Category: Me

Rituals and preparation

When I was young we did not know who our teacher would be until the first day of school.  We would arrive at school, be shuffled into the cafeteria and then called to line up at which point a teacher would stand and take us to a class room.  I am not sure how things work in other places but in my district my experiences as a child are totally foreign.  Instead there is an almost ritualistic gathering that occurs at each school build after 4pm the Friday before Labor day.  The masses pour into school lots and herd around the front doors to view the lists that have been posted.  Crowds then stand while some discuss this one or that one.

We of course take part in the ritual.  We do not take part in the after gossip.  I have friends who send letter requesting certain teachers while they will openly express their dislike for others.  Over my 41 years of life I have come to realize that you can not please all of the people all of the time nor can you please some people ever.  Although I am very open to seeking others opinions sometimes, I find it very annoying when people offer their negative opinions in front of my children.  Learning how to deal with different personalities is an important part of learning and growing.

The rest of the weekend was spent with all of us getting ready for school, wrapping up the summer and easing into the fall routine.  Saturday we had a 3 game soccer tournament which took up 8 hours of our day.  Sunday was shopping followed by what may possibly be the last swim in the pool for the season for Frank and the girls.  Today a family road trip which ended in pouring rain and bumper to bumper traffic, they can’t all be winners I guess.

I also have been preparing to return to work.  Friday I had a required physical and TB shot, all completed with normal results :-).  Tomorrow I will be fingerprinted and then will report to Human Resources to turn in my rather thick pile of new hire paperwork.  I have also studied my handbook, which I am sure I will do at least 10 more time before Friday.  Busy week ahead! I hope we are all ready.

New chapters in life

With both of my girls heading to school full-time this year, it has been difficult for me to stay focused.   No surgeries to schedule, no scans or appointment to get to and no child arriving home after just a few hours of school for lunch.  A few weeks ago I finally settled myself into the reality that my babies were growing.  I decided that although I still need to be home for bus stop and homework duty, I needed to spread my wings a bit.  I spent many nights after the rest of the family was in bed thinking about what my day would look like.

I started to think about jobs and what that would look like. I reached out to some old work colleagues for advice.  One stood out, the person said,  “say what you believe and get your family/work boundaries established early”.  As I looked around I saw part-time work that required weekends or night hours.  The only times I have missed putting my girls to bed was when I was in the hospital after the mastectomy.  My girls play soccer as well as many other things and I love being the proud momma on the sidelines win-lose or draw.  Many headaches, much thinking and the words, “get your family/work boundaries established early.”

I turned to what seemed to be the most logical place available, our local school district employment board.  I sent a few applications for things, went for an interview 2 weeks ago and received final word today.  I am now officially a cafeteria/playground assistant at one of the local elementary schools.  I will work a few hours a day but will have off when my girls do, go in after they are well on the way to school and will be home in plenty of time to get them from the bus.  Sounds perfect!

I have not worked outside of my home for 9 years now….I am still amazed as I think about that.  I will admit that I am a bit nervous and excited about the next chapter in our lives. It is a long way from CEO of IBM, (what I always told my mother I wanted to be when I was young) but for a first grader who can’t open that darn water bottle….pretty important :-).

Thank you to all who provided thoughts and advice.  I appreciated it all!

Infinity and a hike through the falls

disney-infinityVideo games are not a super huge deal in our household.  We have had a Nintendo WII for several years which is used occasionally.  The girls prefer to play on my phone or iPad if given the chance.  When my youngest asked several weeks ago if we could get the Disney Infinity game I spent some time searching it on the internet.  It looked like a rather interesting game so I placed a pre-order to get the best deal.  The game arrived on Friday and I have to admit that the entire family is fully addicted.  We each have favorite characters already and it is the first thing the girls want to do when they wake up.  It has been very helpful in getting things done around the house.  The rule is no play until the chores are complete!

IMG_4789The weather over the weekend was just beautiful here.  I felt guilty that we all sat in the house on Saturday playing video games.  By Sunday Frank and I agreed that we needed to make up for that decision so the family took a road trip to Bushkill Falls.  It was a perfect day for a hike.  The girls loved it as did we.  It was a wonderful, peaceful family day out.  IMG_4739We arrived early and beat the crowds.  For most of our time out on the trails we were alone occasionally running into a couple here or there. We hiked the longest trail and had a wonderful day.  It was one of those days where everything slows down and helps you to remember what is really important in life.

IMG_4814After the falls we stopped at the store-bought some steaks, went home tossed them on the grill and had a great dinner.  After diner, well like I said, we are all a bit addicted so back to the Infinity we went.

I would say it was about as good a day as a family can get!