The end

This quarter is the first after many, many years that I do not have a teaching appointment.  I am/was so low on the totem pole that I wasn't given any classes.  I am still torn about how I should feel.  I wish the end of my teaching career would have happened on my own terms.  (Officially, it isn't over,  but I have a feeling that I won't return. I'm still on some list somewhere. )  The loss of medical benefits and a steady,  albeit tiny,  paycheck is stressful. The freedom to focus my energy on our own business is awesome.  Now I really need to work on my time management skills. Or find a personal assistant. So much to do;  so little time.  

Mmmm... ducklings

Me:  We're going to Bruno's.
Flynn:  YES!  Schnitzel!   Mommy,  what are those things I always take off your plate?  Ducklings?
Me: Dumplings.
Flynn: Yum.  Dumplings.
Me: Ducklings on your plate would make for a very different meal.
All:  Quack quack quack!

Brain capacity

Me: So, Drake, what's the name of your new technology teacher?
Drake: I have no idea.
Me: How come?
Drake: Well, there's so much information *crammed* up in there, and when you get so much up in there,  eventually it goes *POP* and something comes out.

Why am I crying?

Drake, Flynn, and I have starting a massive house cleaning effort, in the hopes of starting a fresh school year with a fresh house.  We started today in Drake's room.  A baggie full of change was found among the other piles of stuff.  I asked him to put the change in this piggie bank.  The banks the boys have are divided into four sections: save, spend, donate, and invest.  Here's how the conversation went...

Me: Drake, please put your change in your bank.
[sound of clanking coins]
Drake: I need to get the Donate section higher.
Me: I would put it in Invest.  Since you are already talking about going college, you should start saving now.
Drake: But , Mommy, the poor people really, really need it!

END SCENE

Wolfgang

Wolfgang, the wolf puppet, has come out of hibernation.  He was put away when Drake was diagnosed with dust mite allergies.  I brought him out today, after a short stint in the freezer to kill off any remaining mites.  The boys were instantly in love with him.  They sat on the couch with him, feeding him puppet food and stroking his fur.  Flynn read two stories to him.  Wolfie fell asleep during the second, and Drake woke him to hear the end of the story.  Flynn then started taking pictures of Wolfie; afterward, he let Wolfie take some pictures.  It is very difficult for a wolf puppet to manipulate a camera.

Feeding Wolfie some puppet food

Flynn later read him a bedtime story and left books to read.  According to Drake, Wolfie is a Pre-Level 1 reader.  I'd say that's pretty impressive for a puppet.

Here's Wolfie, all tucked in and ready for bed.  Notice the food dish, books, and camera (to take any picture).

I hope those two stay sweet and imaginative.

Pink and blue

Flynn and I survived our first Princess Party today.  The guest of honour was Rapunzel, and he was very charming to her.  Totally cracked her up by telling her that he doesn't drink any grown up drinks like alcohol or root beer.  Flynn was way out of his element, being one of the few boys there and no one else was running around like crazy people.  I was out of my element because all the other parents knew each other.

I understand little girls are really into princesses.  (I'm not going to lie.  I had the Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty books on record.  I listened to them all the time.)  The girls wore their princess dresses and there was lots of twirling.  What surprised me were the gifts.  Flynn's gift was the only game.  Everything else was something crafty or princess or crafty princess.  (There was one LEGO set.  Princess, of course.)  At all the other parties we've attended or I've worked, board games are a staple.  But, those parties were all for boys.  Am I reading too much into this?  Girls still play board games, right?  Have we as a society gone overboard on the gender roles that girls aren't supposed to be competitive? Aren't we currently complaining that there aren't enough girls in certain areas of study?  So, why are we only buying them crafty things as gifts?  And, shouldn't more crafty items be given to boys, too? 

I don't know what I'm talking about any more.  I'm surrounded by so many boys all the time that maybe I've lost some perspective.

Keeping calm

I've been in crisis/survival mode for a while now.  I just need to make it through this week.  I just need to make it past this event.  I just need to.  I just need to. 

The problem with this approach to life and work is thus. There's always going to be something.  There's always a new deadline.  There's always some new form of stress.  I have been sick from the first of October because I am in this perpetual state of panic and stress.  With the business becoming more successful, more deadlines and commitments and organization will be required.  The boys are getting older, and with their maturity comes more commitments and homework and appointments.  The to-do lists are never going to be completed.  Emergencies are going to disrupt life at the most inconvenient time. 

And then, Tuesday happened.

I hadn't slept, worried about my dermatology appointment, and plagued by bad dreams about the business when I did manage to sleep.  My sitter fell through for a work appointment.  My emotions were already so raw; I fought back tears during Morning Care.  (The kindergartners didn't need to see me blubbering.)  I tried not to cry while talking to my mother, who called me and graciously volunteered to be my sitter replacement.  I tried not to cry during my appointment. (I'm trying not to cry as I write this.)  I did cry during the biopsy, but that was because of the local.  (Why does the numbing agent hurt so damn much?) The suspicious spot is on the back of my left leg, a spot that hasn't seen daylight in years.  How did it end up there?  I was blase during the other biopsies; those locations made sense.   This one doesn't.   Where is the next one going to crop up?  How many more will sprout in sunless areas like mushrooms? Will this one be cancerous, too? I spent the rest of the day in physical pain.  I barely made it through my class.  I concluded class early to make the long and painful walk to my car.  I winced every time I engaged the clutch, driving the Mustang to pick up the boys from school.  I didn't sleep again, a combination of pain, stress, and bad dreams.

I took some time to myself on Wednesday, to process current events.   Like I stated before, this shit is still going to happen, whether I'm prepared or not.  It's never going away.  It's time for me to stop thinking in constant crisis mode.  I need to look long range.  I need to prepare earlier.  My lifetime of procrastination has bitten me in the ass too many times.   It's time for me to grow up and take charge of my outlook and circumstances.  I'm going to be 40 in two months, for God's sake.  Because even when I was in pain, I had to little boys curled up on my bed with me, keeping me company, and a husband taking care of business by taking on a teaching role solo (when he isn't comfortable doing so).  I'm pretty damn lucky, and it's time for me to keep calm.