It was in a meeting with my boss where I made some comment like, "Well, I don't start class until January 10th, so..." and she did an amazing double-take. "Ummm... your class starts on January 2nd." This is what comes of being on two separate schedules: the public school schedule and the community college schedule. Over the break when teachers' brains turn to mush I forgot that I started school before my children go back to school (on January 4th) so I was able to be surprised yet AGAIN by the January 2nd start date. Eek! I met my new class. It is awesome and tiny. I hope to get more people. So if you know anyone who lives in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area and is interested in pursuing a career in child development/education but needs some help getting ready for college or getting their GED... Send point them to the Hubbs Center to register for my class! After discussing with eldest son about his overall levels of stress we determined that he needed to be able to do something active every day. With the cold weather and the small house this can be a challenge.
So we decided to get a treadmill off Craigslist. I will skip to the punchline which involved us driving from White Bear Lake to Saint Paul with the passenger door of the minivan wide open and the treadmill hanging out just a little. I put the hazards on, avoided highways and drove no faster than 30 mph. It was kinda cold. And every time we stopped the car dinged at us and said "Door Ajar" with a cute little red light. I may have taken this opportunity to yell "OH MY GOSH! DID YOU KNOW THE DOOR IS OPEN?" at my son. Every time. He laughed (at me, not with me) and told me that this might be one of the craziest days of his whole life. Just you wait, I told him. "What do you think it would be like to have a normal mom?" "I don't think I would like it." Grateful Crap: Ridiculously metacognitive children who can analyze their feelings and accurately predict what might help them deal with stress and anxiety. Daily Convexions: took meds (in the afternoon though) time with son taught (woot!) snuggled with daughter With the help of a friend I accomplished miracles. I tackled parts of the Monster in the Basement. Cleared out the entire basement hallway and the laundry room. It felt very metaphorical. And eerie. It felt like I was clearing cobwebs from my brain. And finding the ghosts of previous attempts at organization. Boxes labled "Uniforms" were half-filled with sewing supplies and half with mail from 2005. Parts of rooms were partly clear. But then it looked like they had fallen into ruin. Like the civilization that inhabited this strange land had suddenly abandoned these rooms. Here were stacks of boxes all of the same size and color, clearly labeled. Beside them a tangle of cardboard boxes half empty and oozing their unwanted contents on the floor. Boxes of recycling that have been there since before the birth of my second child. Several contractor bags full of refuse that had never managed to make their way up the stairs. Six mops. (6!) No brooms. And we will not mention the layer of crud and gross that settled on the floor. Or the little gifts the cat left for us. Or the old socks frozen to the floor. Having someone else there to reign me in was immensely helpful. I felt like I had been able to outsource my common sense.
Perhaps one day I will develop (and retain) common sense of my own. Maybe I can turn my skills as a business systems analyst to the task of developing systems for this house stuff. Ugh. Grateful Crap: AWESOME friends (one in particular today) Daily Convexions took meds in the morning mostly manageable amount of decluttering relaxed |
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K. BuchananQuaker, teacher, parent, |