Briana Continuing to Self-Educate and Work

Briana has been enjoying her time since graduating from high school.  She continues to live at home and work at Jaarsma Bakery where she is valued and appreciated and has received steady raises.

In addition to campaigning for our state representative, she has been continuing to educate herself.  She continues to hone her homemaking skills by trying new recipes, making herself a ear muff, working on a new quilt, and reading The Hidden Art of Homemaking.  She has continued to read classics such as The Old Man and the Sea and Animal Farm and read A Muscle and a Shovel this Fall.

One of her favorite things she did this fall was attend an intensive class in Kansas City where she learned the basics of cutting hair.  She was gone for three days and as soon as she came home, she was sticking her scissors in people's hair!  Easton was her first subject, and Kiana followed soon afterward.  I was especially impressed with how nice Kiana's haircut looked. She says it's definitely not something she would want to do as a career, but it is a nice skill to have and she hopes to someday save her family money in this way.

It seems to this mama that she has been gone a lot lately.  If she's not at work or cleaning houses for her cleaning business, she is running off to Missouri to see friends or getting together with friends to go to a local performance or movie, or helping young mothers from church with childcare.  I am seeing more and more independence in her, and cherish the moments we get to spend catching up with what's going on or sharing dreams and hopes.

We had a lot of fun at a "mother/daughter" table when my good friend Caren invited us to their Ladies' Blessings Banquet.  The meal was delicious, the music was beautiful (Destry played for part of it!), and the message was encouraging.  Several of our other friends were there as well, which made it even more enjoyable.

Briana with her friends Amber, Hannah, and Rebekah from left to right.

The newest thing going on in Briana's life right now is that she is going to be clerking for an Iowa State Representative during the next legislative session.  She has been taking several classes to prepare her for this new job, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and classes teaching her how to navigate the website and manage bills.  This is something of a dream opportunity for her, and she is over-the-top excited about it.  We are very happy for her and love hearing about all the new things she is learning and about her visits with her representative and the goals he wants her to help him accomplish.  One of her new tasks will be to write his newsletter for his constituents.  I'm trying not to feel jealous of this fun opportunity.  :)

Her commute to the capitol from our house is right at 45 minutes.  She is seriously considering moving into an apartment with a friend from church while the legislature is in session.  There's a part of her that thinks it would take all of her earnings to do that, but another part of her longs for the adventure and the independence.  Whatever she decides, we'll be here supporting and encouraging her.