A Transitional Week

My cross country season ended last weekend, which means huge changes for the family -- mainly the fact that I will be home a lot more -- about 20 more hours per week. People question why I coach when it takes me away from my family. The easy answer is that the cross country season is short and right after summer. So, I'm coming off of more than two months with my family and I don't miss them as much as I would if it were a spring sport (one of the main reasons I don't coach track). Plus, I love coaching. I love the relationships I get to build with the kids outside of the classroom. I love their families. I love seeing the kids succeed and being there for them when they fail. Also, money. I get paid, and it's money we rely on. 

But, I love being home now too. The first day of no practice, I made sure I was home to get Lydia off the bus. Then, she fought with her sisters, refused to practice her violin, and cried, and I kind of wanted to put her back on the bus, but it was already long gone. My family also benefits from me having more time to get my work done, so I'm under less stress.

I did have conferences Wednesday, which made for a long day of me not even seeing the girls. Well, except for the fact that Jayson brought them to school during my lunch duty so we could get flu shots. I love when they visit school. They get so much attention and just adore the big kids. 

I also started going to the gym in the morning now that I don't run in the afternoon with the team. It's usually pretty hard making that one-hour adjustment in my schedule, and conferences didn't help. 

So, I took a vacation day today. I slept in, went to the gym, ran errands, and did some baking. Of course, what happens when a teacher takes a vacation day? You run into no fewer than three parents who look at you very suspiciously and wonder who is teaching their child. I was able to have a nice conversation with one of them, that started with, "I'm not playing hookey!" I'll have to track those other two down.

Oh, also on the agenda was putting Charlie's bed together. You may remember my early July fiasco that ended with us having to reorder parts that would take three months to arrive. We got them. Missing the same parts. I'm now in contact with Buy, Buy, Baby, and they are trying to figure out what to do. I'm hopeful that they'll do the right thing and we won't have to wait another three months. Charlie might be in high school before we get the right parts, but she'll be sleeping in a bed with side rails, and that's that.

So, it's been an interesting, but good week. I found myself just relaxing tonight, and in an attempt to catch up on the news, I read the news report about the nanny who killed the 2 year-old boy and 6 year-old girl in New York. As my mind went to images that made my heart twist, I started crying. I wished that my own kids were awake so I could give them all hugs and tell them how much I love them. But, I also wasn't about to disturb their sleep. Then, by some small miracle, I heard the door to Lydia and Audrey's room open, and Lydia came out to use the bathroom. I went in there and told her, "I'm so glad you're awake, because I was just thinking about how much I need a hug from one of my girls." She laughed and gave me the best hug I've had all week. I tucked her back into bed and left her room so thankful for everything and everyone I have.