stretch but, check anyways.
So let’s pile it on here!
On top of making a huge career move, we were in a new community, meeting
lots of new faces, are now living in a temporary home for the next 3-4 months,
making important decisions about building our own new home, bouncing Ajay from
place-to-place, and planning how to welcome our second son into the world. I can joke that I am putting Lydia through my
own warped series of tests on our marriage, but what we have experienced has
not been something filled with overwhelming stressors. What we have found is that the Wapsie Valley
family has welcomed us graciously and we have found a place we are excited to
stay for a very long time.
I look forward to working with the staff, administrative
team, parents, patrons, and students of the district and communicating the
success and challenges we face every day in education as we pursue excellence
at Wapsie Valley. I could not be more
excited to start the 2012-2013 (stress-free) school year as the new Jr./Sr.
High School principal and to bring my young, growing family into the Wapsie
Valley family.
Please feel free to contact me anytime at the Jr./Sr. High
School office at (319)638-6711, on my cell phone at (319)240-0069, via e-mail
at jjohnson@wapsievalleyschools.org
or please stop and introduce yourself if you see my family and I around the
communities. Thanks again and Go Warriors!! –Josh Johnson
