The Picture is NOT What You Think!

Tonight was a great dinner filled with fabulous food and incredible conversations with sweet people. The talk centered around art, art, art while our taste buds focused on stuffed grape leaves (as pictured...the picture actually reminds me of something else like...fecal matter...but it certainly tasted good!), shrimp with rice, French bread with hummus and a cheesy spinach dip. The meal was then finished off with Moroccan mint tea.



My daughter is in a club that backpacks once a month to different areas around and outside the state and two members of this club and their mother visited us this evening. The two members are siblings named Ian and Marian. Ian is a senior in high school while Marian is a sophomore. They are both very artistic and we enjoyed viewing their sketches and portfolios. Since my husband is an artist they had many things to talk about and it was a night filled with three artists sharing their thoughts, ideas, and experiences. It was nice to see my husband chatting with them because I could tell they really looked up to him and got excited about their work. They couldn't wait to get home and work on their art after talking with him. He really got them juiced up!



My husband is about to go through the selection process at the university for the MFA (Master of Fine Arts) program. He is in the midst of getting his application completed along with readying his portfolio and other required documentation. I know that he will be selected to attend in the fall. He will also apply to be in the assistantship program and I truly hope that he gets it. He has been trying for so long to make money and it's been difficult for him to find work. His skills and experience are so highly specialized towards the art field. A few months ago he was looking everywhere for a job and even the Olive Garden turned him down! They said that he didn't have any experience and my first thought was, "Do you have to work at the Waffle House first"?



All of this just kills me when I think about how highly educated and talented he is and not only that he knows six languages! This area hasn't been very sparing with jobs for him. He is going to start January 15 in giving oil painting classes two nights a week. In February he will give watercolor classes and then acrylic painting classes in March. He is quite excited about that. Finding a full-time job has been difficult, though.



He wants to be a professor, which is why he is pursuing a MFA. He is a natural teacher and I know will be a good one. By the way, (and on another note!) he has been much better. He hasn't yelled or screamed lately. He has been treating me very well. I was sick the other day and he made lunch and completely took care of me. I am so very thankful. Things have been getting better. I can tell that it definitely helps my mental mood and attitude. I continue to feel better and better. I have to also say that it was rough when he got back from Morocco. I didn't talk about it much here, but we were even talking about divorce at one point. For the first time in my life I did a very good job of not getting caught up in his moods. I also didn't hold myself accountable for his unhappiness. I also told him that I won't put up with it anymore. I told him that I deserved to be treated better. All of this definitely seemed to help. It can still be difficult at times.



It's just...I refuse to ride the roller coaster anymore. Thank you, God!